Page 65 of Silent Sins

She laughed. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Stenberg’s face. “Right next to my handcuffs.”

“Let’s do this,” Mason crowed. “Most vulnerable point will be between the gangway and the vehicle. Avery and I will take Stenberg. The rest of you, secure the evidence. That about right?” he asked her.

“Works for me. Thank you all,” she added, and stuffed her binoculars in their case.

Before the crewman could lead Stenberg off the ship, another man in a ship’s coveralls joined them. “Mr. Stenberg, the captain wants to see you.”

Stenberg muttered an oath. “What now?” he protested but followed the crewman.

Half an hour later, Stenberg still hadn’t emerged from inside the ship. Tai deployed his drones, but the interior of the accommodations––the tower that held the offices and crew cabins––was a maze of stairwells and dead ends.

“I got nothing,” Tai admitted. “Bridge has been empty the entire time. All other rooms with windows, too.”

But most of the rooms in the five-story white tower would be internal. Windowless.

Mason had long ago sat up. He stared through his binoculars again, checking the deck. “I’m not liking this.”

“Copy that,” Graham agreed. “No way he’s having tea and cookies.”

Avery watched the last of the crew head down the gangway, duffle bags over their shoulders. There’d be barely a skeleton crew left on board until the ship was reloaded. The solution was obvious. “We should head in there.”

“Copy that,” Mason agreed. “Avery and I will get eyes on the prize,” he told the team.

“My drones’ll have your six,” Tai assured them.

Now they had to figure out a way to board the ship unseen. Avery studied the area one more time with her binoculars. Dock crew in hardhats swarmed around the ship, directing the massive, claw-like cranes that plucked the containers off the deck as easily as children unstacked blocks. The deck of the ship itself, though, was deserted.

Maybe they could simply walk onboard.

Mason wasn’t studying the ship. He had his binoculars trained on a modular office at the back of the lot. “I have an idea. Follow me.”

He stowed his binoculars and sprinted toward the stairs. By the time she climbed to her feet, he was already two stories below her. Once she reached the dock office, he was already exiting the modular structure, two sets of overalls and a couple yellow hard hats in hand.

He held them out. “Don’t say I don’t travel in style.”

She accepted the oil-stained garment. Whew. Sweat and machine oil. Nice.

Still, it would get the job done. Disguises on, they headed toward the gangway with purposeful strides. The rest of the team hung back, monitoring the comms in case they needed to intervene.

Guided by Tai’s drones, Avery and Mason wound their way through the complicated structure. At least they didn’t run into any stray crewmen.

Checking every door they passed, they quickly realized that the bottom levels were empty. Most of the crew had indeed headed off to shore. They had one level to go before they reached the bridge. Tension mounted as they headed toward the final room.

“Stay behind me,” Mason ordered.

Weapon raised, he inched toward the door and tried the handle. The latch opened smoothly. He peered inside, then swung the door wide. “Unoccupied.”

Avery shoved her way past him into the room. Her stomach plummeted. Except for a couple round table and chair sets, a few posters about workplace safety and a galley set up on one wall, the plain white room was completely empty.

Avery’s stomach plummeted. They’d started at the base of the accommodations tower. Between her and Mason and the tiny drone army, there was no way Stenberg could have slipped past them.

No way in the past ten minutes. She wanted to kick the wall. Somehow, he’d found another way off the ship.

Mason lowered his weapon. “Looks like we’re done here.”

She followed suit. “Looks like.”

“I’m looking through security footage of the docks,” Paige said. “I’ve got nothing. If Stenberg slipped away, he swam.”

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