The restaurant was an aging fast-food establishment located between two warehouses. It was closed for the night. There was only a single vehicle in the parking lot. It was parked at the far end, its lights off.
“You know,” Virginia said, “I admit I’m new at the investigation business, but this does not look promising.”
“Speaking as someone who has had a little experience in the field, I can guarantee you that it doesn’t look good,” Cabot said.
He cruised slowly past the entrance and kept going.
Virginia glanced back at the lone car in the parking lot. “We’re not going to stop?”
“We’re definitely going to find out what’s going on, but the first rule in a situation like this is to control the meeting point,” Cabot said.
He turned the corner and eased his vehicle to the curb. Virginia realized they were now hidden behind the massive bulk of a warehouse.
Cabot took out his phone and called the most recent number. Kate answered immediately. He put the phone on speaker so that Virginia could hear everything.
“This is Sutter,” he said.
“I don’t see you,” Kate said, her voice tight and anxious. “Where are you? I told you, I’m on my way out of town. I can’t stay in Seattle. I think I’m in danger.”
“Listen closely,” Cabot said. “Drive your car out of the parking lot. Turn right at the end of the block. The SUV parked at the curb is mine. Drive past it. You’ll see a loading zone. Pull into it. Get out of the car and walk back toward me. I’ll meet you halfway.”
“Look, I don’t have time for games. I called you because I’ve got some information that may or may not be useful to you. Are you interested or not?”
“I’m interested but I’m sure you can understand that under the circumstances, I’m inclined to take precautions. The body count in this case is starting to climb. I’d rather not add to it. This meeting is your idea but we do it on my terms.”
There was a short hesitation. Then the soft, muffled sound of a car starting.
“All right,” Kate said. “I’m on my way. But no more games, understand?”
“No more games,” Cabot agreed.
He ended the connection.
“She certainly sounds scared,” Virginia said. “I notice you didn’t tell her that I’m here, too.”
“That’s because you’re my backup,” Cabot said.
“Oh, yeah. Right.”
“It’s always best if the person who arranges the meet doesn’t know there’s a backup.”
“Got it. But what does the backup do in this situation? I don’t even have a gun.”
“The backup gets into the driver’s seat and keeps the engine going in preparation for a fast takeoff in the event that something looks the least bit wrong.”
“In other words, I’m the wheelman. Wait. Make that wheelwoman.”
“Not sure that term is still in use, but yeah, that’s the general idea.”
“Doesn’t sound like much of a job for the backup person.”
Cabot did not take his eyes off the rearview mirror. “We all have a role to play.”
Virginia was about to argue the point but the sight of headlights coming slowly down the street behind them silenced her.
The vehicle drifted past the SUV and pulled into the loading zone. Virginia realized that the position put Kate’s vehicle squarely in the glare of a towering streetlight. That was not an accident, she decided. By forcing Kate to reposition her vehicle, Cabot had gained some control over the territory.
“She’s following instructions,” Cabot said. “That’s a good sign.”
There was a tense pause and then the headlights of the other car winked out. The driver’s-side door opened. Kate emerged. She was clearly illuminated in the glow of the streetlight.
Cabot cracked open his door and got out. “Remember the backup’s job.”
“I’m on it,” Virginia said.
Cabot closed the door.
Virginia scrambled into the driver’s seat and lowered the window so that she could overhear whatever Kate had to say to Cabot. She realized she was shivering ever so slightly. Adrenaline, she thought, not nerves. Okay, maybe it was nerves. But not an anxiety attack, so it was all good.
She watched Kate start walking quickly toward Cabot.
In the eerie silence of the almost deserted street she could hear Kate’s footsteps echoing faintly on the pavement.
Kate came to a halt at the edge of the ring of light cast by the streetlamp.
“Cabot Sutter?” she said uneasily. “Is that you?”
“Yes,” Cabot said. He was about twenty feet away, still in deep shadows. “That’s far enough. Why are you leaving town, Miss Delbridge?”
“Because I think someone is setting me up to take the fall for the embezzlement that’s going on at Night Watch. Look, I don’t have a lot of time. I think you need to take a close look at someone else in the company.”
“Got a name?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. That’s why I called —”
She broke off as the growl of a rapidly accelerating car engine shattered the unnatural stillness of the night.
Virginia automatically looked around, trying to see the other vehicle. For a beat she saw nothing. In the next instant, a car roared around the corner at the far end of the street and rocketed forward. The twin beams of the headlights lanced the darkness.
Virginia had a split second in which to realize that the oncoming vehicle was rushing forward in the wrong lane and that, if it did not change course, it would slam into Kate and Cabot.
Kate half turned to see what was happening behind her. She must have been stunned by the headlights because instead of trying to get out of the path of the oncoming vehicle, she froze.
“Kate,” Cabot shouted. “Move.”
He broke into a run, heading toward her.
Virginia did the only thing she could think of – she switched on the SUV’s powerful headlights, hoping to distract or even temporarily blind the driver of the speeding car. For good measure, she hit the horn.
The maneuver must have caught the driver of the oncoming car by surprise. Whoever was behind the wheel reacted instinctively, swerving out of the wrong lane and into the other one.
Cabot grabbed Kate’s arm and hauled her out of the street and around the rear of her vehicle.
The driver of the attacking car, having lost sight of the target, roared away down the street and kept going.
Virginia tried to get a look at the driver as the vehicle raced past, but all she could make out was a vague silhouette.
It took her a second to realize that whoever was behind the wheel was wearing a ski mask.