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I groped for an explanation I could give her that might divert a little of the criticism she’d make.We did. But I’m helping them out with some other things. It’s given me something to do other than study. And I found out some things about Logan that prove he’s not a total jerk after all.
Oh, yeah? Do tell.
The next time we see each other in person, I’ll spill. I promise.
I could almost hear my best friend’s huff of disappointment.I’m going to hold you to that. No fair leaving a girl hanging. You watch yourself around him, all right?
I’m being careful.
You’d better be. If that asshole hurts you again, I’m going to have to come down there with a baseball bat and lay down the law.
I might have laughed if the idea of someone beating Logan up hadn’t felt far too close for comfort after the things I’d learned about his recent pastimes.Don’t worry, I assured her.It won’t come to that. I won’t let it.
I hoped that much, at least, was true.
As I put away my phone, Logan pulled the car up to the sidewalk just before we reached the market. He parked, and we settled in to wait. We’d timed it well. It was only a few minutes before the black sedan cruised past us and turned into the alley.
Logan leaned over to look at the feed he’d set up on the laptop Slade was holding. “Looks like he’s doing his typical routine. Just a little chat with the manager. Hopefully he’ll make this stop quick.”
“Have you seen any signs that he’s associated with the gang that stole my car and the trinket box?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I checked that out too, but nothing I could dig up connects them.”
Slade glanced back at me with a swift smile. “We’ll figure out his deal, Maddie. We haven’t met a challenge we couldn’t tackle yet.” His gaze darted back to the screen. “I think they’re wrapping things up.”
A minute later, the red-haired man had gotten back into his car. As we waited for it to emerge from the alley, Logan started the engine. The moment he spotted the sedan, he eased into traffic, letting a couple of cars get between us and our target so it wasn’t too obvious we were following him.
We drove onward through the lengthening shadows cast by the sinking sun. The sedan took a few turns, and Logan followed at a leisurely pace, letting the guy pull a little farther ahead of us. The rest of us sat braced on our seats, watching closely for what our target might do next.
Finally, the sedan pulled into a plaza with a simple but tidy strip mall along one end. As our target parked outside one of the businesses, Logan pulled into a parking spot at the far end of the lot as if we’d come to do some other shopping.
The red-haired man got out and strode straight into a building that held a sign sayingHartshorn & Associates Accounting. My forehead furrowed. “He’s going… to get his taxes done?”
“It’s a little late for that,” Logan said, and I guessed he’d know, considering how caught up his dad got in tax season at his job. “Any business can be a front for criminal activities. The more innocuous the better, really.”
It was difficult to picture hardened criminals hanging out in an accountant’s office. I shifted on my seat, studying the white-washed front of the building and its darkened window. Logan grabbed the laptop from Slade and started typing, presumably searching for more information on the business.
“Hey,” Slade said. “He’s coming back out.”
Our target had stepped through the doorway, a couple of other men joining him. As they stood in a cluster on the walkway outside the office, my attention landed on the bulge at the back of the nearest guy’s jeans, partly hidden by his shirt. I stiffened. “Does that guy have…?”
I didn’t want to finish the sentence, but Dexter did it for me. “That’s a gun,” he confirmed matter-of-factly.
Slade guffawed. “Somehow I don’t thinkthatdude’s any kind of accountant.”
My fingers curled over the edge of the seat, my heart thudding painfully fast. “We need to know what they’re talking about. It’s got to be something to do with whatever criminal stuff he’s involved in, which could be the same stuff the market is involved in too.” And therefore tied to the reasons for Dad’s murder.
“I can’t drive right over there,” Logan said. “It’d be too obvious.”
But with every passing second, we were losing our chance to hear critical information. I hesitated and then blurted out, “I’ll walk over there and listen in. I won’t get too close.”
As I reached for the door handle, Logan jerked around. “Absolutely fucking not,” he barked.
Slade’s expression had tightened. “Maddie, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Only Dexter looked at me calmly, waiting for me to make my argument.
I stared back at the other two. “I’m the best person to do it. You three have been running around hassling criminals all over town for more than two years now, right? You could get recognized again. But no one has any reason to notice me. Just a clueless college girl doing a little window shopping.” I raised my chin toward the clothing shop next to the accounting office.
