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FISH STIFLED A GROAN when his phone rang with Emi’s ringtone. He didn’t know what had triggered Lexi’s sudden desire for a kiss, but he’d gone along with it. Probably better they’d been interrupted.
Emi couldn’t have run background checks on Russ Jordan and Nelson Riggs that quickly.
“Frisch,” he said. “Should we be teleconferencing?”
“Not necessary, but if you want to put me on speaker so Ms. Becker can hear, that is acceptable.”
Fish mouthed Emi to Lexi and set the phone to speaker, then laid it on the desk between them. He squeezed Lexi’s hand. “Go ahead.”
“We’ve been monitoring chatter and have picked up traffic that might involve Ms. Becker.”
Lexi’s hand tensed beneath his. “What kind of chatter? How does it involve me?”
“I doubt it directly involves you,” Emi said. “However, we wanted you to be aware. Strictly a precaution.”
Fish was beginning to hate that word. “Can you be more specific?”
“Several of the Falcon’s northern California drug operations have been taking hits. There seems to be enough of a crackdown that the Falcon is rumored to be coming in to shake things up. Have a face-to-face, heart-to-heart chat with his minions.”
“I thought he didn’t show his face,” Fish said.
“There’s a major fund-raising dinner in the city tomorrow night,” Emi said. “According to the report I received, Adam discovered that John Gunther will be in attendance to present a generous donation.”
“Very convenient,” Lexi said. “A perfect excuse for the Falcon to get up close and personal with his local crew.”
“Have you notified local law enforcement?” Fish asked. Blackthorne’s first order of business was to protect Lexi.
“That would be up to the function organizers,” Emi said. “If they choose to request upped security from law enforcement, that’s their business.” Laptop keys clicked. “It appears they’re hiring a private firm to cover the event.”
“Are you sending an operative to the function? Undercover?” Lexi asked.
“Mr. Dalton will be there. As an invited guest. We have insufficient proof that John Gunther is in any way involved in drug trafficking, so there’s no reason to believe we can have him arrested at the function.”
“You can keep an eye on him, right?” Fish said.
“Indeed we can,” Emi said.
Fish was sure Emi was smiling. “Fozzie’s doing, no doubt.”
“I’m giving him ninety-one point three odds of success.”
Fish caught a hint of a smirk from Lexi.
“Any more questions?” Emi asked. “If not, I have work to do.”
Which was a not-so-subtle way of saying she didn’t want questions unless they were critical.
“Nope. We’re okay here,” Fish said. He disconnected.
“You understood that?” Lexi asked.
“What’s not to understand? Adam found out Gunther will be at the function.”
“Which one? Where? You didn’t ask.”
“Not our problem. It’s not in this building, obviously, and we’re not going to be there. I’ll bet if you want to kill time, you can hit the internet and figure it out.”
She undid and redid her ponytail again. “You’re right. The real question is whether your people are good enough to keep eyes on Gunther when he does whatever he’s planning to do as the Falcon.”
“Are you dissing the skills of Blackthorne operatives? Especially one very senior Australian?”
She seemed to relax. Fish put his arm around her, captured her gaze. “I believe we were in the middle of some critical unfinished business before we were interrupted,” he said.
A flicker of heat burned in her eyes, quickly extinguished. “We were making a shopping list.”
Not what he had in mind, but definitely more practical. He dragged the notepad and pen closer to Lexi. “You’re more kitchen-oriented than I am. You start, and if you miss something, I’ll fill it in.”
With their list prepared, Lexi volunteered to carry it downstairs. “I want to see how Ken Noble’s doing.”
“We’ll both go,” Fish said. He was on protection detail, and right after Don’t get involved with the principal came Don’t let the principal go off on her own. Okay, so maybe he paraphrased that one, but it sounded better than Don’t let the principal out of your sight which sent his mind thinking of ways to justify ignoring rule number one.
He automatically made sure he had his weapon. Since he’d given Lexi a holster, she had hers, too. During the time between leaving the force and joining Blackthorne, Fish had felt half-dressed when he wasn’t carrying. Yet, in his years as a cop, he’d fired his weapon only twice in the line of duty.
One of those times was the Pineda case, which meant he was thinking about kissing Lexi again.
“I’m ready,” he said. Let her assume it was to shuttle a list of groceries downstairs.
In the lobby, Noble nodded in greeting as they approached.
Lexi handed over the list. “We were told you could handle getting us food.”
Noble set the list by his phone. “Give it two hours.”
“That’ll be fine,” Lexi said.
At the ding of an elevator, Fish reflexively turned. When the doors opened, Jordan strolled to the garage elevators.
Lexi rushed over to him. “Excuse me,” she said.
What the hell was she doing?
