* * *
They entered the U-Haul rental place just after three o’clock.
Sienna walked to the desk and presented the receipt to the clerk. She flashed her badge. “Can you tell me what the license plate is for this truck and the destination?”
“It’s our policy not to give information out on our customers. You’ll have to get a warrant.”
“This is police business and a matter of security.”
The clerk gave her a long-suffering look. “Sorry, lady. Get the warrant.”
A man entered the office. “Hey, mister, could you give me a hand here? I think the door is stuck on the truck you gave me. If that’s the case, I want another one.”
The clerk moved from behind the counter and as soon as he was out of sight, A.J. went around to the computer.
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
“We don’t have time to get a warrant. It’ll take the rest of the day.”
“A.J., there are certain procedures that I have to follow.”
He grinned. “I don’t.”
She simmered while he fiddled with the keys.
After a moment, he looked up. “Jot this down.”
He gave Sienna the license plate number and with a huff, she wrote it down in her notebook.
“The destination is Guaymas-San Carlos,” A.J. said.
They exited the rental place and got back in the car. “That wasn’t exactly legal.”
“He’s my brother, I have a right to know where he went. Besides, the guy didn’t even know we looked.”
“You can’t just arbitrarily not follow laws you don’t like.”
“We’re wasting time.”
She sat back in her car and put her hands on the wheel, tightening her fingers. “Looks like we’re taking a trip to Mexico,” she said, picking up her radio and alerting the state police to be on the lookout for the truck. Though she was sure that David would have already left the county by now.
The dispatcher called over the radio to tell them to meet a state trooper at the border crossing. He had information regarding the truck.
It took them twenty minutes to get there. They parked and got out.
“Detective Parker?”
“Yes.”
The state trooper approached, flipping through his incident book. “I stopped that truck last night. It had a taillight out.”
“Anything suspicious about the truck or driver?”
“No, all routine.”
“Did he say where he was headed?” Sienna asked.
“Guaymas-San Carlos. It’s a small beach community.