He zipped uptown without a care in the world.
* * *
Since it made no sense for her suspects to take risks when one of them had a date in the box the following morning, Eve expected to find an empty building.
She had a search warrant—thanks to Reo and the sheer stupidity of naming the shell company The Golden Goose—and had figured to enter, go through, possibly turn a more comprehensive search over to her detectives.
But when they pulled up, she saw lights shining behind privacy screens.
“Could be on timers,” she mused as she and Roarke got out of the car. “Could just be careless about turning them off.”
“Could.”
“Or we could have the extra-special bonus of finding one or both of those assholes in there.”
“Possibly along with a supply of deadly nerve agent.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She’d thought of that, too, which was why she contacted Peabody, told her to log out masks from Central and meet her.
Now she paced the sidewalk.
“There’s only one reason I can think of for one of them, or both of them, to be in there.”
“Preparing the next shipment.”
“And make the drop tonight. That’s just the sort of thing the smug sons of bitches would do. We need to spread out, cover any possible exits. Box them in.”
Roarke studied the building as the thief he’d been might have. Considering security, best ways in, best ways out, vehicular and pedestrian traffic flow.
“They’d be idiots to work with that substance without protection of their own.”
Couldn’t argue with that, she thought. “So we’ll be even. Except there’ll be more of us, with badges and weapons.”
She recognized Jenkinson’s car as it rolled up, then saw Feeney’s roll up behind it.
Couldn’t hurt, she thought, then watched, surprised, as her two detectives, the EDD captain, Callendar—Jesus—Harvo, Peabody, and McNab all piled out of the two vehicles.
“What the hell is this?”
“More cops the merrier.” Jenkinson grinned as he walked up, and she was baffled enough not to notice he didn’t have a tie.
“Harvo’s not a cop.”
“Aw, come on.” Obviously revved, the queen of hair and fiber lifted her arms. “I never get to have the fun. I bet there’s hair and fiber in there, and I’ll be right on the scene.”
“There may also be one or two very dangerous men in there along with a supply of a deadly nerve agent.”
Harvo shook back her green hair. “So, you go first.”
Feeney lumbered up, his topcoat over a wrinkled beige shirt with a telltale salsa stain. “Figured EDD should get in on it. I told McNab to get some toys and we’d swing by and pick him up.”
“Good. Wait. Think.”
She took a few paces away to do just that. Paced back.
“Heat sensors in the toys, McNab?”
“You bet.”