Page 100 of Dead Fall

“That’s the thing, though. ‘Kind of weird’ isn’t against the law. This could be some new client that just popped up. It could be an old friend. Who knows? The point being, we don’t get to color outside the lines. You’ve got to knock this the fuck off. And yes, I saidfuck. Deal with it.”

Carolan was about to reply when the tech called out to him from the other side of the garage.

When he and Fields walked over, the tech said, “You’re never going to believe this.”

“Try me,” Carolan replied.

“There’s a frequency range that we normally sweep for. About ninety-nine percent of what we look for falls within that range. Then people started using Apple AirTags to track vehicles and we had to adjust the range.

“I swept your car for everything we know of. There was nothing to be found. On a lark, I decided to drop the frequency. And I meanreallydrop it. All of a sudden, bingo. I got a hit.”

“What did you find?”

“I want to film this,” the tech said as he handed Carolan his scanner and pulled out his phone to take a video. “We may end up teaching classes on this.”

Once the man began recording, he had Carolan sweep the scanner back and forth over the left rear quarter panel. The beeping increased whenever the scanner got close to the tire.

Bending down, the tech filmed inside the wheel well and then felt along it with his bare hand. Moments later, he found something.

Pulling a folding knife from his pocket, he flicked it open and removed what looked like a blackened piece of gum, or even road tar, with a hair sticking out of it.

“What is that?” Carolan asked.

The tech stood up and took the scanner back. After powering it off, he set it on the trunk and then examined what he had pulled from the wheel well.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “It’s so small. The signal has got to be next to nothing. Unless…”

“Unlesswhat?” Fields asked as the man’s voice trailed off.

“Unless it’s specifically meant for a high-density, urban environment.”

Carolan looked at him. “Meaning?”

“It could be much smaller than an AirTag but work similarly, hopping from one Wi-Fi network to another. The trail would be spotty, depending upon the coverage, but the trade-off, in my opinion, is totally worth it. This thing is practically invisible.”

Fields pulled her keys out, chirped the alarm on her vehicle, and handed the fob to the tech. “Please check my car right now.”

The tech took it from her and headed toward her vehicle.

As he walked away, she said to her boss, “If this happened while we were at Burman’s, they know where we live. You and I have both been home since then.”

Carolan’s mind was already several steps ahead. “I’m going to call Margaret and tell her to pack a bag. She’s overdue for a visit with her sister. Do you have someplace else you can stay for a while?”

Fields nodded. “I’ve got a couple of options. What about you?”

“I’ll probably use the couch in my office. At least for tonight. After that, we’ll see.”

“Found another one!” the tech yelled out from Fields’s vehicle.

“That was fast,” Carolan replied as they walked over to him.

“Now that I know what I’m looking for, they’re actually pretty easy to find.”

Reaching into the wheel well, he pulled out an identical tracking device and held it up for them to see.

“Any other vehicles you want me to check?” the tech asked.

“Yes,” he responded as he pulled out his phone. “Stand by.”

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