Highway Robbery Read online

Brady pulled a key ring from his pocket and flipped through it until he found the one he wanted. "I was a shop steward there for a while, and they gave me this so I could get into the office if I needed to. If no one's around, so much the better. We can roust Gerard's office in private. Let me just put my rig back in the garage, and then we can get going."

  But when they arrived at the union's local office in the Hardys' van, they were surprised to find lights on.

  "Looks like Gerard is working late tonight," Brady said, disappointed.

  They were parked across the street. "Let's hang out here a little," suggested Joe. "Maybe he'll knock off soon, and we can look around."

  Half an hour went by before the lights in Gerard's office went out and the front door opened.

  "Here we go," Joe murmured.

  They watched as Lou Gerard appeared on the sidewalk, but he wasn't alone. He spoke briefly with another man before getting into a car and driving off. Joe couldn't quite make out the other man's features, since he was standing on an unlit part of the sidewalk.

  The man stood there, nervously tapping his foot before he walked to his own car, which was parked under a streetlight. As he unlocked and opened the door, he glanced back over his shoulder, and his face was clearly lit from the lamp above. Joe sucked in his breath sharply.

  There was no mistaking the face of Felix Kinney.

  Chapter 15

  "There's our informant," Frank said quietly.

  Hal Brady was stunned. "Felix? I can't believe it! He's been with Simone for fifteen years! He's a nice guy, wouldn't hurt a fly."

  "Maybe, but he's also a logical suspect," pointed out Joe. "Think about it. He has total access to the computer, he knows everything about Lombard's shipments, when and where they go and what's on them. And, come to think of it, Teri said he's been putting in a lot of late hours recently, even though business has been slow."

  Felix had started his car by then, and pulled away from the curb.

  "Let's tail him," Frank said. "Gerard's fingerprints will keep until tomorrow."

  Starting up the van, Frank made a U-turn to follow Kinney.

  "Don't get too close," warned Joe. "Traffic is light, and we don't want him to spot us."

  "Thanks for the hot tip, super sleuth," Frank said sarcastically.

  But Felix appeared not to notice them, and before long it was clear where they were headed.

  "He's going to Lombard," Frank observed as they made a left turn onto the road that led down to the trucking company.

  A few minutes later Felix parked in front of the Lombard building and let himself in. Frank had dropped well back as soon as Felix's destination was obvious. He stopped the van at the corner of the block, where they weren't too close but could keep an eye on the building.

  "We'll give him a couple of minutes and then go in to find out what he's up to," Frank said.

  They waited in silence. A dim light went on in Felix's office. Another minute went by.

  "Let's go," Joe said.

  They were quiet, not wanting to warn Felix of their presence. Frank used Matt's key to unlock the front door, and the three of them crept to the door to Felix's office, which stood ajar.

  Frank saw Felix sitting with his back to them, hunched over a computer console. As he worked the keys, figures flashed in neon green on the screen. He looked at a sheet of paper and scrawled notes on it from time to time, copying data from the display.

  "Hi, Felix," Frank said, stepping into the room.

  Kinney let out a startled noise and stood up, spinning around to face them.

  "Working kind of late tonight, aren't you?" asked Joe, as he and Brady came in behind Frank.

  "Oh, hi. You gave me a scare there for a second." Felix tried to smile but couldn't hold it and had to shift his eyes away. "Yeah, I was, uh - I forgot to enter some stuff on the computer so I thought I'd ... " His voice trailed off and there was a brief silence.

  "You're keeping some bad company, too, aren't you?" said Joe.

  Felix backed up a step. "What do you mean by that?" He sounded shrill, and he wouldn't meet Joe's gaze. "I had work to do, I told you!"

  "Work for who? Not for Lombard, I'll bet." Frank advanced very close to the edgy accountant. Felix backed up.

  "Listen here, I don't know what you're talking about." Felix had an annoyed look on his face, but it couldn't mask his fear. "And it's not a good time for bad jokes, so just - go home and - "

  "It's no good, Kinney," Frank said. "We saw you with Lou Gerard tonight at his office, and we followed you here. We know all about him - and you, too."

  Hal Brady couldn't keep quiet any longer. "Why, Felix? Why did you do it? Gerard fed me a line of garbage and I bought it, but you - Simone treated you good! I just don't get it."

