Diamond Legacy
Page 22
“Technically that move is against the law,” Nik whispered. “You understand this, right?”
Despite the whisper, Nik’s voice echoed in the cavernous room. Matt clicked on a pen light. “To catch a thief…”
Two trucks were inside the garage, beside them large rolling tool boxes mechanics were fond of using. Storage shelves that contained various truck parts, filters, and oil lined one wall. In the far corner sat several animal cages stacked two and three high.
Matt headed to the opposite corner in the back where the solitary window sat above a long countertop covered in paper, folders, boxes, and general junk, haphazardly spread. “How untidy,” Matt chided. He shined the flashlight on a couple of loose papers. “Repair orders.”
Nik clicked on his own flashlight and moved to the other end of the counter. He pulled a box from the top of a stack and opened it. “Nothing interesting here.” He plopped the lid back on and returned it back in place.
They continued to rummage through the contents of the counter but came up empty handed.
“You did say they smuggled diamonds, right?” Nik clicked off his light. “Maybe if I found one, my ruined date can be salvaged.”
“Considering your lack of skill and finesse, buying the lady’s affections might be your best option.”
Nik growled and Matt laughed with a shake of his head. “Come on, let’s look at those cages.”
Finding the smuggler’s cage was easy. It lay right on top where employees had unloaded it from the truck. With a quick push and turn, Matt showed Nik how to free the hollow bar.
“All right,” Nik said, “now we are getting somewhere.”
They tried the trick on the rest of the cages and found four out of seven with hollow bars.
Matt turned off his flashlight and slipped it back in his pocket. “I want to get inside the office building. You ready?”
“I’m already guilty of aiding and abetting criminal activity,” Nik said as they made their way toward the door. “What will another round matter?”
Matt quietly cracked open the door and peered out. “Coast is clear.”
Slipping back into the night, they crossed the compound to a banded stack of two by fours. Another scan of the grounds showed no activity.
“Have they no security guard?” Nik’s question got an instant answer.
A low growl sounded behind them and Matt froze. He hadn’t seen a dog during his stakeout, but he slowly turned and faced a snarling German Shepherd.
“Good doggie, good boy.” Matt spoke soothingly while reaching into his pocket. “You hungry, big fellow?”
“Not a good question, Bennett. Not when you look like a ham bone.”
Matt kept his focus on the dog. “Lucky for you I’m an old boy scout, fellow. Always prepared. That’s my motto.” He pulled out a tasty dog treat he long ago learned to carry and held it up for the Shepherd to see. “It’s beef basted.” The dog’s eyes followed the bone as he set it on the ground. “The best kind.”
The Shepherd stepped forward and sniffed.
“That’s it, big guy.” Every ounce of coaxing he had went into Matt’s tone. “You know you want it.”
It paid off. The dog kept his eyes on them as he reached down and snagged his teeth around the tempting treat. He stood for a brief moment, then trotted off with his prize.
Nik exhaled a heavy breath. “I don’t know how you do it.”
“Charm, my friend. Women and puppies can’t resist me.”
“That is no puppy.”
“Maybe not, but based on those ribs, he’s hungry.”
“What happens when he comes back?” Nik sounded worried. “How many of those bones do you have in your pocket?”
“I might have another,” Matt said with a quick scan of the yard. “But I’m not waiting around. Ready to go inside?”
Without further delay, they sprinted to the office building. Matt aimed for a side door and stopped to gauge the lock. The deadbolt staring back at him required bigger guns than a credit card. He ran the pad of his thumb over the lock and smiled.
He pulled a well-used kit out of his pocket and selected a favorite pick. Sliding the tip into the tumbler, he leaned an ear toward the mechanism and listened, feeling for the trigger. “Come on, baby,” he whispered. The bolt shot home. He laughed under his breath and pushed open the door.
“Remind me never to trust you,” Nik whispered as they entered the building and shut the door behind them.
