He led the way back to the rental car. After the way they’d been found at the café, he was relieved to be heading back to the rental house. If he had his way, he’d keep Di inside until the shooter was caught, but he knew there was no way she’d allow that to happen.
Inside the rental, he opened the laptop computer and went to work. Di restlessly moved from one window to the next, peering outside as he searched property records. When he found two different buildings owned by Liquid Gold Coffee and Tea LLC, he paused.
“Hey, does Liquid Gold Coffee and Tea sound familiar?” He turned to where Di stood in the center of the living room. “Isn’t that a supplier of coffee and tea products to various restaurants in the city?”
“I’ve seen their trucks,” Di agreed with a nod. “They have a red-and-white logo of a steaming hot cup of coffee or tea with the words Liquid Gold emblazoned above it.”
“Yeah, that sounds familiar to me too.” He tapped the screen. “Liquid Gold Coffee and Tea LLC owns two properties located near the riverfront.”
“Really? No idea who the actual owner is?” Di crossed the room to join him at the small kitchen table. “I mean like the name of a person, not just the company?”
“I’ll check, but the government rule that required LLCs to list the real owners was never put through.” He went back to the database he used while working as a police officer. He typed in the name of the LLC, but no additional names of owners popped up on the screen. He frowned. “Guess the actual owner has chosen to hide his or her identity.”
“That’s suspicious,” Di said.
“Not necessarily.” He didn’t share her concern. “There are legit businesses out there that respective owners would prefer to keep confidential.”
“Maybe. Let’s put that one aside and see if there are any other businesses of interest in the area.” She yawned, then quickly slapped a hand over her mouth. “Oops. My lack of sleep is getting to me.”
“Me too.” He eyed his watch. Maybe they should get a little sleep before heading back out to set up their surveillance of the riverfront. “We’ll work for a while, then grab a combat nap.”
He expected her to complain, but she nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. We’re going to need to be at our best later when we’re out watching and waiting for possible drug shipments.”
“You go first.” He gestured to the computer. “I’ll keep going with the property search angle.”
“Okay.” She stood and stretched. Then she took the stairs up to the second-floor bedrooms. He stared after her for a long moment. She was an enigma. He couldn’t shake the idea she was hiding something, although he truly believed she’d told him everything about her time spent freeing Caden Avery from the K2 Bloods gang.
He forced himself to review the property records. He knew enough about drug trafficking to know that coffee could be used to hide the scent of drugs from K9s. But that alone wouldn’t be enough for a search warrant.
He tried other addresses located in the same neighborhood as the Liquid Gold Coffee and Tea, LLC warehouse. Ten minutes later, he had another company by the name of Davos Delivery Services, LLC. That company only owned one property in the city, but it was located four blocks from the coffee company’s warehouse.
Both companies were worth checking out. But as with the coffee and tea company, the owners of the Davos Delivery LLC were not listed in the official records either.
A ruse to hide the truth? Or just a desire for privacy? He wasn’t sure, but his gut was leaning toward the former. He hadn’t wanted Di to jump to conclusions, even though he’d pretty much agreed with her suspicions.
He stood and stretched, fighting off fatigue. Hearing Di’s voice from the bedroom upstairs, he realized she’d been talking to her sister. Or to Ray Bond.
Thinking of Di’s sister made him curious about Di’s past. Even though it felt a bit like prying, he searched on Dina and Michelle living in New York. The initial hits were of famous people with one of those two names, but as he scrolled down farther, he caught a glimpse of an obituary.
Curious, he clicked on the obit to learn more. The deceased man was Edward J. Ross. He’d died eighteen years ago in Brooklyn, New York. And his loved ones mourning his loss were his wife, Carolyn Ross, his son Edward J. Ross Jr., and Carolyn’s daughters, Dina and Michelle Ross.
He sat back in his chair. Dina’s last name was Milbrath, but he believed Di must have changed her name at some point. Accessing the police records, he found a Dina Ross who was arrested for shoplifting at sixteen. Diving deeper, he found the marriage certificate for Carolyn Milbrath and Edward J. Ross. That marriage was nineteen years ago. Di would have been fourteen, her younger sister Michelle twelve.
There was no doubt in his mind that Di had taken back her mother’s name prior to joining the army. Had she done that partially because of the shoplifting arrest? Or was there something more to it?
He stood and tiptoed up the stairs. The door to Di’s room was closed, and there was no sound from inside. He hoped that meant she was taking her combat nap seriously.
Returning to the main floor, he went back to digging into Di’s family. If she wanted to do the same with him, she was more than welcome. He didn’t have any secrets.
It took a while to find Michelle Milbrath’s marriage to William Trainer. He found it interesting that both Di and her sister Michelle went back to their Milbrath last name. Had their stepfather been abusive in some way? Or had they just wanted to honor their birth father by taking his last name?
Probably the latter. Overkill on his part to read too much into a simple name change.
He found her mother Carolyn Ross was still alive and living in Brooklyn. For some reason, he’d thought her mother was dead.
He shut the computer and rose to his feet. He took a moment to check their surroundings, going from window to window the way Di had earlier. He thought about the shooting incident at the café and sent a text to Kent asking about the fingerprint results. Kent promised to find out and get back to him.
Without a name or anything else to use, Jarek was at a loss as to where to go next. He knew that once Di learned about the two warehouse properties he’d uncovered, she’d want to go back to check them out. And there was the boat angle too.
