Jack darted from the porch, jogged across the lawn, and hustled up the driveway.
Todd returned a moment later with the briefcase and handed it to the sheriff.
The sheriff handed it to me. "Is that it?”
I nodded. "What happened to the Faraday cage?”
"The what?”
"It was wrapped in fabric.”
"Oh. Do you want that too?”
"It might come in handy.”
Todd darted back into the house, then returned a moment later with the fabric. I wrapped it around the cage to block the signal of the GPS. I didn't know if anybody was monitoring it or not. There's no telling how long it had been outside the Faraday cage. I asked him, and he said, “Since I brought it back to the house.”
“Do you live alone?”
“Yeah.”
"Have you opened the case?"
"I couldn’t figure out how," Todd said. He paused. "What's inside?”
"That's classified," I said, messing with him.
"Seriously?"
I nodded.
Todd's eyes flicked between the three of us. "So, we're all cool now, right?"
The sheriff exhaled. "Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Brooks."
Todd looked much relieved.
We left the porch and walked back to the squad car. We hopped inside, and the sheriff fired up the engine. He pulled away from the curb, and we drove back toward the station. I sat in the front seat, with Jack in the back.
We made a few twists and turns. With his eyes on the rear view, the sheriff said, "I think we've got company."
He took another quick left, and I looked back through the rear window.
The sheriff stepped on the gas as we barreled through a residential neighborhood.
The silver sedan rounded the corner behind us.
Daniels took a right at the stop sign, which he completely ignored. Perks of the job.
The silver sedan followed.
"Yep," he said, his eyes still glancing to the rear view. "We definitely have friends."
Tires screeched as he made another left. He flicked on the siren and the flashers. He mashed the gas, and the engine roared as we barreled down the street. We reached the end of the block and held up for traffic. Then he took a right on Paradise Park. The four-lane avenue was divided by a median.
Daniels stepped on it again.
In the distance, the silver sedan turned onto Paradise Park, following. We'd opened up a large gap.
