"What'd she take you here for?" Nick asked.
"Nothing," he mumbled, looking out the window.
Jeffrey looked at him in the rearview mirror. "This better not be just you postponing the inevitable."
"I'm not, okay?" Fine snapped. "I told you this was where she did some business."
"What kind of business?" Jeffrey asked.
Fine looked like he wasn't going to answer, but for some reason he did. Jeffrey liked to think it was guilt that made Fine tell them things, but he had been a cop long enough to know it was plain and simple stupidity.
Fine said, "This guy, he keeps kids here sometimes."
"You sure it's just him alone there?" Jeffrey asked.
"Yes," Fine insisted. "It's mostly used as a safe house."
"Safe for who?" Nick asked.
"Who do you think?" Fine snapped. "He keeps pictures mostly, but a couple of times I saw some kids and a couple of cameras."
"And out of the goodness of your heart you reported him to the police," Nick suggested.
Fine stared out the window, probably feeling sorry for himself. They had spent an hour driving to Macon, then another two hours driving around different subdivisions looking for this house that Dave Fine said he would recognize only by sight. Jeffrey looked in the rearview mirror, wondering how much longer they had before somebody called the Macon cops about two suspicious-looking cars in the neighborhood.
They were on tricky ground here. Technically, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation had jurisdiction over the state, but as a courtesy, they should have notified the Macon Police Department that they were conducting surveillance on their turf. As Jeffrey and Nick weren't even sure Dave Fine had ever been here, let alone whether or not Lacey Patterson was being held in Macon, there wasn't much they could tell the Macon Police Department. They couldn't get a warrant without a street address, but Nick was counting on im-minent jeopardy to cut through that red tape. They could always say later that they saw something suspicious in the house. With a child involved, and time being of the essence, neither one of them was worried about getting slapped on the wrist for this.
"Turn here," Fine said. "Left up here. This street looks familiar."
Jeffrey did as he was told, thinking it was pointless because they'd already been down this road.
"Then up here on the right," Fine told him, excitement in his voice.
Jeffrey took the right, going down a new street. He exchanged a look with Nick.
"There it is," Fine told them. "It's the one on the right with the gate."
Jeffrey didn't slow the car, but he had enough time to see that all the windows had the blinds drawn. The outside security lights were also on even though it was the middle of the day. The gate had a large padlock on it. Whether or not this was to keep people out or keep them in remained to be seen.
Jeffrey stopped the car at the end of the street and waited for the other car to catch up with them. He could hear cars from the interstate, which was less than thirty feet from where they had parked. Jeffrey guessed the people who lived around here got used to the noise, but right now, every car was like fingernails against a blackboard.
Agent Wallace got out of the car, leaving two men and one woman inside. He adjusted his belt, even though he was wearing a shoulder harness. He was a beefy young guy who worked out enough to make the material around the short sleeves of his shirt look about ready to break. His cheeks were so close-shaven that Jeffrey could almost make out the razor marks.
"That the house with the gate?" he asked, taking off his sunglasses.
"That's what our guy says," Jeffrey told him.
Wallace looked back at the car, meeting Dave Fine's glare. He spit on the road, crossing his arms across his broad chest. "Motherless piece of shit," he mumbled.
Nick had been on the other side of the car, calling the Macon Police Department. "He's not happy," Nick said.
"Didn't think he would be," Jeffrey answered, knowing that if someone from the GBI had called Jeffrey to say an operation was going down in Grant that Jeffrey knew nothing about, he'd be pissed, too.
Nick said, "It'll take 'em a while to get their heads out of their asses and get over here."
"Did you tell them the house?"
Nick smiled. "Hell, I couldn't even remember the street."
Jeffrey laughed, glad he was here instead of back at the Macon police department.
Nick opened the back door and grabbed Dave Fine's hands. Before the preacher could protest, Nick had cuffed him to the strap over the door. "That'll hold him."
Fine said, "You can't leave me here."
"If I were you," Nick said, "I'd relish this time alone."
Fine colored. "You said I'd get my own cell back at the station."
"Yeah," Jeffrey agreed. "That's the station, though. I've got no control over what happens to you in prison."
Nick chuckled, knocking on the hood of the car. "Don't worry, Davey boy. I'm sure you'll meet yourself some quality folk in prison."
"You can't do that," Fine insisted.
Nick smiled. "Don't worry there, preacher. Near about all of 'em already found God. You can pray with them till your heart's content."
Fine shot Jeffrey a panicked look. "You promised!"
"I promised about my jail, Dave," Jeffrey reminded him. "I've got no control over what happens in the big jail. That's up to you and the state."
"You said we'd work out a deal."
Jeffrey said, "A deal for reduced sentence, but you're still going to jail."
Fine started to say more, but Nick slammed the door in the man's face.
"Pussy," Nick said.
"He will be to somebody," Jeffrey agreed, using the remote to lock the car doors.
"Goddamn," Nick said, his eyes lighting up as he checked his revolver. "Can't believe I'm getting to do this twice in one day."
"We'll take junior, here." Jeffrey indicated Wallace, who looked about ready to jump out of his skin. Jeffrey probably looked the same way. There was enough adrenaline in his blood to give a lesser man a heart attack.
Nick bounced on the balls of his feet as he walked toward the other car and told the three agents inside they were in charge of the back.
"Let's give 'em a couple, three minutes head start," Nick said, checking his watch. Time could either stand still or fly during a situation like this.
Nick looked back at the car, where Dave Fine was pouting. He said, "I wouldn't leave a dog trapped in that car in this heat."
"Me, neither," Jeffrey said, making no move to roll down the windows.
They were quiet, staring out at the busy interstate while they waited for Nick's signal.
Finally, Nick looked at his watch and said, "Let's go."
Jeffrey tucked his gun into his shoulder holster as they walked. He had worn his ankle holster as well. Normally, Jeffrey would feel uncomfortable armed this way, but for the moment he felt ready for anything the small house might have to offer.
Trees and high shrubs had obscured a lot of the house from the street. Up close, Jeffrey could see it was mostly brick with vinyl siding on the trim and overhangs. The gutters were painted a bright white to match the trim. The house was small, probably two bedrooms with one bath and a kitchen-living room combination. There were houses like this all over Grant, built cheap just after the war, meant to be starter homes for returning veterans. Cement blocks served as the foundation with vents to let the house breathe.
"No basement," Nick said.
Jeffrey nodded, pointing to the roofline. There did not appear to be a second story, either, but someone could definitely hide in the attic.
Wallace went first, easily scaling the five-foot-tall chain-link fence from the side that was most concealed by the shrubs. Nick had a little more difficulty, and groaned quietly as he lost his footing on the other side, his butt hitting the ground. Jeffrey followed them, wondering why his knee was giving him trouble, then remembering how he had hurt it lunging for Fine.