Booktree.ng_Forgotten-Witness

“Yeah, well. See ya.”
The guy gave up graciously and went back to his table. He
kept his eyes on the very tall woman, with the very short hair
until the door of the coffee shop closed. He went back to his
iPad, and Josie went on to find The Robert Lee Hotel.
***
Across the street and down about thirty yards Morgan sat in
his car watching Ian Francis. It had been a long time since he
had a call from on high giving him marching orders, but when
it came Morgan didn’t ask questions. He knew exactly what
was going on. Weller was interested in this schlub for some
reason so he had thrown his weight around. That was cool
even though this kind of surveillance was a little beneath
Morgan’s pay grade. Still, no skin off his nose. It was kind of
nice to get out of the office for a change. Besides, following
the guy was a piece of cake. Ian Francis wasn’t exactly a
sprinter. Even if Morgan ran over his feet the guy probably
wouldn’t notice. The only problem was that the cop found it
painful to watch him. It would have been so much easier to
just pick him up and drive him where he was going because
that was all the information his supervisor wanted – that and
who the man might meet up with once he got there.
While he watched Ian, Morgan reached for his stash of
jerky. Teriyaki turkey. His wife picked up double packs at
Costco. Costco was maybe the greatest contribution the United
States ever made to civilized society. You couldn’t beat double
packs of jerky anymore than you could beat the buck-fifty hot
dog with a refillable soda.
Sinatra crooned on the radio while Morgan daydreamed
about hitting Costco on the weekend with the old lady for a
few of those dogs. That was why he almost missed it when Ian
Francis started walking ahead of schedule. It was like someone
flipped a damn switch. Ian Francis lurched toward the corner
and turned with purpose. Morgan chawed on the jerky as he