04 - Shock and Awesome (35 page)

 
   
"So?" I asked Solomon after hanging up on an overexcited-sounding Justin. "How'd I do?"

 
   
He relaxed in his chair. "Great. You did great."

 
   
"They didn't seem all that interested in the jewels. Ben definitely was not; Justin got a little excited, but maybe he just likes shopping?"

 
   
"They wouldn't want to set off any alarm bells. Notice how they just let you prattle on until the subject changed. One of them knows everything required to pull off a robbery. The value, the pieces, where to find them, and your scheduled movements. They also know there's a time limit on stealing them, since they'll be gone tomorrow. It's a big haul."

 
   
It sure was. The real question, however, remained, was it good enough to work? Or too risky? I guessed it depended on other factors we couldn't determine: how smart the thief was, and whether he had the
cojones
to pull off the opportune job.

 
   
"I liked the bit about the unset diamonds," Solomon added. "Nice touch."

 
   
"Thank you."

 
   
"If our guy is getting jumpy, or getting ready to put his exit strategy in play, this could be his big ticket out of town," said Delgado. He toyed with the headset before dropping it onto the table. I wondered if he enjoyed listening in. Maybe he was getting some tips for my sister's upcoming birthday? Somehow, I doubted he could afford the prices we were talking, but I got the impression he had good taste and liked bringing her gifts. There was no time like the present - no pun intended - to meddle. I mean, find out.

 
   
"Do you know it's my sister's birthday soon?" I whispered to him as Solomon and Lucas huddled their heads together, conferring on something about the digital files database. Yawn.

 
   
"Yeah. We're taking Victoria to a cabin at Lake Pearce. Serena wants to go hiking and have a picnic."

 
   
My mouth dropped open. "Say what?"

 
   
"Cabin, hiking, picnic," replied Delgado, more succinctly.

 
   
"Yeah, I got that. I just don't get the bit about my sister doing all that." Serena thought “roughing it” was a lower thread count than eight hundred on the sheets of her hotel suite's queen size bed.

 
   
Delgado shrugged. "It was her idea. And Victoria will be exposed to nature."

 
   
"Nature?" I mumbled, still taken aback.

 
   
"What's wrong with you today?"

 
   
"Nothing. I just... Cabin? Hiking? You
have met
Serena?"

 
   
"Yep. I was going to drive them to the city, stay in a hotel, and take in a gallery; but she said she had plenty of the fancy stuff with her jerk of an ex-husband, and wanted to play it low-key. We booked the cabin a month ago, and went shopping for one of those papoose things to carry Victoria." Delgado's eyes took on a dreamy, glazed expression. I never expected him to be the kind of guy to fantasize about having a family, but it was definitely heart-warming to see.

 
   
My one big worry about camping and hiking was that serial killers could be lurking behind any tree - well, you never know, right? But I figured if there was anyone I’d feel safe hiking with, it would be Delgado. He could carry my niece in the papoose, along with a picnic basket, and, using his free hand, shoot any threat before it ever manifested. Also: I thought it was kind of awesome that he was taking such a family-style vacation with my sister and her daughter. He seemed to absolutely adore them both, which was more than I could say for her ex-husband, who visited Victoria exactly twice since the divorce. As a result, for the next five minutes, Delgado would be my number one colleague, mostly because Serena was a ton less annoying ever since she got divorced and started boinking my scariest co-worker.

 
   
"You two done talking vacations?" asked Solomon.

 
   
"You're just jealous. You don't vacation," I told him. Delgado picked up a file, ignoring our boss.

 
   
"I do. I just don't talk about it at work."

 
   
"Since when do we have rules on what subjects we can talk about at work?"

 
   
"Since when do you talk back to the boss?"

 
   
"Since when did you think that question wasn't stupid?" I shot back. Delgado snorted. I added an extra minute of time for him. "Where do you vacation anyway?"

 
   
Rolling his eyes, Solomon shook his head, and fortunately for him, gave up. "Let's gather our thoughts and get the surveillance in place. Lucas, you can set up at my house to monitor the video feeds in
Lexi's
‘home’," he said, adding air quotation marks. That was probably so Lucas didn't try to set up the video in my actual apartment. If he did, I would have to kill him, and I didn't want to make a mess. "
Lexi
, it's better if you're not in the house while we wait to see if the suspect turns up."

 
   
"I want to be there at the bust," I told them. "I'm not missing out. It was my idea!"

 
   
"You'll be doing surveillance down the street," Solomon continued. "You take the front. Fletcher can take the back."

 
   
"Why? Shouldn't I take the back? Ben and Justin both know me."

