Blood Orchid (Holly Barker 3)

“I don’t have a best guess; it doesn’t make any sense at all.”

“And who’s this Phil Sweat?” Ham asked.

“He runs a locksmith and security service; he seems to be very good at it, too.” She turned to Ginny. “You a local, Ginny?”

“For nearly a month,” she replied. “I’m a flight instructor out at the airport.”

“No kidding?” Holly asked. “I have an interest in getting my private pilot’s license.”

“That’s what I do. Come out real soon, and we’ll take an introductory flight.”

“How about this weekend?”

“Saturday morning, nine A.M.?”

“I’ll do it.”

“It’s called Orchid Flight Academy.”

“I’ve seen the building. What airplane do you teach in?”

“We’d start you in a Piper Warrior, which is pretty basic but nice, and when you feel like it, move you up to something more complex.”

“I’ll look forward to that.” She heard the crunch of gravel under tires. “That’ll be Phil,” she said. She walked to the front door and waved him inside. When

the introductions had been made, he asked her to step outside.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“I checked the bug, as you asked, and it had not been reconnected.”

“I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”

“Turns out, it’s bad, and it gets worse.”

“How?”

“I thought it was suspicious that they’d go to the trouble to slug a cop, then do nothing, so I had a more extensive look around the house. I ended up in the crawl space underneath, and I found another bug, just like the first one.”

“Swell.”

“Yeah. What do you want me to do?”

Holly thought about that. She hated the loss of privacy. “Leave it intact,” she said. “Let them think I think I’m not being overheard. They can’t see into the house, can they?”

Phil shook his head. “Nothing like that. These aren’t Peeping Toms; they’re looking for information.”

Holly nodded. “Go ahead and check out Ham’s place.”

“Shouldn’t take long. If they’ve bugged it, they’d use the same equipment they’re using at your place.”

Holly left him to his work and went back inside. “Ham, from now on, when you call me or when you come to the house, be careful what you say. I’m bugged again, and I’m going to leave it that way.”

“I wouldn’t know what not to say,” Ham replied.

“Me either,” Holly admitted. They finished their coffee and made small talk.

Half an hour later, Phil Sweat came out to the back porch. “Same deal here,” he said quietly. “You want me to leave it in place?”