“Thanks,” Jarek said, digging cash from his pocket. “Let’s hit the restroom, then get out of here.”
“Fine with me.” She finished her coffee and headed toward the bathrooms. When finished, they left the restaurant. Outside, the summer sun was already warm on her face. She caught herself gazing up at the clear blue sky, wondering if God was real.
Then she gave herself a mental shake. She was better off staying focused on the case. There would be time for philosophical conversations later.
Maybe.
They picked up the rental car, a dark-gray SUV, then headed to the address Rex had provided. The house was smaller than Jarek’s but had two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a small kitchen. Perfect for their needs. Especially since she planned on spending as much time as possible on the streets investigating the case.
“How long can we stay here?” Jarek asked, as he dropped his duffel on the living room sofa.
“Rex secured it for three days, but we can probably extend that time frame if needed.” She glanced at him. “I’m hoping we’ll have Pablo and whoever else is involved in this in custody by then.”
“Yeah, that would be nice.” He checked his watch. “Let’s hit some of those stores first. Then reach out to your narcotics buddies. I don’t think they’re out and about this early. Most of their drug busts are done at night.”
“That’s true.” She dropped her duffel beside his. “I’m ready.”
Jarek waved at the door. “After you.” She led the way outside, hoping they’d find something useful.
As Jarek drove to the southeast side of the city, she caught a glimpse of the Hudson River. During her time with the K2 Bloods gang, she’d heard about drugs coming in from boats. She hadn’t personally witnessed that happening, but as she eyed the river now, she reached out to grasp Jarek’s arm.
“Drive along the river for a bit,” she said. “I want to check something.”
He arched a brow but did as she asked. There was one road that meandered along the river, and it was easy to see how the environment changed as they headed south toward gang turf. There was more graffiti painted on some of the park benches, along with more litter. Almost as if the city workers stopped caring once they crossed first street.
It was too early for tourists to be skimming along the waves, but she noted a few die-hard fishermen were out with lines cast in the rolling water. She didn’t see anything remotely suspicious but reminded herself that the bad guys would hardly paint their boat with graffiti, basically announcing drugs were on board.
The image made her smile.
“What?” Jarek asked. “Do you see something interesting?”
“No. I was just thinking how nice it would be if the gangs marked up their boats the way they did their turf.”
“That would be nice,” he agreed. “Not smart, but nice.”
“I know you mentioned reaching out to Bond and Schnor. If we don’t find anything useful on the cell phone angle, we should start at the beginning.” At his puzzled look, she added, “The drug trafficking itself. The drugs are coming into and going out of the city somehow.”
“That’s a good idea,” Jarek said. “Your narcotics buddies should know a little more about that process.”
She nodded as Jarek turned to head back toward the stores that were most likely used for the cell phones. But as they started out on foot, she kept thinking about those boats.
No matter what Bond and Schnor thought, she believed it would be smart to return to the riverfront later that night. Catching a drug drop in the act and under the cover of darkness would be a good way to get answers.
The sooner her reluctant partnership with Jarek was over, the better.
Jarek led the way into the first store located on the edge of known gang territory. He didn’t go to talk to the clerk at the checkout counter but walked around until he located the rack of disposable phones.
The numbers were vastly different from Stewey’s and Levine’s. At Di’s questioning look, he shook his head. Were they on the right track? Or was this nothing more than an exercise in futility?
Reminding himself that police work was often slow and tedious, he moved on to the next store. This one was well within the heart of gang territory, and the windows were covered in bars to deter theft. Heading inside, he found the rack of cell phones. And found what he was looking for.
He lifted the package and showed it to Di. Her eyes gleamed with anticipation. The phone number was the next one in line after Stewey’s. After replacing the phone package, he turned and approached the counter. A clerk sat behind a pane of bulletproof glass, eyeing him warily.
He didn’t pull his badge, mostly because he was on administrative leave. He should have turned it over with his gun but hadn’t. His boss would not be happy about that. “Can you tell me if anyone purchased disposable cell phones in the past few days?”
“I don’t know.” The clerk looked away. “I don’t keep track of that stuff.”
Either the guy was protecting those with gang affiliations, or he truly didn’t bother to keep track of inventory. He nodded to what appeared to be a camera mounted over the clerk’s left shoulder. “Is that video camera working?”