“I’ve a wide range of job skills. Most of which you don’t want to know about.”
“You may be right.” Nik looked around. “Which way?”
Gut instinct told Matt to head for the part of the building that the lady in green left dark all day. Chances were high something interesting lay in that direction.
They were in a hallway. If he turned right, he’d be in the office proper. Something worth looking at might be in the filing cabinets, but he stuck with his gut. He headed left, where a closed door lay at the end of the hall.
This one wasn’t locked, and they stepped inside. They’d entered a storage room. His flashlight beam revealed filing cabinets, shelves loaded with boxes and miscellaneous junk, and a big desk in a corner, partially covering another door.
Nik clicked on his light and began exploring. Matt remained in place and stared at the door. It could be a closet or a bathroom, but somehow he didn’t think so. Why would either need a deadbolt?
Only one way to find out.
Matt held his penlight between his teeth and put his questionable skills to work again. At the tell-tale click of the bolt releasing, he retrieved his light and smiled in satisfaction, then pushed open the door.
Standing at the entry, Matt shone his light around a makeshift lab of sorts. A jeweler’s dream, complete with scales, lapidary microscope, calipers, faceting machines, and diamond saws.
“Nik, you might want to take look in here.”
His boss stepped in behind him and moved his flashlight over the lab. “Well, well,” Nik whispered. “Tell me why an animal delivery company would need such equipment?”
“No reason I can think of. I’d say we located the heart of a diamond pipeline.” Matt walked across the room to a four-foot-high, cast-iron floor safe sitting in one corner. He ran his fingers over the lock and glanced back at Nik. “Should I?”
“Can you?”
Matt snorted. “Take notice, my friend. Watch her open under my touch.”
It took a few minutes. The lock had a more sophisticated mechanism than a mere deadbolt. But in the end, it gave way, and Matt swung open the door.
Nik shone his light inside and Matt whistled.
Money, both American and the African Pula, sat bundled on one shelf, while rolled-up papers, passports, and a variety of cloth bags took up the other. Matt grabbed one of the bags and spilled the contents into his hand. Rough diamonds filled his palm, the kind fresh from the mines. Dull, misshapen, some embedded in kimberlite. They waited the expert touch of a jeweler to bring out their true brilliance.
“This amounts to a massive fortune,” Nik said.
Matt looked up at his boss. “Certainly enough for a hefty down payment on a major weapons purchase. I’d wager my paycheck more is coming.”
“I’ve a couple of agents who will be very interested in this place.” Nik ran his flashlight back over the equipment.
“Inform them, certainly,” Matt said. “But hold off the bust. Let’s give the bad guys a little more rope before tightening the noose. I want this sting to go wide.”
“Gaborone’s biggest political affair commences next week. We cannot afford to wait very long.”
Matt replaced the contraband back in the safe and secured the door. “If we choose our timing wisely, we may accomplish the bust of the decade and clean up this town.”
“A little housekeeping is always beneficial, just not when political dignitaries are filling our hotel rooms.”
“If I agree, can we leave here before someone arrives?”
“The sooner the better.”
“Fine,” Nik conceded. “Three days. More than that, I cannot spare.”
Matt thought that would be pushing it, but he’d worked tighter miracles.
Chapter 26
“I’m so nervous.”
Letta grabbed a bottle of vitamin supplements from the clinic’s medicine cabinet and fidgeted with the lid, trying to open it with little success.
Miranda couldn’t stand watching the struggle. She held her hand out with a heavy sigh, and Letta handed it over. “Put it out of your mind, Letta.” Miranda gave the bottle a deft twist and handed it back. “It doesn’t help to dwell on it.”
“But it means so much to my family.” She lowered her head with a shake of self-doubt. “What if I don’t make it?”
Miranda glanced over at Jason as he worked with the new lion cubs. He had a frown of concern on his face with which she identified.
