He’d given him Dylan’s house address. “It’s a cul de sac. If there’s a vehicle on it that doesn’t look like it belongs, or if you see anything hinky, get out of there and call me. If not, stay and keep an eye on that house, then notify me if anyone does show up.”
He knew the young, green officer would be way out of his league if he tangled with anyone on Malone’s payroll, so he’d emphasized that Clarence wasn’t to approach or engage if he saw someone.
“Call for backup and notify me immediately. You’re only there to watch, not to follow or chase. Understand? Don’t let them know you’re there. Got it?”
“Got it.”
He’d issued those instructions a couple of hours ago. If Clarence was calling now, still a few hours before dawn, he had something to report. “What’s up?”
“When I got there, nothing was out of the ordinary,” Clarence said. “But a little while ago, a car pulled onto the street and parked in front of that house.”
“Why are you whispering?” Mitch asked. “Is the car still there? Can you be overheard?”
“No, it left. This just feels, you know, secretive.”
“It is secretive. That’s sorta the point of surveillance.” There followed a dead silence. “Clarence? You all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
But Mitch sensed he wasn’t entirely fine. “What’s the matter? Did something happen?”
“No, but, uh… uh… I… I…”
Mitch heard him swallow hard.Shit!“What went wrong?”
“Nothing, nothing. But I looked up whose house that is. It’s your shrink, right?”
His knowing that could prove to be inconvenient, but not necessarily catastrophic. He decided to respond lightheartedly. “Uh-oh, busted. Second time you’ve done that to me this week.”
“I’m sorry, Mitch, but—”
“No sweat. If I’d been you, I would’ve looked up who lived there, too. In fact, I’m impressed you did the research. Shows your potential as a detective. But let’s go back to the car. It’s gone, right?”
“Yes.”
“And nothing happened?”
“No.”
“What kind of car?”
“Dark sedan. No markings.”
“How far away were you?”
“Near the end of the cul de sac. I parked in the driveway of a house for sale. It was vacant, but I thought it would look like the owner still lived there.”
“Good thinking. Could you see the driver?”
“Too dark.”
“Did the driver ever get out, go up to the house?”
“No.”
“Did you get the license plate number?”
“I used the zoom on my phone and took a picture.”