  Suddenly Felix's knees gave way, and he collapsed into his desk chair, burying his face in his hands.

  Frank squatted down beside him. "Felix?" He spoke gently, softly. "The game is up. We're taking everything we know to the sheriff. The best thing you can do for yourself is tell us what you know, and maybe that'll make things a little better for you. We can say you cooperated with us, at the end."

  Felix raised his head and drew in a ragged breath. His face was pasty white. "What I did - I didn't have any choice. I had to!"

  "Tell us," Frank urged.

  "A couple of years ago I ran into heavy expenses and I didn't have the money to meet them. I panicked. I know, I know," Felix said, "I should have gone to Matt and he'd have given me what I needed. Well, I wasn't thinking, I was scared. I took some money from Lombard's expense account and fiddled with the computer to hide it for a while."

  Felix took another deep breath before continuing. "I told myself, 'It's just a loan, I'll pay it back and no one will ever know.' But time went by and I couldn't get it together, and I knew I'd be found out. I wound up going to a - someone I heard about, who'd give me what I needed."

  "A loan shark?" Frank asked. "Felix, guys like that will lend you money, no questions asked, but will bleed you dry afterward."

  Felix nodded. "That's what I discovered. I kept paying and paying, and the debt never got any smaller. Then one day, after I'd been paying this guy for months, he said he'd sold my debt to another man and that I'd deal with him from now on. And that man turned out to be - "

  "Lou Gerard," Joe finished for him.

  "Exactly," Felix said grimly. "Gerard came and said he wasn't interested in getting money from me. What he wanted was 'little favors' - that's what he called them. Information on Lombard, routes and schedules and cargo. And then he wanted other things - stuff off Matt's desk, in his handwriting, and some blank Lombard company checks - "

  "Which wound up in Mickey Vane's apartment," Joe said.

  "When they came to take Matt in for questioning," Felix went on, "and I heard what the evidence was against him, things that I had supplied, I almost blurted out the truth right then and there. But - I couldn't. Just didn't have the guts, I guess."

  "Are you willing to tell the sheriff everything you've told us?" Frank asked.

  "If I do, will I still have to go to jail?"

  Frank leaned closer over Felix's chair. "Felix, I'm not going to lie to you," he said in a quiet voice. "You committed a felony, and that's probably going to mean a prison term. But if you have no previous record and you help us now and agree to testify against Gerard and his gang, they'll take that into account. You won't do as much time as you would otherwise."

  "It doesn't matter," Felix said. "I'll do whatever you want. I owe Matt that much, anyway."

  "That's the truth," muttered Brady. He had been glaring at Felix all during the painful confession.

  "Lighten up, Brady," Joe cautioned. "Remember, you gave Matt some grief, too."

  Brady flushed. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry, Kinney. So, what now? We call the sheriff and dump this in his lap and he grabs Gerard, huh?"

  "That's one way to go," said Frank. "But there are a couple of things I don't like about it."

/>   "Such as?" asked Joe.

  "First, some of those hoods who tried to kill us might get away if they aren't all tied up in a neat bundle. And second," Frank said, grinning at Joe, "we're missing a chance to rub MacReedy's nose in it by handing him the whole thing on a platter. I mean, how sore is he going to be when we give him his collar?"

  Joe grinned back. "He'd have to smile and say Thank you.' Beautiful! How do we set it up?"

  "With Felix's help," Frank said, looking at the bookkeeper. "If he's willing."

  "I'm willing," Felix said. "What can I do?"

  "You can tip Gerard off that a really major shipment of Ultratech products is going out of here tomorrow. Can you arrange that?"

  "Sure!" Felix had lost his hangdog look, and now seemed eager to help. "I could fake a cargo manifest and route it anywhere you want."

  "Then what?" asked Brady.

  "We send out a truck as bait," Frank explained, "and pick a route with a likely spot for an ambush. Pat drives the truck, like on the other hauls, and we follow it - Tony, Joe, me - "

  "Count me in on this one," growled Brady. "I want a piece of Gerard myself."

