The Guardian

ahead of us. I don’t know. Somehow you need to figure out a way to stay out of sight.”
    “No problem. We’ll get there plenty early. He won’t even know we’re there.”
    “Don’t bank on it.” Laura said. “This guy’s a pretty sharp number.”
    “Ya okay. But if he wants to work with us, it shouldn’t matter that we’re there, just like you said.”
    “You’re right and I agree.” John said. “But we don’t want to spook him off either. At this point, like it or not, we need him on our side.”
    “Well, that’s all I have, either of you two have any questions?”
    They both shook their heads and said no, stood up. “See you guys in the morning.” They both left.
    “I don’t know why all the secrecy with this guy. It’s not like we’re not trying to meet him half way you know.” John sighed.
    Laura looked at him, shaking her head, “Remember, he’s a wanted man. How comfortable would you feel meeting with two police officers?”
    “Well, I guess you got a point there. Let’s just hope everything goes okay.”
    They had spent the afternoon going over a list of all the owners of white, Plymouth, mini-vans in Clark County. Singletary had gotten them the list and it was apparent that were quite a few.
    Looking down the list they couldn’t help but notice the number of Spanish names. They outweighed the Anglo names three to one.
    “We can divide the list up into three parts. We’ll break it down into areas. Each one of us can take an area, canvas that section, and rattle the bushes. See what we can come up with.” Laura suggested.
    “That’s a good idea.” John agreed.
    So, they spent the afternoon, and even using their Thomas Guide street guide. It had taken them quite awhile. There were several hundred of various years and models. Since all they knew was the color and the make, they had to look at all of the white ones. They were lucky to get that information. A nine year old that was nearly abducted and one old lady had given them the information.
    It was like looking for a needle in a hay stack. What they feared most was the media telling everyone and their brother about the van they were looking for. There was nothing to prevent the perp from switching vehicles. He could even be changing the color of the one he had. All they could do was post an alert to all the body and paint shops in town. They would offer a reward to anyone who reported a white van wanting a paint job. That’s the best they could do. It was starting to wear them down, but they wouldn’t give up. They sorted their list and hoped for the best.
    Chapter 61
    Jack had gathered all the stuff he needed. He filled the small trunk of the Jag with the bags of paint, paper, and other things he had gotten from the various places he had gone.
    There was a small strip mall right on the corner of Flamingo and Jones. The parking lot went right up to the bus stop that sat right outside the Subway shop. He pulled the Jag into a parking space in front of the sandwich shop. He grabbed all the receipts, stuffed them into a paper trash bag that he had with him. He got out, walked over to the overflowing trashcan inside the bus stop and shoved them down inside.
    He ran back to the Jag, backed out and headed south down Jones. He was in a hurry to get home and get the van done. His patience was getting thin. He wanted to add to his collection.
    While at the store, on his way out he went by the magazine rack. He noticed a current issue of Car Craft magazine. It had an article on how to “do it yourself” flame job. How fortunate for him. He grabbed it, slipped it inside his jacket, and was gone.
    On the drive home, he was sure that he wasn’t going to spend all the time and effort that would be detailed in the article. It would give him a good idea of some basics so the van wouldn’t look like a total piece of shit.
    Using his remote opener, he waited while the gate opened for him. Quickly he pulled in and hit the remote again to close it. He gathered all the bags and went to the garage to start the arborous task of changing his van.
    He’d do the windows first. Of all the tasks, that was the easiest. He’d never done window film before but looking at the instructions, it didn’t seem that hard. Even though people he knew that had done it say, it was a messy pain in the ass.
    Three hours later, the windows were done. It was actually a major pain in the ass. But, all things considered, it actually wasn’t not looking too