She nodded and turned, heading down the sidewalk. As she turned to leave, the old man called out, “Watch your back.”
She stopped and thought about that, then turned and smiled at him. “Thank you.” As she got to the sidewalk, she turned right toward the empty neighbor’s house, after Cain. As she got around the side of the stone wall, she noted that this house was almost as dilapidated as the main house next door. Much smaller and older, probably once a part of a grand estate, now sold off piecemeal, just a rental.
She walked to the front steps and knocked. Cops were all around, and they had checked out the place, but, with the shooter’s truck long since gone, nobody seemed to care.
Cain answered the door, and he held it open for her. “Come on in.”
“Is anybody here?”
“Not now,” he said. “I would ask if you knew who rented it.”
She shook her head. “I don’t come down here very often,” she said. “This is the ratty part of town. Nobody does.”
“Understood,” he said. “The thing is, somebody’s been living here. It’d be nice to know who.”
“Well, track that truck,” she said. “That’ll tell you.”
“There’s got to be a real estate rental database somewhere too,” he said.
“Maybe, but, on the other hand, I don’t think anybody really gives a shit. We have a lot of empty houses where people move in and squat,” she said.
“Good to know,” he said. “And something to keep in mind.”
She nodded, walked slowly around the house, and asked, “Did you see anything useful?”
Yes,” he said. “Come here. I’ll show you.” He led the way into the bedroom.
There she stopped at the doorway, not sure what she was looking at.
“Looks like he might have been trying to pack in a hurry, but, when he ran out and left, he probably took off with just the one bag and obviously left this one behind.”
She walked over and peered inside. “What is it?”
“Electronics,” he said, with a nod of satisfaction. “Which also means he’ll be coming back in the dark to get it.”
“And?” But she knew the answer ahead of time. “You want to stay here and wait for him, don’t you?”
He gave her a note of satisfaction, with a clipped nod. “I sure do,” he said. “It’s a perfect opportunity to find out exactly what the hell’s going on.”
She looked at him. “I want to be here too.”
*
“No way,” Cain said calmly.
“Why not?” Petra asked.
“You’re not prepared,” he said. “This is a fight that you can’t win alone.”
“He was shooting at me.”
“He was shooting at anybody and everybody,” he said. “Chances are, he’ll come in with a gun, trying to sneak in and out and be gone. He’ll leave town and possibly the country even.”
“How long do you think he’s been here?”
“Well, if you had any kind of security images,” he said, “we could check, but, as it is, I suspect since Chico left.”
“Of course,” she said. “He was just here to keep an eye on the house, wasn’t he?”
Cain nodded.
“And that’s why he can’t afford to leave this stuff behind. Have you gone through it?”
“I still have to do that,” he said, “but I got the laptop up and running.” He pointed to the desk on the side.
“Wow.” Then she nodded. “You’re right. He’ll come back for this—and quick.” She thought about it for a moment. “He can’t drive the truck,” she said. “So he’ll have to walk in on foot.”
“It could be a cop,” he said. “Did you think about that?”
“Maybe, but why would it be?”
“Depends on if they’re getting paid,” he said.
She thought about the people who might have lived down here. “My aunt and uncle will probably know.”
“Maybe call them and see,” he said. “I’m definitely not their favorite person anymore.”
She pulled out her phone and walked off a few paces and called her aunt. A rapid-fire conversation followed that he couldn’t do anything more than stand here and listen to.
When she hung up, she said, “A cop was living here. Just a young rookie.”
“Well, guess what? That young rookie is in this up to his neck.” His voice was cheerful, upbeat.
She frowned at him. “Why are you so damn happy about it? It’s a bad cop.”
“But it also means,” he said, “we have a good chance of catching him.” Just then Cain heard the faintest of noises outside, still a way off and moving slowly, trying to not make noises like Cain just heard. Cain grabbed her and pulled her close. “I want you to go back home,” he whispered. “It’s too dangerous for you.”
“Like hell,” she said, but lowering her voice too. “I’m in the middle of this, whether I like it or not.”
“No,” he said, “not yet you aren’t. And, if we can keep you out of it, we can keep you safe.”
“Have you forgotten that I was also shot at and that he would have recognized me?” she asked. “Do you think that, once you’re gone, this will be over?”
“I hope so,” he said, looking down at her. “The last thing I want to do is to leave you here as a target.”
“I’m a target already,” she said. “So, until we solve this, I’d just as soon stick close.”
He stepped back slightly.
“I mean it,” she said. “You can’t just push me away.”
“Well, you’re not giving me a chance to,” he said, with a half laugh.
She shook her head. “No. And I won’t. Like I said, it’s too important. I live here.”
“Would you live anywhere else?”
“In a heartbeat,” she said. “I’m just not sure what to do about my father.”
“He’s not unhappy here, is he?”
“No, but I’m not sure he’s getting the best care.”
“I’m not either actually,” he said, thinking about it. “But I’m sure you have old folk’s homes here that would do better for him.”
“Yes, but I don’t know if he would be happy there either.”
“I’m not sure anybody’s happy anywhere sometimes,” he said, with a sad smile.
She shrugged. “You know what I mean.”
“I do.”
She stopped and looked at him. “Why do you even care anyway?”
“Why do I care about what?”
“If I ever wanted to leave?”
“Just wondering,” he said, but something odd was in his voice.
She glared at him. “Are you thinking, after this is all over, that I won’t be welcome here?”
“I have no idea,” he said honestly. In fact, he’d been thinking out of his own curiosity because there was just something about her. “I don’t want to lose track of you.”
She shrugged. “You’re not making sense.”