I FELT Arush of excitement about having gotten Jake on the phone so quickly. It’s the sort of feeling I usually get when I’m moving on a case. Most cops don’t stay on the job for the pay. There has to be some sort of satisfaction beyond money. Something that balances out the constant criticism.
I explained to Jake that I was looking for a suspect we knew was somewhere in the East Bay, and I knew he used an iPhone. I gave him Eric Snaff’s phone number. Then I said, “You said you could do anything to or with an iPhone. Now you got to back up that boast. Can you locate him?”
Jake chuckled. “This isn’t even a challenge.”
“Wait a minute,” I said, suddenly aware of the time. “Why aren’t you in school?”
He laughed on the other end of the phone. “I have study hall now. I’ll call you back in a couple of minutes. I have a contact at Apple I have to check with.”
“You use a contact? I thought you could do it by yourself.”
“Not to find a location with only the phone number.”
“Why does this contact help you?”
“Let’s say I know what he did before Apple hired him.”
“So you blackmail him?”
“That and kick cash his way when I make money. It’s a fair arrangement.”
“Will he keep his mouth shut?”
“Will you?”
I smiled at Jake’s careful wording and delivery. I said, “Keep my mouth shut about what?”
“Exactly.”
I liked this kid a lot. I decided to make it my mission to keep Jake in school and out of trouble.
While I waited to hear back, Cindy and I jumped into her car and started heading east.
Before we were even out of the San Francisco city limits, my phone rang. I picked it up quickly. “Waddja got for me, Jake?”
“Okay, I can tell you where the phone is. I can’t guarantee that’s where your suspect is too. Did I get that right? ‘Suspect’? ‘Defendant’? What’s the term I’m looking for?”
“Missing person.”
“Oh, okay. Anyway, his phone is near the end of a road called Willow Pass. You have to go through Walnut Creek and a little north on 680. I’ll text you the map.”
“Got it,” I said as I saw it show up in my phone. “Consider your debt paid in full.”
“So now you’ll pay me anytime I help you?”
I couldn’t help but grin at Jake’s entrepreneurial spirit. “I guess that is what I’m saying. Help me again and you’re on the payroll.”
“Maybe if I work enough with you I won’t have to worry about going to college.”
“Or maybe I’ll only work with you if youdogo to college.”
Jake chuckled and hung up.
When I gave Cindy the location Jake had given me, she said, “I know exactly where he is. I even know what he’s doing. It’s a concrete factory. That’s where Jason Cortlandt works. The guy who Eric thinks ruined his life.”
Now I was worried.
CHAPTER92
