Hidden Riches

heard Dora clattering down after him, shouted for her to stay put.
    He hit the door at a run, went through low. The cold air bit into his lungs like slivers of ice. But his blood was hot. The sound of running footsteps echoed off to the right. Ignoring Dora’s frantic demands to stop, he raced after them.
    It was instinct and half a lifetime of training. After he’d run about two blocks, he heard the roar of an engine, thesqueal of tires. He knew he’d lost his quarry.
    He ran on for another half a block, on the off chance that he could catch a glimpse of the car. When he returned to Dora he found her standing in the center of the small gravel lot, shivering.
    “Get inside.”
    Her fear had already turned to anger. “Your face is bleeding,” she snapped.
    “Yeah?” He brushed at his cheek experimentally, and his fingers came away wet. “The plaster must have nipped it.” He looked down at the barbell she still carried. “And what were you going to do with that?”
    “When he grabbed you and wrestled you to the ground, I was going to hit him with it.” She felt some small relief when he tucked the gun into the back of his sweatpants. “Weren’t you supposed to call for backup or something?”
    “I’m not a cop anymore.”
    Yes, you are, she thought. She might not have had much experience with the preservers of law and order, but he’d had cop in his eyes, in his moves, even in his voice. Saying nothing, she followed him toward the rear entrance of the shop.
    “Ever heard of security systems?”
    “I have one. It’s supposed to clang like hell if anyone tries to get in.”
    He only grunted and, instead of going inside, hunted up boxes and wires. “Mickey Mouse,” Jed said in disgust after one quick look at the mechanism.
    She pouted a little, brushing her bangs aside. “The guy who sold it to me didn’t think so.”
    “The guy who sold it to you was probably laughing his ass off when he installed it. All you have to do is cut a couple wires.” He held out the frayed ends to demonstrate. “He took out the phone for good measure. He’d have seen by the lights that there was somebody upstairs.”
    “Then he was stupid, wasn’t he?” Her teeth were chattering. “I mean, he should have waited until we were out,or asleep, then he could have walked in and stolen me blind.”
    “Maybe he was in a hurry. Don’t you have a coat or something. Your nose is getting red.”
    Insulted, she rubbed it. “Silly of me not to have thought to grab my wrap. What was that noise right before you took your heroic flight downstairs? It sounded like balloons popping.”
    “Silencer.” Jed checked his pocket for loose change.
    “Silencer?” The word came out on a squeak as she grabbed his arm. “Like in gangster movies? He was shooting at you?”
    “I don’t think it was personal. Got a quarter on you? We’d better call this in.”
    Her hands slid away from his arm. The color the cold had slapped into her cheeks drained away. Jed watched her pupils dilate.
    “If you faint on me, I’m really going to get pissed off.” He grabbed her chin, gave her head a little shake. “It’s over now. He’s gone. Okay?”
    “Your face is bleeding,” she said dully.
    “You already told me that.”
    “He could have shot you.”
    “I could have been spending the night with an exotic dancer. Shows you how far ‘could have’ is from reality. How about that quarter?”
    “I don’t . . .” Automatically, she checked her pockets. “I have a phone in my van.”
    “Of course you do.” He strode over to her van, shaking his head when he found it unlocked.
    “There’s nothing in it,” she began, huffing. It pleased him to see her color was back.
    “Except a phone, a stereo tape deck.” He lifted a brow. “A Fuzzbuster.”
    “It was a gift.” She folded her arms.
    “Right.” He punched in Brent’s number and waited two rings.
    “Merry Christmas!”
    “Hi, Mary Pat.” He could hear children yelling in the background over a forceful recording of “Jingle Bells.” “I need to talk to Brent for a minute.”
    “Jed. You’re not calling to make some lame excuse about tomorrow? I swear I’ll come drag you out here myself.”
    “No, I’ll be there.”
    “Two o’clock sharp.”
    “I’ll set my watch. MP, is Brent around?”
    “Right here making his world-famous sausage stuffing. Hang on.”
    There was a clatter. “Jingle Bells” gave way to “Rudolf.” “Hey, Captain. Merry,