Derek turned around and examined the door. It was secured with a standard throw-bolt and lock, a mere inconvenience given his experience. The question was whether there was an alarm.
Putting down his briefcase, Derek cupped his hands to peer through the sidelight. He saw no keypad. Taking out his locksmith tools from his left pocket, he made quick work of the locks. The door opened and swung inside. He looked along the inside of the jamb. There were no contacts. Stepping within the small foyer, he looked for a keypad on the portion of the walls that he’d not been able to see from the porch. There was none. Then he glanced up around the cornice for motion detectors. He relaxed. There was no alarm.
Derek retrieved his briefcase before closing the door. He made a rapid tour of the first floor before climbing to the second. In the guestroom he found a small overnight bag with a shaving kit and clothes he guessed belonged to Kim. In the only bathroom he found several sets of damp towels.
Derek went back downstairs and made himself comfortable in the living room. With Kim’s car in the driveway and his things in the guestroom, Derek knew that the doctor would be back. It was only a matter of waiting.
Carlos butted the unsuspecting Adolpho out of the way and got his time card into the time clock before his partner. It was an ongoing joke they’d been playing for months.
“I’ll get you next time,” Adolpho joked. He made a point of speaking in English because Carlos had told him he wanted to learn to speak better.
“Yeah, over my dead body,” Carlos replied. It was one of his favorite new phrases.
It had been Adolpho who’d gotten Carlos to come to Higgins and Hancock and then helped him bring his family. Adolpho and Carlos had known each other since they were kids back in Mexico. Adolpho had come to the United States several years before Carlos.
The two friends emerged into the afternoon rain arm-in-arm. Along with an army of other workers, they headed for their vehicles.
“You want to meet tonight at El Toro?” Adolpho questioned.
“Sure,” Carlos said.
“Bring a lot of pesos,” Adolpho advised. “You’re going to lose a lot of money.” He mimed using a cue stick to shoot pool.
“It will never happen,” Carlos said, slapping his partner on the back. It was at that moment that Carlos saw the black Cherokee with its darkly tinted windows. The vehicle was next to his own and fumes were rising languidly from its exhaust pipe.
Carlos gave Adolpho a final pat on the back. He watched his partner get into his truck before Carlos headed for his own. Carlos took his time and waved to Adolpho as he drove by. At that point, he detoured toward the Cherokee and approached the driver’s-side window.
The window went down. Shanahan smiled. “I got some good news,” he said. “Come around and get in.”
Carlos did as he was told. He shut the door behind him.
“You’re going to have another chance to do the doctor,” Shanahan said.
“I’m very happy,” Carlos said. He smiled too. “When?”
“Tonight,” Shanahan said. “The doctor is working here.”
“I told you,” Carlos said. “I knew it was him.”
“There’s been a bit of luck,” Shanahan said with a nod. “And best of all he’s working the cleanup tonight. It will be arranged that he will clean the men’s room next to the record room. Do you know where that is? I don’t. I’ve never been in Higgins and Hancock.”
“Yeah, I know where it is,” Carlos said. “We’re not supposed to use that room.”
“Well, tonight you will,” Shanahan said with a wry smile. “It will be late, probably after ten. Make sure you’re there.”
“I’ll be there,” Carlos promised.
“It should be easy,” Shanahan said. “You’ll be dealing with an unarmed, unsuspecting person in a small room. Just make sure the body disappears like Marsha Baldwin.”
“I do what you say,” Carlos said.
“Just don’t screw up this time,” Shanahan said. “I’ve gone out on a limb for you, and I don’t want to be embarrassed again.”