Holly Barker - 02 - Orchid Blues by Stuart Woods

Author:Stuart Woods
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Mystery, Thriller
ISBN: 9780783897400
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2001-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

Thirty-four

HOLLY PLAYED HOSTESS AND CLEARED THE dishes away from the coffee table, and the empty cartons that had once held Chinese food. Doug put on a pot of coffee, and they waited for Harry, who was on the phone in the den. Finally, he came back.

“Here,” he said, handing the computer-generated picture of John to Eddie. “E-mail this to the address at the bottom of the page.”

Eddie did as he was asked, then came back. “What now?”

“We wait,” Harry said.

“Are we going to get access to the file?” Holly asked.

“Not exactly,” Harry said.

“What does that mean?” Ham asked.

“It means we’re not going to be able to penetrate the restriction on this photograph and download this guy’s file. I’m not sure that even a court order would produce it.”

“Then what are we waiting to hear?” Holly asked.

“I know a guy who agreed to look at the picture,” Harry said. “He can probably get a look at the file, and if he’s had enough to drink, he might tell us some of what’s in it. I got him at home, and he’d already had at least one Scotch.”

“And who is this guy?” Ham asked.

Harry wagged a finger. “Don’t ask.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Harry,” Holly said, “I’m beginning to get the impression that nobody in the federal law enforcement community talks to anybody else outside his own agency.”

“This guy’s not in the law enforcement community; you might say he’s quietly in the law-breaking community, in his way. But you’re right: the level of interagency cooperation only tends to rise when somebody can recognize some self-interest in a situation. If this guy helps us, then I’ll have to help him sometime, ignore a regulation or two, and I probably won’t like doing it.”

They fell silent for a while, watching the flames from the driftwood fire. Nobody seemed to want to add another log.

“What’s your best guess on this John guy, Harry?” Holly asked.

Harry shook his head. “No point guessing; he could be anybody. And if my buddy won’t help, and if the guy has never been arrested, then we’re going to have one hell of a time figuring out who or what he is.”

“I could maybe get his fingerprints,” Ham said. “You know, steal a glass he’s used, or something like that.”

“It might come to that,” Harry said, “but I don’t want you to take the risk, unless it’s the only way. Anyway, if his photograph is restricted, it’s very likely his prints will be, too.”

The phone rang, and everybody sat up. Harry went into the den to answer it, and he didn’t come back for twenty minutes. When he did, the group was all ears.

“Well, I don’t know how much help this is going to be,” Harry said, when he had settled into his chair once more. “My guy was able to access some records, records that even he was not supposed to have access to, so this one is going to cost me.”

“Come on, Harry,” Holly said, “spit it out.”

“All right, he worked for one or

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