Page 7 of Angel's Share

“Did you check in yet with Rick or Matt?”

“Haven’t had time. Aside from taking Mel to the airport, I’ve been on the phone with Siobhan and the owner’s insurer all night, until I got a call from Parsons this morning, just before I texted you.”

“Is that the first time you’ve spoken with Parsons since the goods were stolen?” At Danny’s nod, Aidan asked, “So who were you talking to yesterday?”

“His executive assistant and the insurer. Parsons was traveling. They knew he had a tracker on the diamonds, but we couldn’t get the details until Parsons made contact. Only he had that information.”

Aidan glanced over his shoulder at Jamie. Brows pinched, fingers flying, he was fully absorbed in whatever was going on in that little black box on his screen. Aidan withdrew his phone and bought him some more time.

Rick answered after two rings. “This is Lorton.” He sounded as tired as Danny looked, his Midwestern drawl more pronounced.

“Hey, Rick. It’s Aidan. I’m here with Jamie and Danny.” He flipped the phone to speaker. “Any leads on the truck?”

“I’ve got Matt here too,” Rick answered. “We’ve been going through the surveillance video from the yard.”

“Streaming it to you now,” Matt said.

Aidan logged into his work server on his phone and scooted closer to Danny while the video loaded.

“That’s the transfer,” Rick narrated once the video started playing.

Two crates were being moved via forklift from a shipping container to a cargo van. As the forklift began to reverse, a commotion erupted, the group of kids—teenagers—Matt had mentioned yesterday crossing behind the lift.

“Hey, watch it!” one chided.

“Tonto del culo!” a different student called.

“Bruh!” a third shouted.

“Did you know about the students visiting?” Rick was asking Danny, but Aidan was stuck on the Spanish shout amidst the English ones, something about the voice vaguely familiar. He slid the cursor back and watched it again.

“You see something?” Danny asked.

He zoomed in but couldn’t see any of the students’ faces. And then they were gone, another truck pulling into frame and another forklift approaching with someone else’s cargo.

“No. I thought maybe I could catch one of their faces.” Aidan refocused on the certainty they did have. “What’ve you got on the truck?”

“Gate cams show one man behind the wheel,” Rick said. “Darien White, according to facial recognition.”

“Rap sheet?”

“Petty thefts, bar fights, meth bust that landed him in jail. He’s currently out on parole.”

“Which he’s violating,” Matt said, “given the last sighting of that truck was on the 125 in San Diego County.”

“He’s headed for the Otay border crossing,” Danny said.

Aidan tended to agree. Truck full of goods, probably with forged papers, given the targeted nature of the theft. “Intercept?”

“San Diego field office has teams on the way.”

“They’re not going to find the diamonds.”

Aidan spun toward Jamie. “You cracked the tracker?”

“Of course.” Those words again, along with Jamie’s sly smile, made Aidan want to laugh, but that was the last thing Danny needed right then. He internalized the admiration for his husband, who delivered exactly the information Danny did need. “The tracker is in LA.” He rotated his laptop so they could see the blinking red light near the coast. “In a parking lot at El Segundo Beach.”

“Someone’s catching a nap,” Rick said.

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