***
MAKING SURE HER GLOCK was concealed by her shirt, Lexi caught up with Russ Jordan. She struck a slightly more modest version of the pose she’d used undercover as a hooker, a bit of a come hither in her eyes and a sass to her hips. “My name is Alexandra Bancroft,” she said, giving a name she’d used while on Vice stings. “I’m thinking of moving in here. The rental agents are singing the building’s praises, but of course, they’re looking for a commission. You live here, don’t you?”
The man raked his eyes over her, his interest clear. He nodded. “Pleased to meet you, Ms. Bancroft.”
“Don’t be so formal. We might be neighbors.” She dropped the pitch of her voice, aiming for sultry. “Call me Alex.”
“Alex. I’m Russ. I’ve lived here four years.”
“Then you must like it. I’m worried about security.” She faked a furtive glance around the lobby and lowered her voice. “It’s my ex. He’s not happy about the split, and I wouldn’t put it past him to try to sneak in. I have a restraining order, but he’s constantly violating the terms.”
The man shifted his gaze to Marv, lifting his eyebrows in question.
Lexi waved her hand and let out a quick laugh. “No, that’s not him. He’s not that crazy. That’s my rental agent. I know the guard at the desk isn’t going to admit there are any loopholes, either. So I’m asking you.”
Lexi waved Marv over, calling the name he’d used working stings, hoping he’d understand. “Harry! Come here. I want you to meet someone.”
Marv sauntered over, hand extended, a broad grin on his face. “Harry Davenport. I hope my client isn’t bothering you.”
“Russ Jordan. And no, her concerns are legitimate. I’m happy to answer her questions.”
Looked like he’d be happy to do a little more than talk.
“I thought firsthand opinions would be better than relying on the building’s information sheets,” she said. “Don’t you agree, Harry?”
“Absolutely.”
To Lexi’s relief, Marv had fallen into his role. Like the old days, slipping into their cover personas.
“My biggest concern,” she said, “is how people might be able to sneak into the building. Have you heard of anyone hacking the system?”
“No.” Jordan glanced toward the elevator.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I must be keeping you. This elevator goes to the parking garage, right? It’s separate from the ones to the apartments?”
“Would you mind very much showing Alex how it works?” Marv asked. “Showing her will put her mind at ease much more than telling her.”
“Of course.” Jordan pressed the call button, and the doors swooshed open. “After you,” he said with a grand sweep of his hand.
Lexi entered with a tad more hip sway than would be considered appropriate.
“There are four levels,” Jordan said, pressing P-3. “Seems it was cheaper to build up than out, so there are twenty slots on each level. Every resident gets two with the apartment. Visitors are restricted to level two.”
“What about level one?” Lexi asked, wondering if residents might be able to find the shooting range.
“Staff only,” Jordan said. “Maybe it’s for storage, or deliveries come in that way. It takes special access and residents don’t have it.”
“You’ve never tried to go there?” she said.
He shook his head. They were on his parking level now, and he was walking toward his slot.
She followed. “How do you access the parking lot? We parked on the street out front.”
Jordan explained the process. A code for the gate, another one to summon the elevator.
“If you gave someone your codes, though, they’d be able to get in,” Lexi said.
“Into the lobby.” Jordan kept walking. “You saw the guard at the desk. He’ll check anyone he doesn’t recognize.”
“I told you it was secure, Alex,” Marv said. “I had to make an appointment for us, and we showed our IDs when we arrived.”
Jordan bobbed his head. “Plus, the apartment elevators require key cards.”
“What about stairs?” Lexi asked. “Fire codes would require those, right?”
“Yes, there are two sets of stairs, but they go to the lobby, not the garage. So someone managing to get into the garage couldn’t use the stairs to get into the building.” He put a hand on the door of his truck. “I have to leave, but I hope to see you around.”
Lexi didn’t really bat her eyelashes, but she did blink a few extra times. “If I decide to move in here, I’ll be sure to look you up.”
Jordan drove off, and Lexi grabbed Marv’s arm. “What about leaving the garage?”
“What do you mean? Nice role-playing, by the way.”
She grinned. “Like old times, but with a different purpose, although Harry the rental agent wasn’t anything like Harry the pimp.”
“I’ve honed my talents. What were you getting at?”
“What I meant was how is the exit gate from the garage controlled? The system in place is designed to make sure only authorized people get in, so if they’re in, they don’t have to jump through hoops to get out. Nobody left while I was watching the feed, so I don’t know the protocol. We should check it out.”
They made their way to the main parking level. “Nasty tire shredders if someone tries to get in this way,” Marv said.
“What about on foot?” Lexi checked the area. “Someone could have hidden behind this wall, then when a car left, ducked inside the gate. They take a while to close.”
Marv looked up and around, pointed to the camera. He jumped and flapped his arms.
He wiped his hands on his jeans. “Okay, let’s go inside and see if the security guards saw me.”