“The manager?” Dino asked.
“Yes, sir.”
Dino pointed at the man. “You, with us. And bring your keys.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” the manager said. “I can’t open anything without a search warrant.”
Dino pulled a folded piece of paper out of his jacket pocket. “It’s your lucky day.”
“Wait, I wanna read that. Wouldn’t be the first time someone came in here pretending they had one but didn’t.”
Dino slapped the search warrant on the counter.
The manager glanced it over. “Looks legit.”
“You think?” Dino grabbed the warrant. “Keys, now. Let’s go.”
Quincy radioed the cruisers down the street and told them to wait three minutes and then move in. He then led Stone, Dino, and the manager down a short side corridor to where Quincy’s partner, a guy named Roberts, waited in front of the only elevator.
When Roberts pressed the button, the door opened, and they all squeezed inside. The ride up was slow and stuffy. After they finally reached the eleventh floor, Quincy radioed the two cops in the stairwells.
“We’re here,” he said. “Meet us at the rooms.”
Roberts led Stone, Dino, and Quincy to a pair of doors near the center of the corridor. The two cops from the stairwell joined them a moment later.
Roberts pointed at one door and whispered, “Kroger,” then at the other. “Estrada.”
Quincy listened at Kroger’s door and shook his head, indicating it was quiet inside, then did the same at Estrada’s with a similar result.
“If they’re sleeping, let’s wake them up,” Dino whispered.
Quincy took Estrada’s door while Roberts took Kroger’s. On a silent count of three, they knocked.
Both rooms remained silent.
“If you don’t mind,” Dino said to the manager, and pointed at Kroger’s door, which was nearest.
Begrudgingly, the man unlocked the door.
Roberts yanked it open and barked, “Police! Hands in the air!”
He moved inside with a uniform cop on his heels, their weapons drawn.
A moment later, he was back. “Empty.”
Dino nodded his chin at Estrada’s door. The manager dutifully unlocked it, and Quincy mirrored what his partner had done.
“No one here,” he called from inside.
Dino narrowed his gaze at the manager. “You sure you didn’t see them leave?”
“I said I didn’t see them at all. They must have gone out before I started.”
“Why do I feel like you’re not telling me the truth?”
“Whether you believe me or not, it’s not my problem. The truth is the truth.”
“Take him downstairs,” Dino said to one of the uniforms, then turned back to the manager. “Don’t think about going anywhere or doing anything funny.”
