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Back Just Thieves Save as PDF
Chapters (42)
  1. Cover
  2. Other Titles
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. 1
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 2
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 3
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. 29
  37. 30
  38. 31
  39. 32
  40. 33
  41. 34
  42. ACCOMPLICES AND EASY MARKS

“I think they killed Frank after he took it back. The lady said she saw him leaving the house with somebody, the guy who lived there, she said. Besides, if they got it from Frank, then why the kid? And why not come after me?”

“Maybe they don’t know about you,” Casey said.

“I hadn’t thought about it that way,” I said. It was true. I had the trophy, but no one had come after me. There had to be a reason for that. That reason might have something to do with Froehmer. It all came back to him somehow. That’s where I still needed help.

3

27

THE OBLIGATION

WHEN I GOT TO MY CAR AFTER WORK, MOBLEY WAS SITTING IN THE PASSENGER’S SEAT. I had locked it. I always locked it. You never know what someone’s going to take. But there he was sitting and waiting for me. I figured Mobley wasn’t smart enough to get into it by himself, that he must have had help. Whoever helped him wasn’t there. Only Mobley. Sitting in my car.

“Go on and drive out of here,” Mobley said. “Drive as if you’re going home.”

I backed out of the spot and started to drive out of the parking lot. “They probably have you on camera, breaking into my car.”

“They don’t have me doing anything,” Mobley said.

I tried to nod as sarcastically as one can and continued to drive. After we were about a half mile away from the warehouse, Mobley started giving me directions, telling me where to turn, this way and that, until we ended up down a gravel road where another car was parked. Mobley had me pull over and park so we were nose-to-nose with the other car. I thought about running. I wondered how far I would get in the dark and where I would go and if it was even worth it. I couldn’t see anyone in the car. If Froehmer, or whoever he worked for, was going to kill me, it wouldn’t be Mobley who did it. We both got out and walked to the empty car and got in. Now I was in the passenger seat.

“Froehmer wants to bring you back in,” Mobley said.

Okay.

“You just need to do something to clean the slate,” Mobley said and when he told me exactly what that meant I didn’t want to come back in.

“I’m not sure it’s where I can help Froehmer the most,” I said. “I’m better suited for getting him stuff.”

“He doesn’t see it that way,” Mobley said and looked out into the dark countryside. “We underestimated you. You showed what you could do with that kid.”

“I wasn’t part of that. Froehmer knows.”