Drive (11 page)

              When Jordan awoke, it was to the sound of muffled voices. She had no idea how long she had been asleep, although the sunlight streaming in through the cracks in the blinds suggested that it was at least morning, if not later in the day.  She stretched out her arms, enjoying the opportunity to do so now that she had the bed all to herself. Sawyer had crept under the covers at some point during the night. Jordan wasn’t entirely sure when, since she had already been passed out, but she had felt him near her every time the waves of sleep retreated like the tides, bringing her near consciousness before taking her away again into the endless abyss of a dreamless sleep.

             
Even without being able to make out the words, Jordan didn’t have to try too hard to figure out what topic had them so heavily involved in conversation. These days, there only seemed to be one thing worth talking about and that was how on earth they were going to get out of the mess they were in, alive.

             
As she rolled over onto her side, Jordan noticed that Fish’s desk seemed emptier than it had the night before. She stared at it for a moment, trying to remember what had been where the last time she’d seen it. Then it hit her, the laptop was missing. A growing sense of curiosity was quickly lending her all the motivation she needed to drag herself from the comforts of a warm bed and out to the main living area to see what the boys were up to.

             
“Morning Sunshine,” Sawyer greeted her from the kitchen table when she walked out.

             
“Hey,” Jordan grumbled in return. Mornings had never been her friend. She reached for the mug sitting beside his hand and took a sip. Next, she made a face, forcing down the hot unpleasant liquid.

             
“What is this?” she asked holding the cup away from her as though it was filled with poison.

             
“Tea.” Sawyer said, stifling a laugh. “What did you think it was?”

             
“Coffee!”

             
“Right… I’m English,” Fish reminded her from behind his computer screen.

             
“Right. Tea and Fish’n Chips. I got it,” Jordan said dryly as she began to wander from the room.

             
“Hey, where are you going?” Sawyer called after her.

             
“To hunt down some coffee,” she hollered back. “Surely Fish has a neighbor who can spare a cup of java for a person in need.”

             
Fish lifted his head once more.

             
“Try Ron and Mandy. Purple house, three doors down to the left and across the street.”

             
There was a moment of silence and then, “Why can’t I just go next door?”

             
“You can…but I don’t usually go see naked neighbor unless it’s absolutely necessary. If you don’t want to walk that far, try Cancer Lady across the street…oh wait, I forgot, it’s just dead cancer lady’s husband now. He’s not as nice…and a bit shady if you ask me. I mean, I know his wife was ill, but something still seemed a bit odd about the way she went…cops must have thought so too, they certainly came by often enough. Tell you what though, that was making me just as uneasy as it must have made dead cancer lady’s husband. I saw him lurking behind the curtains once, trying to pretend he wasn’t home when they came by…” slowly Fish’s train of thought, though already derailed, came to a dead end.

             
Jordan had abandoned all immediate plans for coffee and was now standing in the doorway that connected the kitchen to the living room, from which she had just come.

             
“Tell me, why is it that you know the names of people who live halfway down the block from you, but you refer to the people in your immediate proximity as naked neighbor and cancer lady?”

             
“Oh, you mean Ron and Mandy? Those aren’t their real names. I just call them that because they remind me of my mum and dad’s friends – Ron and Mandy. I haven’t a clue who they really are.”

             
Jordan shook her head in disgust.

             
“So, when I go knocking on naked neighbor’s door asking for coffee, who should I say sent me? Foreign hacker guy neighbor who dresses like a fifteen year old stoner?”

             
Fish grinned.

             
“I imagine that’ll work. Although, I personally prefer British hacker guy, but naked neighbor will know who you’re talking about either way.”  Then he pointed at the tiny cotton shorts she was still wearing from the night before and said, “Oh, and if you’re going to be wearing those outside, you may want to keep an eye out for Creepy Miata guy while you’re at it. He likes to cruise the neighborhood for no apparent reason and has a tendency to hover whenever he enjoys the view, if you catch my meanin’.”

             
Jordan glanced down at what she was wearing. Feeling suddenly self-conscious about the amount of skin she was exposing, she let her arms drop to her sides and casually tugged at her short pant legs.

             
“I really, really, reeaaaaaalllllllllyyyyy want some coffee,” she whined, looking at Sawyer with pleading eyes.

             
Mildly entertained by her display, he let her request linger in silence for a moment before sliding back his chair and standing up. Turning to Fish he said, “Ron and Mandy, then?”

             
Fish nodded.

             
“That’s where I would start.”

              Less than five minutes later, Jordan was happily sipping a dark roast with hazelnut creamer and way too much sugar. It was heavenly. She had learned a long time ago never to underestimate the value of a good cup of coffee. In her experience, coffee held more healing power in one little sip than most therapists did in an entire hour of advice.

              With her hot mug in hand, she leaned into the kitchen chair, slightly angling her neck to get a glance of Fish’s screen.

             
“What have you boys been so busy with this morning?”

             
“Fish hacked into the traffic cameras surrounding the warehouse where the Esposito kid was killed. Now we’re running through all the footage searching for anything that might look suspicious.”

             
“You mean like that black sedan that the shooters were driving when they attacked us in my ambulance?” Jordan asked pointing at the computer with her free hand.

