As Jones finished up setting up his makeshift workstation, Recker and Haley huddled together at the table by the window, trying to determine their plan of attack. There were a bunch of different ways they could go, different people to talk to, places to stake out, and they probably could have done it in any order. But they were trying to look at it logically and figure out an order.
“How about we talk to this guy first?” Haley asked, pointing to the name of Charlie Alderson.
Recker sorted out the files until he got to the one of Alderson, reading his information again. “Why first?”
“Well, all those other guys talked to him. And they wound up dead within forty-eight hours. If he’s linked with him, might as well know it right off the bat.”
Recker studied the sheet for a minute. “The only thing is, if he is hooked up with Cloutier, he’s gonna know we’re here right away. We’ll lose the element of surprise.”
“We might lose it, anyway. I mean, as soon as we start asking around about him, Cloutier’s gonna get word we’re looking for him. We’ve only got surprise on our side for two, maybe three days tops.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“Just seems to me we should go to the heavy hitters first and bypass all those people that won’t give us much or amount to anything.”
“Well, there’s no guarantee this guy’s gonna give us anything either.”
“Let’s step up the pressure right from the beginning,” Haley said. “Let Cloutier and everyone who’s working with him, let them know we’re not like the other guys who were sent here. Instead of us reacting to him, let him react to us. Let’s help him make the mistake we need to catch him.”
Recker nodded. It all sounded good to him. “Let’s do it.”
After they put their papers away, Recker and Haley got ready to hit the town. They went over to Jones, who was still getting his software programs up and running.
“How much longer’s that gonna take?” Recker asked.
“Should be good within the next few hours,” Jones said. “They’re sophisticated programs with a lot of moving parts. It’s not just like hitting the button on your laptop and everything’s ready to use right away. It takes time.”
“I know. Just asking the question.”
“It will be a few hours. If you are getting antsy, why don’t you go out and shoot somebody? Get acclimated to the area.”
Recker looked at Haley, feigning a look of surprise. “I almost feel hurt. I’m almost insulted that you automatically think my initial response to being here would be to just shoot someone. I’m very hurt.”
“I’m sure.”
“Well, I did say almost.”
“Actually, we’re gonna go out and talk to someone right now,” Haley said.
“Oh?” Jones replied. “Who do you have lined up?”
“Charlie Alderson.”
“Alderson. He’s the…”
“The financial executive who’s got suspected ties to some shady people,” Recker said.
“Where are you going to find him at?”
“Well, the reports say he likes to go out drinking at some local establishments with a few of his friends around nine o’clock every Friday night. Seems to me we could join him, no?”
“I think it would be rude not to,” Haley said.
Recker and Haley started to leave the room, and got to the door, before Jones tried to give them some parting advice.
“Be careful,” Jones said. “Remember, this isn’t likely to get wrapped up in a day. Don’t rush into anything and force it before it’s ready.”
Recker smiled at him and nodded. “We will. Thanks Dad.”
Jones rolled his eyes and shook his head as he got back to his computers. “Sometimes I don’t know why I bother.”
There were two local bars Alderson was known to frequent, and considering he liked to switch up his spots, he could have been at either of them. Recker and Haley decided it would be better to split up, so no matter which bar Alderson went to, one of them would be there. After Recker dropped Haley off at the first location, they decided how they would handle Alderson showing up.
“If he shows up here, then just keep an eye on him until I get here,” Recker said.
“What if he shows up where you are?”
“I guess I could come over and get you, then head there.”
“We might lose him though.”
“Well, he’s not on the run, so it’s not like he’s actually going anywhere. We could just show up at his work.”
“That’s not until Monday though,” Haley said. “We’d lose three days.”
“Unless I just take him myself.”
“If he shows up there, just let me know, and I’ll grab a taxi or one of those ride sharing things.”
“They have that here?” Recker asked.
“Don’t they have them everywhere?”
“Beats me. I never used one.”
“Me neither. Either way, just let me know, and I’ll find a way to get there.”
“All right, sounds like a plan. Neither of us makes a move until the other guy gets there.”
“Unless Cloutier magically shows up and forces our hand.”
“I think you might be dreaming on that one, buddy.”
“Hey, never know.”
“If Cloutier shows up here on our first night, I’ll buy you the fanciest steak dinner every night for a year.”
Haley smiled. “I’ll take it.”
After leaving Haley, Recker went straight to the other bar. Initially, he just sat in his car and kept an eye on the entrance for a while. But after about an hour, he decided to go in, just in case Alderson had beaten him there. Recker walked around the bar, which seemed to be a nice establishment. There was just a bar and some tables for sitting, along with a few televisions. There were no pool tables or other excursions to distract people away from their drinking. But it wasn’t too loud, no serious partying, no ruffians, nothing that looked like it was getting out of hand like there were at some bars Recker had visited. It looked more like a little family restaurant than a bar. After walking past the bar area and looking at everyone sitting at one of the tables, Recker could see his target wasn’t there. He hoped Haley might have been having better luck, though by not hearing from him yet, assumed he wasn’t.
“Hey, how are you making out at your end?”
