LITMIR.BIZ

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opened her mouth, but closed it again without voicing a protest.

      Ryan decided it was time to move in. He walked over beside AJ, smiling at her as he leaned sideways against the counter, facing her. “Hi.”

      “Hello.” She gave him a once-over. The slight pause seemed to give her enough time to regroup. She turned her attention back to Kimo. “It’s still early. Are you sure I can’t see that film today?”

      “Tomorrow.”

      “Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. At nine.”

      “Ten and not a minute before. Go home.” Kimo glanced at Ryan. “And watch out for strangers.”

      She shook her head at Kimo, looked Ryan up and down one more time.

      He straightened away from the counter and watched, fascinated as a blush tinted her high cheekbones. He winked at her and her blush darkened before she turned on her heel and left the store. The bell jangled as the door closed behind her.

      “Can I help you?” Kimo was all business. The laughter he’d shared with AJ clearly didn’t extend to a stranger.

      Ryan dragged his attention from AJ’s retreating figure and turned back to the counter. “Nice lady. Are you really her uncle?”

      Kimo waved a hand in the air. “I watch out for her. It’s a responsibility I take very seriously.” His midnight-dark eyes stared at Ryan, taking his measure and warning him all in one look. “You’re a bit off the tourist track. Where can I give you directions to?”

      “Nowhere, really. I’m staying with a friend up on the north shore and thought I’d explore some of the neighborhoods.” Ryan smiled his easy, not-to-worry smile. “Do you have any of those disposable cameras? I hear they work pretty good.”

      Kimo pulled one from the shelf behind him and thumped it onto the counter. “That’ll be $15.85. Anything else?”

      Ryan grinned as he tossed a twenty onto the counter. “Any chance you’d give me the lady’s name.”

      “None. But if you’re really interested, she’s got a show going up at a gallery in a couple weeks. If you’re around that long, you could look her up then.”

      “Sounds good. Which gallery?”

      “If you’re still around, I’ll tell you then.”

      “Fair enough. Something tells me she’s worth sticking around for.” He picked up two store business cards from the small seashell card holder on the counter and tucked one into his shirt pocket. He flipped the other over and wrote on the back, before handing it to Kimo. “If she happens to ask, will you give this to her?”

      Kimo read the note on the card and looked back at Ryan. “Pretty confident, aren’t you?”

      “It never hurts to be optimistic.”

      The two men stared at each other for a moment, then Ryan tapped the counter with his camera and left the store.

      He paused as the door swung shut behind him. Worth sticking around for, huh? Now wasn’t the time to delve into that thought. Sliding his sunglasses back on, he scanned the street, then sauntered back to the ’Vette where AJ waited for him.

      “Did he tell you anything?” She slid into the passenger seat and turned to face him. Her voice fairly vibrated with excitement.

      As he sat next to her in the driver’s seat, he noticed a lanky-looking man in an ill-fitting black suit leave the coffee shop carrying a small brown paper bag, but no coffee cup.

      “Not much. You have a show going up at a gallery in a couple weeks.” He reached for the ignition, but stopped with the key halfway in the slot. His yellow-alert status bumped up to red.

      The coffee-shop patron was unlocking the passenger door of the navy sedan.

      “My show? I’m having a show? Where? What gallery?”

      Ryan watched the man get in and duck out of sight.

      “Well now. Don’t that beat all?” The man reappeared, got out of the car and locked the door.

      “What?” AJ looked around. “What are you talking about? What’s going on?”

      Ryan nodded across the street. “Does the man crossing the street look familiar?”

      AJ watched him tuck the brown paper bag under his arm and jog across the street to another nondescript sedan, this one a dark green. “No. Should he?”

      “Tall, skinny, couldn’t quite tell about his skin, but you must admit, that was one ugly tie.”

      She looked at him with wide eyes. “You think that’s the man Uncle Kimo mentioned?”

      “I’ll bet dinner out they’re one and the same. Are you ready for a little fun?” He smiled at her. The ’Vette’s ignition turned over and the engine hummed to life.

      “What kind of fun?”

      “Keep an eye on Ole Slim.” Ryan pulled away from the curb. “We’re going to follow him for a tad and see where he takes us.”

      “Why are we doing that?”

      He debated telling her for a moment. The stakeout might be totally unrelated to her situation. Or she may know exactly what it was all about. Either way, it wouldn’t hurt to let her know he was aware of what was going on around them. “Well, I figure if he’s interested enough in you to stake out the lab, then we should be interested enough in him to see where he’s heading.”

      The sports car responded to his gentle nudge on the accelerator and leaped forward. Within a few blocks they’d caught up with the sedan. Only one car separated them. Ryan followed the sedan through several intersections and around a couple turns, letting other cars come and go between them.

      They headed through downtown and into an industrial-park section. Ryan muttered to himself. Rather than enjoying the thrill of the chase, he was more worried about being made. Tailing someone in a cherry-red ’Vette wasn’t exactly inconspicuous. The other driver hadn’t given any indication that he’d noticed them. Yet.

      Traffic thinned and the last car between them turned onto a side street, leaving them with no cover. Whatever the guy’s next turn was, they’d have to continue on. He memorized the sedan’s license plate. Later, he’d have the Bureau run it, see if it provided any useful information.

      “Time to call it a morning.” Ryan tapped the blinker lever to take the turn at the T-intersection they were approaching. He stopped to let the oncoming traffic clear out of the way.

      The sedan continued through the intersection, turned in the opposite direction without signaling and drove through a gap in a high chain-link gate.

      Ryan completed his turn, pulled to the curb and studied the rearview mirror. As soon as the sedan cleared the sidewalk, a gate rolled closed behind it. A large sign on the gate warned away trespassers and proclaimed the fenced complex to be private property.

      Ryan twisted in his seat to double-check the cross street and verify the address. Excitement buzzed along his nerve endings. The Bureau could do a little property owner check at the same time they ran the sedan’s plates.

      As he turned back in his seat, AJ straightened. She’d been slouched down a bit to watch their six through the passenger side mirror.

      “What do we do now?” She began nibbling on her lower lip.

      “Now, we go shopping.” He merged back into traffic.

      “Shopping? But what about that guy?” AJ swung around to stare at him.

      “Sugar, even if that gate is unlocked, you can bet there’s going to be a guard close inside. And we’re not exactly invisible in this toy of Jamie’s. There’s nothing more for us here. Not today.”

      Конец

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