“Proof of the allegations Kathleen Morgan and Marsha Baldwin made about the meat industry and the USDA.”
“And how is a disguise going to help you do that?” Tracy asked.
“It’s going to help me get a job,” Kim said. “Marsha Baldwin told me slaughterhouses like Higgins and Hancock don’t allow visitors, but she suggested I could get a job, especially if I were an illegal alien. I don’t mean to say I’m trying to look like an illegal alien, just some marginal member of society who needs to earn some money.”
“I can’t believe this,” Tracy said. “You mean you are going to go into Higgins and Hancock to try to get a job after someone tried to kill you in there?”
“I’m hoping the employment officer and the man with the knife are two different people,” Kim said.
“Kim, this is no laughing matter,” Tracy said. “I don’t like the idea at all, especially if your fears about Marsha are true.”
“It might be a little dicey if they recognize me,” Kim admitted. ‘That’s why I want the disguise to be good. Marsha contended that Higgins and Hancock is always in need of help because turnover is so high. So I’m counting on their not being particularly choosey.”
“I don’t like this one bit,” Tracy said. “I think it’s too risky. There’s got to be another way. What if I talk to Kelly Anderson?”
“She’s not going to budge,” Kim said. “She was clear about that. I’ve got to go in Higgins and Hancock, risk or not. Even if there is risk, I think it is worth it for Becky’s sake. For me, it’s a way to make her loss less meaningless.”
Kim felt tears spring to his eyes. “Besides,” he managed to add, “I have the time now that I’m unemployed. I’m on a forced, temporary leave from the hospital.”
“Because of what happened in the ICU?” Tracy questioned.
“Uh-huh,” Kim said. “Apparently you were the only person who thought my action was courageous.
“It was courageous,” Tracy asserted. She was impressed. Kim had come around one-hundred-eighty degrees. He really wanted to do something for Becky’s sake and was willing to risk his career and reputation to do so. She couldn’t argue with his motives or his goal. Without another word, Tracy turned to the shelving and walked along the aisle until she found what she considered the best bleaching rinse.
Carlos had waited until dusk before driving his dilapidated pickup into the Balmoral neighborhood. He liked the fact that the streets were dark. The only lights were at the corners over the street signs. Having looked at a map, it didn’t take him long to find Edinburgh Lane and eventually Kim’s house.
Carlos turned off his single working headlight before gliding to a stop in the shadow of some trees lining the street. He switched off the ignition and waited. From where he was parked he could see the silhouette of Kim’s house against the darkening sky. Carlos was pleased. The lack of light suggested that Kim was not home. Once again Carlos would have the benefit of surprise, only this time it would be even better. Kim would be caught totally off-guard.
Carlos waited in his truck for twenty minutes before he felt comfortable enough to get out. He heard a dog bark, and he froze. The dog barked again, but it sounded farther away. Carlos relaxed. He reached into his truck and extracted one of the long kill-floor knives from beneath the seat. He slipped it under his coat.
Skirting around the front of his aged Toyota, Carlos entered the trees that separated Kim’s house from its neighbor. Wearing a black leather coat and dark trousers, Carlos was all but invisible as he silently slipped through the thicket.
Carlos was pleased when he got a full view of the back of Kim’s house. Like the front, there wasn’t a light on in any window. Now he was certain the house was empty.
Hunched over, Carlos ran from the protection of the trees across Kim’s backyard and flattened himself against the house. Again he waited for any suggestion that his presence was known. The neighborhood was deathly quiet. Even the dog that he’d heard earlier had fallen silent.