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.And I kind of really don’t care.I think I’d rather go back to sitting at the school.It was quiet there and I didn’t have to run around in the middle of the night.”That was how the faux bomb could have been planted.If it was Volto, he was able to get in easily if Mr.Morris was out running around.He didn’t have guards to worry about.“What’s your number?” I asked.Mr.Morris raised a dark eyebrow.“Not interested in whatever you’re selling, sweetheart.”“I’m in the same position,” I said.“He’s threatened my grades unless I help him deliver where this school is and help him get the guys out of school.But if we’re both going the same direction, it’s a waste of time.The guys are going to get rattled with someone following me all the time.They’ll wonder if I’m in on this.”“I’ve already tried following everyone.It’s dead.They never go there.They go to that diner or shopping or to each other’s houses.Typical teenager stuff.”“But they’re starting to trust me,” I said.I glanced at Luke, who had his hands on his hips, waiting.“If I have your number, I can call when I learn something new.You can stay home and pretend you’re checking up on me and give yourself a break.Or at least start following other leads.I’ll give you details so you won’t have to be up all night.No need for both of us to be out.If we’re working together, we might as well save our resources.And you can let me know if you pick up anything.We may be able to get out from under this fiasco sooner.”Mr.Morris twisted his lips, glancing back out at Luke on the bike.“How do I know you’re not going to feed me a bunch of shit?”“Because I don’t like Mr.Hendricks either, but even if he finds a way to kick the guys out of school, he’s still up to something.This may not end even if he gets the guys to leave.The fact that he’s using so many people makes me wonder why.I think it’s wrong that he can’t give you a raise good enough to live on.If he’s not going to have security in the first place, he can afford to raise your salary and not having you working so much.”“That’s what I said.”“So if I can just call you with updates, you won’t have to go out and you can spend time figuring out other things.And if he’s asking questions, I can feed you details when you need.”He frowned.“I’m not the only one he’s got on your tail, though.”“Who else is there?”“I don’t know.I just know there’s more than me.Hendricks doesn’t go out but he gets more information than I deliver to him.I know there’s someone watching Blackbourne all the time whenever possible.Which is usually never, because he always disappears.”I pursed my lips.“It makes me wonder what Hendricks has going on that he doesn’t want anyone finding out.”“He’s wasting a lot of money on this goose chase,” Mr.Morris said.“So whatever it is,” I said, “it’s big and involves a lot of money.Money he could be using to raise your salary and everyone else’s, too.I want to find out what.”Mr.Morris glanced once more at Luke.He opened the middle console and fished out a card, writing down a number on the back.“I want a report every week.I can’t promise I won’t follow the others, but I’ll try not to follow you if I can help it.”“It’s harder to get them to go there, I think, if we always have someone following.And you should switch cars,” I said.“They know yours now.”“It’d be easier if I had another one.” He handed me the card.“If you figure out what Hendricks is up to, I want to know.”I nodded.“Ditto.”He rolled up the window.I backed away and he put the car into reverse.“What did you do?” Luke asked as he rolled the bike forward, watching Mr.Morris drive off.I held up the card like a prize.“You can tell Kota that I’ve learned how to make friends.”LUKE, THE THIEFTwenty minutes later, Luke had pulled into a sleeping neighborhood, very similar to the one I lived in, with middle-class homes, large yards, secluded from main roads by lots of trees.Luke pulled into the drive of a quiet house.There weren’t any other vehicles in the driveway.He stopped the bike, and tugged at me to climb off.“What are we doing here?” I asked, looking up into the dark house.It was a small, one story ranch-style home.I stumbled on my bare feet on the concrete drive [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]