“What does that mean?” Her heart lurched. He couldn’t be suggesting what she thought he was suggesting.
“SEALs have all kinds of skills, and we’re not shy about using them.”
“What kinds of skills?” Trying to be open-minded, Sienna decided to play this out; maybe he had a different angle.
“I can get into and out of places without being seen, part of our covert training. Taylor will never know I’m there.”
Sienna closed her eyes as if praying for divine understanding of a particularly stupid comment. When they opened, she shot him a sideways look that could have etched stone. “Are you actually standing here in front of a cop and talking about a B and E?”
“It’s not like I’m going to rob the guy,” he said indignantly. “He’s the thief. I’ll just scout around.”
This was it, the difference between them. “Absolutely not! It’s against the law.”
“The guy’s a known gunrunner. We have grounds for suspicion,” he replied in exactly the same clipped tones she’d used.
“The Bill of Rights is the big deal. I took an oath, and I don’t intend to break it for some scum of the earth who doesn’t deserve to be walking the streets. In case that’s not clear to you, I follow the letter of the law. If I decide we need to question him, we’ll bring him in.”
“Who’s going to know?” A.J. asked.
“I’ll know.” She looked him straight in the eyes. “You can’t do it, A.J.”
His jaw clenched and he looked away from her. “All right. We’ll play it your way for now.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “The reason we haven’t questioned him so far is that I think it would tip him off that we’re looking for your brother.”
“You think he’s after David?”
“Someone is. Tyrone said that the shipment belonged to Taylor. I think that fits.”
Sienna looked at her watch and realized that if she didn’t get moving now, she’d be late. “I’ve got to make it to court on time. Believe me, ADA Jericho St. James doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
“How long will you be?” he asked.
“Probably all morning.”
“Right.”
* * *
After showering and shaving, it didn’t take A.J. long to get to the naval base. Gibson entered the questioning room with a wary expression on his face, but when he saw that Sienna wasn’t there, he seemed to relax.
“I know that you have information about Corporal Buckner that you’re not willing to tell the SDPD. How about you tell his brother?”
“I thought I recognized you,” Gibson said.
“I’m here to help him.”
“Sir, with all due respect, why were you with a cop, then?”
“She’s point on this investigation. I’m just here to make sure my brother doesn’t get hurt. If you have any information about where he might have gone or what he is involved in, I need to know it.”
A.J. could see the indecision on Sergeant Gibson’s face. “Sir, I helped him unload a military truck and load up a U-Haul,” Gibson said matter-of-factly.
A.J. had to sit down. “Did he explain?”
“No, sir. He said, the less I knew, the better.”
“Do you know where he went?”