Orchid Blues (Holly Barker 2)

"Let's get in on a hoist and look underneath," Holly said. The two officers maneuvered the trailer over the hoist, and soon it was six feet off the ground. Holly walked around under it, dodging drips of Indian River mud. "Pretty dirty," she said. "Use the pressure washer."

She stood back as the underside of the trailer was cleaned, then she looked again.

"What's this?" an officer asked.

Holly joined him at the rear of the trailer, where a metal box had been fixed to the chassis. "That doesn't look like it belongs on a trailer," she said. "Get it out of there."

The officer went to get a radial saw and returned. "Looks like it's been welded there," he said. "This blade ought to do the job." He put on goggles, switched on the saw and began working on the welded seams. After a few minutes of noise, the box dropped onto the garage floor.

Holly walked over and inspected it more closely. "Looks like some sort of strongbox," she said. "There's a keyhole. Anybody a good lock picker?"

"I'll give it a shot," Hurd said. He found some small tools and began working on the lock. Ten minutes later, it snapped open, and Hurd lifted the lid. "Well, I'll be," he said.

The box, which was about twelve by eighteen inches and four inches deep, contained bundles of money that had been shrink-wrapped. Hurd cut one open and found the bundles to be made up of fifty- and hundred-dollar bills.

"I think we've found out what these people were tortured for," Holly said. "Let's get it back to the office and count it."

Half an hour with a calculator later, Hurd looked up from his tally. "I make it $161,000, even."

"I guess a lot of people would torture and kill for that," Holly said.

"I guess they would," Hurd said.

"It's got to be what they embezzled from the bank," Holly replied. "They must have spent the rest."

"But who killed them?" Hurd asked.

"So far, I've got only one suspect, or rather, one group of suspects."

"How are we going to tie these murders to them?"

"I don't know," Holly said, honestly.

30

Shortly after Holly's telephone conversation with Harry Crisp, he called back.

"Never mind sending all that stuff to me," Harry said. "I'm coming up there. I want to talk to you and Ham."

"Sure."

"Can I take you to dinner?"

"Maybe we should just cook a steak at my house. I don't know if it's a good idea for the three of us to be seen together in a restaurant."

"Okay, can you meet me at the Vero Beach airport?"

"You're flying up here?" Holly asked, surprised.

"Yeah, we've got a light airplane attached to the Bureau. It's better than a three-hour drive."

"You want me to put you up for the night?"

"We'll see when I get there."

Holly called Ham on his cell phone. "Where are you?" she asked.

"Fishing," Ham said.