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Fifteen minutes had passed since Co
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Co
“He’s just being cautious,” Liponsky whispered. “Making sure the coast is clear before he makes his move. As soon as he’s sure no one’s watching, he’ll go for it. That’s why we have to stay quiet-and stay out of sight.”
“Fine,” Co
Fifteen more slow, tedious minutes passed. Co
On cop shows, stakeouts never lasted more than a minute or two before the culprit appeared. It seemed reality was something else again. Co
“Look,” he said quietly, “not that this isn’t the most exciting time I’ve ever had with my clothes on, but I think I’m going to call it a night.”
“Shh,” Liponsky whispered. She was peering through infrared binoculars.
“No, seriously, I can’t take it any longer.” Co
Liponsky grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him back down. “I think I see someone.”
Co
Liponsky whispered into her mouthpiece, which transmitted to the earpieces each of the agents was wearing. “See ’im? Yeah, me too. On my signal.”
A few moments passed. Co
Yes! The silhouette took a sudden veer to the left. It was definitely moving toward the golf cart.
“That’s it,” Liponsky whispered breathlessly. “One… two… three… move!”
All at once, a dozen figures appeared out of nowhere, surging forward, forming an increasingly tight circle around the mysterious figure.
The man stopped suddenly. He’d spotted them. But he didn’t turn away, didn’t run. He just stood still, as if staring in disbelief.
“Get him!” Liponsky shouted.
The agents rushed forward, tackling the man. Without resistance, he fell to the ground like a wet sack of potatoes.
Co
Barry Be
“Whass goin’ on?” Barry slurred. His eyes were wild and he seemed dazed, which was not all that surprising, given the circumstances.
“Cuff him!” Liponsky shouted, just over their shoulders. One of the agents rolled Barry onto his stomach, pulled back his wrists and slid on the cuffs.
“Look, Liponsky,” Co
“Did someone read him his rights?” Liponsky shouted. “I don’t want any procedural errors screwing up my collar. We’ve got to read him his rights.”
The same agent who’d done the cuffs whipped a card out of his shirt pocket and began to read. “You have the right to remain silent…”
“Look,” Co
“I don’t make mistakes,” Liponsky fired back. “Criminals make mistakes.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. But I don’t think Barry is your man.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“I know him. He’s on the tour.”
“That doesn’t mean he can’t be the killer.”
“Look at him, will you? He’s smashed!”
“What?” Liponsky’s head jerked down toward the ground.
“He’s drunk! If you don’t want to take my word for it, smell his breath.”
“I can smell it from here,” O’Brien said, somewhere behind them.
“Iss thiss my cabin?” Barry said with a hiccup. “I been trying to find my cabin…”
Co
The tiniest trace of concern flickered across Liponsky’s brow. “This could be a front. An acting job to put us off.”
“No one’s that good an actor, Liponsky. He’s wasted. Probably been drinking all day. And there’s no way the man I was talking to on the phone was drunk.”
Liponsky bit down on her lower lip. “There must be some explanation.”
“Yeah, there is. You screwed up.”
A look of horror suddenly spread across her face. “Oh, my God. If he’s not-”
“What?” Co
Without another word, Liponsky raced toward the parked golf cart. She ran like there was no tomorrow, probably doing twice the time Co
“Oh, no!” she cried. “No, no, no!”
Co
She didn’t need to answer. One look was all it took.
She was holding the black bag in her hands. And it was empty.
25
An hour later, Co
“But how did he get the money? You had the place surrounded.”
“Above ground, yes,” O’Brien said. “Below ground, no.”
“Below ground? I don’t get it.”
“Turns out there’s a fairly extensive sewer system under part of the golf course. Including the part the eighteenth hole is on.”
Co
“Who?”
“Never mind. Seems the Augusta National has heavy water demands-for watering the course and whatnot. So they built this underground sewer system. Tu
“So I hear from our dear friend Agent Liponsky. She’s got agents crawling through every branch of the system. But they haven’t found the culprit. And I don’t think they’re going to, either. He probably grabbed the money seconds after you put it down, then hightailed it.”
“But how did he grab the money without being seen?”
O’Brien reached out across the small round table, then popped a handful of beer nuts into her mouth. “Turns out the golf cart was just a decoy. It was parked over a manhole cover-an access tu
“That’s pretty damn smart.”
“I would have to agree with you on that point. He outfoxed us but good.”
“A genius golfer. Who the hell would that be?”
O’Brien gave him a sharp look. “Do you know something I don’t? What makes you so sure the killer is a golfer?”
“It was my conversation with him,” Co