Berenko’s eyes went flat. He sat a moment, then said, “That would be a big mistake.”
“No, it won’t,” Hondo said.
“This does not please me.”
I said, “Tell you what, come by next week and I’ll give you a free neck rub, ease your tension over this.”
He rose, “We’ll see how funny this is later on.”
He took his time rearranging his cuffs, his tie and the hang of his suit coat, none of which needed it. He looked first at me, then at Hondo. “Stop hunting for her,” he said, and walked out the door.
I went to the window and couldn’t locate him for a second, but then saw him drive away in a black Tahoe with dark tinted windows. I couldn’t get the license plate from the window, so I ran out the door but was too late, so I returned to the office.
“He was carrying, you notice?” Hondo said.
“Uh-huh, under the right arm, makes him a lefty.”
“Suit fit well, though.”
I said, “Yeah, do they charge extra to measure for a shoulder holster? I’ve often wondered.”
“We will never have to ask that question,” Hondo said.
“Right, because we’re the Casual Fridays Detectives,” I said.
“Wrong, because we can’t pay four thousand dollars for a suit.”
“Well sure, that too.”
Hondo said, “We need to check up on him, find out who he is.”
I said, “And why he’s interested in the girl.”
“For sure,” Hondo said.
“But first shouldn’t we plan on where we’re going to eat brunch?”
“You just ate all those donuts.”
“I know, but I read somewhere that the best way to a fit, lean body was to eat six times a day.”
“You must have a tapeworm the size of an anaconda.”
“Do not.”
Hondo said, “First, let’s go to where you last saw her and check around a little.”
I said, “Yeah, because she was looking for something, no doubt about it.”
Hondo shrugged, “It’s also the only thing we’ve got.”
“Marcus should be here in a minute.”
“He can film the search. That way we also get some film to go back over if we need it.”
While we waited, Hondo called Sergeant Vick Best and asked him to check on our Mr. Ajax Berenko. Hondo hung up and leaned back with his fingers laced behind his head.
As if on cue, Marcus tapped on the door and came in with his camera already rolling.