 
   
"The rear of the house has poor lighting, and Fletcher has plenty of experience in all things that go boom with the CIA. It makes sense to put him in the dangerous spot, and you in the one that's least so."

 
   
"Works for me," I decided, rather than arguing I was in the army and thus, ready for anything. While that was kind of accurate, it wasn't exactly the full truth. The army thing lasted a few weeks, but it did earn me kudos around the office, so long as I didn't reveal any of the details. Most of all, getting stabbed or chloroformed would totally ruin my day, and I wasn't sure my insurance would pay out any more. Fletcher no doubt relished the opportunity to take out a bad dude. It would probably make his day. Some people had an odd sense of fun. But I didn't actually want to fight Ben or Justin. I just wanted to cuff one of them and hand them over to MPD. Then maybe rub Maddox's nose in it a little bit, before celebrating.

 
   
"Great," said Solomon. I ignored the sarcasm in his voice and waved him on to continue.

 
   
"
Lexi
, you take the first four-hour shift, seven to eleven. Delgado, you take eleven to three. Flaherty will relieve Fletcher for the second shift. I'll get a couple of the new guys to work shifts too. We'll have the front and back covered at all times. Hopefully, we'll be done by morning."

 
   
"Where will you be?" I asked.

 
   
"Everywhere," said Solomon, giving me a little shiver of something I probably shouldn't have gotten a thrill about. "Go home and get some rest.
Lexi
, you need to be seen in the Chilton house today, so maybe you want to rest up there before you start your shift."

 
   
"Sure thing, I'll grab a couple of items from my apartment and head over there now. Hey, what if he comes in early to hide there before I supposedly go out?" I froze where I stood and watched the others eyeing each other. Clearly, that idea didn't occur to anyone. "I'm not taking a snooze if someone is hiding in the closet," I told them. "That's how urban legends start."

 
   
Solomon picked up the desk phone and punched in a number. "Send someone to sweep the Chilton house," he told the person on the other line. "Yes, now. My team is due over soon. Get a guy on the front and one on the back until I relieve them." He put the phone down. I waited, keeping my face expressionless so he couldn't see if I were impressed, or riveted with curiosity over whom he just called. The guys upstairs? So much for snoozing, I'd definitely be looking outside just to see if I could catch a glimpse of them.

 
   
Solomon dismissed me with a hand wave. It made me think perhaps he wasn't too impressed with my casual little wave when I was about to leave before. Seeing I didn't move, Solomon looked up. "Go," he said.

 
   
"On it, Boss." I nodded to my colleagues and hightailed it out. It wasn't until I got to the parking lot that I realized Solomon not only eradicated the danger by placing me on watch at the front of the house, but also assigned me with the least risky shift of all. I didn't know if it were because I was the newest team member, and therefore kept in all low-risk assignments, or because Solomon was overly protective. Maybe it was both. I couldn't decide if it was sweet or insulting, so instead, I focused on catching the thief and being home in time for a movie and ice cream; or if it was really late, cocktails and dancing on tables.

 
   
~

 
   
By the time I got to the Chilton house, Solomon had sent a short text: "Sweep complete. Safe.” Not exactly chatty, but it confirmed the most important things... or did it?

 
   
“Check under beds?” I texted.

 
   
“Yes. Thief sleeping,” came the next message.

 
   
“Thrilled,” I replied.

 
   
“7 PM. Don't oversleep. Eat,” instructed Solomon.

 
   
"Yes, Boss," I said to the phone. I parked my car several houses away, ready for the stakeout later, and went inside, casually looking around just in case any PI-type men were lurking there. None. The street was empty. Damn. I looked up at Solomon's living room window as I took the first step to mine, and saw a woman move across the room. The mystery guest. Great, now I could think about her while trying to chill out next door.

 
   
The house was quiet as I stepped inside, no obvious signs of anyone else having been here. All the same, it gave me goose bumps to walk around it, knowing someone was almost certainly figuring out how to break into it later, not to mention the people watching over it outside. Speaking of whom… I went upstairs and first peeked out the front, then the rear windows. Nothing. I repeated this several times and only once saw something I actually wanted to see: the guy from Not Wong Chinese arriving with my dinner. Handing him his money, I took another look around from the doorstep and retreated inside. I ate my meal at the bar in the kitchen, while my curiosity gnawed at me. I took another look from the living room window. Where were Solomon's men hiding?

 
   
The ringing of my cell phone made me jump so high, I nearly threw my egg roll into the light fixture. "Boss?" I said upon answering.

 
   
"Stay away from the windows," he commanded. "No one looks out windows that much. My guys complained."

 
   
"I was looking for the takeout guy."

 
   
"For three hours?"

 
   
"I was really hungry."