Straight Up (A Ruby Steele Mystery—Book 4) E-Book

Mia Gold

• Herausgeber: Lukeman Literary Management
• Kategorie: Krimi
• Serie: A Ruby Steele Cozy Mystery
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 327

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

When a 40th birthday bash for a rich wife gets way out of hand, she wakes up with her best friend's husband sleeping beside her—dead. Looking at life in a Bahamian jail for murder, she turns to Ruby for the help she desperately needs. Ruby knows what it feels like to be setup. She also knows what it's like to be played. Is this woman telling the truth? Which one of her rich, envious friends wanted her dead? Or was it someone else completely? But Ruby has a bad habit of helping other people when barely able to handle troubles of her own: Senator Wishbourne's briefcase is still missing, the pressure is building, and Ruby's running out of time. And this time won't be any different. Welcome to the Bahamian world of your new favorite female protagonist replete with her local dive bar, her wily pet monkey, her major drinking problem, her (way) too many fights, her inability to get herself out of trouble, and her fists made of stone. Ruby's life is a complete wreck. But there's one thing she's good at: capturing your heart. This is book #4 in a page-turning series and an action packed thriller, one that will linger with you long after the last page is read and which will appeal especially to fans of mystery and suspense and cozy mysteries and fans of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum and Jana DeLeon's Miss Fortune.

Leseprobe

Mia Gold

Debut author Mia Gold is author of the HOLLY HANDS MYSTERY, comprising three books; and of the RUBY STEELE MYSTERY series, comprising four books.

Mia would love to hear from you, so please visit www.miagoldauthor.com to receive free ebooks, hear the latest news, and stay in touch.

BOOKS BY MIA GOLD

HOLLY HANDS MYSTERY

KNOCKOUT (Book #1)

SUCKER PUNCH (Book #2)

BELOW THE BELT (Book #3)

RUBY STEELE MYSTERY

ON THE ROCKS (Book #1)

EXTRA DIRTY (Book #2)

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

PROLOGUE

Marsha Whitaker groaned.

At least she thought she groaned. Her head throbbed so much she wasn’t sure if the sound had come from her own throat, from someone else’s, or might have just been her stomach protesting or her dehydrated brain causing tricks.

Marsha Whitaker was having the mother of all hangovers. The soft pillows, comfortable mattress, and cool cotton sheets of her resort villa’s bed did nothing to help her misery.

Her mouth felt cottony, her closed eyes gritty behind heavy lids. Every muscle ached.

And then there was her stomach.

Ugh! She tried not to think about her stomach. If she did, she might puke.

She moved one weary arm up to rub her temples. As she did, the sheets clung to her skin, peeling away with a tacky sensation. As she brought her hand to her face, she felt the same stickiness of something almost dried.

Oh, God. Had she already puked? She couldn’t remember. In fact, she could hardly remember anything after about eleven the previous night. She had gotten tight with the guys and girls, starting in heavy on the cocktails at a beachside bar before going to a night club.

Then the drinking began in earnest.

At midnight, she vaguely remembered, she left to go back to her hotel. She had told everyone she was drunk and needed to sleep.

But the villa had a kitchen, and with everyone in her group visiting everyone else, she might have had an afterparty right here. She had trouble stopping once she started, and if anyone had come over, she was sure to have mixed up a few more and danced around with them like idiots.

She wished she could remember. After getting back, everything was a blank.

It made sense that she would have drunk more. Her pounding skull and swollen tongue inside a tacky mouth were evidence enough.

Blearily, reluctantly, she opened her eyes.

The resort bungalow was dark. Only a thin sliver of daylight haloed the heavy curtains, not enough to give any real illumination.

She turned her head, winced as her brain threatened to expand beyond the capacity of her skull, and saw the dark shape of Dan lying beside her.

Oh God, Dan came over? That must have been a hell of a party. She wished she could remember it. The clock on the bedside table beyond him said 11:32.

She turned the other direction, stomach roiling, and fumbled for the light. She closed one eye and narrowed the other to a slit, knowing the light would feel like an ice pick driving through her retina. But she had to see what kind of a mess she had made. Maybe she could clean it up before Dan woke up.

Finally, she found the switch and flicked it on, wincing again as the room lit up.

She closed her eye. The pain was too much.

She really, really needed to stop drinking. If she got fat, Dan wouldn’t like her anymore. It was bad enough her husband Oliver had stopped being interested in touching her three years ago. If she lost Dan, she would have nothing.

Marsha lay there for a minute, allowing her eyes to adjust to the glow beyond her lids, then she slowly opened them. It hurt, but it was bearable.

