Jed sat in his car in the newspaper’s parking lot and looked at his watch. It was twenty minutes to five, which meant that Darlene with all of her toddler paraphernalia would be leaving the Larson Building office very soon. He took the cellular telephone out of his pocket and dialed the number for the Cherry Court Motel. Finding that Annie wasn’t back from Spokane yet, he left a message for her to call him as soon as she got in.
He made it back to the Larson Building at a few minutes before five, and prayed that Darlene was conscientious enough not to leave early. He sat for a moment and took a few deep breaths. His plan to get back into the office wouldn’t work if he seemed harried or nervous. He got off the elevator and sauntered up to the door just as she was folding the playpen and loading little Jessie into her traveling car seat. “Hi,” he said.
She turned around. “Oh, it’s you again. How did your job interview go?”
Jed smiled broadly. “Really well, I think. I was only expecting it to last half an hour or so, but they kept me there all afternoon, meeting this vice president and that marketing director. I think that’s a good sign.”
Darlene’s eyes were wide. “All that time for an interview? I think I would’ve wet my pants or something. I’ve never had one that lasted more’n ten minutes or so.”
Jed was hardly surprised. “You’ve got a lot of stuff there, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, it’s always this way when I take Jess someplace.” She stopped and eyed the mound of baby stuff. “I guess I’ll have to make two trips.”
“Oh, no. I can help you. Is your car nearby?”
“Yeah, it’s at a meter on the street, right down there.” She pointed out the window.
“No problem.”
She looked so relieved, Jed wished he didn’t have to deceive her. She would undoubtedly get in trouble when it was discovered that someone had gotten into the office after hours, and it might be a long time before the temporary agency sent her out on another job. “You take the baby and go ring for the elevator,” he said, taking firm control of the situation. “I’ll be right behind you with the playpen.”
“Okay. The door locks automatically. Just pull it shut behind you.”
“Right. You have your keys?”
“Right here.” She jangled the lucite key chain.
“Great. I’ll shut the door.” On his earlier visit, he’d noticed the office door had a standard lock. All he had to do was switch the push buttons, and the door would stay unlocked until he came back up. He pulled it shut loudly and made a show of twisting the knob. “It’s locked.”
Down at the curb, he helped Darlene load the gear, Jessie’s car seat, and the baby into a lemon-yellow Chevy Vega. From the sound of the engine, Jed suspected the car was suffering from terminal old age, and probably wouldn’t last out the year. Darlene reminded Jed of a lot of the clients he had represented as a public defender. He knew he ought to feel compassion for them, but mostly, all he felt was bewilderment. Their lives were so different from his, he couldn’t figure out how they found the strength to make it through the day. As was his custom, he tried not to think about it too hard. He stood on the curb until she was out of sight.
Back upstairs, Jed checked the other offices on the floor. All looked closed for the evening, and there was no sign of a night watchman. He slipped back into the office and locked the door behind him.
He looked around. Now that he was back in, there was plenty of time to do a thorough search, and no reason to think he’d be interrupted. The intense silence made him nervous, so he turned Darlene’s little television on, keeping the volume low. Jed then went to the filing cabinet, and starting with the top drawer, pulled every manila folder, methodically searching for a distribution schedule, references to a colonel, or anything that hinted at a scheme that would harm the public.