Page 57 of Tiger on the Prowl

Olivia disconnected the call, and put the phone on the table, annoyed. Jay was proud of her. She’d learned her lines, and she’d delivered them with perfect timing. While he didn’t think that Smith could hear every word of her conversation from where he stood, it was possible that he’d bugged her phone, therefore the recording of Jay’s side of the conversation had been necessary.

While Olivia paid for her drink and then rose to make her way back to the Metro station, Smith turned away in the other direction.

“He’s on the move,” Jay confirmed.

Jay waited patiently as Smith walked past his car, then turned on the engine, but he didn’t pull out of his parking spot immediately.

“Ace, he’s turning onto Corcoran Street.”

“Got him,” Ace replied. “He’s getting into a beat-up Ford Taurus, color white.” Then Ace recited the license plate number.

“Which state?” Michelle asked immediately.

“West Virginia.”

“On it,” Michelle confirmed.

“He’s in the car,” Ace confirmed.

“I can see him,” Yankee said, now on his moped. “He’s turning on 13th Street toward Logan Circle.”

“I’ll head him off at Logan Circle,” Jay said and started driving.

At the corner, Jay picked up Ace and Phoebe, who got in the back of the car as if they were paying passengers. Yankee was following Smith with his moped, while Fox confirmed that he was getting into a white van with Lilly.

As they followed Smith through the city, they handed off surveillance to each other in regular intervals, the same vehicle never following him more than two or three blocks on the quiet streets, or five or six blocks on the busier ones, just like they’d been taught at The Farm. With three different vehicles following Smith—one van, one fake Uber sedan, and one moped—Jay was confident that their target wouldn’t catch onto them.

“I got a name off the license plate,” Michelle suddenly said through the communication system. “Car’s registered to a Katherine Snell, lives in Inwood, West Virginia. But according to the woman’s driver’s license, she’s eighty-four years old and doesn’t drive anymore. I think the car might be stolen. Sorry.”

“Crap!” Jay hissed.

“Not so fast,” Fox said through the earpiece. “Baby, can you check whether she has relatives? Sons, nephews, grandsons? Maybe she gave the car to one of them?”

“I’ll check that,” Michelle replied.

“There,” Ace now said. “He’s heading into the underground garage of that condo building on the corner.”

Jay simply drove past it. “Fox, Lilly, you’re up.”

“We got it,” Fox replied.

Jay gave Michelle the address. “Michelle, looks like there are six or eight condos in that building. Get a list of the owners.” He stopped the car a block away on a side street.

“I’m on it,” Michelle replied.

“Cruising by,” Fox said. “Taking a turn around the block. Yankee?”

“I’m two blocks back,” Yankee confirmed. “I’ve got the garage door in my line of sight. I’m stopped at the curb. Stay out of sight for now.”

A few minutes passed without anything happening, until Yankee suddenly said, “Garage door is opening again. A black SUV is coming out, heading my way.”

“I’ll catch him two blocks farther down,” Fox said. “Did you get a license plate?”

“Negative,” Yankee said. “No license plate on the front of the car. But it’s definitely Smith driving.”

Jay made a U-turn on a side street and headed back the way he’d come, following in the direction the SUV had left. Before he reached the SUV, he saw Fox’s van.

“Michelle, I’ve got the license plate,” Fox said and recited the number. “It’s a Virginia license plate.”