She nodded and breathed, "One in the same."
"Are you accessing this information legally?"
"Yes sir. Public documentation obtained through the Freedom of Information Act in a massive foster care fraud filed by the FBI three years ago. It was gathered for that case, and I appreciate the hell out of whoever did the legwork, but it’s all here on the DEA's database." Free and for the taking. Well, free if you were a DEA agent, which she still was, technically.
"Why didn't this information come up on our background searches?" Terrell growled.
"This database isn't connected to the NCIC checks. If you aren't DEA with a reason to search it, there is no way you'd know about it." Hell, she'd only checked it on a hunch.
"So, we have our connection. Great work." Terrell's voice held a hint of relief.
"Our focus needs to shift to the wife, and what's in the greenhouse. We need to find out what Desoto had sandwiched between those crates." Watson put in his two cents.
Terrell agreed. "Unfortunately, we can't stop him from taking the lady's trash out."
"That's the thing though, she didn't want me to throw them away. She said she was going to reuse them, so why did she let Desoto take them?"
"Was there anything unusual about the crates?"
"No. They're those hard, black, rubber containers." Amber wished like hell she'd looked closer.
Rayburn hummed into the mic for a second before he interjected, "Maybe it’s under the soil?"
"It could be, I guess. She was wearing heavy duty rubber gloves today. Not the cloth and leather ones she uses for planting. She said she was cleaning. Come to think of it, I spooked her when I popped in this morning. Maybe she was working with the stuff? But I didn't see a damn thing that resembled drugs."
"You'll need to get a closer look inside the greenhouse."
"Yes, sir." Her mind and Terrell’s ran on the same track.
"Has King checked in yet?"
Amber glanced at the time on the computer. "No sir, they should be landing soon if everything goes like he'd hoped."
"I'm going to get a tail put on Desoto. He's cagey as fuck, and I don't want to blow this case now that we have a link. Give me a call when King is on the ground. We need to work a game plan. Don't go to the house without having King as a backup. You hear me?"
"Loud and clear, sir." She waited for Terrell to clear before she asked, "Rayburn, can you please play back the footage of Desoto leaving the house? How many crates did he have?" She watched the screen and waited until the rewind stopped and Desoto left the house. "He's wearing gloves like the ones Clare was wearing."
"Are the trays empty? Maybe he has the GD inside the little cups in the trays? Remember it could be in pellet or pill form."
"I can't tell. The video is too grainy. It doesn't look like there is anything in the top one, but it could be sandwiched between the layers. I can't tell how many he has. Three, maybe four?" Watson said.
She stared at the best shot of the man. "Do you think the tech lab can enhance the digital?"
"I'd have to get clearance from Terrell. If we take it outside of the unit, gums will start flapping." Rayburn cautioned.
"Damn, that's right. Ok, let’s hold off, and make a note to brief Terrell that an enhanced digital may give us a lead on how they are transporting the dope."
"If they're transporting dope. The guy could be visiting his girlfriend, and the woman could be a bored suburban wife who wants a little mid-morning delight." Rayburn's comment tightened her jaw. Not because it was crude, but because he could be right. They could be spinning themselves up because of coincidences. The only thing that kept her dogging this trail was her training. There was no such thing as a coincidence. Not to this extent, and not this closely linked to the upper echelon of the Peña cartel.
Brody brought the small jet into a final descent for Hope City.
"There you go. You've got this. A couple more flights, and I'd be comfortable with you as my right seat." Dixon's words came through the headphones.
"Thank you, I take that as a compliment." The man had listed off the aircraft he'd flown and the ratings he held. It was amazing someone so young could have accrued the hours in the air that he'd chalked up.
"I'm heading back to DC and then home. If you need another alibi ride, give Jason a call, and he'll find someone to come up."
Dixon's hand was on the stick, but the man let him correct his descent and bring the nose up a bit more. Brody concentrated on the landing and was rewarded with a murmured, "Good. Damn good," from Dixon when he reversed the engine and settled the little plane on the short suburban airstrip.