“You’ll make it,” Miranda stated confidently. “From what I’ve seen in the past few weeks, you have instincts for this line of work. You’ve put in a year’s residency. You’ve taken the bar exams. Why wouldn’t they grant your final year?”
“Because it’s competitive, and two other programs have already dismissed me,” Letta fretted.
Her worry and dejection tugged at Miranda’s heart. Why couldn’t her friend see what they saw? An intelligent, hard-working, and caring veterinarian in the making.
“My dad used to say that the difference between a good vet and one that just does the job is their level of compassion.” Miranda smiled at her friend. “That’s something you have in spades.”
“But there are many good interns from the college this year,” Letta argued. “With so many to choose from, why keep me?”
“Okay, stop it!” Jason declared. “You’re killing me.”
With a loud click, he secured the animal cage and marched over to where Letta and Miranda stood by the supply cabinets. “Listen up, my worry-wart friend. You are kindhearted, skillful, and an asset to our profession. Any clinic would be lucky to have someone like you serving residency on site.”
“Perhaps…” Letta replied hesitantly.
“No,” Jason said and placed a finger under her chin, lifting her eyes up to his. “Don’t begin to doubt yourself. Katanga knows your value. Put your worry aside and focus on the work. Everything else will fall into place.”
“He’s absolutely right, Letta,” Miranda said. “Trust in the fact that you’ve come this far.”
Letta still looked doubtful so Miranda continued. “I know it can be hard. Believe me, at one point in my residency, I considered giving up.”
Two pair of shocked eyes aimed her direction.
“Absolutely, no way,” Jason declared. “You’re the best I’ve ever seen. A complete natural. You were born and raised with it!”
“And that’s the reason I crashed. I didn’t know if it was my passion, or just a continuation of what I’d always done.” Miranda heaved a sigh. “I don’t normally share this, but there was a dark time when I doubted my ability. It seemed every decision I made was wrong, and mistakes almost cost me a scholarship.”
“What did you do?” Letta asked.
“I stopped listening to that voice of doubt in my head and turned my focus where it really mattered—the animals.”
“And that’s why she’s our best staff veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo.”
All three of them turned to the new voice by the door.
Miranda’s heart lurched into her stomach, and the hole it left filled with dismay. The last person she expected to see, or wanted to see for that matter, stood in the door grinning with delight at their surprise.
From his crisp, buttoned-down shirt to his tasseled penny loafers, Hank Meadows looked like a picture of the California wine country. Neat, tidy, and everything in a row. She’d never really noticed that about him before.
“Blast it all, Hank.” Jason was the first to recover. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see if Africa is all they claim it to be.” Hank looked straight at Miranda then. “And to offer Miranda an apology.”
To say she was astounded put it mildly. He couldn’t have traveled halfway around the globe just to apologize. Why did he really come? He stared at her with an inquiring expression that begged an answer. She hardly knew what to say. “We’d be home in less than two weeks, Hank.” She was pretty sure that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “You didn’t have to travel so far just to say you’re sorry.”
“It couldn’t wait. I needed to say it now.”
“Well, dang, Hank.” Jason stretched his hand out for a shake and diffused the tension. “I hope you brought your running shoes, because if you came to see Africa, you’re going to be busy!”
As Jason kept Hank occupied by shaking hands and introducing Letta, Miranda worked to gather her wits. She was at a complete loss on how to react to Hank’s gesture. She could scarce believe he left behind his comfortable and orderly life to fly all the way here.
The introductions done, Hank turned back toward her and opened his arms to invite a hug. Not knowing what else to do, she gave him what he asked for.
“It is good of you to come, Hank.” That much was true, though in reality, she wished he hadn’t. Seeing him now only confirmed what she’d realized a lifetime ago in San Diego. Hank was a good friend, but that was all there was between them. What was she to tell him now?
“I’ve already checked in at Zimbali Lodge.” Hank kept hold of her hand. “I want you to show me this place, show me why you love this work so much.”
