relatives."
"Relatives?"
"It's a long story."
"Did you guys find out anything interesting about Flaherty while you were checking Flaherty out?"
"Only that he's chummy with Senator Buckland," I said. I couldn't tell him about the break-in.
"Yes," Eduardo said, "We're aware of that. " Eduardo smiled. "I don’t suppose you saw any envelopes passed to Senator Buckland?"
"That's what we were hoping for, but it didn't happen."
Willey came back in and placed the bomb on the table. "I disarmed it," he said. Eduardo picked up the putty-like substance and squeezed it. Then he smelled it and smiled.
"Somebody's pulling your leg," he said. "This is Play Dough. And the dynamite is just road flares. Somebody is trying to scare you."
"Well, it scared the hell out of us," I said.
"Maybe Flaherty is just trying to scare you off."
"What happened to the Molotov Cocktail?" Eduardo asked.
"The bottle didn't break, and it didn't explode." I said.
"Somebody's trying to scare you, alright," Eduardo said. "But they're not trying to kill you. At least not yet."
Willey said, "We were going to move into an empty house on the other side of the park, and hide Barney's Wrangler."
"That sounds like a good idea," Eduardo said. "Move and keep your heads down until this blows over." Eduardo leaned back in his chair. "So, can I talk you guys into helping me?"
"Four hundred bucks," Willey said. "What do we have to do?"
"Well, the Bureau received an allegation that Buckland is paying bribes to local officials to help Flaherty. Flaherty's accountant was the victim of a hit and run last month after she pointed out some discrepancies in the company's books. But she survived. She's at the Seaside Nursing Home in Palm Harbor. According to her daughter, Flaherty set her mother up to be killed."
I thought about the black car that tried to run me down, and realized how lucky I was.
Eduardo continued. ”She says he's giving large amounts of money to Senator Buckland. The mother won't tell the daughter too much, she's afraid they'll come after the daughter, too. I have an agent stationed outside the front entrance of the nursing home overnights to protect her. We can't send an agent inside to investigate without exposing the investigation. What I need is for one of you to go into the nursing home at night through a window that will be left unlocked, and talk to the accountant. Find out what she knows. What do you think?"
I looked at Willey. "Think we should try it?"
Willey asked Eduardo, "Is that it, is that all we have to do?"
"That's all you have to do. Just get in there and find out what she knows. Then report back to me."
"I sure could use the money," I said. "I'm willing to try it."
"Count me in too," Willey said. "Now how do we find this unlocked window?"
"The window is on the rear of the building facing the Gulf," Eduardo said. "It's the last window on the right. It's an empty room and you can also leave by that window after you've talked to the accountant. The unlocked room is number 204. The accountant's room number is 205, right across the hall. Just get in and tell Hattie, that's the accountant's name, that her daughter Jennifer sent you. Find out what Hattie knows, then get out of there. There's one more
"Relatives?"
"It's a long story."
"Did you guys find out anything interesting about Flaherty while you were checking Flaherty out?"
"Only that he's chummy with Senator Buckland," I said. I couldn't tell him about the break-in.
"Yes," Eduardo said, "We're aware of that. " Eduardo smiled. "I don’t suppose you saw any envelopes passed to Senator Buckland?"
"That's what we were hoping for, but it didn't happen."
Willey came back in and placed the bomb on the table. "I disarmed it," he said. Eduardo picked up the putty-like substance and squeezed it. Then he smelled it and smiled.
"Somebody's pulling your leg," he said. "This is Play Dough. And the dynamite is just road flares. Somebody is trying to scare you."
"Well, it scared the hell out of us," I said.
"Maybe Flaherty is just trying to scare you off."
"What happened to the Molotov Cocktail?" Eduardo asked.
"The bottle didn't break, and it didn't explode." I said.
"Somebody's trying to scare you, alright," Eduardo said. "But they're not trying to kill you. At least not yet."
Willey said, "We were going to move into an empty house on the other side of the park, and hide Barney's Wrangler."
"That sounds like a good idea," Eduardo said. "Move and keep your heads down until this blows over." Eduardo leaned back in his chair. "So, can I talk you guys into helping me?"
"Four hundred bucks," Willey said. "What do we have to do?"
"Well, the Bureau received an allegation that Buckland is paying bribes to local officials to help Flaherty. Flaherty's accountant was the victim of a hit and run last month after she pointed out some discrepancies in the company's books. But she survived. She's at the Seaside Nursing Home in Palm Harbor. According to her daughter, Flaherty set her mother up to be killed."
I thought about the black car that tried to run me down, and realized how lucky I was.
Eduardo continued. ”She says he's giving large amounts of money to Senator Buckland. The mother won't tell the daughter too much, she's afraid they'll come after the daughter, too. I have an agent stationed outside the front entrance of the nursing home overnights to protect her. We can't send an agent inside to investigate without exposing the investigation. What I need is for one of you to go into the nursing home at night through a window that will be left unlocked, and talk to the accountant. Find out what she knows. What do you think?"
I looked at Willey. "Think we should try it?"
Willey asked Eduardo, "Is that it, is that all we have to do?"
"That's all you have to do. Just get in there and find out what she knows. Then report back to me."
"I sure could use the money," I said. "I'm willing to try it."
"Count me in too," Willey said. "Now how do we find this unlocked window?"
"The window is on the rear of the building facing the Gulf," Eduardo said. "It's the last window on the right. It's an empty room and you can also leave by that window after you've talked to the accountant. The unlocked room is number 204. The accountant's room number is 205, right across the hall. Just get in and tell Hattie, that's the accountant's name, that her daughter Jennifer sent you. Find out what Hattie knows, then get out of there. There's one more
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