“Affirmative.”
“Two men. I can’t hear what they’re saying.”
“Easy.” He meant she should be careful and not get caught.
“I’m going to see if I can get closer.”
“Easy,” he repeated.
“Affirmative.” Katie knew McGaven wasn’t happy but wouldn’t give her a lecture. She wondered what the flashesof light had been. They didn’t seem to hear a ringing of gunshots, but a suppressor could have been used to keep the shot quiet. It was extremely strange.
She pressed on the door from different areas and it began to move. She didn’t want to make a noise if she tried to kick it open. With one final shove of her body against the metal, it released.
She waited.
Incredibly, the door didn’t squeak or make any scraping noises. She pushed it open an inch at a time until she could slip through.
Katie stood on the metal access and looked around. She could finally see things better with some light coming from downstairs and from another room. Maybe the flashes were actually a light source?
Pushing the door closed just enough to make sure it wouldn’t burst open and make a noise or let light infiltrate from outside, Katie moved slowly, one foot at a time, as if she walked a tightrope without a net and at any moment she could fall.
She made her way around to the other side, where she could hear the voices more clearly. It was as if they were standing near her. She carefully looked down and could see what looked like cement partitions where operating gears and switches were located. She dared to move farther around to the other side that faced the back of the building. There were stairs nearby.
Katie stopped and hoped her dark clothing was enough to conceal her appearance, but in her experience as a police officer people rarely looked up. It was a strange phenomenon, but in police training they were taught to have eyes all round, including looking up when entering a building, especially when there was a search or arrest warrant involved in the scenario.
She gingerly moved forward to see if she could hear the conversation. She still couldn’t see the men, but she could hear them.
“Can you hear?” she barely whispered to McGaven.
“Ten-four,” he replied.
Katie hoped McGaven could record it. Her phone had been temperamental, and she was going to have to get a new one, so she didn’t want to chance recording the conversation in case it didn’t work.
“Do you know the risk I’ve taken coming here?” said the first man, who Katie assumed to be Junior.
“I’m sorry, but they know,” said the second man. That was definitely Tom Grand.
“What do you mean, they know?”
“They just do.”
“What did they say?”
“It wasn’t spelled out exactly—it was how they worded their questions.”
“They asked you about me?”
“Yeah.”
“And you told them you knew me when we were kids?”
“Yes, but…”
“And that you visited me in jail?”
“Yes.”
“If that’s all, it’s no big deal, right?”
