Iron Orchid (Holly Barker 5)

“All right,” Holly said. “But what can I do around here?”

“Consider yourself reassigned as my assistant. Ty, we’ll find you another partner.”

Ty nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“The only time I want you to be seen by Teddy is in your own neighborhood-at your building, walking Daisy in the park, shopping, that sort of thing. Clear?”

“Yes, Lance.”

“We should have Holly followed at those times,” Kerry said.

“Right,” Lance agreed. “I want a team of four on Holly every time she leaves her apartment building. I want them well back from her, constantly changing places, and I want the team changed twice a day. Holly, I want you to carry your cell phone with an earpiece in your head at all times. Program the team number into it so that you can call them if you spot your man. I don’t want you to be seen using the cell phone, and don’t move your lips when you talk. This guy spooks easily, and we don’t want to cause him the slightest anxiety.”

“Okay,” Holly said.

Kerry spoke up. “And if you literally run into him, be nice, let him pet Daisy, but don’t attempt to engage him in more than perfunctory conversation; don’t be interested in him, go

t it?”

“Got it,” Holly said.

“On the other hand,” Lance said, “if he appears to have an interest in you, don’t put him off. Behave the way you did at the opera; just don’t go overboard or appear too curious about him. Is he someone who, in the normal course of your life, you might find attractive?”

“No, not really, though I liked him at the opera. I wouldn’t want to fuck him, if that’s what you mean.”

Lance looked chastened. “I wasn’t suggesting that you should. What I meant was, if a mutual attraction seemed natural, you might exploit that to your advantage, but if not, don’t fake it.”

“I understand.”

“Can I be on the team?” Ty asked.

“No,” Kerry said. “If he saw Holly on the train, he might have seen you, too, and your presence would spook him immediately. We have this little advantage that he’s seen Holly on the street before, so it won’t alarm him to see her on the street again.”

“Will you bust him immediately, if I see him?” Holly asked.

“No. We’ll have the team get in touch with Kerry or me for that decision. They’ll tail him from a distance and report it if he goes into a building. I want to know where he lives and where he does his work. He has to have some sort of workshop somewhere, either in his home or nearby, and the equipment, weapons, disguises, etcetera, that we might find there would be very useful in prosecuting him. This guy might have an identity so tight that we might have trouble breaking it in court. We’re going to need all the ammunition we can get. Remember, we don’t have photographs, fingerprints or DNA to work with.”

“Right,” Holly said. “How do you want me to proceed?”

“Do you bring Daisy to work with you every day?”

“No, just sometimes.”

“On the occasions when you don’t, you go home to walk her?”

“Yes, I go home at lunchtime. She only needs walking once after I go to work, then when I come home again.”

“Start having lunch at home and walking Daisy then. When you’re off duty, take her with you when you leave the house. We want it to be easy for Teddy to spot you.”

“All right.” Holly groped for words.

“What?”

“What about my… personal life?”

Lance looked sympathetic. “If there are times when you don’t want a team on you, let me know, and I’ll pull them. If you should run into Teddy then, you can always call it in.”

“Thank you, Lance.” Not that she had a personal life, but she was still thinking about Stone Barrington.