Bea Cannon - A Small Gray Dot

There were lights coming from the windows. It was not a good position from which to see into the front but I had a clear view of the big one on the side. I was surprised to see it had no curtains. Maybe Binqua didn’t like curtains.

I saw two armchairs and the edge of what appeared to be a monitor. I couldn’t see the other side of the room but I construed it to be where Bedlow had his surveillance system. There was a man sitting in one of the armchairs from where I gathered he was watching the monitor. Judging by the armchair, whoever was watching would be comfortable. That could make him less alert. The other chair was empty and I didn’t see any sign of Morgan though she might’ve been on the side of the room I couldn’t see. She could also have been elsewhere in the house. Or, not there at all.

There was something familiar about the man but I was too far away, and he sat with his head down and his face turned partially away from the window, so I couldn’t make out his features. I wished I had binoculars, but you can’t have everything. However, since the guy had light hair instead of black, and was wearing a guard’s uniform, I knew it wasn’t Bedlow.

I hazarded a guess that Bedlow always had someone watching the monitor, so it was probably one of the guards I’d seen at the entryway guardhouse. Whoever he was, it wasn’t very smart of him to sit in front of a lighted window. Duncan crawled up beside me to take a look. We watched for a few minutes and I noticed something. That chair must’ve been very comfortable because the guard definitely wasn’t alert. He was in fact, asleep. Duncan saw it too, and we looked at each other.

“Do you know which room Bedlow would be in?” I asked quietly.

“Yeah”, murmured Duncan. “When I was a guard I took a night stint a few times to watch his monitor, so I know the layout of the house pretty well. His room’s on the other side. There’s a garage on that side, too, and it has a side door for getting in without raising the garage door. The inside door opens into the kitchen.”

“Would those be locked?”

“The one outside should be, and the one to the inside was always locked when I was there. I had to unlock it to step out into the garage to smoke on my break.”

Perfect. I knew how to get through locked doors.

“Would there be more than one guard?”

“Well, there’re usually two and the other one should’ve been in the same room with the one watching the monitor – that’s so they can keep each other awake – but he’s not so that could mean Bedlow’s only got the one tonight. Or, he had to take a leak.”

I thought for a moment. “Are there motion triggered lights on the property, or a camera inside the garage? Alarms?” Either of those features would be harder to bypass.

“Nah. No motion lights or alarms. Bedlow’s not worried about break-ins here. The cameras watch the front, back, and sides of the house. He’s got ones watching the neighborhood entrance, and a few places on the surrounding wall. That’s probably how they spotted Morgan.” He gave a tight smile. “He tried putting them around the entire neighborhood, so he could watch everybody all the time but they kept disappearing – or coming up broken. Somebody finally reported the snooping to the city police and they came out and talked to him. Then they went down to the Semptor and talked to his boss. Henderson called him in. He didn’t like having the cops come in here so Bedlow had to remove the ones still working and quit putting them up.” He cocked his head. “We going in?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

I looked back at the window. The guard was still asleep and the other one hadn’t showed up. Either he was doing more than taking a leak or he wasn’t there. It was cold and growing later. We had to get a move on.

“Okay. Stay low and follow me.”

Crouching, we moved through a gap in the holly bushes and ran down the slope. Percy slipped and muttered a low curse. Duncan pulled him to his feet and we continued across the yard, keeping below the windows on the front of the house – which also didn’t have curtains. We reached the garage and I tested the side door’s knob. It turned. I shook my head. Somebody had left it unlocked. Either Bedlow wasn’t real smart – or he had excessive confidence. I guess since he’d never been bothered, he put his trust in the cameras and the guard watching them, and didn’t do a personal check.

We slid silently into the dark, two-car garage. I pulled out my flashlight and swung it around. The only vehicle parked there was a model I hadn’t seen in a while, a black Chevy sedan. I swept my light around. Two cans, one for trash and the other for recycling, sat against a wall, and there were several shelves, most of which were empty. A plastic gas container occupied one, and a couple of oil cans sat on another. Neatly folded rags were on a bottom shelf. Up a couple of wooden steps, my light came to rest on the door into the house. I listened. No alarms or outcry so that meant the guard was either still asleep or hadn’t seen us enter.

I went up the steps and tried the knob of the entry door. Locked. I checked it. A simple knob-lock, sometimes called a credit-card lock, no deadbolt. Easy. There were no longer any credit cards, however, I had something that would work just as well. I pulled out my wallet and removed my plastic library card. I threaded it through the crack and slipped it between the frame and lock, leaned on the door and it quietly popped open. I looked into a dimly lit kitchen. I doused my light and listened for footsteps but heard nothing. The house was still.

I reached down and took the 9mm from my boot, and tucked it in my jacket pocket. The guys stared but they didn’t say anything. I wasn’t after killing anyone unless I had to, and I figured the small gun would be enough to scare the guard. It also wouldn’t inflict a whole lot of damage or be as loud if I had to use it. I could get to my mini .45 or my .357 fast enough if I needed to inflict more damage. I unfastened my jacket and handed Duncan the .45 I’d taken from the guard earlier.

I whispered, “Take this. Easier to operate at close quarters than a rifle. You and Percy go get Bedlow. Lem, come with me.”

Duncan eyeballed the gun, probably recognizing it as the type issued to the guards. “Where did you get this?”

“Tell you later, and don’t fire it unless you have to. Now let’s get going.”

We moved through the kitchen and entered a hall. Duncan pointed down the hall, indicating the way to the room with the guard, and he and Percy paused outside a door. I wanted to get to the surveillance room without alerting the guard so I mouthed, “wait”, and he nodded. I got up the short hall and when I saw the light from the room, I waved him in as Lem and I rushed the last few feet and burst in on the sleeping guard. I heard the ruckus from down the hall as Duncan and Percy accosted Bedlow but the deeply asleep guard didn’t stir.

Lem unslung his rifle as I kicked the side of the chair. The guard’s eyes flew open and his head snapped up as he came awake. His eyes widened. So did mine. I knew why the guard that took Morgan had limped. He’d gotten fatter since the last time we’d met but I never forget a face.

His mouth dropped open and he gasped. “Tennessee Murray! Wh… what’re you doin’ here?”

I wasn’t surprised he remembered me. “Abe Harlow. I might ask the same of you, but I won’t. Put your hands where I can see them. Where’s the girl?”

He raised his hands in the air. “What girl? Ain’t seen no girl here! How’d you git in?”

Lem pointed his rifle, and Harlow flinched and threw his eyes on him. “Hey, I ain’t done nothing! I swear I ain’t seen no girl!”

I looked at him. “Let me see your hands.”