Once in the compound, they settled quickly. “It’s Friday, so we’ve got until Tuesday to figure out what the fuck Maria is doing,” he said.
Leo nodded. “My guess is she’s using the trip with Cheryl as a cover for doing something at that warehouse with the tunnels.”
“I’ll go through the past couple of Wednesdays’ surveillance feeds to get a lock on the time they're leaving and returning,” Jeb said.
“I can’t believe we didn’t focus more on Maria,” Carson growled, shaking his head. “That’s sexist bullshit that we could have seen.”
Adam shook his head. “It was the smart play for them. It’s easy to see that Cheryl’s not in the business other than just making sure the Garza name stays on the society page. Pretty much the same thing that Ann does with Alonzo in Mexico. Pairing Maria up with her was a perfect cover. With them traveling together, it looks like they’re going to the same event. Sounds like once they’re there, Maria splits off and probably handles the other family business.”
“And I’ll just bet it won’t be shipments of wine,” Carson agreed. “All right, let’s get to work. The sooner we get a lock on what she’s been doing, the sooner we can start planning… tomorrow.”
A few chuckles came his way, but he wasn’t embarrassed. He wasn’t about to spend all night sitting in front of a computer when he had his beautiful woman in his house and his bed.
27
Jeannie leaned her hip against the kitchen counter, a mug of coffee clutched in her hands. After working the evening shift in the ER for several years, she was finally getting used to sleeping regular hours at night and rising early. While Carson might not have regular hours, he seemed to rise early, as well. Taking a sip of her coffee, she smiled at the memory of him rising and the round of early morning sex they’d had.
She’d insisted on separate showers knowing they’d never get ready for the day if they showered together. Now, with her hair still damp, she watched as Carson strolled in from the bedroom. Pushing his mug of coffee across the counter toward him, she set hers down and turned to plate breakfast.
“Babe, you don’t have to cook,” he began.
Shrugging, she glanced over her shoulder. “It’s not a big deal, Carson. Right now, I’m not working, and I can’t stand not doing something. I’ll cook for me, and if you’re around, I’ll cook for you, too.”
They sat at the counter instead of the table while they ate breakfast. After a few minutes of silent eating, she finally turned on her stool and said, “I’ve looked at some other hospital jobs. Ones that are outside of Los Angeles.”
He wiped his mouth with a napkin, turning his attention toward her. “Yeah?”
Nodding, she grabbed her juice, giving her something to do while she waited to see what he might say. In typical Carson fashion, he waited for her.
“I… well, I…” She dropped her chin. “Hell, Carson, I don’t know where to look.”
“Where do you want to look?”
Throwing up her hands, she said, “I don’t know! I’m here with you because of the Garza investigation. But what happens when it’s over? I can always go back to my apartment outside of LA, but does that make sense? I was tired of the commute. Tired of the huge ER that was so busy I rarely got to sit at all during a twelve-hour shift. And if you and I are seeing each other, then it doesn’t make sense to be three hours apart. So, do I look for a job closer to here? There aren’t any hospitals very close, but the drives are a lot nicer here than they are sitting in Shitsville commuter traffic getting into LA. There aren’t any apartments close by, so I’d have to try to find one that’s between you and a hospital.” She squeezed her eyes closed, tension building in her shoulders.
“Babe,” he said softly, his hand moving to rub her back.
She opened her eyes and focused on his face—the face she’d already fallen in love with. Heaving a sigh, she said, “Truthfully, I knew I didn’t want to go back to my former job. That’s why I took the two-month leave to work as a Red Cross nurse. I think I told myself I might go back just because the idea of looking for something else and starting over somewhere new was daunting. I guess I just thought that I’d still be in my apartment, looking for a hospital that was in the opposite direction of LA. Something smaller with less of a crazy commute.”
“It sounds like a big part of your decision is already made,” he said. “The only difference now is that you’ve got a new place to live, so you’ve got a new area to search for a job.”
“And a new apartment?” She knew the question was loaded, but if she was looking for a job, she had to know where she might live. And her decisions were too important to leave anything up to assumptions.
Carson’s brow furrowed as he dipped his head to hold her gaze. “Sweetheart, I’ll support whatever decision you want to make. If you need your own space and want your own apartment, we’ll look together to find something that’s right for you. But, as far as I’m concerned, we’re already a committed couple, and my home is your home. Unless you want your own space, I hope you’ll stay here with me. And if you do, then you can search to see what kind of job you can be happy with and commute from here.”
“I love it here with you, but it still seems so new. We still seem so new.”
“Baby, you just described the start of every relationship.”
Laughing, she slid off her stool and moved to stand between his thighs, her hands resting on his shoulders. “How did you get to be such a relationship expert?”
“It’s Relationship Building 101, sweetheart.”
She laughed again, and this time, he kissed her smile. Feeling their mirth bubbling between them in the middle of the kiss, her decision was made.
“We’ll go over this now, and then send the details to me and I’ll get my team ready,” Dave said, his face in the top corner of the large screen, a map of the area around Tecate taking up the rest of the space.
Jeb and Rick had spent hours combing back through all the security surveillance they had on Maria Garza, determining her schedule around the winery and especially paying attention to her Wednesday trips to Tecate. Adam and Hop spent equal hours reviewing the security surveillance from the Garza Winery warehouse in Tecate, Mexico, identifying certain trucks that always went to the warehouse on Tuesday nights.
Going over the information with Dave, Carson acknowledged, “Our information only goes back several weeks, but we’ve identified a pattern of Maria Garza entering the warehouse just before noon on Wednesdays. She’s inside for approximately two hours, but unfortunately, there are now crates stacked in front of the door we assume leads to the tunnels, so we don’t have clear sight. But, during that time, three trucks will leave, and right after that, she leaves as well.”
Hop took over the explanation. “With satellite surveillance, we can see that the same trucks leave Alonzo’s winery and drive to Tecate, Mexico on Tuesday evenings. They return sometime on Wednesday to his winery.”
“Those are the only times those trucks are used,” Adam said, “even though there are other trucks that are coming and going all during the week.”