They taxied to the hangar and parked the plane outside. After he shut down the single engine, both he and Dixon attached a tow bar to the front of the plane and used a small tractor to back the aircraft into the hangar. The tractor was, once again, parked alongside the aircraft shelter, and the doors were rolled down and buttoned up. Dixon shook his hand and headed straight for the SUV parked in the drive. He watched his Guardian chaperone drive away and opened the screen door.
"Did you find Erik's airport?" Amber's question met him as soon as he shut the door.
"Kresley Field. I gave the information to your contact in Jacksonville. He was at Jackson-Dehnam, across town."
Amber leaned against the archway leading from the kitchen into the formal living room. "Guess who came to the Edelmans’ house today."
"It's too early for Santa." Brody walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. "The Easter Bunny has already been here. A leprechaun carrying a pot of gold?" He dropped a quick kiss on her lips.
Her smile was brilliant. "Nope. Paul Desoto."
It took a couple of seconds to make the connection. "As in...?"
"Yep and there's more. Come here." Amber urged him into the office. "I saw Clare and Erik have a spat this morning as you and... Dixon, right?" He nodded. "Yeah, well when you were in the hangar doing the airplane thing, Erik was outside watching, or drooling, dealer's choice, but Clare came outside with a piece of paper, and they had words. It was obvious they were having a heated discussion, so, after he took off, I decided to see if Clare needed to get something off her chest."
"Did she?"
Amber shook her head, her ponytail waving behind her. "No, she talked hedgerows and arches, but then we were interrupted by a knock at the door. I had a perfect profile look at Mr. Paul Desoto."
Desoto had always been in the pool, but never in the deep end, and never wet enough to give the cops probable cause to get a warrant, or hell, for that matter, to focus manpower chasing him. "But it doesn't necessarily tie them to Peña."
"Maybe, but Desoto and Clare have a past and are tied to someone else who is a known associate of Peña." She showed him the monitors and walked him through the afternoon's events. "Captain Terrell wanted us to call when you got back. I think he wants to talk about how we are going to get a look at what's in the greenhouse."
"Damn, then Clare Edelman is the key, not Erik."
"We think so. She knows Desoto in an up close and personal way, and they both have a connection to Aarón Rubio."
"Rubio is directly tied to Peña. We need to get a better look at the greenhouse."
"Yep. But how? She barely let me in the damn thing when I stopped by today, and she's never offered to give us a tour, other than in passing."
He snapped his fingers. "Erik."
Amber blinked at him and cocked her head. "Excuse me?"
"He's proud of what he built. If I tell him I'm going to build you one as a surprise, he'll want to show me what he's done. I'll ask him to take me for a tour, and you can keep Clare busy so she can't run interference."
A smile spread across her face. "I know how to do it, but we'll have to wait until Saturday. I can make an appointment for Clare and me at a spa. She mentioned it today. We'll be gone for hours."
"Perfect. In the meantime, let's call Terrell."
Chapter 19
Amber stretched
and smiled. Brody was wrapped around her back, spooning her tight against his body. She loved this time of the morning, when the worries of the case weren't foremost. Brody's hand splayed across her abdomen, and he moved his hips against her.
"Morning." His deep voice was a few octaves lower first thing in the morning. The rumble went through her back and deep into her soul. It was a sound she never thought she'd hear again and one she prayed she never took for granted.
"Good morning." She pushed back into him and was rewarded with another rumble of sound. This one was a needy growl. His morning whiskers scraped against her shoulder. The stark contrast between his warm lips, soft tongue, and scratchy whiskers sent a shudder of anticipation through her. They'd made love every night, several times a night, and almost every morning, too, but the love they shared now was different than it was ten years ago. At least for her it was. She was happy in her own skin, content in the new relationship which was regenerating from the disaster of the past, and pleased they'd cemented the remodeled connection with communication. The sex was fantastic, but more than anything, she cherished the friendship, trust, and forgiveness that supported what they were building between them.
