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“I’ll stay at my boyfriend’s place. He’s back today and also former military, so I’m all set for protection.”
“You sure?”
“We’re good.”
“All righty, then,” Levi said, letting the matter of protection and Press’s boyfriend go again for now, intending to have Jamie follow up in a less my-living-room-is-full-of-LEOs manner. “Let us do some digging and see what we can find out.”
“Do you have the contact info for the local officer who responded Saturday night?” Marsh asked.
“Detective Hines.” Press fished his wallet from his back pocket, withdrew a card, and handed it to Marsh, who snapped a picture with his phone before passing it back. “We’ll reach out, then be in touch.”
“I’ll check in too,” Jamie said. “And keep me posted if you run into any more trouble.”
“Yeah, Coach,” Press said with a nod. “Thanks for calling in the cavalry.”
“Least I could do,” Jamie replied, drawing his former player into another hug, then walking and talking next season with him and Aidan as they all made their way downstairs to the garage.
Levi hung back with Marsh and Brax, the latter of whom asked, “Chance it’s a random B&E?”
“If this were Oceanside or downtown San Diego,” Levi said, “fifty-fifty.”
Marsh finished his thought. “But here in Cardiff, single digits.”
Four
“And how is this case in our jurisdiction?” SAC Kwan asked from her seat at the head of the conference table. She’d missed the festivities in San Francisco, holding down the fort here in SD while her ASAC was gone.
“It’s not,” Marsh admitted. With two SACs in the room, no use beating around the bush. “But the sheriff’s department isn’t paying attention.”
“Which is why we’re going to tread carefully,” Levi said. “Try not to draw it.”
“Neither of you are even supposed to be here,” Kwan said, sounding five-o’clock exasperated with them when it was barely noon. “You’re supposed to be off this week getting ready for your re-wedding.”
Marsh smirked at his old Army buddy turned boss. “Aww, come on, Eagle, you know me better than that.”
“And we all know your husband is a workaholic,” Farmer said as he cruised into the conference room, suitcase rolling at his side.
“Hey, now,” Levi feigned offense. “You’re the one who came straight here from the airport.”
“Hey, now,” the cyber agent parroted back with a grin as he flopped into the open seat beside Aidan. “Maybe if someone”—he jostled the Irishman’s side—“had a bigger private jet.”
Laughter echoed around the table until Levi cleared his throat, drawing them all to relative order again. “As I was saying, we tread carefully.”
“We can still put protection on Press,” Brax said. “I know he said he didn’t need any, but I also didn’t like what I saw at the house.”
“Me neither,” Aidan agreed. “That burglar was hunting for something when Press interrupted him. He’ll be back.”
“Wait, what?” All humor gone, Farmer lurched to the edge of his seat, his entire frame vibrating with military-ready energy, how Marsh imagined the former paratrooper must have felt standing at the aircraft door before each jump. “Are you talking about Presley Jackson? The professional basketball player? That’s why y’all left so early this morning?”
Marsh nodded. “Break-in at his place in Cardiff on Saturday night. He called Jamie yesterday after the local cops blew him off.”
“He played for me at Charlotte University,” Jamie explained. “As coaches, we’re not supposed to have favorites, but we all do. Press is one of mine. I want to help him out and help keep him safe.”
“Press says he’s covered. His boyfriend’s former military,” Levi told Kwan, then cut a glance at Marsh, Farmer, and Brax, all of them vets too. “But I agree with the team. I’d like to get additional protection on him.”
“I’ve got him,” Farmer volunteered.
“We need you hacking,” Marsh countered. Farmer was the second-best cyber agent in the San Diego field office, behind him, and he had a knack for finding the needle in a haystack. “You, Jamie, and I are gonna dig through all the real estate records for the house Press bought. See who else might have an interest in it. And if that search turns up nothing, we dig into Press.”
