Chapter 6 - The Setup at Pier 42
By three o'clock Friday afternoon, Julia was running on pure adrenaline and cold brew coffee. She had tracked the delivery route of the security van that routinely transferred high-value assets between the Caruso foundation's safe deposit boxes and the private port vaults. Through Kenny Platt’s leaked system logs, she knew that the parure had not left the city. It was sitting in a climate-controlled locker inside Pier 42, waiting to be loaded onto Vance’s chartered yacht heading to international waters at midnight.
Julia knew she could not storm the pier alone. She didn't call the police; local law enforcement had too many ties to the Caruso family, and any premature raid would allow Marisa's attorneys to scrub the digital records. Instead, she contacted the Federal Trade and Antiquities Task Force, where an old university colleague worked as a senior investigator. She presented the paper trail, the forged manifests, and the insurance records. The feds agreed to set up surveillance on the pier, but they needed an eyewitness to confirm the transfer of the stolen family diamonds before executing a warrant.
Dressed in utilitarian work coveralls and wearing an ID badge stolen from a sympathetic port employee, Julia infiltrated the main warehouse at Pier 42. The air smelled of salt spray, diesel fumes, and wet timber. Forklifts hummed in the distance as massive shipping containers were hoisted onto cargo beds.
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From behind a row of wooden pallets, Julia spotted Nicholas Vance standing near a luxury motor vehicle parked inside the warehouse bay. Minutes later, a private town car arrived. The passenger door opened, and Marisa Caruso stepped out, wearing a dark trench coat and sunglasses despite the gloom. She was carrying a black leather briefcase.
Julia pulled out her telephoto camera, capturing crisp, high-resolution photographs as Marisa opened the briefcase. Under the industrial fluorescent lights, the vintage platinum setting of the Caruso parure flashed with unmistakable brilliance. Marisa was handing over three million dollars in family heritage to settle her secret ledger.
