“Fine. We’ll head out now, grab a coffee to go, then find a place to park that’s not too close to the south side.” He rose and closed the computer. “By then, it should be dark enough to set up a surveillance.”
“I have binocs.” Di rummaged in her duffel and held up a small pair of binoculars. “Check this out.” She flipped a switch. “It has night vision capability.”
He shouldn’t have been surprised. She had everything but an AK-47 semiautomatic weapon in that bag of hers. She was making him look like a rank beginner in comparison. “Sounds good to me. Let’s roll.”
Fifteen minutes later, they had their duffel bags along with the laptop computer in the back of the rental car and were driving to the closest coffee shop. The hour was a quarter to nine, and it was still a little too light for his peace of mind.
Glancing up at the sky, he noticed there was a full moon overhead. More ambient light to worry about. After they fueled up on coffee, he headed south.
“I really wish you would at least drive past the port authority,” Di said as they grew closer to the river. “It can’t hurt to see if there are supplies waiting on a pallet or being stocked in a truck.”
He swallowed a groan and nodded. “Okay. We’ll check it out.”
“Thanks.” Di touched his arm again. “This way it will for sure be dark by the time we get to the warehouse.”
“Dark except for the full moon.”
“I noticed.” She glanced at him. “Do you see more criminal activity during a full moon?”
“Yes.” He didn’t hesitate. “Ask any cop and you’ll get the same answer. Although I guess it’s never been scientifically proven,” he added. “I can only say from my perspective, it sure seems like we get more calls during the full moon.”
“Can you park here?” Di gestured to the right. “I think we’re within walking distance of the port.”
“I thought we were just driving past?” Even as he spoke, he slowed and turned into the lot. Knowing Di, she wasn’t going to be dissuaded from going inside. “Are you thinking we’re going to climb the fence?”
“Yeah, why not?” She shrugged. “We won’t stay long. I just want to see if there’s a pallet of boxesfrom the Liquid Gold Coffee and Tea waiting to be picked up.”
“More trespassing,” he muttered with a sigh. He pulled into a parking spot and killed the engine. “We need to be careful.”
“Of course.” She flashed a grin. “I still think the warehouse is our best option.”
He pushed open the car door and stood. Di climbed out and came around to join him. As it turned out, they didn’t have to climb a fence. The gate was open. He wondered if they always left it open until everything was picked up.
Di took the lead, slipping through the open gate and making her way toward the dock area. He followed, covering her back. She paused at the edge of a building and peered around the corner.
“See anything?” he asked, his voice a low whisper.
“A pallet of Liquid Gold Coffee and Tea.” Her brown eyes gleamed with satisfaction. “We need to take a quick look inside those boxes.”
“Di, we can’t just . . .” He didn’t finish as she darted out from behind the building to the pallet of boxes.
Gritting his teeth, he scanned the area, then quickly followed. By the time he joined her, Di had already opened one box. Swallowing a protest, he watched as she pulled out several large bags of coffee grounds.
Then she pulled out a bag that was clearly not coffee. Leaning in closer, he could see there was a layer of what appeared to be heroin lining the bottom of the coffee crate.
Stunned, he looked at her. Di’s instincts were right. She’d found the drugs, just as she suspected.
And he knew if they were in this box, they were likely in all the others.
“Quick, take a picture with your phone,” she whispered. “Then we can get out of here.”
He pulled out his phone, took the photos, even though he still wasn’t convinced he could use them as evidence in a court of law. When he slipped his phone away, she quickly repacked the box. Then she moved the boxes around, placing the opened box beneath two others so that it wasn’t obvious it had been tampered with.
Turning away, he headed back the way they’d come. Di followed, apparently eager to get to the warehouse for the second phase of their mission.
“Hey, stop!” A cry from behind them indicated they’d been caught.
Jarek put on a burst of speed, wishing he was the one behind Di, rather than the other way around. All he could do now was hope and pray they’d make it to the relative safety of the building before another barrage of gunfire rang out.
