Shey was silent.
“Maybe you don’t know it, but you’re on the side of the bad guys,” Will said. “Is that really where you want to be?”
Another stretch of silence. Then, “Do you realize what you’re asking?” There was no humor in Shey’s voice now. “I could lose my license.”
“I’m not asking for anything more than a name. That’s it. I just want to be sure that I or my partner aren’t going to get shot walking out to our car one night.”
“I have no idea.”
He expected her to hang up—he thought she intended to hang up—but she stayed on the line.
After a long pause, she said, “My client asked that surveillance be terminated. Which is what I instructed Schwierskott & Associate to do.”
“Did your client request that you initiate surveillance through another firm?”
“No. My client determined that you and Mr. MacAllister no longer posed a threat.”
“Posed a threat…”
“Correct. And that is all the information I’m willing to share. You and your partner can walk to and from your cars in safety. No one is following you.”
She hung up.
He stopped for gas and a restroom break in Carlsbad, and sure enough, when he walked out of the mini mart, he spotted a silver Honda Accord parked on the other side of the lot.
Will pretended not to see the car, making a production of checking his coffee and adjusting his sunglasses. As soon as he got in his Toyota Land Cruiser, he yanked open the glove compartment, grabbed his compact binoculars, and turned them toward the Honda Accord.
Despite the rivulets of rain trickling down his windshield, he had a perfect view of the Honda slinking out of the lot. He studied the rear license plate. “6 Golf Tango X-ray 534,” read Will. “Got you, you son of a bitch.”
He pulled out from the pumps, parked beside the tire air station, and phoned the office.
“American Eagle,” Euphonia greeted him pleasantly. “How may I direct your call?”
“Nee, who at the DMV owes you a favor?”
“Here we go.” She sighed. “Is this why you hired me?”
“You know why we hired you. Come on, I’m serious.”
“Who doesn’t owe me a favor?” Euphonia retorted.
“I need someone to run a California license plate. And, if at all possible, I need it fast.”
“Plate number?”
“6 Golf Tango X-ray 534.”
Euphonia repeated, “6 Golf Tango X-ray 534?”
“Correct.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” She hung up.
It took four hours to complete his survey of the Webster Fidelity jobsite. By then it was three o’clock, Will was starving, and he stopped for a late lunch at a little pub called the Regal Seagull.
He was drenched in the quick jog from vehicle to building. Shoving through the glass door outlined in Christmas lights, he heard the blast of “All I Want for Christmas is You,” and it was Hark! I bring you not-so-great tidings. Lt. Commander David Bradley sat on his own at a table near the bar.
Maybe it shouldn’t have come as such a surprise, the way his luck was going. Encinitas was about half an hour from San Diego, and San Diego was home to several Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard bases.
David glanced up from the menu, spotted Will, and his face lit up. He half rose. “Will!”
What could Will do? Frankly, he was irritated with a situation in which he felt guilty just engaging in the normal, courteous social behavior. Of course, he was glad to see David. He liked David. He went over to the table, and they hugged hello.
“This is a surprise,” Will said.
“You can say that again. What are you doing down here? Why didn’t you let me know you’d be in the area?”
David was a big, handsome moose of a guy. Six-plus feet of well-toned muscle. He had a silky dark beard, smiling brown eyes, and a deep voice that still gave Will a little tingle at the base of his spine.
Will said, “Webster Fidelity is a client. I’m down here doing a security survey for them.”
David looked puzzled, but then his face cleared. “Right. The global security consulting business. How’s that working out?”
“Business is good,” Will said, with about as much enthusiasm as he could summon after a day of interviewing employees, analyzing assets, and making a preliminary identification of what security measures had to be highest priority.
David’s smile was sympathetic. “This was MacAllister’s plan?”
“This is all on me,” Will said. “I dragged Taylor into it.”
“Well, come and join me,” David invited. “Unless you’re meeting clients?”
“God no,” Will said. “About the clients, I mean. Yes to lunch. I need a burger and a beer.”
He got them both within a matter of minutes, along with David’s easy, and frankly charming, company. They were of a similar temperament, which Will had always considered one of the strengths of their relationship, but that day he couldn’t help wondering if he and David weren’t maybe too much alike. Would they maybe have bored each other eventually? Taylor could be mercurial, mulish, and downright maddening, but no question, life with him would never be dull.
David had been overseas at CFNK at Busan Naval Base, and they talked about his trip and the current precarious situation with North Korea. Will finished his burger, declined a second beer, admitted he should be heading home, and his cell phone rang.
Taylor.
Christ, it was like he had a built-in sensor where David was concerned.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” Will said, relieved to hear no hint of the morning’s ire in Taylor’s voice. “What’s up?”
“I just had a phone call with Mike Zamarion. He says he wants to talk to me.”
“That’s a good sign. Maybe this will be cleared up by the end of the week.”
Taylor gave a funny laugh. “Or maybe not. He’s asking me to bring twenty grand and meet him on Carpinteria State Beach at seven o’clock at lifeguard tower number eleven.”
“That’s
