3 - Buffalo Mountain: Ike Schwartz Mystery 3 by Frederick Ramsay Page B

have. Look, they’re not stupid. If they tumbled to him, they’d hold him and try to turn him. He has friends over there, to hear him tell it. He’d probably soak them for more cash and sell us out. No, I don’t think they did anything to him, but if we get close and it looks like they are on to him…well, you know what to do.”
    “Sir?”
    “I shouldn’t have to say it, should I?”
    “No, sir.”
    “Now, go over the ground again and again until we find the gap he slipped through. If he’s out there, he’s on tape somewhere and he’s findable.”
    ***
    Sam stared at her screen for a full minute. Something had to be wrong. “Whaite, can you possibly get Ike on the phone? Maybe he’s not driving or maybe he’ll answer if he sees you on his caller ID. He’s just contrary enough to ignore the ordinance.”
    “You have something?”
    “I don’t know. Look here.” She pointed at the screen in front of her. “Harris’ driver’s license number is listed but without a name. It just says ‘assigned.’ What does that mean?”
    “Beats me. I’m out of my depth here, Sam, but I think you need to back out of that database right now. Can you do that without anybody knowing you were there?”
    “I can try. I don’t know what kind of monitoring program they run up there. What with all the phony driver’s license scams and attempts at identity theft they’ve had lately, they may be running a tracking program and be on to us already. If they trace us, I’ll make sure they know we are a police department. That should satisfy them.”
    “Could you make it some department other than this one?”
    “Who?”
    “Someplace far away, like Kansas.”
    Sam typed furiously for several minutes. She sat back and looked at the screen in front of her. Then she quickly shut the whole bank down. One by one the flat panels flickered and went black.
    “Why’d you shut down? Now nobody can contact us and—”
    “Two reasons. One, I am not doing another blessed thing unless and until you or Ike tells me what this is all about. I know I do not have much experience in the investigations department and I do not know the routines. I have never worked a homicide, but I know that what we are doing here is not normal and I won’t go any further until I know.”
    “What’s the other reason?”
    “Someone was trying to trace us. I hope I shut down before they confirmed.”
    “Whew. That gadgetry blows my mind. You could tell if someone was trying to find us? So they know it’s us?”
    “Not if I shut down in time. They may not accept the Kansas address, but it’s all they have. They’ll assume it was just another hacker.”
    “You’re sure about that?”
    “We live in hope.”
    ***
    Donnie’s head buzzed a little, but not enough to keep him from seeing what needed to be done. “If your old man is gone for the day, why don’t we just go get that PIN right now?” Hollis, his mind awash in painkillers, did not answer.
    “Hollis,” Donnie shouted, “wake up. Let’s go do the PIN now before your old man gets home.”
    “Donnie, I can’t today, man. I busted my leg, my little brother has probably trashed the house, and all those pills are making me feel weird. Hand me the bottle.”
    “You done took them all. The doc said one every four hours and you’ve took the whole two days’ worth already.”
    “Weird, really weird.”
    “Let’s go. I’ll take you home. Tomorrow we go for the PIN, you got it? Tomorrow.”
    “Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow, you’re only a day away…Tooo…morrow—”
    “It’s stopped snowing.”
    “Whoopee. Get in the truck.”
    Hollis frowned and looked owlishly at him. “Someday you’re going to be in real trouble, Donald.”
    “Maybe, and maybe you’re my ticket outta this burg.”
    “What did you do to the dude?”
    “Do? I didn’t do nothing.”
    “You got his credit cards.”
    “Finders keepers.”
    “I ain’t seen him around lately.”
    “It’s the