nowhere.”
“You haven’t heard my idea yet. Ready?”
“No, I want to watch you throw rocks for another half hour.”
“It’s a simple enough plan. A little risky, though.”
“Would you please spit it out?”
“We get inside his house.”
Alex looked at the gravel at her feet and laughed slightly. “Just like that, huh? I didn’t know you had the key.”
“I don’t.”
She turned and studied his profile. The thought had crossed her mind as well, but not as a viable option. “And here I thought you were an ex-cop, not an
ex-con.
”
“Just listen for a second, Alex. When I was visiting the neighbors this morning, I took a look around Jacobs’s house, gave the front door a little shake. Felt pretty flimsy to me. I’ve been through my share of doors. The only problem would be noise. It’s a quiet little neighborhood. But that’s where you’d come in.”
“Who says I want to come in?”
“You’d be the lookout,” continued Nick, ignoring her now. “We’d have you parked somewhere nearby to keepan eye out for windows lighting up or cops driving by. You wouldn’t be at risk of getting caught.”
“Thank you for worrying about little me,” said Alex. “I’m not afraid to go in, Nick.”
“I know you’re not, but we need to have someone outside. All those years of being a cop taught me a little about getting through doors. You still have those little two-way radios we used to play around with?”
“Somewhere in the garage, I think. I don’t know if they even work anymore.”
“We’ll buy new ones if they don’t. Any sign of trouble, we’ll need instant communication. I think one in the morning might be a good time to arrive. I’d need a good chunk of time in there to be thorough. Friday night isn’t the best night to do it, but it’s risky to wait.”
“Isn’t there any other way in besides the front door?” asked Alex, feeling reluctantly swept up in his enthusiasm. “Seems a little conspicuous.”
“We can’t break windows, and I’m not about to shuffle down the chimney. The front door’s actually fairly concealed. There are these overgrown bushes surrounding the front steps. Once I get to the porch, I’m pretty well covered.” He studied her. “What do you think? Are we crazy?”
“You
are,” she said. “Bribing somebody’s one thing, but breaking and entering?”
“You talk like we’re burglarizing the place. We’re not stealing anything. We aren’t hurting anyone. We’re just . . . taking a little look around.”
“Just like walking through a museum, huh, Nick? No different at all.”
“Alex, please. Is this really so bad?”
“Bad enough to land you behind bars.”
“Only if I get caught. We’d probably get off on a trespassing charge. I’m not sticking around to get caught, though. If I run into problems at the door, I’ll just bail out of there.” He fell to a knee in front of her. “I say we do it,Alex. Something like Jacobs will never come around again. We have to give it a shot.”
Alex wouldn’t look up. He brought a finger to her face and used it to gently raise her chin. They stared at each other for a moment, and she fought back a smile. Nick burst into a grin and knew the battle was won.
“That’s my partner,” he said.
“The sensible one of the two,” she replied.
He rose and turned to the water. He was talking about it so matter-of-factly, as if it were no more difficult than going to the supermarket. But if something went wrong, there would be consequences. Laws varied from state to state, county to county. It could get a lot uglier than six months in the county jail. He rubbed his face. He felt confident now but wondered how his knees would feel walking up those porch steps.
“I can’t believe it’s coming to this,” Alex finally said.
“It’s the only way.”
Both sat in silence momentarily, Nick biting at a hangnail, Alex staring across the river. Nick reached down and sent a final rock into the
“You haven’t heard my idea yet. Ready?”
“No, I want to watch you throw rocks for another half hour.”
“It’s a simple enough plan. A little risky, though.”
“Would you please spit it out?”
“We get inside his house.”
Alex looked at the gravel at her feet and laughed slightly. “Just like that, huh? I didn’t know you had the key.”
“I don’t.”
She turned and studied his profile. The thought had crossed her mind as well, but not as a viable option. “And here I thought you were an ex-cop, not an
ex-con.
”
“Just listen for a second, Alex. When I was visiting the neighbors this morning, I took a look around Jacobs’s house, gave the front door a little shake. Felt pretty flimsy to me. I’ve been through my share of doors. The only problem would be noise. It’s a quiet little neighborhood. But that’s where you’d come in.”
“Who says I want to come in?”
“You’d be the lookout,” continued Nick, ignoring her now. “We’d have you parked somewhere nearby to keepan eye out for windows lighting up or cops driving by. You wouldn’t be at risk of getting caught.”
“Thank you for worrying about little me,” said Alex. “I’m not afraid to go in, Nick.”
“I know you’re not, but we need to have someone outside. All those years of being a cop taught me a little about getting through doors. You still have those little two-way radios we used to play around with?”
“Somewhere in the garage, I think. I don’t know if they even work anymore.”
“We’ll buy new ones if they don’t. Any sign of trouble, we’ll need instant communication. I think one in the morning might be a good time to arrive. I’d need a good chunk of time in there to be thorough. Friday night isn’t the best night to do it, but it’s risky to wait.”
“Isn’t there any other way in besides the front door?” asked Alex, feeling reluctantly swept up in his enthusiasm. “Seems a little conspicuous.”
“We can’t break windows, and I’m not about to shuffle down the chimney. The front door’s actually fairly concealed. There are these overgrown bushes surrounding the front steps. Once I get to the porch, I’m pretty well covered.” He studied her. “What do you think? Are we crazy?”
“You
are,” she said. “Bribing somebody’s one thing, but breaking and entering?”
“You talk like we’re burglarizing the place. We’re not stealing anything. We aren’t hurting anyone. We’re just . . . taking a little look around.”
“Just like walking through a museum, huh, Nick? No different at all.”
“Alex, please. Is this really so bad?”
“Bad enough to land you behind bars.”
“Only if I get caught. We’d probably get off on a trespassing charge. I’m not sticking around to get caught, though. If I run into problems at the door, I’ll just bail out of there.” He fell to a knee in front of her. “I say we do it,Alex. Something like Jacobs will never come around again. We have to give it a shot.”
Alex wouldn’t look up. He brought a finger to her face and used it to gently raise her chin. They stared at each other for a moment, and she fought back a smile. Nick burst into a grin and knew the battle was won.
“That’s my partner,” he said.
“The sensible one of the two,” she replied.
He rose and turned to the water. He was talking about it so matter-of-factly, as if it were no more difficult than going to the supermarket. But if something went wrong, there would be consequences. Laws varied from state to state, county to county. It could get a lot uglier than six months in the county jail. He rubbed his face. He felt confident now but wondered how his knees would feel walking up those porch steps.
“I can’t believe it’s coming to this,” Alex finally said.
“It’s the only way.”
Both sat in silence momentarily, Nick biting at a hangnail, Alex staring across the river. Nick reached down and sent a final rock into the
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