Recker and Haley were in their respective cars, each with their own view of Arden’s address. Recker had the front entrance, while Haley was on the side street looking at the back. The residence was a corner row house. There was no fence around the back, so Haley had a clear view of the back door.
As of now, they didn’t have an indication that anyone was in there. The car from the security camera was nowhere in sight. Of course, there was a garage, so it was always possible that the car was being stored there. But they hadn’t seen anyone coming or going, and hadn’t seen a curtain move, or anyone poking their head in the window to look out at the street. But they hadn’t been there for very long yet, either. Only about an hour.
“Hope this isn’t a wild goose chase,” Haley said. Both he and Recker had their phones on speaker.
“Why would it be?”
“This hacker’s smart, right? Seems kind of dumb to give yourself away by letting your license plate be caught on a camera directly outside of the building you’re trying to get into.”
Recker was silent for a moment. “Yeah, maybe. But he also didn’t know the cameras were there.”
“But if you’re dealing with a guy like David, wouldn’t you assume he’s got some things going on that you don’t see?”
Recker couldn’t deny it made sense. But a lot of criminals got caught by doing stupid things. Maybe this was just the one mistake this guy made. That was the hope.
“Sounds like you got something else on your mind?”
“I read this guy’s file,” Haley answered. “He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who could think something like this up.”
“Well, one thing about hackers is that they’re good at covering their tracks and making themselves seem like something they’re not.”
“Yeah, I suppose that’s true. Still, I can’t wrap my head around this guy being smart enough to hack into David’s system, but he’s dumb enough to use his own car.”
“Maybe he didn’t. Maybe it was stolen and this guy just didn’t report it yet.”
“That could be.”
“Or maybe this guy is still involved somehow,” Recker said. “Maybe an accomplice or a stooge that the hacker’s using to his advantage.”
“I could probably go along with that last one.”
They sat there waiting for two more hours, not seeing or hearing a single thing worth acting upon. Recker periodically checked in with Jones, just to make sure he was all right, and there wasn’t another incident that Jones was trying to cover up. All seemed OK on that front, too.
After another half hour, the car from the video pulled into the driveway.
“Hey, we got action,” Recker said. “Same car.”
“What about the driver?”
“Waiting for him to get out.”
It actually took a minute for the driver to get out. Recker was starting to think that he’d been made somehow, and that Arden knew he was there. Recker kept his car running, in case he had to get out of there fast and chase after his suspect. Luckily, that wasn’t necessary. Arden’s car shut down, and the driver's side door swung open. Recker immediately recognized the driver as Arden. Nobody got out of the passenger side.
Recker wanted to make sure he got to Arden before the man got inside. Once Arden made it there, there was no guarantee he’d open the door. And while Recker could’ve broken in if he had to, he tried to avoid doing illegal things if he could help it. But he also knew there was a decent chance that Arden was going to bolt as soon as Recker announced himself.
“Going in,” Recker said. “Gonna try and reach him before he gets to the door. Get ready in case he shoots up your way.”
“Try to get him to the side,” Haley replied.
Recker quickly hopped out of his car and jogged across the street. Arden was going up the steps to his house.
“Excuse me,” Recker said.
Arden turned around, keys in his hand. “Yes?”
“Wanted to talk to you for a minute.”
“What about?”
Recker reached the small square patch of front lawn. “Just a few questions I have.”
“Oh. OK.”
Arden walked down the couple of steps, acting like he was going to comply with the stranger’s request. The man looked like a cop to him, and he wasn’t in the mood to answer any questions. Arden opened his mouth like he was about to say something, then just took off running. Recker had positioned himself between the door and the car to prevent Arden from running in that direction. He wanted Arden to run towards Haley’s position. The plan worked.
