Most of Derek's work stemmed from problems involving money in some form or fashion with competition, gambling, divorce, and unpaid loans leading the list. Most of the people were scum whether they were clients or marks, and Derek liked it that way. This case seemed significantly different, and a sense of curiosity was added to Derek's other strong emotions. What Derek disliked the most was to be underestimated and taken advantage of. He'd not gotten into the business in the usual way via mob association. He'd been a mercenary in Africa back in the days when there had been good guys and bad guys, before any of the national armies had had any training.

Derek climbed the steps to the porch and rang the bell. With Kim's car in the drive he expected an answer, but there wasn't any. Derek rang again. He turned and surveyed the neighborhood. It was quite different from Kim's. From where Derek was standing he had a good view of five houses and a reasonable view of four more. But there was not a lot of activity. The only person he saw was a woman pushing a stroller, and she was heading away from him.

Despite a painstaking search of Kim's correspondence and records, Derek had failed to come up with any evidence suggesting the doctor had a gambling problem, so Derek reasoned that gambling couldn't have been the stimulus for Shanahan's offering him the contract. Divorce was out because the former wife had gotten a good settlement. Besides, she and the doctor were apparently getting along fine. Otherwise she certainly wouldn't have bailed him out of jail as Shanahan reported. A loan seemed equally unlikely since there had been no indication in Kim's records that he needed money, and even if he had, why would he borrow from a cattleman? That left competition. But that was the most unlikely of all. Kim didn't even own any stock in the beef industry except for a few shares in a fast-food hamburger chain. It was indeed a mystery.

Derek turned around and examined the door. It was secured with a standard throw-bolt and lock, a mere inconvenience given his experience. The question was whether there was an alarm.

Putting down his briefcase, Derek cupped his hands to peer through the sidelight. He saw no keypad. Taking out his locksmith tools from his left pocket, he made quick work of the locks. The door opened and swung inside. He looked along the inside of the jamb. There were no contacts. Stepping within the small foyer, he looked for a keypad on the portion of the walls that he'd not been able to see from the porch. There was none. Then he glanced up around the cornice for motion detectors. He relaxed. There was no alarm.

Derek retrieved his briefcase before closing the door. He made a rapid tour of the first floor before climbing to the second. In the guestroom he found a small overnight bag with a shaving kit and clothes he guessed belonged to Kim. In the only bathroom he found several sets of damp towels.

Derek went back downstairs and made himself comfortable in the living room. With Kim's car in the driveway and his things in the guestroom, Derek knew that the doctor would be back. It was only a matter of waiting.

Carlos butted the unsuspecting Adolpho out of the way and got his time card into the time clock before his partner. It was an ongoing joke they'd been playing for months.

"I'll get you next time," Adolpho joked. He made a point of speaking in English because Carlos had told him he wanted to learn to speak better.

"Yeah, over my dead body," Carlos replied. It was one of his favorite new phrases.

It had been Adolpho who'd gotten Carlos to come to Higgins and Hancock and then helped him bring his family. Adolpho and Carlos had known each other since they were kids back in Mexico. Adolpho had come to the United States several years before Carlos.

The two friends emerged into the afternoon rain arm-in-arm. Along with an army of other workers, they headed for their vehicles.

"You want to meet tonight at El Toro?" Adolpho questioned.

"Sure," Carlos said.

"Bring a lot of pesos," Adolpho advised. "You're going to lose a lot of money." He mimed using a cue stick to shoot pool.

"It will never happen," Carlos said, slapping his partner on the back. It was at that moment that Carlos saw the black Cherokee with its darkly tinted windows. The vehicle was next to his own and fumes were rising languidly from its exhaust pipe.

Carlos gave Adolpho a final pat on the back. He watched his partner get into his truck before Carlos headed for his own. Carlos took his time and waved to Adolpho as he drove by. At that point, he detoured toward the Cherokee and approached the driver's-side window.

The window went down. Shanahan smiled. "I got some good news," he said. "Come around and get in."

Carlos did as he was told. He shut the door behind him.

"You're going to have another chance to do the doctor," Shanahan said.

"I'm very happy," Carlos said. He smiled too. "When?"

"Tonight," Shanahan said. "The doctor is working here."

"I told you," Carlos said. "I knew it was him."

"There's been a bit of luck," Shanahan said with a nod. "And best of all he's working the cleanup tonight. It will be arranged that he will clean the men's room next to the record room. Do you know where that is? I don't. I've never been in Higgins and Hancock."

"Yeah, I know where it is," Carlos said. "We're not supposed to use that room."

"Well, tonight you will," Shanahan said with a wry smile. "It will be late, probably after ten. Make sure you're there."

"I'll be there," Carlos promised.

"It should be easy," Shanahan said. "You'll be dealing with an unarmed, unsuspecting person in a small room. Just make sure the body disappears like Marsha Baldwin."

"I do what you say," Carlos said.

"Just don't screw up this time," Shanahan said. "I've gone out on a limb for you, and I don't want to be embarrassed again."

"No problem!" Carlos said with emphasis. "Tonight I keeelll him!"

SEVENTEEN

Monday night, January 26th

Straightening up with a groan, Kim stretched his back. Abandoning his heavy wooden-handled mop, he put his hands on his hips to get maximum extension.

Kim was by himself mopping the front hall, starting from the reception area. He'd had his earphone in for the last ten minutes, complaining to Tracy how exhausted he was. Tracy was sympathetic.

The cleaning had been extensive. The whole crew had started with high-pressure steam hoses on the kill floor. It was backbreaking work, since the hoses weighed several hundred pounds and had to be hauled up onto the catwalks.

After the kill floor, they had moved into the boning rooms. Cleaning them had taken the rest of the shift up until the dinner break at six. At that time Kim had gone back out to the car and even had had the stomach for some of the lunch he and Tracy had packed that morning.

After the dinner break, Kim had been sent out on his own on various jobs around the plant. As the others had slowed down, he'd volunteered to mop the front hall.

"I'm never going to complain about surgery being hard work again," he said into his microphone.

"After all this experience, I'll hire you to do my house," Tracy quipped. "Do you do windows?"

"What time is it?" Kim asked. He was in no mood for humor.

"It's a little after ten," Tracy said. "Less than an hour to go. Are you going to make it?"

"I'll make it. all right," Kim said. "I haven't seen any of my cleaning colleagues for the last hour. It's time for the record room."

"Be quick!" Tracy urged. "Your being in there is going to make me anxious all over again, and I don't think I can take too much more."

Kim stuck the heavy-duty mop into his bucket and pushed the contraption down the hall to the record room door. Its broken central panel was covered by a piece of thin plywood.