Page 49 of Operation: Valiant Angel

She was pretty sure she knew what that meant. He was working. It was only then that she realized he was doing the same dangerous job Smitty had been doing when he was killed. That thought made her heart ache not only for Smitty, but also for Jimmy. “Okay, sure, well, I talked to the kids. No one knew anything helpful. They’re only four years old,” she reiterated.

“I know,” he said. “I was hoping for something, even something small, a confirmation of a guy in Ashley Carona’s life or a friend. There had to be another adult in this little girl’s life.”

“What about at her job? Did Ashley have friends at work that might know what happened to her?”

“I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but no. Ashley Carona kept to herself at work, too. No friends. She’s officially on an unpaid leave of absence pending FMLA paperwork,” Wilson said. “She told her employer that her mom was just diagnosed with inoperable stage four cancer. She told her supervisor she was temporarily moving back home to be with and care for her mother, who doctors have given a matter of weeks.”

“Could that be true?” Reina asked.

“It’s not,” Wilson said.

Reina was surprised by the matter-of-fact way he’d said it. He knew for sure it was not true. “You know things about Ashley Carona.”

“I’m sorry, Rae, I’m not at liberty to share any details.”

“And I guess if it was a temporary move, she wouldn’t have cleared everything from her house,” Reina thought out loud.

“No,” Wilson agreed. “Thank you for trying to get info from the kids. If anything comes to light, let me know.”

“You mean if one of them suddenly remembers something?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” he said. “Look, try not to worry about this kid too much.”

“You’ll let me know if you find anything out?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’ll let you know what I can.”

She was left feeling disappointed. Let her know what he can? That wasn’t good enough. She needed to know that Lilly was okay, that Lilly was safe and with people who would take good care of her. Reina did not think Ashley Carona fit into that category.

“Rae? Are you there?” he asked when she didn’t respond.

“Yeah, I’m here.” She knew her voice sounded pissy.

“Rae, I promise I’ll tell you what I can, probably more than I should. Please understand, Ashley Carona has a right to her privacy, just as you do.”

“That’s different,” she complained.

He couldn’t tell her it really wasn’t that much different, except for that Rae was an innocent who was relocated, and Ashley Carona wasn’t. And the fact that she’d gone dark on the Marshals meant that she was either in trouble or up to old tricks. He wasn’t sure which scenario was worse for the little girl.

Just then, he saw one of the other higher-ranking dealers who’d he’d documented visiting the first house earlier that morning approach the front door of this new location they’d named stash house number two. “Hey, I’m sorry, I have to go,” he said. He ended the call and then immediately rang Lambchop. “Got Gustavo approaching the target location.” He zoomed in with the camera on his phone and took a few pictures.

“I’m moving towards your location,” Lambchop said. “When he leaves, we let him get a few blocks away from the house and then we take him down. Espinoza thinks it’s worth the risk and Gustavo just drew the short straw.”

“Roger that,” Wilson replied. Finally, some action, something concrete to move the case forward. If Espinoza was ready for one of the players to be taken down, that had to mean they were close to moving on the entire network.

Fifteen minutes after Gustavo went in, he exited the house. Lambchop was near the alleyway that ran behind the bar, pawn shop, and little corner store on the block. Gustavo had arrived by cutting through the alley before crossing the street. He’d beenobserved cutting through backyards and favoring alleys when they were available, rather than walking on sidewalks or streets.

“Target just left the house,” Wilson broadcast. “Crossing the street. Ducked into the alley.”

“Roger that. Got him behind the pawn shop,” Lambchop reported. “He just went in the back door into the pawn shop. This is new. Taco get back here. Leave the car. We’ll grab him up when he leaves.”

Wilson exited the vehicle. He rushed around the back of the building. Lambchop already stood with his back to the brick building beside the door to the pawn shop. Wilson took up the same position on the other side of the door. They waited.

“We don’t identify ourselves,” Lambchop said. “We just scoop him up.”

Wilson nodded. It was a familiar tactic.

“Espinoza will set the tone. We follow suit,” Lambchop added.

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