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thoughts
returned.
    “Yo, dude, rise and shine.” Ben said, clearly relishing
waking one of his buddies up. Layla could hear a moan and a few choice cuss
words being directed at Ben, but he took it all in stride.
    “Remember when you called me onto the Debaisey case? What
was that? Half past four in the morning? Well, buddy, this is payback.”
    The wizard on the other end spoke more naturally and so
Layla could only catch bits and pieces of what he said.
    “…you loved it…do you need? Tell me it’s not another…”
    “Nah, strictly surveillance this time, I swear. No wet work.”
    Layla heard a sigh from the other end.
    “…tell me the details.”
    “Britney Joddins. Twenty-eight, five six, curly brown hair.
No idea where she works, but she’s been dating a Miles Lancaster, deceased as
of yesterday, and is a person of interest. I’ll only need you on board alone
for…hmm, let’s say until four or five tonight, so that’s twelve hours. I’ll
relieve you after that and call in backup if I figure we need it.”
    Ben repeated Brit’s address slowly, clearly his friend wrote
down the details and asked Ben to repeat a few of them a second time. Ben then
was silent, listening to the other end. Layla started booting down the computer
and collected the memory sticks they’d saved all their data onto.
    “Yep, better get moving, dude. I’ve got my cell out in the
car, so buzz me on that if you need. You got my latest number?”
    Layla looked around her tiny office and tried to think of a
safe place to store the small sticks.
    “That’s it. Thanks. Call me if anything crops up. Or if she
starts moving around a lot, feel free to add in more help. I don’t have a
budget as yet, but I have a feeling this might grow into something pretty
important. Don’t skimp on extra hands because money is a concern, right?”
    Layla pulled her handbag out of the bottom drawer of her
desk. To be safe, she threw two of the memory sticks into the depths of her
bag. While not the most original of hiding places, items had been lost for
months down there, never to see the light of day again. Recalling how Tanya had
hidden the original files of her Investigation down the bottom of Layla’s drop
box in the foyer of their offices, she figured using that place a second time
would not be a bad idea.
    Ben hung up the phone after saying his goodbyes.
    “Riley is a brilliant Tracker, one of the best there is. He’s
currently pissed that I woke him up at this hour, but he owes me quite a few
favors. He’ll be outside Brit’s door well before dawn, keeping an eye on her
and following wherever she goes.”
    “Well, that will buy us some time,” Layla replied with
relief. “I think I’m going to store these down the bottom of my drop box. It
worked perfectly well for Tanya as a temporary hiding spot, so I can’t think of
a reason why it wouldn’t serve equally well for us.”
    “I saw you put two in your bag. I think it’s sensible to
split them all up. I only live about ten minutes from here. If you like, we can
keep one of them at my place and keep the other in your bag,” Ben stood up and
gathered his belongings. Layla watched as he shrugged into the shoulder
harness, checked his large handgun and then placed it into the holster. Only
after he had pulled a well-cut jacket over the ensemble and pulled his woolen
beanie down over his bald head did she speak.
    “That would be smart,” she said. “My car is below in the
garage. I tried to get an apartment closer into the city, but I just didn’t
like the bustle as much as I thought I would when I first moved here seven
years ago. I’m about half an hour’s drive up the freeway. It’s a pain to
commute every day, but I have a killer view of the harbor and a really nice
backyard.”
    “You shouldn’t be driving as tired as you are,” Ben replied
with a frown. “I was going to suggest you come stay with me, at least for
tonight, but that was before I knew you had such a trek