             
Sawyer jumped from his seat.

             
“What?!” Within seconds he was standing right behind Fish and leaning so far over his shoulder his chin was nearly touching Fish’s hand as it hovered over his mouse. “Freeze that shot! That - right there!”

             
Fish did as he was told. Then he looked back at Sawyer uncomfortably. “You’ve heard of a little thing called personal space, haven’t you? “

             
“Oh, sorry.”

             
Sawyer shifted into a less invasive position.

             
“Can you make out the plates?”

             
“Can I make out the….?” Fish laughed. “Can a dog catch his own tail? Of course I can make out the plates!” He skillfully zoomed in on the image until all three of them had a clear view of the rear of the car.

             
“A Y R – 3485” Fish read out loud. “Alright, now then, let’s see who this baby belongs too.”

             
“You can d-” Jordan hadn’t had a chance to finish asking her question when Fish shot her the same look he had given Sawyer just seconds earlier. “Right, dogs and tails. Sorry.”

             
Jordan and Sawyer sat by silently as Fish’s fingertips flew across the keys, bringing up one screen after the next and flooding them with text that might as well have been a foreign language to Jordan. Then, the frantic typing stopped.

             
“Car’s a rental.”

             
“Oh,” Jordan’s heart fell. For a brief moment she had thought that they had stumbled upon the answer to their problems.

             
“I wasn’t done yet,” Fish went on. “It was leased out to a Jeremy Womack during the time the shootings occurred. Naturally, he used an alias…but when I ran the fake ID through a facial recognition system I got a hit. His real name is Justus Hathaway. Has a rap sheet like you wouldn’t believe. He must have one hell of a lawyer if he’s still on the streets.”

             
Sawyer slapped Fish on the shoulder with overwhelming enthusiasm.

             
“You are
the man
! Nice work, my friend! Nice work.”

             
“I know, I’m bloody brilliant, aren’t I?!” Fish slid the laptop along the kitchen table to give Sawyer and Jordan a better look. “Now then, let’s take a look at who’s been hanging around with this git.”

             
Jordan and Sawyer watched in awe as Fish brought up a list of Hathaway’s known associates with just one simple click of the mouse. Then, there it was, plain as day for all the world to see.

             
“Joseph Tremaine Esposito Sr.” Sawyer was the first one to say the name out loud.

             
“I don’t understand,” said Jordan. Her eyes were jumping back and forth between Sawyer and Fish in search of some indication that they knew more than she did. However, those clues remained elusive as Sawyer’s face turned to stone while Fish maintained a blank stare waiting for further instructions from Sawyer.

             
“Go back to the footage of the Sedan.”

             
Fish scrolled over the screen and brought the frozen shot back to the forefront.

             
Sawyer shook his head.

             
“This doesn’t make any sense. The timestamp on the surveillance video is 9:37pm, but I didn’t get there until after ten.”

             
Jordan bit her lip thoughtfully. “So the kid was probably already dead.”

             
Fish fell back against the back of his chair.

             
“Why would the Espositos put a hit out on one of their own?”

             
“They wouldn’t.” Sawyer’s hands were balled into fists as he tried to fight the anger rising within him. “No way would Joe Sr. put a hit out on his own nephew!”

             
“But you said he was sleeping with the guy’s wife. Maybe he knew about it and this was his way of putting a stop to it,” said Jordan.

             
Sawyer shook his head. He had taken to pacing the kitchen floor, repeatedly moving back and forth between the fridge and the table. “No way. Blood means everything to these guys. If he was gonna put a hit out on anybody, it would have been his wife.”

             
“Charming,” Jordan observed.

             
Sawyer just shrugged. “Aside from the fact that he would have to save face after being humiliated like that, Joe Sr.’s also a devout catholic, so divorce would not be considered a viable option.”

             
“Oh, okay,” Jordan huffed sarcastically, “I totally get it now, yeah, killing his wife for cheating on him would have been a way to make use of the ‘death do us part’ clause.”              “Doesn’t really matter though, does it?” It was the first time Fish had said anything since revealing Justus Hathaway’s identity. “I mean, brutal as the theory may be, it’s irrelevant. He didn’t kill his wife…it’s his nephew who wound up getting the axe.”

             
“Exactly. The question is why?” Sawyer finally came to a stop beside Fish. Pointing at the screen he said, “Hey, do me a favor and see if you can pick up a money trail.”

             
“You’ll need to give me some time. Banks are bloody particular about people peeking in on their customer’s financials.”

             
“Oh, but the transportation system just leaves an open door for hackers to come in and scan everything from surveillance footage to DMV records?” Jordan asked.

             
“Pretty much, yeah.  All that stuff’s practically public record.”

             
Jordan eyed Sawyer. Normally he would have cracked a smile by now, but there was nothing. Just the same hardened expression he had worn the second he had seen Joe Sr.’s name on Fish’s computer.

             
“I think I’m going to take a walk down to the water, see if the ocean air can clear my head. You should come with me.” Jordan’s hand slid over Sawyer’s and she gave it a tug.

             
“No thanks, I want to stay here and see what Fish comes up with.” He didn’t even turn to look at her.