Page 29 of In the Line of Ire

Solomonreached for me and I literally fell into his arms. He kissed my earand whispered, "I was about to take your wire off."

I nearlyrecoiled. "And so it begins," I said. "We've only been married twominutes and already there're no more hugs."

"Thereare plenty of hugs still but you don't need to wear a wire forthat."

"I cannever nail you for sexual harassment at this rate," I pretended tocomplain.

"Alwaysone step ahead of you." Solomon reached around me and untucked theslim battery pack that he previously hooked over my bra strap. Iunraveled the wire from my front and dropped the mic into the smallbox Solomon had ready on the desk area set up in the van. "Did yousee anything useful?"

"Nothing," I said. "I met Magda and Joan and Curtis who allwork in accessories. I did a lot of dusting and tidying andstanding around until Magda showed me how to use the cashregister."

"Whatwas your impression of the employees?"

"Magdaenjoys her authority and makes sure we all know our place but she'sa good saleswoman. She was very eloquent in discussing the varioussizes of a particular Philip Lim bag and she found the most darlingpink satin... Are you listening?" I asked when I noticed Solomon'seyes glazing over.

"Yes,"he said as he blinked.

"She'sokay but such a stickler for rules. Joan is friendly and nicealthough a little timid; she apologizes for everything. I think shesaid she was sorry at least thirty-six times during my shift. Herdegree is in fashion so she must know all the labels and the lateststyles. Curtis is also a student who works here whenever he isn’tattending college classes. He's pretty cute and funny. Joan andCurtis both have flexible hours and were hired at the same time.Magda is full time and has worked there for severalyears."

"Any ofthem seem like a criminal to you?"

"Notyet," I decided. "The dusting actually came in handy. I got toinspect the bags as I moved them around. They were alllegitimate."

"Thefake purses must be stored elsewhere. Putting them out front wouldbe too risky especially with the terrible quality Serena ended uptaking home. Heavenly Handbags had counterfeit goods in theirstockroom so you could start there. You'll need to take a lookinside the employee breakroom area too."

"I'llpoke around tomorrow. There's a door at the back of the accessoriessection, not far from the cash register, which I think is theaccessory department's private store room. I expect someone worksinside there because a couple of times, Magda and Joan made a callfrom the cash desk before picking up a bag from inside thedoor."

"Samantha said she would email a full list of all the storeemployees and their résumés. I'll find out the person’s name whoworks in there." Solomon checked the screens before turning back tome. "We'll wait for Delgado then head back to theoffice."

"Shouldn't one of us hang around? What if something happenswhile we're off duty?"

"Wecan't hang around here at all times. We don't have the peoplepower, plus, Maddox probably has the store bugged. If anythinghappens, he'll know about it and alert us."

"Did youcontact the FBI about the operation?"

"I didand so far, they're denying any knowledge."

"We knowthat's not true!"

Solomonnodded. "I left a message with a contact. Someone will get back tome before we can talk about any agency cooperation."

"We'rehardly law enforcement."

"No, butwe do have a reputation that precedes us and gets us into someexclusive places. Here's Delgado now."

Insteadof climbing into the back with us, Delgado sat in the front cab ofthe van. "Man, that was a boring day," he said.

"Moreboring than dusting dozens of shelves?" I asked.

Hewavered a moment, then decided, "Nope."

"Let'sget out of here," said Solomon. "We can debrief on the way back tothe office." He hopped out of the van and a moment later, climbedinto the driver's seat. He gunned the engine and I scrambled totuck the seatbelt around me so I didn't end up flying into theback.

"I havenothing left to report except Maddox's presence, which was a totalsurprise," I said. "I met three members of the accessories team butnot everyone. However, no one stood out or appeared the slightestbit shady."

Delgadohalf-turned in his seat. "Maddox is working there? Why?"

"FBIsting to catch counterfeiters," I said, repeating the conversationhe and I had several hours before in the breakroom, as best I couldremember it. "We want the same people but we’re working at oppositeends of the operation," I concluded.

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