“Nothing happening,” Haley answered. “What about you?”
“Same here. After waiting outside for an hour, I came in, but he’s not here.”
“Yeah, I went inside and looked around too. After I cleared it, I came back outside. I’m just waiting across the street. Got a good view of the entrance. Hopefully, he shows up soon.”
“He should. This is one of his nights according to the info.”
“Maybe he’s switching it up.”
“Most guys don’t switch up their behavior unless they know they’re being watched or followed.”
“Maybe he’s different,” Haley said.
“Maybe. I kind of doubt it though.”
Instead of just walking around or waiting outside, Recker figured it would be better to blend in and took up a small table in the back corner of the bar. He ordered a drink, though he didn’t intend on finishing it. He took a few small sips of it, but wanted to keep his head clear in case Alderson walked in. He waited thirty more minutes and then noticed a man walking in, looking like the man he was looking for. The man had a hat on, which partly disguised his face, and was with a woman who appeared to be half his age. Recker kept close tabs on the pair as they walked through the bar until they eventually settled on a spot about five tables away from him. Once the pair sat down, the man took his hat off, giving Recker a clear view of his facial features. There was no doubt now that it was Alderson. Recker put his hand over his mouth to try to conceal he was talking to someone.
“Chris, I got him.”
“Alderson’s there?” Haley asked.
“Just walked in with a woman.”
“All right, I’m on my way. Give me about twenty minutes.”
“OK. Looks like he’ll be here for a while.”
As he waited for his partner to arrive, Recker picked up his glass a few times and pretended to drink to continue the illusion he was just a regular patron having a good time. He waited twenty-five minutes until Haley arrived. As soon as Haley came in, he looked around to find his partner, eventually noticing Recker in the back of the building. Haley walked over to his table and pulled up a seat across from him.
“Sorry, took me a few extra minutes,” Haley said. “The driver didn’t exactly have a heavy foot.”
“No big deal. This guy looks pretty content sitting there. Doesn’t look like he’s in any hurry.”
Haley looked over at Alderson’s table, noticing the pretty young woman sitting there. “I wouldn’t be in a big hurry to go anywhere if I was him either. She looks like she’s barely twenty, if that. She’s gotta be half his age.”
“Yeah, he’s what, thirty-nine, forty, something like that?”
“Wonder what she sees in him?”
“Could be anything,” Recker said. “Maybe she’s one of those types who likes older men, maybe she doesn’t look at age, or maybe she likes the fact he’s powerful and has money. Or maybe it’s just plain old-fashioned love.”
“Guess it doesn’t really matter. When you wanna make a move?”
“I dunno. I don’t really wanna talk to him with this girl there. Gotta get rid of her somehow.”
“I could walk over there and use my charm, get her somewhere else.”
Recker laughed. “Yeah, let’s not go there.”
“What, you don’t think I could charm her away?”
“Uh, let’s just try something else.”
They sat there for a few minutes, kicking some ideas around, not really coming up with anything they liked. Then Recker finally thought of an alternative.
“Who always knows something in a bar?”
Haley thought for a second. “The bartender?”
“Right.”
“Maybe he knows these two.”
“And maybe we can get him to separate them for us.”
“Worth a shot,” Haley said.
Recker got up and went over to the bar and motioned for the bartender to come down to his position. The bartender immediately came down, assuming he wanted another drink.
“What’ll you have?”
“Uh, just wanna ask you something,” Recker said. He pointed over to Alderson’s table. “You know those two over there?”
The bartender looked, though he didn’t have to look long. They were regulars. “Yeah. Charlie and Violet.”
“I was interested in the girl.”
The bartender smiled. “You and half the other people in this place.”
“Are they together?”
“No, not really. She comes in here with him sometimes, but they’re not a couple or anything. He comes in here with a different girl every time he’s here. I think he rotates them or something.”
“Oh, a lady’s man.”
“Yeah, well, I think they like his money the best, but whatever, who am I to judge?”
“You think there’s a way I could get to talk to her alone for a second, without the guy looking on?”
The bartender laughed. “I dunno, buddy. Unless you got a big roll, I’m not sure you got much of a chance with her.”
“I just wanna talk to her for a second. Actually, he’s the one I really wanna talk to. I hear he’s a big financial executive. I got a couple real estate deals I could really use some banking on. I wanted to try and sell him to back me on it. It’s hard to do it with a pretty girl at the table distracting him.”
The bartender looked to the hallway on the side, thinking about it. Recker pulled out his wallet and removed some money, sliding it on the bar closer to the bartender. The bartender rubbed his chin. He then reached down and picked up the money.
“I suppose I could tell her someone called looking for her.”
“You could do that?” Recker asked.
“Maybe I could send her to another bar I know. She wouldn’t be lonely for long if you know what I mean.”
Recker put a few more dollars down on the bar. “I’d appreciate that.”
The bartender picked up the additional money. “When you need it by?”
“Within the next few minutes?”
The bartender nodded. “I can make that happen.”
Recker then walked back to the table with Haley and sat down. “Looks like we’re in business.”