She rolled onto her back and Brody covered her, moving between her legs. She ran her fingers through his bed head hair and smiled at the sexy man who looked at her like she'd placed the sun in the sky.
"What time do you have to meet Clare?"
She groaned. "Nine. We're driving into the city. It will take at least an hour to get to the spa and then we have four hours booked. Mani-pedi and a massage, plus an hour drive back after we have lunch."
"Then we have time." Brody lowered to her breast and circled her nipple with his tongue. She arched into him and held his head down to her sensitive skin. He took her into his mouth and hummed. The vibration and suction traveled in currents through her body. Under her skin, her muscles contracted, sending the pulsing currents along a familiar corridor of building tension and need.
Her hands traveled along the divots and ridges of his shoulders and back. His skin prickled under her exploring fingertips. The tactile need to reinforce her connection to him peaked as she gripped his hard ass cheeks and arched her hips. Her breath released in a sigh as he entered her. The feel of his hard sex exponentially multiplied the threads of yearning that weaved a tightening pattern deep inside her.
He moved his arms under her and joined their bodies from shoulder to toe. They moved together, bound by not only the physical sensations, but by their commitment to each other, to Gage, and to the future.
His pace quickened and his hips thrust harder. The increase shifted her past the cliff, and she shattered into a thousand brilliant pieces of erotic stimulation. As she held Brody to her, she felt him as he chased his release. He shouted her name and slammed into her two... three times before he stilled above her.
She pushed his hair from his face, and he kissed her palm. God, he was majestic in his masculinity, and he was hers. She held her regrets at bay. She'd always have them. It was something she'd need to deal with as they moved forward, but they would move forward. Together, as a family.
Brody watched as Amber put on her makeup. "Text me if you're getting back sooner." She glanced at him and blinked her eyes. The 'no duh' was left unsaid. Yeah, it was a stupid thing to say. "Sorry."
"I'll be fine. We're getting our fingernails painted. As far as we know, she isn't a threat."
"As far as we know." He reiterated that portion of her comment.
She put down her mascara and turned around, leaning on the sink. "I am a full-grown DEA agent, Detective King. I can handle myself. I don't take unnecessary risks, and I have my weapon in my bag." She nodded toward the massive straw tote she was going to take with her to the day spa.
"Desoto and Rubio are not people to mess around with. If she's got a connection with them, she's dangerous."
"Really? I had no idea." Sarcasm dripped from her comment and landed on the floor between them like a flopping fish.
He put his hands on his hips and drew a deep breath. "Look, I'm trying. I understand now why we shouldn't be on this operation together. It's hard to let you go with her, knowing what we do."
Amber took the two steps forward to put herself in his arms. He enfolded her into him.
"I appreciate the concern. Let's look at this from another angle. We are both highly trained. How about we trust each other to do what we know how to do and promise each other we will be as safe as we can be. After this operation, we won't be in this position. You'll never know when I'm in danger."
He recoiled and stared down at her. "That doesn't make me feel better."
"It's the truth, and we've promised to ground this relationship in the truth, right?" She stared up at him waiting for his answer.
"Yes, we did. The truth is I don't like it, and I probably won't ever like it." He dropped his forehead to hers. "But I'll deal with it."
"It's all we can do."
"Still sucks." He tipped her chin and kissed her tenderly.
"It does. Now I need to finish getting ready before Clare gets here. I'm taking one for the team today. A massage, a mani-pedi, and lunch out. How much do you want to bet those receipts get tagged for an audit when I submit my expense reports?"
"Almost guaranteed. I can see Terrell explaining them to Fenton." Brody grimaced. Fenton was an absolute dick. He took every opportunity to call Terrell to the carpet. It sucked his old man couldn't do something about the jerk.
