“Then when is the move scheduled?”
“Let me check.”
While he looked it up, Evan opened an internet window on the computer and enteredGolden Lion Shippingin the search engine. Their colorful website with a border of gold lions loaded on the screen. He clicked on the About section. Ormazd Malouf owned the company that his father founded eighty years ago in Iraq. He’d originally called the company Malouf Shipping, changing the name to Golden Lion in the early sixties. A shipping company tied to Iraq raised a ton of red flags. Evan would most certainly be talking to Malouf.
“Here it is,” Gadsden said. “It’s scheduled to leave Terminal 18 tomorrow. Going to Golden Lion’s storage facility.”
“Is it usual for a container to sit here for a few days like this?”
“It’s not unheard of, but we try to move ’em out as fast as we can. Don’t have the space to keep ’em on-site.”
“And how are these orders generated?”
“Electronically from the shipping company.”
“You ever have any issues with Golden Lion?”
He didn’t answer for a moment. “We have issues with every shipping company. If you’re asking about something illegal, nah. Nothing like that.”
“I need the contact information for the owner. Not Golden Lion’s office number but Malouf’s personal cell, if you have it.”
“Let’s see what we have. Hmm ... yeah, here’s a cell number, but I’m not sure it’s his.” He rattled off the number.
Evan jotted down the contact information and read it back to Gadsden.
“Yep. That’s it.”
“I need you to email those shipping orders to me. In fact, email everything you have on this container.”
“I ... well ... honestly, I probably shouldn’t have told you what I did. I’ll have to talk to the boss man about that and get back to you.”
“Then call him. Immediately.”
“But it’s Sunday. He’s not gonna like it.”
“Tough,” Evan said. “While you’re at it, get permission to release your security footage for the entire month, and every worker’s name and hours worked for the same period.”
He groaned. “Aw, man, you don’t know what you’re asking for here.”
Evan did know, and he didn’t expect Gadsden’s supervisor to cooperate without a warrant, so the minute he ended the call, he would request one.
“Say, what’s this all about anyway?” Gadsden asked. “What did you find in the container?”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss that, but you can be assured there is no immediate danger to anyone here.” Evan disconnected, hoping—no, praying—he was right.
Because truth was he couldn’t promise anything. Not when they had no idea where these terrorists had gone and where they planned to unleash their horrific attack.
CHAPTER 4
“WE HAVE EXPECTED A DAY LIKE TODAY,”Mr. Abed said as he stroked his bearded chin and shifted on the sofa in their well-appointed living room.
Kiley took a deep breath of the air filled with the cloying smell of incense and tried not to stare at him for such a statement after learning his daughter had been brutally gunned down.
He ran his hands over his flowing white pants paired with a beige high-necked shirt and a blue paisley overshirt. “We feel great sorrow, but we are proud of our Firuzeh.”
Kiley tried to process his comments but couldn’t make sense of them. “I’m sorry, but exactly why did you expect this?”
“When Firuzeh was born, we wanted her to be strong.” Mrs. Abed smiled and patted her shoulder-length black hair liberally woven with threads of gray. She, like Firuzeh, didn’t cover her head in the privacy of their home.
