fear gripped him as he jumped involuntarily. “What? Who’s that?”
The voice had come from the doorway, and Ben looked up to see a security guard he knew strolling in, immediately destroying his glib confidence that he was doing something no one could detect.
Ben was sure sweat was visible on his forehead. He tried not to swallow or sound as guilty as he felt.
“Ms. White asked me to come make sure you kept your word and went home, Doctor,” the guard said with a grin.
Ben sighed audibly. “You scared me, Jerry!”
“Sorry about that. You do look a bit shaken.”
“I thought I was alone.”
“Nope. You got us rent-a-cops here, too.”
“Give me a second and I’ll be ready,” Ben said, deftly cancelling the return message on the computer screen that the upload was complete. He secured and shut down the computers one by one, feeling a predictable pang as he dumped Lisa’s image before grabbing his overstaffed briefcase and turning toward the guard with a smile.
“Okay. That’s it.”
“Haven’t you forgotten something, Doc?” the man said, an expression on his face Ben instantly read as accusatory.
“I … I don’t think so.”
The guard walked toward the computer Ben had used for the download and picked up the cell phone. The download modem cord dangled from the bottom.
“Well, well, well. What have we here?”
A wave of nausea consumed him as he watched the guard hold out the cell phone with the cord still attached and shake his head in smiling disapproval, like a cat playing with his doomed mouse.
“I … ah…” Ben began.
“It’s one thing to get the battery all charged up, but if you forget to take it home, you still can’t use it,” the guard said with a smile. “It’s always the obvious things that get you engineering types.”
Ben took the phone from his hand and quickly disconnected the download cord, stuffing them both in his briefcase. “You’re so right, Jerry. Thanks! I was expecting an important call in a little while and I didn’t want my battery to die in the middle of talking to her. You know.”
The guard put a fatherly hand on his shoulder, guiding him to the door.
“Ms. White’s instructions were specific. Remove Dr. Cole’s fatigued body from the premises no matter how much he protests. I always follow a lady’s requests. Well, almost always.”
Ben swiped his badge at the security entrance and cleared his handprint and retinal scans before waving goodbye to Jerry and climbing into his car, the guard’s words echoing in his head.
It’s always the obvious things that get you, Jerry had said.
But what could he be missing that was obvious?
April had been battling to ignore the sound of the alarm clock for the previous ten minutes. She gave up and pulled it to her. She’d left a wake-up call for 8 a.m., but it was 5:50.
Dean, one of her two brothers, was due in at 10 a.m., and she had to get to the airport as well as make a half dozen calls back to Vancouver. And, if her folks were to be released by mid afternoon, there were airline tickets to Seattle to arrange.
April turned out the lamp on the bedside table and pulled a pillow over her head to try to recapture sleep, but it was no use. After less than ten minutes she sat up abruptly and tossed the pillow across the room in frustration, wide awake. Something was rolling around in her mind and she couldn’t quite capture it.
Okay. I’ll try the shower.
Anchorage was hunkered down under a slate sky on a particularly frigid morning when she slid out from under the bedcovers and padded over to the window to look out. She thought about her state of undress, but her silk robe was back in Vancouver, and besides, there were no high buildings across from the Anchorage Hilton.
April pulled the curtains back to an otherwise exhibitionistic extent and folded her arms beneath her breasts as she watched a flight of four Air Force F-15s landing at Elmendorf one by one.
She waited until all four had
The voice had come from the doorway, and Ben looked up to see a security guard he knew strolling in, immediately destroying his glib confidence that he was doing something no one could detect.
Ben was sure sweat was visible on his forehead. He tried not to swallow or sound as guilty as he felt.
“Ms. White asked me to come make sure you kept your word and went home, Doctor,” the guard said with a grin.
Ben sighed audibly. “You scared me, Jerry!”
“Sorry about that. You do look a bit shaken.”
“I thought I was alone.”
“Nope. You got us rent-a-cops here, too.”
“Give me a second and I’ll be ready,” Ben said, deftly cancelling the return message on the computer screen that the upload was complete. He secured and shut down the computers one by one, feeling a predictable pang as he dumped Lisa’s image before grabbing his overstaffed briefcase and turning toward the guard with a smile.
“Okay. That’s it.”
“Haven’t you forgotten something, Doc?” the man said, an expression on his face Ben instantly read as accusatory.
“I … I don’t think so.”
The guard walked toward the computer Ben had used for the download and picked up the cell phone. The download modem cord dangled from the bottom.
“Well, well, well. What have we here?”
A wave of nausea consumed him as he watched the guard hold out the cell phone with the cord still attached and shake his head in smiling disapproval, like a cat playing with his doomed mouse.
“I … ah…” Ben began.
“It’s one thing to get the battery all charged up, but if you forget to take it home, you still can’t use it,” the guard said with a smile. “It’s always the obvious things that get you engineering types.”
Ben took the phone from his hand and quickly disconnected the download cord, stuffing them both in his briefcase. “You’re so right, Jerry. Thanks! I was expecting an important call in a little while and I didn’t want my battery to die in the middle of talking to her. You know.”
The guard put a fatherly hand on his shoulder, guiding him to the door.
“Ms. White’s instructions were specific. Remove Dr. Cole’s fatigued body from the premises no matter how much he protests. I always follow a lady’s requests. Well, almost always.”
Ben swiped his badge at the security entrance and cleared his handprint and retinal scans before waving goodbye to Jerry and climbing into his car, the guard’s words echoing in his head.
It’s always the obvious things that get you, Jerry had said.
But what could he be missing that was obvious?
April had been battling to ignore the sound of the alarm clock for the previous ten minutes. She gave up and pulled it to her. She’d left a wake-up call for 8 a.m., but it was 5:50.
Dean, one of her two brothers, was due in at 10 a.m., and she had to get to the airport as well as make a half dozen calls back to Vancouver. And, if her folks were to be released by mid afternoon, there were airline tickets to Seattle to arrange.
April turned out the lamp on the bedside table and pulled a pillow over her head to try to recapture sleep, but it was no use. After less than ten minutes she sat up abruptly and tossed the pillow across the room in frustration, wide awake. Something was rolling around in her mind and she couldn’t quite capture it.
Okay. I’ll try the shower.
Anchorage was hunkered down under a slate sky on a particularly frigid morning when she slid out from under the bedcovers and padded over to the window to look out. She thought about her state of undress, but her silk robe was back in Vancouver, and besides, there were no high buildings across from the Anchorage Hilton.
April pulled the curtains back to an otherwise exhibitionistic extent and folded her arms beneath her breasts as she watched a flight of four Air Force F-15s landing at Elmendorf one by one.
She waited until all four had
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