Jack Beale 00 - Dangerous Shoals

Interesting… . Let me know when you get something… . No ‘if’; you’re good. You’ll get it …”
    He hung up and looked at Jack.
    “Anything?”
    “Not yet. The disc seems to be corrupted or damaged in some way. If it can be read, she’ll get in. She’s really good.”
    “Let’s hope. Do you recognize this?” Jack tossed a small object onto Tom’s desk. It was the “cat toy” Courtney had found last night.
    Tom’s eyes opened wide and just as he reached for it, instinctively he motioned for Jack to remain silent.
    “It’s okay. It’s dead.”
    Tom picked it up and turned it over and over in his hand as he studied it. He asked, “Where did you get this?”
    “Last night, when we were cleaning up at my place, Courtney found it under the secretary where Cat had been hiding.”
    Without looking up, Tom said, “Speaking of Cat. Last night you said she lost a claw?”
    “That’s what the vet said.”
    “That must have hurt.”
    Nah. He said that cats lose claws all the time.”
    Tom looked up, “I didn’t mean that it hurt her; I meant him.”
    “Ohh,” said Jack. “Yeah, you’re probably right. If she clawed him hard enough to lose a claw, he’s probably in some pain.”
    Tom looked back down at the small object as he continued to rotate it with his fingers. “No chance you found it when you were cleaning up?”
    “The claw? No. They’re really pretty small.”
    Jack could see that Tom was thinking about something. “What?” he asked.
    “Maybe this bug explains why he was in your place. Maybe he had gone in to plant it. Then Cat did something that made him go after her. She clawed him, he dropped it, and then he tried to kill her. You and Max got home and he had to bolt.”
    “Maybe …” Something clicked in Jack’s memory. “Hold on. What if … ?” His voice trailed off as he tried to put his thoughts into words.
    Tom waited.
    “Okay. Yesterday I broke a lamp that was on the table by the couch. For weeks now Cat has been acting weird around it, always on the table, rubbing against it. She never used to do things like that. What if the bug was in that lamp? What if she knew? When I was cleaning up the pieces, she began batting something around on the floor. I didn’t pay any attention to what she was playing with. What if it was this bug? Suppose he had planted it some time ago, hoping to find out if Daniel had given me anything. Maybe when the lamp broke, he came back to find the bug and hide it again!”
    “Jack. That is really thin. You’re making Cat sound like some kind of a Lassie. Hey, girl! What? Timmy fell in the well!”
    Jack paused and grinned in embarrassment. “You’re right.”
    “Still, we don’t know what Kurt knows, how long he’s been listening, if he’s been listening, or even if the disc is what he’s after.” Tom paused and then continued, “You know, it’s just possible that even without the Lassie deal, Cat is still our best hope for finding him.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “If she stuck a claw in him, maybe he’ll need medical attention. I’ll notify hospitals and pharmacies to let me know if anyone comes in with those kinds of injuries. It’s a long shot, but what the hell.”
    After Jack’s departure, Tom busied himself with calls to local hospitals and pharmacies. He had planned to call York to fill them in on his suspicions about Kurt, but as he hung up from the last call, he changed his mind. He wanted Kurt for himself. It was personal. If Kurt were who he seemed to be, and he succeeded in his mission and connections were made, his family could be in great danger. And he wasn’t going to let that happen.

CHAPTER 79
    KURT JOINED THE ever-increasing stream of cars heading toward Hampton Beach. The day was already hot, and the humidity seemed to press against his skin, which didn’t make his hand feel any better. The car’s air conditioner wasn’t working, so he had the windows open, hoping that the breeze would provide some relief.
    His plan was to ditch the car in Central Mass., and then rent a new one for the return. He had been in the area long enough to know that it was inevitable that someone would eventually connect him and the car. Too many people, like that nosy, bird- watching old lady, had seen him around the harbor. At least with a different car he would reduce that risk by fifty percent
    As he reached Hampton Beach proper, the people walking on the sidewalks were moving faster than the traffic on the road.