At the last moment, Linda drove her elbow back into Eric’s solar plexus and sprinted off shouting, ‘Go!’ over her shoulder.
Laughing and gasping for breath, Eric sprinted after her, but he soon slowed as he realized that he couldn’t win. Instead, he made the most of his defeat by checking out her delightful bottom as he jogged along in second place. After a half-hearted complaint about cheating, Stone conceded her victory and graciously accepted his forfeit — giving Linda a piggyback ride all the way back to the house.
As they were getting dried after sharing a shower, Linda remembered that she was scheduled to give a yoga class that evening in Sawbridgeworth.
“Can I come?” Stone asked, “I would like to watch,”
“Na-ah, no spectators allowed. But you can join in,” Linda wiggled her eyebrows, “it’ll be a thrill for the girls.”
“Ok — I’m game,” Stone laughed. “And afterwards we should stop at your place and get some more clothes. I think you should move in.”
“Wow! So soon — we just met?” Linda said teasingly.
“Well, at least until this thing with the Wrecking Crew is over,” Stone said defensively. “Until then I want to keep you close, and make sure that you’re ok.”
“And afterwards… ” she left the question hanging.
“And afterwards,” he pulled her into his powerful arms, “afterwards, I want to keep you close and make sure you are ok.”
“My hero!” She leaned forward and gently nibbled his chin, before kissing him fully on the lips.
The next morning they were on the road by 7.30am. The meeting with Carter and Megan was arranged for nine, but they had forty miles of British rush-hour traffic to negotiate along the way. They had decided to take Linda’s car, and she was driving, which gave Eric the freedom to watch for any sign of a tail. Ever since that night at Eric’s house, they had been watching to see if they were being followed. They had seen nothing so far, but the strong feelings of being observed persisted, so they remained cautious and alert.
Once they joined the expressway heading south towards Harlow, Linda moved to the outside lane and pushed her little sports car to almost one-hundred miles an hour. After five minutes, she suddenly halved her speed, and cut towards the inner lane. All the time Stone scanned behind and ahead, for any sign of traffic that was matching their unusual pace. He saw nothing to suggest that they were being followed, but all the same, he remained vigilant.
As they neared the off-ramp for Harlow, Stone twisted in his seat once again. Linda gave him a sidelong glance.
“I don’t think we’re being followed; at least not at the moment.”
“I agree. Actually, I was just trying to get comfortable,” he admitted. “I’m a little stiff after doing your yoga class last night.”
Linda laughed out loud.
“We were doing the easy stuff. You’re obviously not as fit as you thought!”
“No argument here,” Stone conceded, “I was very impressed. Although there were some similarities to what we do in martial arts, the breathing and stretching, it was the differences that were challenging. You certainly made a convert of me.”
“Good! We should do some yoga every day. In exchange, perhaps you can teach me some karate and self-defense.”
“You have a deal,” Stone said smiling. They formally bumped fists to seal the agreement.
When they arrived at Megan’s, Stone directed Linda to drive around the block, so he could check for a tail one more time. Satisfied that they were not being followed, they parked across the street and walked up to her apartment.
Carter opened the door before they had even knocked. He wordlessly led the way along the narrow corridor and into the office, where Megan was waiting. As Stone did the introductions, there was an awkward moment when Megan turned in her chair, crossed her arms, and openly assessed the woman who had entered her domain. Like a cat waiting to be invited to join the pack, Linda stood patiently and politely in the center of the room, with her hands hanging loosely by her sides. Stone turned to his friend for moral support, but Carter was carefully staring at some imaginary spot on the ceiling. After what seemed like an eternity, Megan smiled and leaned forward to shake hands with Linda. Eric gave an involuntary sigh of relief, which triggered a snort of laughter from Megan.
“Nice catch, Stone.”
“Thank you,” Eric said, slightly embarrassed, “I think so as well.”
“I’m very pleased to meet with you, Linda,” Megan said with a genuine smile.
“Likewise,” Linda responded.
“I understand you’ve been rocking his world lately. Is he any good?” Megan said trying for her usual shock factor.
“MEGAN!” the men shouted in perfect unison.
Linda seemed unperturbed and whispered conspiratorially.
“Actually, he’s awesome. I’m only with him for the sex.”
“Go girl!” Megan gave a ‘high five’, which Linda accepted as energetically as was prudent in the confines of the small office.
Carter gave a polite cough to bring the girls to heel. They shared a shrug and Linda changed the subject.
“Eric has spoken highly of your computer skills.”
“Thanks,” Megan nodded, “I checked you out by the way — just to make sure that you were genuine. It was all good.”
“Thanks, Megan,” Carter quickly interrupted. “Welcome to the team, Linda.”
“Thank you, Ed,” Linda said, “I’m very pleased to be here. After learning about what happened to Charles Rathbone, I wanted to help you guys to find this Wrecking Crew. I want to see this put right.”
“So do I Linda, so do we all.”
Linda stood alongside Stone and took his hand. They shared a small smile. Carter sat on the edge of the desk and folded his arms.
“Now, if you two girls have finished circling each other, perhaps we can get on? Megan… do you want to bring us up to date?”
Megan took a moment to find the correct page on her laptop and collect her thoughts. Then she began reading from her notes.
“Ok… first things first. With Ed’s help, I was able to see the police forensic report about Charles’ computers. I’m convinced that all of the kiddie porn on his computer was planted.”
“I never doubted that it wasn’t, but it’s good to know,” Stone said honestly. “Thanks, Megan.”
“You’re welcome.” She turned towards Eric. “Although what they did, and the ease with which they did it, should concern us greatly.”
“How so?” Linda asked.
“Well… even though Charles’ computer wasn’t particularly well protected, and planting the evidence was quite an easy task by my standards, I understand that the porn they found was some of the worst that the police had ever seen. Contrary to popular belief, that kind of sick stuff is not readily available. It would probably have been easier to plant a nuclear bomb making manual, and some plutonium, than it was to do what they did. My point is this… These people have considerable resources, and the skills to use them. What’s more, I’m still no closer to finding them. Frankly it’s a little scary.”
“How are they keeping such a low profile?” Linda asked.
Before answering, Megan spun around in a full circle on her office chair. Then she pointed at Linda.
“Good question! I think that they trade strictly in cash, as well as using good field-craft, and simple old-fashioned technology.” She waved a sheet of paper. “Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the sturdy A4 laptop!”
Linda remained silent, not wanting to derail Megan’s flow.
“The lack of traceable electronic footprints suggests that they work off the grid as much as possible. Imagine that it was your operation, how would you do it?”