Chapter
55
HE SPENT TEN minutes watching the store from across the street. He saw people go in and people go out. Cars came and went. And still he kept watching. He was watching to see if anyone was watching him. When Decker was satisfied that there was no one doing so, he hurried across the street and approached the door. He glanced through the glass and saw the same woman at the counter, once more counting packs of cigarettes and ticking them off on her sheets. He could see no other customers in the store.
He opened the door and the bell tinkled. The woman looked up. It took her a moment but she recognized Decker.
Because of his size and appearance he was hard to forget and harder to miss.
“You’re back?” she said.
“I’m back,” said Decker, his gaze darting around the corners of the store. His hand had slipped to his pocket where his gun sat.
She said, “I owe you change from when you were here last. The coffee, pastry, and paper didn’t add up to five dollars.”
“Keep the change. You work long hours. Morning, night.”
“I do work long hours, but I’m also on different shifts. Today I work the night shift.”
“How’s business?”
“Slow now. We sell a lot in the morning when people are going to work. Coffee, cigarettes, and sausage biscuits. And Red Bull by the gallon.”
“The other person here when I came by the first time. Billy, right? Is he here?”
She shook her head. “No, he’s not here.”
“He doesn’t work here anymore, does he?” Decker said.
She looked startled. “How did you know that?”
“When was he here last?”
“The day you came in the first time. I was pissed when he didn’t show up for work after that. I had to do his job too.”
“Do you have his employment file here?”
“Yes. In the back.”
“Can I see it?”
“No. Company policy.”
“Can you tell me his last name?”
“Why?”
“He might be the one I was looking for.”
“I don’t see how.”
Decker held up his phone. “I can have the FBI here in five minutes. And they’ll take every file in this place.” He eyed the woman steadily. “Are you an American citizen?”
She blanched. “No. But I have papers.”
“I’m sure they’re in perfect order. At least I hope they are. The FBI will check, of course. They check everything. Twice.”
The woman slowly put a pack of cigarettes in the appropriate slot and made a check on her inventory sheet. He could tell she was stalling as she thought about how to respond to this.
“I might…I mean, my work visa might be a little overdue.”
“That’s unfortunate. With the government in gridlock over immigration reform, it’s a touchy subject. I’m sure you can appreciate that.”
“And if I let you see Billy’s file?”
Decker put his phone away. “That might change things.”
The woman went into the back office and came out a minute later with a file. “You can have this. I made a copy.”
Decker finished his coffee and threw the cup into a trash can. “Belinda was very tall for a woman, about five-eleven, and skinny. Billy was that height and lean too, but he was wiry. Maybe a hundred and fifty pounds.”
“And definitely a guy?”
“I think so, but he looked androgynous too. Belinda looked the same at the institute. I’ve already given your sketch artist a description. They’re working on a finished drawing now.”
“We can get that all over the place once it’s done.”
“I would just get it out to law enforcement for now. Don’t go public. They may go underground if they discover we’ve gotten that far.”