He looked up. The room had high ceilings and crown molding, with paneled walls and rich mahogany bookshelves that held leather-bound volumes that were rarely opened. Expensive artwork adorned one wall, and a few sculptures sat on the bookshelves and on a credenza. Recessed lighting cast a warm glow throughout the room. It was quiet except for the phone conversation. Kline rested his hand on the black duffel bag sitting next to him. It hadn’t been easy to obtain the contents, but hopefully it would be worth it. As soon as the man got off the phone, they’d see exactly what they had.
The man he was referring to was nicknamed JD. Kline had known him for a long time. They’d accomplished a lot, and there were plans for a lot more. Especially now that that business at the bank had been taken care of.
JD finished his call, stood up, and looked at Kline. “Well?” JD said.
Kline rarely showed emotion, but he smiled now. “So far, so good. The police investigation is proceeding, but they don’t know anything.”
The other man sat down in the wingback chair across from Kline and crossed one leg over the other as he nodded thoughtfully.
“There’s no way that business can be traced to us?”
The room was soundproofed, and it was regularly swept for listening devices. They could talk freely, although neither one did, keeping their conversation couched in general terms. Extra precautions never hurt.
Kline shook his head. “My associate said everything went according to plan.” He didn’t say anything about the bank employee being assaulted. “I don’t see how things could be traced to here.”
“And the other situation?”
“It hit the news this morning. The homicide detectives are beginning their investigation. It should all be fine, though. The man I hired is reliable. He’s done this kind of thing before. No one will know who’s responsible, and it won’t come back to us.”
JD frowned. “That was not the way I would’ve chosen to do things.”
Kline shrugged. “It had to happen. He didn’t listen to any warnings, and he kept pressing the issue. You know we didn’t have any other option.”
“I know.” JD flicked a hand. “We went over everything. It’s still a risk.”
“There have been plenty of risks before, but it’s never come back to us. You’re clean.”
JD didn’t say anything as he reached to a small humidor on a granite-topped coffee table for a cigar. Although the man had been cutting back, Kline didn’t like the habit, and he particularly hated the lingering odor on his clothes.
“I wish I knew how he got his information in the first place,” JD said as he lit the cigar and puffed on it.
Kline held up his hands. “It was his business.”
The man arced an eyebrow. “He’s not the only one. Plenty of people have dug around, and they never found anything. So why him?”
“It was what he did, and he was good at it.”
JD paused. “We’re not getting careless, are we?”
Though Kline managed to keep a straight face, the comment stung. He was good, and he shouldn’t have been questioned. They wouldn’t have gotten this far without him.
Without waiting for a response, JD pointed to the duffel bag. “That’s everything?”
“Yes. There’s paperwork and other documents. Even a fake passport.”
“You think he planned to run?”
“Maybe.” Kline shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now. We need to check the USB drive. It could be password-protected, so it might take a bit of time.”
JD gestured toward the desk, where a laptop sat open. “Shall we?”
They stood up, and Kline took the bag to the desk. He sat down, dug a USB drive from the bag, and plugged it into the laptop. As he suspected, it was password-protected, so he inserted another drive and opened some software to work on the device. After a few minutes, he had the correct password, and he opened the drive. He poked around, looking at files, JD breathing over his shoulder. Finally, Kline sat back.
“That’s everything,” he said.
“He had a lot of information.” JD didn’t sound happy.
“Yes,” was all Kline said.
JD looked at him. “He coded names, so how do we figure out who he talked to?”
“We will,” Kline said. “It’ll take some time, though.”
“And then what?”
Kline didn’t say the answer they both knew. People would have to be dealt with.
“It’s a good thing you got the drive,” JD said. “If it ended up in the wrong hands, that would’ve been bad.”
“Yes,” Kline repeated.
“But it didn’t, and now we can move forward.” JD puffed on the cigar, a satisfied look on his face, not just from the cigar.
Kline wrinkled his nose and sat back. Then they began to discuss their next steps.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jo watched Sabrina’s house for a long time. The woman eventually closed the living room blinds, so she couldn’t see any movement inside after that. However, Sabrina didn’t leave—at least by car or through the front door—and no one came to visit. The street remained quiet, lights on in other houses but not a soul outside.
