CHRISTMAS HOSTAGE by Sharon Dunn

Author:Sharon Dunn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-07-14T19:55:40+00:00

* * *

Hollis sat up straighter in his chair, feeling his heart flutter. Maybe all the hours they had invested would pay off. “Tell me how far to rewind.”

Laura leaned closer to the screen as the tape backtracked. “Right there.”

He stopped the tape. She stood up and pointed at a man wearing a baseball cap. “There. That man. He’s aware of where the cameras are.” She studied the screen intently. “I’ve seen him before on one of the other tapes. Only he had on a cowboy hat.”

“Let’s watch for a few minutes and see what he does.”

The man appeared to be wearing a workman’s uniform. He moved in and out of the frame. At one point, he carried a toolbox.

“He must have been hired to fix something.” Hollis scooted his chair closer to Laura’s so he could see better. “Any guesses where you might have seen him before?”

“I’ve watched a lot of footage. Let’s start with the second robbery, the bank that had all the plants.”

It took a few more hours before they found the man in the cowboy hat. He did have a similar posture, gait and build to the man in the baseball hat. The man always made sure never to look directly at the camera. This time, he was watering plants.

“We can have a tech go through the footage and see if there is ever a time when he messes up and we get a face shot of him. That would be too time-consuming for us.”

Hollis stared at the still image of the tall man in the cowboy hat. “So he must get into the bank for several days as a workman of some sort or another.”

“That would allow him to watch the employees, see their habits and get an understanding of the security systems,” Laura said.

Hollis pushed back his chair. “This is good stuff, Laura. It’s progress. It’s been a long day. How about we call it? I’ll take you to the safe house. You can get dinner and get some rest.”

“Are you staying with me?”

He was flattered that she trusted him so much and wanted to be with him. “Yes, and we’ll have an officer parked outside the house as well.”

“Well, I’m tired of looking at a computer screen. I wish I could go for a walk or at least run on a treadmill to clear my head.”

He laughed. “I don’t know if the safe house has exercise equipment, but maybe you can run up and down the stairs.”

It took only a few minutes for them to gather up their things. Agent Phillips was waiting for them in the reception area. She tossed Hollis a set of keys. “Your chariot awaits.”

Hollis caught the keys. “Thanks. Were you able to line up some extra protection?”

“The one agent who’s close enough would have had to be pulled off of an assignment. The city police have agreed to patrol the safe house several times during the night.” Agent Phillips grabbed her coat from the back of a chair. “I’ll follow you out to the safe house.

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