Kris Longknife's Bloodhound by Mike Shepherd

Author:Mike Shepherd
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: KL&MM Books

9

Next morning, Taylor actually did do something vacation-like. He took his wife to the Japanese Gardens on a hill above Wardhaven. They walked the quiet grounds, listening to a water wheel and the soft call of birds. Sitting on a cool stone bench, quietly letting a rock garden whisper to them, his wife said.

“You’re not really on holiday, are you?”

“I’m here with you,” he countered.

“Physically. Today. Yesterday. The day before that. Please don’t lie to me, and no, I don’t want to know what is actually going on. I’ve survived twenty-seven years as a Bureau wife. Just don’t make me a widow. I deserve the full retirement pension. It may be double of you and half of the pay, but it beats what widows get. You hear me.”

“I think I do.”

“Good. Be careful.”

“I will.”

The next day he took her to a movie she’d been wanting to see. The leading character was one his wife swore she was in lust with, almost more than with him. He paid extra to get seats near the center of the theater. That gave them the best view of everything happening around them.

“I love the way you always know when he comes on stage,” his wife said. “Some of the new actors these days, they can be on stage a couple of minutes before you know they’re there if you aren’t looking that way.”

‘Yes,” Taylor agreed. “He always seems to make some sound so you know he’s there, a cough, or a misstep.”

“He’s a pro,” his wife agreed.

Which left Taylor wondering what misstep he could catch Alex Longknife in? What would that old and scared man want to sell to the aliens? Computers? Machinery? Most likely, but tracking any particular order among so many would be nearly impossible.

Art work? Food delicacies, wines and other fine spirits? Could orders for those be traced? They would certainly be more limited in their sales. And if there was an order to have them all delivered by a specific date . . .?

Hmm, that might give us a better call on the fitting out date for those ships overhead.

Taylor made a mental note to himself. The theater done, they walked toward where he’d left their car. “Just a moment, honey, I need to buy something,” he said, and ducked into a small store, specializing in off world media, various intoxicants, and, of course, discreet and disposable phones. He paid cash. He always carried a bit of cash for purchases he didn’t want traced.

He was an officer of the law, but that didn’t mean he had to be dumb.

Using his burner phone, he sent Leslie a text. PLEASE CHECK ORDERS FOR LUXURY ITEMS AND ART. SEE IF THERE IS A PATTERN OF SPECIFIC DELIVERY DATES. BE CAREFUL. SOME FOLKS ARE PLAYING HARD BALL ON THIS ONE.

His wife was waiting patiently for him when he got back on the street.

“Be careful,” was all she said.

“Love, I always am.”

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