Blood Orchid (Holly Barker 3)

“Thank’s Phil,” Holly said. She wrote him a check for the work at her house. “Send the department a bill for your time here.”

“It’s on the house,” Phil said, pocketing Holly’s check. “Now, let’s go back to your place so I can show you what I’ve done and how to run it.”

Holly followed him back to her house.

Sweat walked her through the house, reviewed arming and disarming the system with a keypad at each door and one at her bedside. He showed her something that looked like a ceiling light fixture over her stairs. “That’s your video camera. I’ve run it to the TV set in your living room.” He picked up a remote control and switched on the TV. “Now, you press the TV/video button until you come to video three, just the way you would if you were going to watch something on the VCR.” He handed her another, smaller remote control. “Then you use this to run the VCR in the attic that shows you anything the system has taped while you were out. Remember, it only works if the alarm system is activated. You can rewind and fast forward, as with any VCR, and you press this button to rearm the system. If there’s something on a tape you want to keep, you just pull down the stairs to your attic, go up there, and you’ll see the unit on a shelf I installed. Take the tape out, replace it with a blank one, and rearm the system. That’s all there is to it.”

“Thanks, Phil, I feel a lot better now.”

“Now that we’ve been through everything, you want me to get the bug working again?”

“Yes, but intermittently, and then I want it to go out completely.”

“Then they’ll just come back to see what’s wrong.”

“That’s what I want them to do. You go hook it up, I’ll make a couple of calls, and right in the middle of one, you can pull the plug.”

“Whatever you say.”

“I’ll talk outside, on the cordless from the living room, so I can signal you.”

“Okay. I’ll get back on the ladder.”

Holly waited for him to get into position, then she called Ham.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me.”

“How you doing, baby?”

“I’m okay, I guess. What have you been up to?”

“Did a little fishing today.”

“Fishing’s a lot of fun, Ham, but doesn’t it get old after a while?”

“Not yet.”

Holly walked out the door with the cordless phone and looked up at Phil. He gave her a thumbs-up.

“Ham, I’m worried about you out there with nothing but fishing poles.”

“Well, don’t you worry, kiddo, because fishing poles ain’t all I got out here. In fact, right at this moment, there’s a lady waiting for me to grill her a steak.”

Holly looked up at Phil and nodded. “Ham, you be nice to that lady, you hear? Remember, she’s not in the army, and you’re not . . .” Phil drew a finger across his throat. “. . . and you’re not still a sergeant. Bye-bye.”

“See you, kid.” Ham hung up, and so did Holly.

Phil climbed down from the ladder. “Got you in mid-sentence,” he said. “What I did was loosen one wire so it would look like an accident when the guy comes back to check on it.”

“Good work, Phil.”

“I gotta go. Call me if you have any problems.”

“Will do.” She watched him get into his van and drive away, then she called the station and got Hurd.

“Hurd Wallace.”