Page 60 of Boxed In

Chapter 9

Carl Peterbalm drove around the block again, casing the Marathon headquarters, where Luke worked. He hadn’t expected it to be run from this dinky garage.

Probably he’d be better off finding another computer expert.

On the other hand, they had been willing to take the contract for pretty cheap. Probably nobody else would work for that kind of money.

But maybe Garner had decided to supplement his income with robbery.

Carl was still thinking that Luke and Olivia had stolen the box. Now the guys who played rough were after them.

He stopped a hundred yards away and waited for fifteen more minutes. When he decided it was safe, he climbed out of the car and walked back to the office.

Hurrying up the driveway, he stopped short when he got to the garage. The big door was locked. Quietly, he slipped around to the side and turned the knob on the door—and was delighted to find it was unlocked.

Sloppy!

What the heck did the guy think he was doing?

Inside, Carl fumbled for the switch and turned on the overhead light. Then he looked around. There were computer parts sitting all over the worktables. How much was this stuff worth, anyway?

Carl walked around the room, looking for something that would help him. Then he saw the filing cabinet and started riffling through the folders.

He might have thought this company would store everything in its computers. But apparently they wanted paper backup—like most other people.

There were folders for various guys who worked at the company. When Carl hit Garner’s client list, he began reading names. There were only a few. Some were for his business. And some were private residences. That sent Carl’s mind working. Maybe one of those people would be willing to put up Luke and Olivia.

He folded the sheet of paper and slipped it in his pocket, then exited the garage, closing the door behind him.

oOo

The importer had thought he was being careful, but he was an ordinary man and one who hadn’t been trained in covert operations. Smith, Brown and Jones were much more adept at the covert skill.

After striking out at the woman’s apartment, they’d used the special equipment they’d brought along to trace the man’s cell phone to his address.

They had arrived at his place of business twenty minutes before Peterbalm and started scouting the area, preparatory to approaching the garage from three different directions.

Just before they’d climbed out of the car, a man had come hurrying up the sidewalk. From their photos, they knew it was Carl Peterbalm.

“He’s looking for the computer guy,” Mr. Brown said.

“How do we know?” Smith challenged.

“He is using the same logic as we are.”

They watched him go in—then watched him come out again a few minutes later.

“He’s still in a hurry. He didn’t find the man or the woman,” Brown said.

“But his steps are purposeful. He thinks he knows where to locate them.”

“You hope,” Smith whispered.

They waited until Peterbalm had returned to his car, climbed in, and driven off before easing out of their own parking space and following—with their lights off.

oOo

Luke typed in the question Olivia had asked, and the answer came back almost at once.

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