“I’m sure you’llcome up with something,” John interrupted. “Debosselage et Automobiles, hmm?And you say they work out of there?”
Francis glaredat the table. “That’s the last I heard. Look, I promise—”
“Thanks,Francis,” John said with a wink. He turned away, the money still rolled up inhis pocket. He glanced at Adele and then pushed through the curtains, movingback out into the basement.
Adele inhaleddeeply and shrugged at Francis, resisting the urge to apologize. Then, with aweight in her chest, she moved after John, pushing through the curtains aswell, and following him to the bottom of the stairs.
John was a loosecannon, but either way, they had their next lead; Adele only hoped it would panout.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Four blocks fromDebosselage et Automobiles, under the cover of darkness, with midnight crestingthe horizon, Adele and John sat in his vehicle, staring out the angled window.
“They coming?”John asked.
Adele checkedher watch for the second time. She looked down at her phone, adjusted thedashboard radio, and shook her head. “Should be.” She click the radio comm andsaid: “What’s the ETA for Hazel Street?”
A pause, acrackle, then a voice, “I’m sending the backup I have. They should bethere within a few minutes. Hang tight.”
Adele clickedthe speaker again and shrugged.
John growled,shaking his head. “It’s been a few minutes for the last half hour. What arethey doing? Eating donuts?”
Adele shook herhead. “I don’t know. Could be bureaucrat stuff. Maybe there’s more red tapewhen working with an FBI agent.”
John sighed andleaned back in the chair, stretching his legs beneath the steering wheel andheaving a breath toward the convertible ceiling.
“John,” Adelebegan, glancing toward his pocket where he had stored the role of stolen money.John raised an eyebrow at her.
She paused,considering her words, but then shook her head. Perhaps John wasn’t what shethought he was. Sometimes distance brought clarity. When she was in France lasttime, she’d been annoyed by John for the most part. He was unprofessional.Adele knew people like John weren’t the type to change. The way he’d acted backthere with Francis, taking that money… she wasn’t sure what she thought. She’dgone along with it, but was starting to regret that decision.
“John, I justwant to say,” she began, “if I did anything to offend you, I hope you know thatI didn’t mean to.”
Johninterrupted. “We don’t need to. All right? Maybe we both made mistakes.”
Adele shook herhead, turning to glance out the window again.
“I’m not surewhat you expected,” he said, quietly.
Adele lookedback at him. “Do you mean about this case, or—”
Instead ofanswering, he frowned, then said, “Sharp, I think I need to be clear. I’m not agood man.”
Adele’s eyestraced the scar on his chin. She thought of the pictures back in his secretbachelor pad, showing the image of his military buddies. She also thought ofthe serial killer last month standing over her. The gun shot from outside. Thekiller dropping dead. With that one bullet, John had saved both her and herfather. She remembered asking for help on the radio, giving cryptic clues. Sheremembered John’s voice at that time, when he’d heard she was in trouble. Thesound of racing footsteps, gasping breath as he rushed to her aid. He was aconfusing person.
“You shouldn’thave taken it,” she began, still staring at his pocket now, but then trailedoff, shaking her head.
“Taken what?”John asked.
She raised aneyebrow, then her shoulders sagged. “Never mind, it’s not important.”
John seemedunsatisfied with this answer. He also turned to stare out the window. Theywaited for the next few minutes, but still, no backup came. Every couple ofmoments, Adele listened to dispatch’s voice over the radio, mentioning backupwas on its way.
“This is takingforever,” John grunted.
The silencebetween them extended into awkwardness, then discomfort. Adele wanted to saymore, to put her friend at ease. They were friends, weren’t they? But she didn’treally know John. Not well. She didn’t even know how he’d gotten that scar.
“Damn this,”John said with a growl. Agent Renee flung upon the door, swinging out of thecar and pushing to his feet. He slapped his large hands on top of the sport car’sroof. “You coming?”
Adele stared,her eyes darting to the radio.
“Bah,” Johnsaid, “they’ll never get here. Who knows what they’re doing in that shopthough. Might be cutting up some poor bastard while we sit out here twiddlingour—”
Adele pushedopen her own door and exited the vehicle. Backup would just have to hurry.
Satisfied atAdele’s reaction, John turned, sauntering up the street, his weapon in hishand, the piece of metal seeming an extension of his body. As Adele watched himmove, she felt a familiar sense of ease. It wasn’t like back in the states,hunting the motel suspect with her new partner Masse. John knew how to use hisweapon. Perhaps better than anyone Adele had worked with. She watched as herounded the end of the street, heading down the block in the direction ofDebosselage et Automobiles.
They had parkedfar enough away not to alert attention. But now, John made a beeline toward it.
Adele picked upthe pace, her own weapon gripped in her hand as she followed John past firehydrants and a bus stop. They reached the auto shop together, weapons raised.
“Gate,” Johnsaid quietly.
Adele’s eyesflicked from the front of Debosselage et Automobiles to the side alley.
The lights weredim from within the auto shop. The dull glow in the back of the storeilluminated a few rows of old auto parts, and a space with a carjack wherevehicles were likely worked on. Thin glass tubes displayed inside the darkwindows of the shop, which Adele guessed could light up into neon letters.According to Francis, the real chop shop, as he’d called it, was in a warehousebehind the auto store.
No sounds arosefrom the establishment.
Adele watched asJohn tried the handle to the alley gate. It didn’t budge.
Adele waited asJohn stowed his weapon. He then took two running steps, his hands grabbing thetop of the fence, and he pulled himself bodily over the top. For a moment, hislengthy frame straddled the gate, and he winked roguishly at Adele. Then hedropped over the other side.
He smirked ather through the bars and waited, crossing his arms expectantly.
Adele glared athim, but then, without making a sound,