"Wow. Didn't even think about Attila. I hate the guy, and I've never even met him."
"Lucky you." He heard a horn blast.
"Clare's here. I'll be safe. You go find us something that links her to the drugs."
"I'll get into the greenhouse and take a long look." He opened the front door and gave her a quick kiss that Clare could see. Amber skipped from the house, and he waved at Clare. She returned the wave, and he watched the women back down the drive and head out of the development.
He headed to his computer and brought up the camera screens as he plugged in his earwig and activated the mic on his computer. "Good morning."
"Are you ready?" It wasn't a surprise to hear Terrell’s voice through the comms. The man tried to be present at every major point in his team's investigations.
"I am." He unlocked the desk and hiked up the leg of his jeans. The small holster for his secondary weapon went around his calf and was cinched tightly against his leg. He checked his weapon, making sure a bullet was in the chamber. The safety was on the handle of the automatic. When he applied pressure to fire, it eliminated the gun's firing safety.
"I have a tail on Clare and Amber. Nothing close, and they know the final destination so if they lose them in traffic, they can find them again, but if shit goes down, I want her to have back up not too far away."
"Roger that." He respected the hell out of his boss, and things like this were the reason.
"Speaking of which, we've moved to the first cul de sac of the development, so if you need us, we'll be there in short order." Terrell's voice brokered no discussion on the matter.
"Dude is on his back porch." Watson's voice came through his earwig. "Coffee and the paper."
"Same as the last two Saturdays," Rayburn announced. "I want a life like that. Same old thing, day after day."
Watson snorted, "You'd die of boredom."
"Probably." Rayburn chuckled.
"All right. I'm heading over." Brody waited to get an acknowledgement before he dropped his earpiece into his desk drawer, brought up the fake screens which masked what he and Amber were actually doing, and headed into the kitchen. He poured himself a cup of coffee and ambled into the backyard. He pretended not to notice Erik and walked into the expanse of lawn at the rear of the house. He stood staring at the carpet of green and then moved and stared at a different spot.
He heard Erik's chair slide against the flagstone as he got up. It was working. He moved to another spot and stared at the grass intently.
Brody pointed to the far corner. "What do you think about a greenhouse, right there?"
Erik narrowed his eyes and then swung them to the other corner. "That area has direct sunlight. It would be better there."
Brody's head snapped around to blink at his neighbor. "Is sunlight important?"
"Well, yeah." Erik chuckled his response.
"Shit. I don't know anything about building a greenhouse, but Amber is researching plants, and has bought some seeds. I think Clare has rubbed off on her. She's mentioned wanting a greenhouse so she could grow her own plants."
"Ah, it's started. Yeah, Clare has definitely rubbed off on her."
"Hey, would you mind if I took a look at how you built the one you constructed for Clare?" Brody took a sip of his coffee after he popped the fifty-million-dollar question.
"Clare really doesn't like anyone going inside, but since she's not home, she'll never know." They turned and walked toward Erik's backyard. "I had to get the city to put in a new water meter, and then I had the irrigation system professionally installed, but other than that, I did it all. The kit is pretty straightforward. Damn, I wish you'd been here when I was trying to get mine together. It probably would've taken half the time. Four hands are better than two."
"How's this, I'll buy a steak dinner if you help me with mine." It was a dinner he'd never buy and a construction project which would never see the light of day, but his neighbor didn't need to know that.
"And drinks, man."
"Deal." Brody laughed as they approached the greenhouse.
"This is Clare's pride and joy." He opened the door using a key on his key ring.
"She locks it?"
"Hell, it's alarmed at night, too." Erik laughed. "She has some pretty special plants in here. I disable the alarm when I get up in the morning. I made the mistake of coming in to get the garbage once without turning it off. I had a headache for a week." He reached up and tapped a foghorn shaped piece of metal. "The damn alarm speaker is right at the door."
Brody (Hope City Book 3) Page 19
