Acuity by Morgan Quaid & Harlow Adairs

Author:Morgan Quaid & Harlow Adairs [Quaid, Morgan & Adairs, Harlow]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-05-25T00:00:00+00:00

22

The plan was as simple as it was ingenious. Perhaps, it was ingenious because it was simple. At any rate, Matt bid his goodbye and headed down the hallway, toward the entryway of Dan’s Tropic Inn and Suites. Richie peeked through a crack in the blinds until he saw Matt climb into the driver’s seat of their Jeep and rev it to life.

Slipping the hotel key into his back pocket, Richie made his way out the door and down the corridor. Instead of ambling out the double doors, though, he hung a left at the exercise room. He walked past a portly man in a blue tracksuit power-walking on a treadmill. Without bothering to explain himself to the bewildered runner, he heaved his weight against the sliding glass window, propping it all the way open. He smiled and gave a quick nod at the jogging man, and then swung his left leg over the first-story window pane.

Climbing through, he dropped onto the lava rocks below. He didn’t bother to shut the window behind him, but quickly made his way to the parking lot. Half-crouched behind a cigarette receptacle, his eyes honed in on what he’d been searching for: coasting into the parking lot, following Matt’s Jeep, was the white pickup truck that’d been tailing the men all week.

Still partway doubled over, Richie dashed behind a brick pillar in an attempt to get a little closer. He was certain he hadn’t been seen. He strained his eyes at the back of the rolling pickup, but couldn’t quite make out the license plate. Mercifully, Matt tapped on his brakes right before he pulled out onto the main road. This gave Richie just enough time to crane his neck and take a mental snapshot of their stalker’s license plate. He fished through his jean’s pocket and procured a hotel pen and the cheap notepad they’d provided on the night-table. He jotted down the plate number and waited until the pickup was out of sight before he came out of hiding.

Richie’s hands were still shaking when he pulled out his smartphone. He dashed off a quick text message to Matt: “Got his plate. You can come back to the room any time.” Then, after a moment more: “And get this—Government Plate.”

Without bothering to wait for a reply, he made a beeline back to the hotel room. Once inside, he fastened the deadbolt and threw himself onto his bed. He could feel the hair stick up on the back of his neck as his mind whirled.

I can’t believe we got him, he thought. What an absolutely hapless stooge.

The thrill of outsmarting a government employee was overriding his common sense. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath through his nose, and let it out through his mouth. He had to decide what came next. His eyes blinked open. An idea. He pulled up Lorena Flores in his contact list and gave her a call.

“Richie!” her voice sounded cheery and warm, even through a phone line. “How’s Florida treatin’ ya? I’ll bet you’re as burnt as a lobster, right now.

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