Chapter 104
Tony Fulci called me again just as Edward Kenney neared Bingham.
Along the way, Kenney had stopped for twenty minutes at a gas station in Solon, probably to fill up and close his eyes briefly.
I was parked off the main road through The Plains, almost within sight of the first of the turn-offs for Spero.
“I found the Toyota,” said Tony. “It’s locked and empty.”
“Take a look around.”
Tony did, but the only vehicle in the vicinity was Teal’s, and when Tony searched the ground with a flashlight, he saw no bloodstains or signs of a struggle.
“Can you check the trunk?”
“Looks like the cover’s down. I’ll have to bust it open.”
“Do it.”
I heard the sound of metal on metal, and Tony’s grunts as he popped the back of the Highlander. An alarm began to sound.
“Nothing,” said Tony.
“Get out of there,” I said. “And take the tracker.”
“Consider it done.”
I went back to monitoring Kenney’s BMW. A few minutes later, he stopped again, this time in Bingham itself, where Main Street crossed Austin Stream to become Jackman Road.
I wondered whether Kenney was having second thoughts about approaching Spero, and if so, why.
Had he even informed Santopietro that he was on his way, and did anyone go visiting a secure school after dark with good intentions?
Five minutes went by, then ten, before the BMW resumed its journey north.
Whatever had provoked the delay, Edward Kenney was over it.
The first fat drops of rain hit my windshield, but I didn’t turn on the wipers and kept the car dark.
Distantly, I heard a rumble of thunder. Closer, I glimpsed headlights.