Arden darted across the lawn and turned the corner, running along the sidewalk. Recker started after him, but kept walking. There was no need to break a sweat and run. Haley was already on the sidewalk, moving in Arden’s direction. Haley had his hands in his pocket, looking unassuming. That way Arden wouldn’t think of him as a threat. Haley looked like any other guy walking along the street. Except for the fact that Haley stuck his leg out to trip Arden as he ran past.
Arden stumbled over Haley’s leg and hit the concrete hard, his shoulder jamming into the sidewalk. He groaned in pain as he held his shoulder. Haley reached down and helped the man back to his feet. He then grabbed Arden by the back of his shirt to lead him back to the front of the house where Recker was.
“C’mon, knucklehead,” Haley said. “We got some things to talk about with you.”
“What do you guys want with me?” Arden asked.
“We’ll do it inside.”
“Hey, you guys can’t treat me this way, you know. I’m gonna file a complaint with the police commission or whatever it is.”
“We’re not cops, idiot.”
“Oh. Who are you, then?”
Haley continued hanging onto Arden as he brought him back around to the front of the building.
“Enjoy your little run?” Recker asked upon seeing them.
“I think you broke my shoulder,” Arden said.
“You’re lucky we didn’t break your head.”
“Hey, I asked the other guy, but he didn’t answer. What do you guys want with me?”
“Let’s go inside and talk about it,” Recker said.
“I think that’s what he said. You guys a broken record or something?”
“If you say so.”
“Why can’t we talk out here?” Arden asked.
“Too many eyes and ears watching and listening,” Recker said. “That way if we have to break the rest of your body, we can do it in private.”
“Well that sounds rude.”
Recker picked up the keys that Arden dropped, and walked up to the front door. Haley dragged Arden along. Suddenly, Arden tried to break free, but Haley quickly stuck out his leg again, tripping Arden once more.
“Oh, man, you guys are the worst,” Arden said, rolling over onto his back.
Recker grinned. “Just wait ‘till you get to know us better.”
“Yeah,” Haley said. “We’re a ball of laughs.”
“Are you sure you guys ain’t cops?” Arden asked.
Haley reached down and grabbed the man by the shirt, lifting him back to his feet again. “Positive.”
“Are you guys rubbing me out or something? What’d I do?”
“That depends on your answers.”
“I don’t have any.”
“That’s the first wrong one you’ve said,” Haley replied.
Recker started to open the door.
“Uh, I wouldn’t do that if I was you,” Arden said. “I got a big Rottweiler in there. And he’ll tear your head off if you go in there. Just warning you.”
Recker looked back at him, and shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe the man suggested such a thing. “I’ll take my chances.”
“All right, man, it’s your funeral. Just figured I’d be a good samaritan and warn you. But if you don’t care about your health. It’s on you.”
“Big dogs like that need a lot of exercise.”
“Yeah, so?”
“You don’t have a fence out back,” Recker said.
“Oh, um, I just walk him. Yeah, every day. Half hour every day. Does the trick perfect.”
Recker smirked, knowing the man was lying. He opened the door and walked in, not at all worried about the man’s warnings. As soon as Recker stepped foot in the house, Arden sighed, and looked defeated.
“You don’t look so happy,” Haley said. “Your phantom dog missing?”
Arden tilted his head and shrugged. “Worth a shot.”
“Let’s go.”
Haley pulled him by the shirt, leading him up the steps and eventually inside the house, closing the door behind them. Recker was already walking around, making sure they were alone.
“You got anyone else in here?” Haley asked.
“Uh, yeah, you know, I mean… I have the cleaning ladies in here like three times a week.” Arden looked around. “Can’t you tell?”
They stood there by the door, waiting for Recker to finish his rounds. Once Recker came down the steps, he let them know the coast was clear.
“We’re good,” Recker said.
Haley gave Arden a slight push in the back to move him forward. “Find a chair.”
Arden walked through the living room and into the dining area. There was a small, round wooden table with four chairs.
“Take a seat,” Recker said.
