“I keep telling you, we don’t know what we need. If anything.”
“GPS, a little portable video cam with sound, that laser beam that picks up sounds through windows, and one of those power strips to pick up conversations in offices. That would be a sweet start, you’ve got to admit.” James started the engine, and it coughed. It caught the second time.
“The problem is, you’ve got to have a receiver for the power strip, a recording device, and a laptop for the GPS, and something to capture the voice from the laser beam.”
“Now you’re getting the picture.”
“James. Those cost money, man.”
“They’re going to make us money, amigo. Lots of money.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard you say that before.”
“And chicks dig dudes with money.”
“Office Space, 1999. Actually a very funny movie.” It was about working in cubicles for some big, impersonal company. After viewing the film, and laughing our asses off, James and I had sworn to never, ever work for a company like that.
“Good guess, pard. We okay back there?”
James had never learned to drive the box truck using the big side mirrors. Every time he tried to maneuver the Chevy one-ton box truck with the mirrors, we ended up having an accident or getting stuck. I leaned out the window and looked back. Five cars back, parked by the curb was a gray Honda Accord. Could have been coincidence, but it was the third time I’d seen one in a very short period of time.
The car that picked up the Asian man in front of the Red Derby Bar. In our parking lot last night. And now a similar car was five cars away.
“You’re clear, James.”
He pulled out.
“Circle the block.”
“Why?”
“There’s a car back there. A gray Honda that looks like the same car that was parked in our lot last night. And the same one that picked up that guy who was checking out Carol Conroy’s Lexus.”
“Gotcha.” James eased the truck out of the parking space, a stream of brown exhaust blowing from the tailpipe. With the noisy muffler, the brown exhaust, and the coughing engine we’d be hard pressed to ever sneak up on someone.
Down the street and to the left, down by the big tennis pavilion with its fourteen clay courts, seven hard courts, and big stadium that seats over eight thousand people. How do I know? Em plays there. I couldn’t afford the place. I mean they’ve had the Fed Cup, the Davis Cup, and who knows what else there. Out of my league.
James turned left at the next street. We got an angry look from an old lady who was crossing the street. Not because James almost hit her, which he almost did, but because as we passed her I could see another blast of brown exhaust that shot right at her.
Now he drove two streets down, and then left on the street where we’d parked. As we slowed down and creeped slowly up the street I could see the spot was empty.
“How many gray Honda Accords do you figure are in Delray Beach? Or Miami for that matter?”
Knowing James, he already had the answer. “How would I have any clue?”
“Just wondered. I’m guessing thousands.”
“You’re probably right.”
“So, let’s not get too paranoid.”
A horn honked and I checked my sideview mirror. A long line of cars and small trucks stretched out behind us.
“You might pick up the pace, James. There are quite a few people lined up back there.”
James glanced in his side mirror. “Yeah. I see them.”
He could use the mirror when he needed to.
“And, Skip, about six cars back there’s another one of those bastards. It’s a gray Honda Accord.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“A re you sure you’ve got it installed properly?”
“Hey, you want to try it?”
James already knew that was the worst suggestion in the world. While my roommate was no whiz at the technology of computers, he could at least use the machine once it was hooked up. I’ve already pointed out that he was a whiz at Google, and the boy could kill at about a dozen online games. Texas Hold ’Em wasn’t one of them, however. He’d gotten into some real cash games, and I had to help bail him out once or twice.
“No. But if you followed all of the directions, we should be able to pick up Em’s car.”
“Don’t call her yet.”
James wanted to call Em and announce her location. I already knew her location. She was almost assuredly home. Probably working on Daddy’s books, and listening to the Flight of the Concords album.
“I’ll figure this out.” He punched in some numbers, referring again to the directions. “Okay, I’ll bet this does it.”
“Anything?” I was on the couch, my feet up, watching a Jerry Springer rerun.
“No.”
“You did something wrong.” Two heavy blonde women were trying to tackle each other as the guards kept them apart.
“Or didn’t do something right.”
“Yeah.” God forbid James would do something wrong.
“Where do you think she is?”
“Home.”
“Mmmm.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing. Where does she park when she’s home?”
“Condo has a garage.”
“Well, damn it. Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”
“What?”
“GPS works off a satellite. If the vehicle isn’t outside, there’s no way we can tell where it is.”
“So, should I call her?”
“Ask her to move the car outside.”
She was going to love this. I dialed her cell.
“Em. You parked in the garage, right?”
“Sure.”
“And the GPS works off-”
“A satellite. Skip, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Do you mind moving the-”
“Car outside? No. Tell James I’ll do it in the next five minutes.”
Em was full of surprises. We waited.
“James-”
“Yeah?”
“The people you are trying to follow-”
“What about them?”
“Are you going to call them and tell them to move their cars outside so you can find them?”
He sighed. I was apparently his burden to bear. James came over and gazed at Springer for a while. “Where do they get these strange people, Skip? It’s tough enough dealing with problems in private or with two or three of your friends. But to take it to Springer or weird Doctor Phil or Oprah? For God’s sake, what are they thinking?”
What had I been thinking, letting James take charge of this case?
The phone rang.
“Skip? The car is outside.”
James was already at the computer. He hit keys, dragged on the mouse, and I don’t know what all. Thirty seconds later he had a huge smile on his face. “Give me the phone, amigo.”
I handed him the phone.
“Em, you are at 1717 North Bayshore Drive.”
There was silence as she apparently said something to him, then he handed the phone back to me.
“Em?”
“Call me if you need me, Skip.” And she was gone.
“Congratulations, James. You got it to work.”
“I did. I proved your girlfriend was right where she was supposed to be. And, I proved that she thinks I’m extremely intelligent.”
I knew Emily well enough to know that she would never accuse James of being smart. “So what exactly did she say?”
“She verified the address.”
“And? How did you extrapolate the fact that she thought you had a brain?”
“It was the way she said it, pard. She came on the phone and said, congrats, Einstein. That’s where I live. Where the hell did you think I would be?”
I was glad to hear that Em and James were still getting along. It’s important that children play well together.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I pulled in early, right around seven a.m., not sure what to expect. One of our installation trucks was already there, unloading heavy boxes. There would be wiring, lots of wiring. And contacts, and motion detectors-real motion detectors-not like the secret camera we’d seen yesterday. We included smoke detectors in our package even though they had some installed. There would be control pads with secret passwords and codes for all kinds of things.