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Back The Short Drop
Chapters (61)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication
  4. CONTENTS
  5. START READING
  6. PART ONE
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. PART TWO
  23. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  24. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  25. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  26. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  36. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  46. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  49. PART THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  56. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  57. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY
  59. EPILOGUE
  60. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  61. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

If it was on purpose, then the partner knew Tate had been taken. Activating the virus might be a signal to lead them away from Tate. Unwilling or unable to risk a call to the police, the partner was doing the next best thing in trying to divert suspicion away from Tate and, in so doing, saving his life. Make them think they’d grabbed the wrong guy.

And give himself away? It just didn’t make sense. He and Tate would have to be awful close for the partner to stick his neck out like this when he could just give them Tate and slip away. Unless Tate wasn’t his partner at all but a pawn. In that case, what was WR8TH’s play?

Gibson gave up trying to calculate all the permutations and went back to the binoculars. Jenn and Hendricks had settled on a plan. They squared Tate away and shut him up in his storage unit like a box of old clothes. In half an hour, the two were back in street clothes. They made their usual exit from Grafton, with Jenn going over the wall and unlocking the gate for Hendricks in the SUV.

When they were gone, Gibson dropped off the roof and jogged to where they were holding Tate. They had locked him in but hadn’t locked the unit where they were staying. He found the keys on a hook just inside the rollaway door. He wondered what he would find in there. He didn’t know, but he hoped there was still enough of Tate left to answer his questions.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Hendricks took the Pennsylvania Turnpike toward Pittsburgh. Jenn paged through her notes, trying to make sense of what had happened and hoping she wouldn’t rue the decision to send Gibson back to DC. She could have really used his expertise right about now. She ran her tongue across her teeth while she thought. For once, Hendricks was quiet, the possibility that Tate was the wrong guy too horrible to contemplate.

“Tate is no angel,” Hendricks said.

She didn’t answer and flipped to another page in her notebook.

The GPS coordinates that Vaughn’s virus provided led them to North Huntingdon—an older, established suburban neighborhood outside Pittsburgh. Mature, stately trees shaded the streets, and the lawns were expanses of perfect green. Luxury vehicles were parked in every driveway.

“All this needs is a lemonade stand,” Hendricks said.

The GPS coordinates led them to 1754 Orange Lane, a broad two-story Tudor with white trim. A police car was parked in front, and Hendricks kept driving. At the end of the block he pulled over to the curb, adjusted his mirror, and sat back to watch.

“This is the house?” Hendricks asked.

“If Gibson’s virus is accurate.” She called Rilling and had him look up the tax records on the house.