As we entered the diamond store, we heard voices echo down the hallway. Mr. Rosemond buzzed us through and ushered our group to the conference room, where ten anxious looking people sat around the table. John Bentley, his driver and guards, and the Rosemond family were all there. The armored truck we’d soon use as a decoy was in place behind the building and ready to be loaded with empty jewelry containers meant to fool the cast of criminals in case they were watching.
A half dozen guard uniforms, intended for our use, hung on the coatrack just inside the back door. For our plan to succeed, we needed to assume the places of the driver and guards who would have been in the Trident Armored Transport truck that morning.
“Good morning, everyone,” Spelling said. He glanced at the clock before continuing. “We have forty minutes before we put everything in motion. As of now, the plans we discussed last night still stand. Our agents will change into the uniforms in a few minutes and load the back of the truck. We have no idea if the store is being watched or not, so we have to play this as if we were actually transporting millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds.”
SSA Hopkins picked up where Spelling left off. “Once our people leave the area in the truck, the Trident guards will load the real merchandise in the moving van and leave for the Brookfield store. Agent Spelling and I will follow from a distance, but rest assured, there will be some division of law enforcement present at all times, watching your vehicle. The transport will go smoothly, and the rest”—he scratched his chin—“we have no clue, but our people are well prepared for any scenario.” He checked the time. “You’re loading the truck and leaving in a half hour. Cam is the designated driver, and Jade will be the eyes and ears for all of you, so keep those radios on and clear of any chatter. Bill, Maria, and Val will be in the back, ready to act on command. We don’t want anyone getting trigger happy, either. Remember, our mission is to bring J.T. and Julie home safely. The criminals are secondary to that. They’ll be captured or killed, but either way, they’ll be in custody when this ordeal is over.” Hopkins gave us a nod of encouragement. “All right, agents, go ahead and change into those uniforms and make sure your vests are under the shirts and concealed. Let’s get this show on the road.”
Val, Maria, and I entered the ladies’ room to change clothes.
“Are you nervous, Jade?” Maria asked.
“Of course I am, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. The truth is, I’m more worried about J.T. and Julie than I am about the rest of us. At least we’re armed.” I patted Maria’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay. It has to be. I have faith in our team.”
Twenty minutes later and after loading forty empty containers, we were ready to head out. I shielded my eyes and panned the area from one end of the alley to the other. Everything appeared as normal and quiet as we would expect on a Saturday morning. The downtown area was always at its busiest on weekdays. Spelling and Hopkins gave us the thumbs-up and reminded me to update them every few miles, especially when we reached the target area.
“Will do, boss.” I gave Cam a nod, and he climbed in behind the wheel. I grabbed the handle above the side mirror and pulled myself into the passenger seat. With a quick mic check to make sure the agents in the back could hear me, we were off and heading west.
“What’s your gut telling you, Jade?” Cam gave me a look of concern as he drove out of the downtown area.
“I spent a good amount of time going over the 2014 armored truck robbery involving Sam Dunbar when I was trying to learn what the connection was between J.T., Curt, and their kidnapper. When we received that video of Julie holding the cards with the rants about family, and how blood is everything, I knew the Sam Dunbar case and this one had to be connected. That was especially true when we found out our mystery man went by the last name Loomis, as in Dunbar and Loomis.”
“Yeah, those two were real comedians. They must have worked together on that first robbery.”
“That’s the part that doesn’t make sense. The eyewitnesses said there were four men involved. Months later, three were arrested, and Sam was shot and killed while trying to escape.”
Cam turned toward me and sighed. “By J.T.”
“Yep, by J.T., and I’m afraid this heist is about revenge.”
“And millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds. So, do you think today will be a repeat of 2014?” Cam stopped at the red light and checked his mirrors.
“If the method worked in the past, why wouldn’t it work again? You have to create a distraction to slow down or stop the truck altogether or somehow disable it. In the Dunbar case, they rammed the side of the armored truck with a large U-Haul cube van. The hit was hard enough to disable the truck and disorient the guards inside. They were sitting ducks. The scary part was, they did the hit in front of witnesses and still got away with it.”
“Only temporarily.”
“True, and they did pay the piper when it was all said and done. You know, that might have been an inside job too. I’m making a quick call to Joe.”
Cam tapped the side of his head. “Think about it. It’s Saturday, remember? Joe is at home, where normal people unwind from a grueling workweek. What were you going to ask him?”
“I need to know if any employee who works at Trident used to work at Branded Armor in 2014. Chances are, if there is a common person, they may be the insider. Who’s working the tech department today?”
“I think Penny’s in charge. Go ahead and make the call and I’ll update Spelling.”
I called Penny and gave her the bits and pieces of information I had. She said she’d let me know when, and if, she found a common thread.
Cam hung up right after I did.
I cracked open my bottle of water and took a sip. “Are they loaded up and on the road?”
“Yeah, Spelling said they’re almost to the freeway entrance. No problems so far. Check out your mirror. How does it look on your side?”
“Everything is dead quiet—not a vehicle in sight.”
Cam smirked. “Humph.”
“What does that mean?”
“What you said sounds ominous. I’m sure a dead-quiet road was what those crooks were hoping for. We must be getting close. Keep your head on a swivel, and let the guys in the back know to be ready for anything.”