  "The more the better," Frank told him. "Anyway, tomorrow morning, we call MacReedy and tell him to arrest Gerard at his office and then meet us where the ambush is likely to happen, with a load of deputies and a net. That way we get the whole bunch, and MacReedy has to thank us and apologize to Matt."

  "That last part is my favorite," said Joe. "I might want to get that on videotape."

  Felix sat down at his computer console. "I'll put that phony cargo manifest together now."

  "Great!" Joe turned to Hal Brady. "You have an idea about the route? It should be mostly heavily traveled roads, except for one stretch that's a hijacker's dream. We want to pinpoint where they'll grab us as close as we can."

  The trucker thought a bit, then smiled. "I got just the route for the job. I drive it a lot, and it's perfect. Mostly superhighway, except for five miles of local roads, made to order for a thief."

  "Fantastic!" exclaimed Frank. "Felix can print it out for Gerard when he's finished with the manifest."

  "This manifest won't take me long," said Felix. He bent over his console and began working the keyboard. "I'm putting enough audio equipment in this shipment to make Gerard's mouth water."

  Frank sat on a corner of the desk, watching Kinney work and admiring his expert handling of the computer. Joe paced back and forth in the little room, and Hal Brady lounged by the window, staring out at the deserted street.

  Suddenly Brady stiffened. Leaning forward, he pressed closer to the window. "Hey! We got trouble!" he whispered.

  Frank, Joe, and Felix all stopped what they were doing.

  "What's up?" Frank asked, standing quickly and going over to Brady.

  Brady jerked a thumb out the window. "It's that bruiser of Gerard's - Turk. He just parked a car outside, and he's headed this way!"

  Chapter 16

  Frank glanced quickly out the window. The short, muscular hood was walking across the parking area! Felix jumped up nervously. "What's he doing here now?" he asked.

  "We can't let him see us here!" snapped Joe. "Let's wait in the next office. You, too, Brady! Felix, just act natural."

  "But - "

  "Remember, Turk thinks you're on his side. As long as he thinks that, everything will be fine," said Frank.

  Felix still looked shaky.

  "Turk isn't exactly a brain surgeon," Joe told the accountant, pausing in the doorway. "String him along. You can do it, Felix. We're counting on you."

  Felix licked his lips and nodded. The other three slipped into the next office and quietly closed the connecting door.

  In the dark room, Hal Brady muttered, "I sure hope he doesn't blow it."

  "Sssh!" Frank hissed. A second later they heard Felix speak.

  "Turk! What brings you down here this late?"

  "Mr. Gerard wants some stationery with Lombard Hauling printed on it. He got an idea, and he said you'd probably be here."

  "Stationery? Sure thing." A desk drawer slid open. "Here you go. Turk, wait a minute!"

  "Uh-oh," Brady whispered.

  "What is it, Kinney? I gotta get back. Mr. Gerard told me to hurry."

  "I have big news for Mr. Gerard, Turk. He'll want to know."

  Frank held his breath. What was Felix doing?

  "Tell Mr. Gerard that we're sending out a big order from Ultratech tomorrow. I just heard about it. In fact" - there was a sound of paper tearing - "give Mr. Gerard this. It's a copy of the list of goods going out on the truck. Tell him I'll have the exact route the truck is taking later and I'll drop off a copy for him."

  "Okay," said Turk, and a door closed.

  Several seconds later Felix opened the connecting door. "Come on out. He's gone."

  "Why did you tell Turk about the shipment now?" Joe demanded, stepping angrily into Felix's office.

  "Why not?" asked Felix.

  "Because it's the middle of the night, that's why not!" Joe was hot. "That's got to sound fishy."

  Felix shook his head. "Not fishy," he said, "just urgent. And that'll make the hijack harder for Gerard to resist."

  "All right, Felix," Frank said, giving Joe a look that said "Back off." "You did good work there. Now, let Brady give you that route so you can pass it on. Then we can finally get out of here and - "

  The phone rang on Felix's desk. Felix picked it up. "Hello? Yes, Mr. Simone - just a second." He handed the phone to Joe, explaining, 'It's Matt Simone. He and Mike just got home."

  "Let's set up a meeting here first thing in the morning to get ourselves organized," Frank suggested.