“Oh, thanks,” Arden replied. “Nice of you to let me sit in my own place.”
“You’re lucky you’re able to sit at all.”
“Since I’m apparently hosting, should I offer you guys a chair, too?”
“Considering the position you’re in, you might be better off holding back the mouth, and just answering the questions we ask.”
Arden leaned back and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I’m gonna ask for the third time. What do you guys want with me?”
Recker didn’t want to waste time and engage with what he was sure would be lies, so he cut right to the chase. He pulled out some pictures that Jones printed out from the security cameras. Recker tossed them in front of their suspect.
“What are these?” Arden asked.
“Take a look. See if you recognize anything.”
Arden looked through the pictures, though he didn’t admit to anything as of yet.
“Anything look familiar?” Haley asked.
Arden shrugged. “Looks like my car.”
“Because it is.”
“Could’ve been stolen.”
“And yet you have it today.”
“So somebody stole it for something, then brought it back.”
“Oh. Nice of them.”
“Yeah, you know, just cause you steal something doesn’t make you a bad guy.”
Recker didn’t look amused. He sat down in the chair next to Arden, and glared at him with a menacing scowl.
“Uh oh,” Haley said. “Now you did it.”
Arden looked at Recker, who appeared a bit intimidating. Certainly more intimidating than someone he wanted to deal with at the moment. Recker glared at him for almost a minute, not saying a word. He just wanted Arden to see the scowl and know how unhappy he was with the interview so far.
Then, Recker decided to immediately up the ante. He removed his gun and placed it on the table in front of him. Arden looked at it. The worry was clearly stained on his face now.
“You’re not, uh, you’re not planning on doing anything crazy now, right?” Arden asked, a hint of laughter in his voice to hide his nervousness.
Recker’s facial expression didn’t change. “I guess that would depend on what your definition of crazy is.” Recker then placed his hand on top of his weapon. “I’d like to know whether you think I look like the type of person that’s amused by playing games?”
“Um, I dunno. I mean, who doesn’t like playing games?”
Recker tapped his finger on each of the pictures in front of Arden. “I want you to tell me about this. And if it doesn’t happen within the next two minutes, you’re gonna leave this place with more holes than you were born with.”
Arden continued his nervous laughter. “You wouldn’t do that, right?”
“Who says he wouldn’t?” Haley asked.
“Dead men can’t tell you anything, either.”
Recker had already had enough. He wasn’t playing games with this guy. Not with someone after Jones. Every second they wasted there was a moment Jones’ life was in danger. Recker wasn’t having it.
He instantly picked up his weapon, and pointed it at Arden’s face. Recker pulled the trigger, moving the gun slightly to his left as he fired. The bullet just missed Arden’s face, hitting a glass that was on a shelf along the wall. Arden jumped, putting his arms in front of his face as he leaned over, which was purely a reactionary reflex at that point.
“Are you crazy?!”
Recker pointed the gun straight at his forehead. “I told you. I am not playing games. You’re gonna tell me what I want to know, or the next one is going straight into that box of rocks you call a head. Which is your preference?”
Haley glanced at his partner, a little worried about what he was planning, or would do if Arden declined. This was one of the first times he could recall where it looked like Recker might be losing control. And he wasn’t sure whether Recker would pull the trigger or not. He gulped, concerned over Recker’s plans. Haley wasn’t going to try and get in his friend’s way, though. He just had to trust that this was part of the game they sometimes had to play to coax information out of people.
Arden worriedly looked at Recker, then glanced at Haley, hoping he was the good cop who’d put a stop to this. But he wasn’t. Haley looked on, seemingly OK with whatever was happening.
“Hey, good guys aren’t supposed to act this way,” Arden said, with that trademark hint of a laugh to disguise his worries.
“Who said we’re the good guys?” Recker replied.
Arden slightly moved his body back, thinking the man beside him was crazy enough to do just about anything. And right at this moment, he might have been right.