“Where’s the microphone?” Tracy asked.
“Right here under my collar,” Kim said. He rolled over the upper edge of the shirt. A tiny microphone was safety-pinned to the underside.
“Too bad video was out of the question,” Tracy said.
“Hey, remember it’s not completely out of the question,” Kim said. “Lee said he’d work on it, and when he says that, nine times out of ten he comes through. It just won’t be for a few days.”
“Let’s test the audio system,” Tracy suggested. “I want to make sure it’s working as well as it did last night in Lee’s garage.”
“Good idea,” Kim said. “You hop in your car and drive down to the corner. That should be just about right. Lee said it would work up to two hundred yards.”
“Where will you be?” Tracy asked.
“I’ll move around inside the house,” Kim said. “I’ll even try going down into the basement.”
Tracy nodded and went down to the hall closet. She got out her coat, then called back up the stairs. “Don’t forget to put in your earphone, too.”
“I already have it in,” Kim yelled.
Tracy went out into the crisp morning. A wind had come up during the night, blowing the storm clouds to the East. In their place was pale blue sky.
Tracy got into her car, started it, and drove to the corner as they’d discussed. She pulled to the side of the road and turned off the engine. Next she opened her driver’s-side window and put a makeshift antenna on the roof of her car.
Inside the car, Tracy slipped on a pair of stereo earphones that were attached to an old-style reel-to-reel tape recorder. The tape recorder was wired to an amplifier, which in turn was connected to a transformer sitting on top of a freestanding car battery.
A red light on the front panel of the amplifier illuminated when Tracy turned the unit on. She heard some brief static in her earphones, but it cleared quickly. On top of the amplifier was a microphone. Tracy picked it up.
After glancing outside her car to make sure none of her neighbors were watching, she spoke into the microphone.
“Kim, can you hear me?” she asked.
Kim’s voice came back so loud, Tracy winced. “I can hear you like you were standing right next to me,” he said.
Tracy quickly turned down the volume and pressed the start button on the tape recorder.
“How’s your volume?” Tracy asked. “You were much too loud on this end.”
“It’s fine,” Kim said.
“Where are you?” Tracy asked.
“I’m in the back part of the basement,” Kim said. “If it works here, I’m pretty sure it’s going to work anyplace.”
“It is surprisingly clear,” Tracy admitted.
“Well, come on back,” Kim said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
“Ten-four,” Tracy said. She had no idea what the expression meant but had heard it in lots of movies and TV shows.
She took off the headphones and stopped the tape. She rewound it and then played it. She was pleased that both sides of the conversation came through perfectly clearly.
By the time Tracy got back to the house, Kim had everything they intended to take waiting by the front door. They’d packed lunches and filled thermos bottles, banking on Kim being hired on the spot. They also had a blanket and extra sweaters for Tracy. Kim was sure it would be cold sitting in the car all day.
They stowed everything in the backseat. Kim climbed in the back, too, since the front passenger seat was taken up by the electronic equipment.
Tracy slid behind the wheel and was about to start the car when she thought of something else.
“Where’s your gun?” she asked.
“It’s upstairs in the guestroom,” Kim said.
“I think you should have it,” Tracy said.
“I don’t want to carry a gun in the slaughterhouse,” Kim said.
“Why not?” Tracy asked. “God forbid, what if you have to face that creep with the knife again?”
Kim considered the suggestion. There were reasons against taking it. First, Kim was afraid the gun might somehow be discovered. Second, he’d never once fired it and didn’t know if he could actually shoot someone. But then he remembered the panic he’d felt when he’d been chased by the man with the knife and how he’d wished he’d had some kind of weapon.