And they were still listening. The bug they planted in Berry’s office was not the only one. In fact, Berry finding it was all part of the plan. They’d hoped he would. They actually wanted him to. Once he found the one under the desk, they both would breathe a little easier, assuming they found it, and there weren’t any more.
“You sure this is gonna work?” Thrower asked.
“Well, I never make guarantees. But I think it’s got a good chance.”
“You heard him. Mallette’s sending someone over to help him clear the room.”
“Let him,” Jacobs said. “They won’t find it.”
“You’re sure?”
“Like I said, I don’t make guarantees, but I’m pretty confident they won’t find it. I put it just where we talked about. There’s a groove by one of the wheels on his desk chair, and I put it right in between. I’m pretty sure they’d look right over it. They’ll go through the desk, the bookshelves, the walls, the floor, probably even the ceiling. But I doubt they’ll be looking under the wheel of his chair.”
“What if they do?”
Jacobs shrugged. “Then I guess this thing won’t work. We’ll just have to see.” Jacobs then crossed his fingers and held them up. “Let’s cross our fingers.”
“Should I do my toes, too?”
“I don’t think we need to get ridiculous.”
Thrower grinned. Then they waited. They didn’t have to wait long, though. Twenty minutes later, a familiar face to them walked into Berry’s office. They recognized the man as one of Mallette’s men.
“Here we go,” Jacobs said. “Let’s hope this goes as planned.”
They continued listening in as Berry eventually greeted the man in his office. After the initial greeting, there were no words spoken. They could hear what sounded like the office being searched. Things were getting picked up and moved around. They seemed to be doing a thorough search.
Jacobs looked at the time, wondering how long it was going to take. Considering they could still hear, that was a good sign.
“Should’ve planted a camera, too,” Thrower said.
Jacobs shrugged. “This is all we need.”
“Won’t be if they find it.”
Thirty minutes after the man first went into Berry’s office, they finally heard him speak again. The noises made from shuffling items around had stopped.
“Looks like it’s clear,” the man said.
“Good,” Berry replied. “I told Mallette that I already found the one.”
“He likes to be sure.”
“Well, now you can tell him. Goodbye.”
Jacobs and Thrower gave each other a high five.
“Looks like we’re in business,” Thrower said.
Jacobs finally smiled. “Looks that way. Now we just have to hope he says something we can use or act on.”
“Oh, he will. There is no doubt in my mind… this guy’s gonna say something that we need to nail this thing down.”
“I hope you’re right. He might be the key to ending this.”
15
After a day, Jacobs and Thrower had taken their operation back to the house. They could listen in just as well from there. The only reason to be closer would be if they had to move quickly, and it would have been better if they were right outside Berry’s office to do that. But they weren’t far away and being at home was a much more comfortable environment. There was no chance of being spotted like there would be if they continued to wait on the street. Plus, they figured if they overheard something they needed to act on, they would know where it was.
They were at the kitchen table, listening to the goings-on in Berry’s office with Franks and Tiffany also sitting around. They had it linked to a laptop, so they all could hear.
“Can I ask what you’re gonna do if this dude just gets up and leaves?” Franks asked.
“I assume you have a point in there somewhere?” Jacobs replied.
“Yeah, man, I got a point. What I’m saying is, it’s all nice and cozy and hunky-dory that you guys are sitting here able to put your feet up, but what if this guy goes out and splits, leaving you behind?”
“If he gets a call, we’ll hear it.”
“But what if he don’t get a call? What if he just gets a text message? We do live in a century where texting is more popular than calling.”
“Not for Mallette.”
“Why not?”
“Texting leaves a trace. It’s physical evidence.”
“Well, I don’t know if it’s physical,” Franks said.
“You know what I mean. It leaves behind evidence. It can be saved, stored, and eventually used against you if it’s an address or something, and later there’s a shooting there or something. It proves you knew about it.”
“So?”
“Say he texts Berry an address. A day later the cops find a dead body there. A week later, Mallette and Berry have a falling out and they part ways. Who’s to say Berry won’t give that text to the cops? It proves Mallette knew about the address.”
“But it doesn’t necessarily put him there.”
“It doesn’t have to,” Jacobs said. “Not by itself. It’s just one more piece of evidence, and that compiled with a bunch of other things, would be enough to convict him if it came to that.”
“But it won’t come to that,” Thrower said.
“No, it won’t. Because Mallette won’t allow something like that to happen. That’s why he’ll either call, or he’ll do it in person.”
“Well, if it’s in person, you’ll miss that too,” Franks said.
Jacobs gave him a salty look. “Can we just assume for a second that I know what I’m doing?”
“Only one?”
“Just trust me. If Mallette does anything, he’ll call.”
“Why? What if Berry’s phones are tapped?”
Jacobs threw his hands up. He was done trying to explain things. “I don’t know, then. I guess we’ll have failed and wasted our time.”
Franks shrugged and looked at Thrower. “I was only trying to play devil’s advocate, man.”
Thrower faked a smile and nodded. He was about to look back at the laptop,