Miranda gave him brownie points for trying. His grand gesture certainly was romantic, and a few weeks ago she might have been moved by it. But that was before Matt, before his shaggy hair and tawny-eyed gaze had captured her heart.
She was destined for heartbreak and knew it, but suddenly she didn’t care. She wanted to take what little time remained for her and Matt. Starting the minute he got back tomorrow.
Only first she had to give Hank a tour of Katanga.
Roz had other ideas. The chimp ambled up and stood with an unblinking stare at Hank.
“Who’s this?” Hank asked.
“Meet Roz, self-appointed mascot of the center,” Miranda replied.
“Why is she staring at me?”
Roz answered the question by reaching up to their clasped hands and pounding on them until Hank released Miranda. The monkey chattered loudly, rubbed a hand down her face, then shook her head.
Hank started laughing and reached down to pet Roz. She backed out of his reach with an indignant screech.
“What’s wrong with her?” Hank asked.
Perplexed, Miranda looked to Letta for an answer, but she merely shrugged and looked just as surprised. Miranda dropped to one knee and did a quick visual check, but Roz seemed fine. The chimp made a fist with her thumb up and brought the digit up to flick against her chin.
Sign language for “not.” Had Roz taken an instant dislike of Hank? That was totally crazy, but what else could it be?
“It’s all right, girl.” She patted Roz affectionately and stood. “She seems fine. Probably just wants something to eat.”
Hank eyed the monkey with a small frown, but then shrugged. “Can’t say I blame her. I haven’t eaten much today either.”
“Well then, how about we start the tour with lunch?” Miranda asked.
“Sounds wonderful.” Hank grabbed Miranda’s arm to loop through his, but Roz began screeching again, drawing the attention of the others in the clinic.
“Maybe we should just head out?” Miranda disengaged from Hank. “Jason, Letta, ready for lunch?”
“I…uh… There’s still much to do.” Letta’s eyes moved between her and Hank.
“Nons
ense,” Miranda argued. “You have to eat. Whatever it is will keep for an hour.”
Letta glanced at Jason as if for guidance, and Miranda mouthed the word “please” at him. Alone time with Hank was not what she wanted right now.
Jason shrugged and yanked off his lab coat. “Lunch sounds good to me,” he said. “Just give me a second, and I’ll sign us out.”
* * * *
The sun had begun sinking into the late afternoon sky when Matt pulled into Katanga’s parking lot. Technically, he wasn’t due back in his janitor uniform until tomorrow morning, but he was anxious to check on Miranda.
He’d spent all morning with Nik at IDS headquarters filing status reports, then most of the afternoon briefing the security detail for Diamond Council on the black market weapons deal brewing at Glory Hill. Now, he wanted to see if Miranda had come up with that list of Panjami destinations so he could get someone working it.
But if he was truthful, he just wanted to see her. She managed to get under his skin every single time, but he’d never enjoyed being so aggravated in all his life.
He began to whistle as he made his way through the hallways toward the clinic. She’d be there now, helping the afternoon shift with four-legged patients and curving those lips of hers in that fresh, earthy way she had. She’d hooked him with that smile the very day he met her.
With a crazy grin of anticipation and friendly nod at the girl working the reception counter, Matt pushed his way through the double doors.
His smile melted instantly.
Miranda and a stranger stood shoulder to shoulder, and she held a lion cub in her arms. The man hesitantly reached out to pet it. That didn’t bother Matt as much as the man’s easy laugh and the way he dropped a neatly tailored arm onto her shoulders. Matt’s eyes narrowed as he took in the guy’s attire. Not one wrinkle marred his neatly pressed and tucked shirt, nor was there any hint of dust on his shiny leather shoes. Worse yet, he was way too familiar with Miranda.
She suddenly looked up and spotted him standing by the doors. Her eyes lit up, and he gave her a little half smile. Hah. Take that Mr. GQ.
She waved Matt over and set the lion cub back in the holding cage.