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She merged off an exit and turned into a seedy motel right past the ramp. The Navigator went by, but Judge turned in and parked on the other side of the office, out of sight. Michaels bounded out the car and Judge swore. They got to the side of the building and peeked around the corner. The girlfriend went inside the office without the luggage. When Michaels went to follow, Judge grabbed his arm. “We wait,” he ordered.
He was surprised that Michaels didn’t swell up at him. Instead he nodded and waited next to Judge. It was a revelation how much that pleased him.
The girlfriend came out with some paperwork and walked over to a set of rooms on the far end, closet to a drained, mildewed pool. They stood on the side and watched, both of them checking for the Navigator too. He hadn’t disappeared, that was for sure. He might have gone in the next entrance and was waiting there.
When it looked clear, Judge tapped Michaels’ shoulder. “Get out that shiny badge now. We’ll need it.”
Judge walked away and Michaels was on his heels. They hurried inside the office and approached the empty front desk. There was an old rack of Miami tour pamphlets to their left and two chairs sitting in front of a scarred-up wooden table. There were several clipboards with registration forms clipped to them. Judge hit the bell. A young man, maybe in his late twenties, came to the front wearing a stretched-out gray tank top and board shorts. His sunburnt skin and frizzy hair made him look like he typically went surfing as soon as he clocked out.
“Can I help you?” he asked uneasily, looking up into Judge’s stern face. Judge didn’t have his bounty hunter’s shield on, so Michaels stepped up and flashed his badge like on a typical episode of Law & Order.
“We need to know about the woman that was just in here,” Judge demanded, resting both huge hands on the counter.
“The hot redhead.” The boy smiled.
“Yes,” Judge barked, and the boy nervously flung his hand over his heart. “Let me see her registration form.”
“Umm.” The boy looked confused. “Where’s your badge?” He pointed at Judge.
Judge leaned over and grabbed the boy by the shoulders and yanked him so hard that his entire upper body came halfway across the countertop. Judge snarled in his face. “You’re wasting my goddamn time.”
Michaels stepped in and tsked at Judge. He clamped his hand on Judge’s forearm urging him to put the severely frightened guy down. His eyes still on the boy, his dark glare burning a hole in his retinas, he jerked the kid but released him; he hit the counter as he fell back behind it.
Michaels waited for the boy to stand back up on shaky knees. “Believe it or not, he’s the one of us without an anger management problem. Now.” Michaels slammed his badge and gun down on the counter, giving the kid a pointed look. “Let me see her registration form, and while I look it over, you tell my partner every fuckin’ word she said to you. Got it?”
The guy looked back and forth between them before grimly nodding his head.
Michaels took a picture of the registration form and immediately forwarded it to the IT detectives on the task force. After he looked over a few things himself, he went back and joined the conversation.
“…no. I’m sure. She asked to leave one key here with me, said her husband would be picking it up on Friday. She even paid me a few bucks to call her if there was any suspicious activity.”
“Suspicious activity?” Judge frowned.
The guy shrugged. “I know, right. She didn’t say what kind. Just said to call her.”
Judge’s phone rang. He thought to ignore it, but when he pulled it out he saw it was God. He pushed the speakerphone.
“Talk,” Judge said, in greeting.
“We’re tracing her number from the registration card. I should have tracking on it soon.”
“Thanks,” Judge grunted, and ended the call. He didn’t want the counter attendant to get off track. “So was there anything else?”
Michaels was beside him, looking like the sexy detective he was, in his dark denim jeans and starched white t-shirt. His black riding boots weren’t laced up and it gave him a rugged, renegade appeal. Judge needed to focus. “Is she staying here tonight?” Michaels added.
“No. She paid for Friday and Saturday only.”
Judge nodded. That was it. Switch was coming on Friday or Saturday. They would need to relocate to this motel. Michaels warned the attendant not to mention their conversation to anyone, or else he’d arrest him for obstruction of justice. Judge found that hot as hell, too.
The kid’s eyes widened. “No. No, S-Sir. Absolutely not. I won’t say anything.” The guy enthusiastically reached under the counter and pulled out another plastic keycard, swiped it, and tapped a few keys on his very outdated computer before handing it over to Judge. “Here ya go. This is a key to their room.” Judge quirked one eyebrow in surprise. Damn, Michaels’ badge was turning out to be extremely useful.
