Page 49 of Rules of Engagement

"Me?"

"Yeah. I figured he liked you enough to stick around, and then he hired you. Later, I figured he already had the agency set up by the time our case was closed, so that couldn't have been the reason. You were his surprise hire. He made the right choice too. You can do lots of things the other PIs can't."

"Solomon always says no one ever suspects me."

"That's right, perky," said Maddox. He nudged me jovially and I laughed. Perky was a pet name that followed me around.

My phone rang and I reached for it, my heart thumping. Flaherty's name flashed on the screen. "What's the news?" I asked.

"All good with the junk yard. The cameras were pointed at the road and the only vehicle that exited within an hour of the motorcycle going the other way was a beat-up SUV. We got the plate. Lucas ran it and it's registered to someone with the same surname as Mikey Gibbs so the wallet lead looks solid."

"Does Garrett know about the camera?"

"We gave him the nod before we got outta there."

"Where are you now?"

"Still in Frederickstown. I'm staking out the address the SUV is registered to. Fletch took the car and drove up to Boston to see if the shooter turns up there; that’s because Lucas found some information that links him to that area. You might want to let Delgado know that no one is coming in to relieve him at the hospital."

"That's no problem. I'm heading back there now," I told him. "Do you have a vehicle?"

"No, I'm warming a bench."

"I'll get Lucas to send someone out with a car. Thanks for keeping me updated."

"No thanks necessary," grunted Flaherty before he hung up.

"Fletcher and Flaherty split up to cover more ground," I told Maddox, quickly explaining what they were doing. "I need to get back to the hospital. I've already been gone too long."

"Let's go," said Maddox. He pointed to the path where we entered the park and we stepped up our pace as we made our way to the car. We got in and Maddox pulled out onto the street. A flash of black in the corner of my eye caught my attention. Realizing it was just another car pulling out behind us, I dismissed it. "You're disappointed," said Maddox.

"At what Matt Miller said?"

"No, what he didn't say."

I thought about it. The meeting wasn't entirely fruitless. He mentioned a friend at Fort Charles and I had a good idea who that friend might be. I worked with both Captain Mitch McAuley and Solomon on a case once, the same case that played a part in my breakup with Maddox, so I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to bring that up right then. Instead, I said, "He gave me a few things to think about."

"You know you can talk to me about anything," said Maddox. He reached over and squeezed my hand, giving me a boost of both warmth and reassurance. "I'm here for you." He dropped my hand to take the wheel, turning onto Century Street and heading in the direction of the hospital.

"You glanced in the mirror seven times in the last two minutes," I said, breaking the silence.

"Someone's following us," said Maddox. "Hey! You didn't turn around!"

"I'm a pro now," I said smugly. "Is it the black car, two cars back?"

"Yeah. You noticed it too?"

"It was parked on the street behind us when we got into your car after we left the park. I dismissed it then, but now that you noticed it too, I'm worried."

"I'm more curious than worried. I can either confirm this guy is following us, and try and shake them off, or we can let them follow us. It's your call."

"Assuming it has to do with Solomon, I say we let them follow us to the hospital and then we try and surprise them."

"How do you propose we do that?"

I thought about the layout of the parking lot. Although we risked getting too much exposure, and the possibility of being shot, I couldn't figure out why someone would want to. It never seemed like I was anyone’s target so I didn't feel particularly in danger. If someone intended to finish off Solomon by murder, then why would they follow me? If they knew he was still alive, it would be obvious that he was at the hospital under armed guard and there would be no reason to follow me. That left me with another conundrum: did the person following us have some information for me?

"If we park near the east wing, rather than the front parking lot, there're a lot of shadows where the wing extends and the supporting pillars hide everything underneath. Park as close to that as we can, and we can get directly under the pillars and hide behind them to wait and see who follows us."

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