and silently opened the door. Harley was on Olivia’s bed watching the flickering screen of her TV, totally fascinated. House Hunters? Kendra wasn’t about to determine that right now. She just wanted to get out of here before Harley saw her and his barking ruined Olivia’s interview. She was in enough trouble with her friend as it was. She soundlessly closed the door, nodded, and motioned to Metcalf for the agents to continue their search.
It took only a couple of minutes to search the rest of the condo, and the agents were surprisingly respectful of Olivia’s need for silence. “Clear,” one of them finally whispered.
They filed out into the hallway and closed the door behind them.
“Your place,” Metcalf said in a normal speaking voice. “But you have to let us do our jobs. You stay out while we clear it.”
“Fine.”
They walked upstairs and Kendra gave Metcalf the keys. She waited in the hallway with one of the agents while they cleared the condo.
“See?” she said. “Told you no one could get into my place.”
Metcalf’s cell phone rang and he answered it. “Yeah? Okay. Okay. We’ll be right down.” He cut the connection.
“That was the sweeper team,” he said as he headed for the stairwell. “They found Ronald Kim’s phone.”
“Where?”
Metcalf shook his head. “You’re not gonna believe it.”
* * *
Two minutes later, they ran from the stairwell into the underground parking garage, where the sweep teams had already converged. Kendra shook her head at the surreal sight before her. No less than half a dozen investigators were clustered together, aiming their flashlights in front of them.
At her car!
“It’s here,” one of the techs shouted. “Right on the dash.”
Kendra, Metcalf, and the other agents gathered around. As promised, an ancient, worn flip phone was open on her car dashboard, where no one could possibly miss it.
“The car was locked,” Kendra said.
“Still is,” one of the techs said, aiming his flashlight at the interior door handles. “And we’ve checked the doors and trunk. No obvious point of entry.”
“Do you have the key on you?” Metcalf asked.
Kendra reached into the pocket of her slacks and pulled out the electronic key fob. She extended it to Metcalf, but before he could take it, she snapped her fist closed. “Wait.”
He wrinkled his brow.
She leaned over the hood. “Everyone turn off your flashlights. Now!”
They powered off their flashlights.
Kendra looked through the windshield, holding up her hand to block the reflection from the garage’s overhead lights. She squinted. There, on the floor in front of the driver’s seat, she saw a faint green glow. “See that?”
Hyde was the first to see it. “Oh, shit.”
Metcalf automatically backed away from the car.
“It’s coming from underneath the seat,” Hyde said. “It looks like it could be from an LED bulb.”
Metcalf nodded. “Like a detonator’s ready light?”
“Can’t say for sure. I’m just glad you didn’t unlock this car.”
Metcalf stood straight and once again assumed the leadership role. “Okay, split up. No one goes near this car. I need a door-to-door on the entire building. We’re evacuating and calling in the explosives unit. Move!”
“Right.” Kendra turned and headed back into the building. “I’ll get Olivia.”
“Just get out of the building, Kendra,” Metcalf called. “Our people will take care of that.”
She didn’t look back as she threw open the door and bolted into the lobby. She heard Metcalf mutter a curse as the door slammed closed behind her.
Tough luck, Metcalf.
Kendra bounded up the stairs and once again ran to Olivia’s condo. She pounded on the door, and Olivia answered. This time she wasn’t on the phone.
“Hi,” Kendra said breathlessly. “Get Harley. We need to get out of the building.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You need to explain. First you bring half of the FBI San Diego field office here without a word of explanation…”
“You were on the phone. I didn’t want to interrupt your interview.” Kendra looked around. “Is his leash in here?”
“It’s on my desk. What in the hell is going on?”
“We traced a murder victim’s phone to this building. I was afraid the killer might have been coming after you.”
“That obviously wasn’t the case. Really, Kendra, it’s not as if I’m constantly at risk.” She added suspiciously, “Or was this just another ploy to prove how invaluable Harley might prove if I needed protection?”
“I wouldn’t go to those lengths. We found the phone in my car. Along with what may be an explosive device.”
“A bomb? In this building?”
“Don’t know. We’re evacuating just to be sure.” Kendra turned to Harley, who had come out of