  Joe nodded and spoke into the phone. "Hello, Matt? There's been a lot going on. If you can be here at seven tomorrow morning with Mike, Pat, and Tony, we'll fill you in and tell you what we're setting up. . . . No, it's too complicated to tell you now. . . . Let's just say we hope to wrap the whole thing up by late tomorrow afternoon. . . . Right . . . See you in the morning."

  He hung up.

  "Seven a.m., huh? I'll be here," said Brady. "Guess I'll apologize to Matt for starters."

  Felix sighed. "I'd better be here, too - if Matt will let me on the premises, that is."

  "Hang in there, Felix," Frank said. "We will need you in the morning, and I'm sure Matt will see that you're trying to make up for what you did."

  "Get some sleep, everybody," advised Joe. "I figure we're going to need it."

  ***

  The following morning at seven-thirty the Hardys, Tony Prito, Matt and Mike Simone, Pat Mulvaney, and Hal Brady stood in a tight group watching Felix Kinney on the telephone.

  "That's right, Mr. Gerard," said the bookkeeper. "Yes, sir, I figured you'd want to know about the shipment right away. . . . Yes . . . Thanks ... I will." He hung up the receiver and looked at the others.

  "He said that this should be the last straw for Lombard Hauling, and he told me my debt is now paid in full."

  Nobody smiled. Matt, who'd heard the whole story earlier, said, "Well, you've paid a piece of your debt to me, too. Not all of it, Felix, but some."

  "Hal, you and Pat and Tony can start loading the truck," Matt went on. "We can use a lot of the Ultratech components that we salvaged from the trailer yesterday."

  "If this 'shipment' is just a dummy for bait,' said Joe, "how come we're actually loading up the truck? Why not just send it out empty?"

  Pat Mulvaney replied, "Because at least a couple of the guys in this gang are experienced with long-haul rigs, Joe. They'd be able to spot an empty truck from the way it rides. We don't want to tip them off, do we?"

  As the loading started, Frank noticed that Pat was being extra careful in her checkout procedure. He could see why. She wouldn't be driving her regular tractor, which was being repaired, so it was doubly important to check everything over.

  As he helped Pat run through the list, Frank glanced over at Mike, who was leaning against the garage wall near the door to the
office, watching the preparations. Mike had wanted to be in on the action, but Frank and Joe had persuaded him that his broken arm would make him a hindrance. He would wait at the office.

  When Teri Yarnell arrived shortly before eight o'clock, Joe went over to say hello. She looked surprised to see so much going on.

  "Everyone's off to an early start today," she commented.

  "There's a lot to get done," Joe said.

  Teri's brown eyes went wide when she saw Hal Brady walk by. "What's he doing here?" she asked. "I thought he was suspended after that fight with Mr. Simone."

  "They worked everything out, and he's back at work," Joe said. "Listen, Teri, you like movies?"

  "Love them," she said, smiling.

  "Me, too," said Joe. "Do you eat dinner?"

  "Every night."

  "What do you know, so do I!" He gave her a big grin, and she giggled. "You want to eat dinner and see a movie together? Like, say, Saturday night?"

  "Saturday? I'd love to. Wait a second." She grabbed a piece of note paper and wrote on it. "Here's my address and phone number. Call me tonight, okay?"

  Joe looked up as Matt stuck his head out his office door and called, "Joe! We need you in here a second."

  "On my way," Joe answered. Then, turning back to Teri, he said, "At least we finally got to finish our conversation."

  Joe was still smiling when he reached Matt's office, where the mood was all business.

  "I just want to make certain that everything is set," Matt said. "That truck will be ready to go in fifteen minutes, and I'll be in it with Pat. Tony and Hal will follow in Hal's truck. I've rented a car for you two," he added, gesturing to Frank and Joe, "because the gang knows that van of yours by now and if it's anywhere around, it might make them suspicious. The rental car has a CB unit, so you can keep in touch. Anything I've forgotten?"

  "The only thing left to do is call MacReedy," Frank told him.

  "Be my guest." Matt handed him the phone.

  As Frank was getting the number, Joe asked, "Can I listen in?" Matt gestured to the extension, which Joe picked up.

  "Sheriff's Department, Chief Deputy MacReedy," said the familiar hard voice over the line.