Looking along the rows of houses, Crivaro continued.
The FBI got called in to help a few days ago. Just this morning, one of our undercover guys managed to arrest Jaden. His brother, Malik, is still at large, and the gang has scattered. They wont be easy to catch. But because of the arrest, we were able to get a warrant to search the house theyve been working out of.
Riley asked, If the gang is still out there, wont they just start all over again?
McCune said, Thats where the local cops can really get something done. Theyll set up a mini station right out on the sidewalkjust a picnic table and chairs manned by a couple of uniformed officers. Theyll work with the locals to make sure the same thing doesnt happen here again.
Riley almost asked
Wont they just start up in another neighborhood?
But she knew it was a stupid question. Of course the gang would start up somewhere elseat least if they werent caught. And then the cops and the FBI would have to get to work all over again wherever that happened. That was just the nature of this kind of work.
Crivaro stopped the car and pointed to the nearest house.
The search is already underway in that one, he said. And were here to help.
As they got out of the car, Crivaro wagged his finger at Riley sternly.
By we, I mean Agent McCune and myself. Youre here to watch and learn. So stay the hell out of the way. And dont touch anything.
Riley felt a chill at his words. But she nodded obediently.
A uniformed cop standing in the open doorway led them inside. Riley immediately saw that a big operation was already in progress. The narrow hallway was bustling with local cops and agents wearing FBI jackets. They were piling up weapons and bags of drugs in the middle of the floor.
Crivaro looked pleased. He said to one of the FBI men, Looks like you folks have hit a real gold mine here.
The FBI man laughed and said, Were pretty sure this is only the start of it. Theres got to be a lot of cash around here someplace, but we havent found it yet. There are plenty of places to hide stuff in a house like this. Our guys are going over every square inch.
Riley followed Crivaro and McCune up a flight of stairs to the second floor.
She could now see that the house, and apparently the others surrounding it, was larger than it looked outside. Although it was narrow, it was also deep, with a good many rooms along the hallways. In addition to the two floors in ready view, Riley guessed that the house also had an attic and a basement.
At the top of the stairs, four agents almost collided with Crivaro as they came out of one of the rooms.
Nothing in there, one of the agents said.
Are you sure? Crivaro asked.
We searched it top to bottom, the other agent said.
Then a voice called out from inside the room directly across the hall
Hey, I think weve really got something here!
Riley trailed Crivaro and McCune across the hall. Before she could follow them into the room, Crivaro held out his hand and stopped her.
Huh-uh, he told her. You can watch from right here in the hallway.
Riley stood just outside the door and saw five men searching the room. The one who had called out to Jake was standing beside a rectangular shape on the wall.
He said, This looks like it used to be a dumbwaiter. What do you want to bet well find something inside?
Bust it open, Crivaro said.
Riley took a step forward to see what they were doing.
Jake looked up at her and yelled
Hey, Sweeney. What did I just tell you?
Riley was about to explain that she didnt actually intend to come inside when Jake ordered a cop
Shut that goddamn door.
The door slammed shut in Rileys face. Riley stood in the hallway feeling shocked and embarrassed.
Why is Agent Crivaro so angry with me? she wondered.
A lot of noise was coming from inside the room now. It sounded like somebody was taking a crowbar to the place in the wall where the dumbwaiter had once been. Riley wished she could see what was going on, but opening the door again was out of the question.
She walked across the hallway and into the room on the other side, the one the agents had said was already searched. Chairs and furniture were overturned, and a rug was crumpled from having been pulled up and thrown back down again.
Alone there, Riley walked over to the window that overlooked the street.
Outside she saw a few scattered people moving briskly as if in a hurry to get wherever they were going.
They dont feel safe outside, she realized. It struck her as incredibly sad.
She wondered how long it had been since this neighborhood had been a pleasant place to live.
She also wondered
Are we really making a difference?
Riley tried to imagine what life might be like here after the mini station Agent McCune mentioned was in place. Would neighbors really feel safer because of a couple of cops posted at a picnic table?
Riley sighed as the handful of people on the street continued hurrying to their separate destinations.
She realized she was asking herself the wrong question.
Theres no weat least not yet.
She wasnt involved in this operation at all. And Agent Crivaro certainly wasnt showing any confidence in her.
She turned away from the window and headed back toward the door. As she crossed the rumpled rug, she noticed an odd sound under her feet. She stopped in her tracks and stood there for a moment. Then she tapped her heel against the floor.
It sounded oddly hollow where she was standing.
She walked over to the edge of the rug and pulled it off that patch of the floor.
She didnt see anything unusual, just an ordinary hardwood floor.
I guess I was just imagining things, she thought.
She remembered what one of the agents had said coming out of this room.
We searched it top to bottom.
Surely she wasnt going to find something that four FBI agents had missed.
And yet, she was sure she had heard something odd. She wouldnt have noticed it if anybody else had been moving around the room. Shed only noticed it because it was quiet in here.
She took a couple of steps to the side and tapped her heel against the floor. The floor sound solid again. Then she stooped down and rapped on the spot shed noticed before with her knuckles.
Sure enough, it did sound hollow there. She still didnt see any sign of an opening but
I wonder.
She could see that one length of board was shorter than the others. It had a dark spot on one end that looked like an ordinary knot.
Riley pressed the knot with her finger.
She almost jumped out of her skin as the board sprang up a little at that end.
Ive found something! she thought.
Ive really found something!
CHAPTER FOUR
Riley tugged at the end of the board that had popped up a little.
The whole board came loose. She set it to one side.
And sure enough, there was an opening to a space under the floor.
Riley peered closer. Tucked under the floorboards just out of ready sight were bundles of paper money.
She yelled loudly, Agent Crivaro! Ive found something!
As she waited for a reply, Riley glimpsed something else alongside those bundles. It was the edge of a plastic object.