he’d been the last few years. After an hour, he rose and headed to the precinct, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
The first duty of the day was roll call. The detectives would sit in a small classroom while the lieutenant or captain gave a briefing of the previous day’s goings-on and took questions about any open cases.
“All right,” the captain said, “anything else? Detective Yates, what’s goin’ on with the Myrs?”
“Detective Kane has that one.”
“Detective Kane, what’dya got for me?”
Jack said, “They’re going to hit American Security.”
Everyone in the room stared at him. The Myrs case was considered one of the toughest cases in the open-unsolved category and no one had made any progress in the year and a half it had been ongoing.
“How do you know that?”
“They’ve tried to make their heists seem random. The first was in Burbank, then Santa Barbara, then Bel Air, and now Santa Monica. I looked for the commonality between them. They’re the four largest banks, in terms of volume of cash that goes through them every day. The fifth largest is American Security in Anaheim.”
The captain glanced at William who grinned at him.
“All right, you and William follow up on American Security. Keep me posted. Anything else from anyone…no? All right, get out there and kick some ass.”
The room began to empty and William came over to Jack and sat in the desk in front of him. “The captain wasn’t that crazy about bringing a federal agent into his squad.”
“I can’t imagine anyone would be.”
“That’s good work, Jack. It’s a guess, but it’s a good guess.”
“We need a surveillance detail on the bank.”
William shook his head. “Sorry, compadre. Maybe on a big federal tab you can do that, but out here we’re working on nickels and dimes. You want surveillance, it’s gotta be us.”
“Well, what’re we waiting for?”
They chose to drive William’s old Buick rather than either of their Vipers, as they would draw too much attention. American Security was near the beach and they could smell the salty air and faintly hear the roar of the surf. They parked at a meter far enough away that no one going into the bank should notice them.
“I’m sorry about Autumn. I don’t think I told you that yet.”
“It’s my fault, William. Not yours. You got nothing to be sorry about.”
“How’s she doing?”
“She’s stable. But still in a coma.”
“I want you to know that if—”
“Who’s that?”
A man was walking around the entrance of the bank. It was easily over ninety degrees but he wore jeans and a jacket. He strolled past the entrance and then around to the back of the bank before going to the entrance again. Then he walked away.
“What the hell was that about?” William asked.
“Looked like he was casing the place.”
They sat for another three hours but didn’t see the man return. Over time they had stripped down as much as possible without being indecent and William had even taken off his shoes and socks. They would turn on the air conditioner for a long time but the air was warm unless they drove around.
“This isn’t working,” Jack said. “They might hit the place next week. We can’t be here every day. You’ve got to get us some surveillance.”
William looked out the window, rubbing his lower lip with his finger. “I’ll put in a request, see what I can do. The banks may exert some pressure if an anonymous caller lets them know that the police force won’t spend the dime to watch them.”
Jack pulled away from the bank and took the Santa Monica freeway down to Travisa Boulevard to drop William off at home. His wife came out of the house and came over to say hello. They chit-chatted a few minutes and she and William went back inside. Jack watched as William put his arm around her and kissed her on the cheek. He pulled away from the curb and began to drive.
CHAPTER 12
Jack stood on the deck of his condo
The first duty of the day was roll call. The detectives would sit in a small classroom while the lieutenant or captain gave a briefing of the previous day’s goings-on and took questions about any open cases.
“All right,” the captain said, “anything else? Detective Yates, what’s goin’ on with the Myrs?”
“Detective Kane has that one.”
“Detective Kane, what’dya got for me?”
Jack said, “They’re going to hit American Security.”
Everyone in the room stared at him. The Myrs case was considered one of the toughest cases in the open-unsolved category and no one had made any progress in the year and a half it had been ongoing.
“How do you know that?”
“They’ve tried to make their heists seem random. The first was in Burbank, then Santa Barbara, then Bel Air, and now Santa Monica. I looked for the commonality between them. They’re the four largest banks, in terms of volume of cash that goes through them every day. The fifth largest is American Security in Anaheim.”
The captain glanced at William who grinned at him.
“All right, you and William follow up on American Security. Keep me posted. Anything else from anyone…no? All right, get out there and kick some ass.”
The room began to empty and William came over to Jack and sat in the desk in front of him. “The captain wasn’t that crazy about bringing a federal agent into his squad.”
“I can’t imagine anyone would be.”
“That’s good work, Jack. It’s a guess, but it’s a good guess.”
“We need a surveillance detail on the bank.”
William shook his head. “Sorry, compadre. Maybe on a big federal tab you can do that, but out here we’re working on nickels and dimes. You want surveillance, it’s gotta be us.”
“Well, what’re we waiting for?”
They chose to drive William’s old Buick rather than either of their Vipers, as they would draw too much attention. American Security was near the beach and they could smell the salty air and faintly hear the roar of the surf. They parked at a meter far enough away that no one going into the bank should notice them.
“I’m sorry about Autumn. I don’t think I told you that yet.”
“It’s my fault, William. Not yours. You got nothing to be sorry about.”
“How’s she doing?”
“She’s stable. But still in a coma.”
“I want you to know that if—”
“Who’s that?”
A man was walking around the entrance of the bank. It was easily over ninety degrees but he wore jeans and a jacket. He strolled past the entrance and then around to the back of the bank before going to the entrance again. Then he walked away.
“What the hell was that about?” William asked.
“Looked like he was casing the place.”
They sat for another three hours but didn’t see the man return. Over time they had stripped down as much as possible without being indecent and William had even taken off his shoes and socks. They would turn on the air conditioner for a long time but the air was warm unless they drove around.
“This isn’t working,” Jack said. “They might hit the place next week. We can’t be here every day. You’ve got to get us some surveillance.”
William looked out the window, rubbing his lower lip with his finger. “I’ll put in a request, see what I can do. The banks may exert some pressure if an anonymous caller lets them know that the police force won’t spend the dime to watch them.”
Jack pulled away from the bank and took the Santa Monica freeway down to Travisa Boulevard to drop William off at home. His wife came out of the house and came over to say hello. They chit-chatted a few minutes and she and William went back inside. Jack watched as William put his arm around her and kissed her on the cheek. He pulled away from the curb and began to drive.
CHAPTER 12
Jack stood on the deck of his condo
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