Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 102071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
“Good to meet you,” he said, clasping my hand longer than needed. “Heard a lot about you. Dive tours, right?”
“That’s right,” Eli said, stepping next to me and squeezing my shoulder.
“What are your favorite spots?” Nigel asked with a warm grin. “Turquoise Rock? Happy Turtle Cove?”
He lingered on that last one.
The little hairs on my arms stood on end. Happy Turtle was where I’d seen him the other day.
It was also the combination to my safe.
48
PIÑA COLADA THERAPY
Jake
When I returned to the hotel after a fruitless attempt at finding Monica at her store, Ruby was pulling into the parking lot in a gleaming black Audi rather than her Jeep.
“Nice wheels,” I said, arching an eyebrow. “Is this a replacement rental?”
“Eli loaned it to me,” she answered in a flat voice. She seemed tired and sad.
I’d seen her happy, and I’d seen her feisty. But I’d never seen Ruby Ashley listless. Energy and passion had always unfurled from her.
Until now.
I didn’t know what had happened—if her day had continued to frustrate her the way mine had frustrated me or if it was something else. So I gripped her shoulders and dropped a quick kiss onto her lips. “You need a piña colada and you need it stat.”
A hammock beckoned us, strung between two palm trees at the edge of the hotel pool, canopied by wide fronds that shaded the spot from the afternoon sun. The waves gently painted the shore, and the teenagers splashing in the hotel pool made a cheerful background.
“I amend my earlier prescription,” I said. “You need a drink and a hammock, and this has your name written all over it,” I said, holding a matching glass in each hand. When your woman was in a funk, sometimes you had to go all in on the tropical-drink therapy, complete with red paper umbrellas and swirly straws in each cup.
Ruby flopped into the rope hammock and held out one hand. “Drink. Now. Please.”
“One fruity, over-the-top drink at your service. The best medicine for a crappy day,” I said, handing her the beverage. She took a long, thirsty gulp, and I warned, “Careful of the brain freeze.”
“I honestly wouldn’t mind my brain being frozen right now. Then I could stop thinking.”
I joined her on the hammock so we were facing each other. “Talk to me. Tell me what happened. I know you’re bummed about the nuts,” I said.
Her scoff turned into a deep, incredulous laugh. “It felt like I’d gotten a pie in my face at a carnival. But then Eli told me at lunch that he wants to do right by my mom and make up for how unfair he was in the divorce.” She sighed and sipped her drink. “I don’t know what to think.”
I nodded, taking time to process. I wanted to be supportive, but I was wary she was having second thoughts about our partnership in non-crime. So, I kept my response simple. “I get it. You feel torn.”
Stretching my arm, I set my drink on the grass under the hammock and then reached for Ruby’s leg. I rubbed her calf, enjoying the warmth of her skin before speaking again. “I know you feel pulled, and I know you’re frustrated, too, that we’re coming up empty. But we’re close, so close. The diamonds are somewhere here on this island. I know we can set things right.”
She shot me a helpless stare. “But they could be anywhere. Anywhere. We’ve turned over every stone, and all we’ve gotten was a handful of nuts.”
“I’m not ready to give up.” While she was low, I could stay upbeat for the both of us. It wasn’t just Andrew’s incentive leading me to soldier on. I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. Sure, some cases went cold, but this one felt crackable, and I didn’t want to lose my partner.
Ruby stirred her drink with the swirly straw as if sorting through her thoughts. “What if Eli didn’t take the money from his company? Is there a possibility we haven’t considered?”
“Like what?” I asked, careful not to shoot down an idea I hadn’t even heard.
She paused, like she needed to be careful with her next words. “What if it’s Andrew?” Her voice was thready with doubt.
“What makes you say that?” I asked, calmly. I had a feeling I knew the answer.
“Eli,” she admitted with a slightly guilty look, like she felt bad for even thinking it. “He said some things at lunch suggesting it might be him.”
Yup, I was right. Eli had cast blame on his former business partner, and well, in my mind, there was nothing more suspicious than that. “Did Eli have a reason for thinking Andrew might have skimmed the money?” I asked evenly.
“He told me that Andrew has been in love with my mother for years.” Ruby added a what’s the deal with that look. “What a thing to say out of nowhere.”