She turned to Dan again.

And screamed.

Dan lay, eyes and mouth open, covered in blood. There were stab wounds to his face, his throat, and his bare chest.

He was almost unrecognizable, covered in tacky, half-dried blood.

There was blood on the sheets, blood spattered on the white wall, and blood all over her.

Marsha screamed again and kept on screaming until a pounding on the door made her cry in panic for help.

CHAPTER ONE

Ruby Steele took a deep breath and tried to convince herself she was ready. It was time to call her father.

She sat in the living room of her run-down bungalow in Nassau on her night off. Zoomer, the bar’s pet Capuchin monkey, sat with a bored expression next to her on the couch. She’d rather be working. Facing puking drunks and violent tourists from behind the bar of The Pirate’s Cove was better than facing this.

Zoomer would rather be at the bar too. There was booze there.

Ruby hadn’t spoken with her father in more than a year, and the guilt she felt from that weakness had been a knife in her gut for every minute of that year.

Her mother had died when Ruby was little, and with no siblings it had always been just her and Dad.

And a closer, more loving relationship couldn’t be imagined.

He had always been there for her, encouraging her, cheering for her at school sports games, helping her with homework. And, as she grew and got interested in Daddy’s boxing gym, he became her trainer and later her coach.

Mixed martial arts aren’t the typical choice of extracurricular activity for a teenage girl, but Ruby had never been your typical teenage girl. While not a complete tomboy, she preferred sparring over dolls and the gym over the hair salon. At times Dad worried he was pushing her too far, and would gently ask, “You sure you don’t want a dress instead of jeans?” or “You can skip training tonight if you want to go out with your friends.”

To these questions Ruby had always smiled, given Dad a hug, and lived life the way she wanted to live it. Eventually the questions stopped.

The training intensified. Soon she graduated from sparring in the gym to semipro matches, then went professional. Dad, who had coached many male fighters, found himself coaching a female one. Dad had a brief boxing career himself, and was a black belt in ju-jitsu, but he had never made it to the big time and had put his hopes and a huge amount of his energy into his trainees.

Especially his daughter. They were a team, “Team Wayne,” using Ruby’s real last name, the last name she had gone by all her life until she fled to the Bahamas.

Then came the title fight between her and Teresa Klein in Las Vegas.

A close match, a loose strap, wrestling, Klein’s glove falls off and for a split second no one notices.

A split second. That’s all it took.

A hard right cross to Ruby’s head. The next thing she remembered was waking up in the hospital with severe head trauma and no more career.

The guilt Ruby felt was unbearable. Her dreams of an international title were gone. She would never fight again. She had let down Dad. 

Of course, Dad hadn’t seen it that way. All he cared about was for his little girl to get better. He had been supportive, encouraging, but the guilt Ruby felt had remained, and it soured their relationship.

After her recovery she took a job as an executive bodyguard, protecting a series of high-profile clients until she ended up working for Senator Wishbourne. That necessitated a move to Washington, D.C. Ruby missed her dad but felt secretly relieved not to have his presence constantly reminding her of her failure.

That avoidance of her guilty feelings had made the calls home grow fewer and farther between, only increasing her guilt and making it even harder to call home.

Then the senator got murdered, Ruby became a suspect, and she ended up on the run.

It had become impossible to call for a time, and Ruby pretended that it had remained impossible.

But that was only a lie to herself. She had a burner phone. A pot dealer who was a regular at her bar had gotten her in touch with someone who showed her how to use an encrypted phone service that operated like a VPN. She could call. She was untraceable.

And she still didn’t want to. She still didn’t want to face that failure from the past. But she had to do it. Ruby had promised a good friend, in fact several friends, and even without those promises it was time to stop being selfish.

That burner phone lay on her battered, secondhand coffee table.

All right, she told herself. You’ve faced human traffickers, MMA fighters, and murderers. You got this.

No, I don’t.

Get it anyway.

She reached for her phone. It rang.

“Jesus!” she leapt to her feet. Zoomer screeched, startled at her outburst.

For a moment she thought her dad was calling her, then realized that was impossible. He didn’t even know what country she was in, let alone her phone number.

Then she opened her cheap flip phone and saw the caller ID.

Ruby groaned. The King. A local mob boss who ran bare knuckle matches. He had managed to take over a large part of her life.

The phone rang a second time. Ruby stared at it. She could pretend to be at work, although The King knew her schedule by now. He knew a lot about her. Way too much. She could make some other excuse, she supposed.

But she knew that wouldn’t work. Even if she didn’t answer now, she’d have to answer eventually. It kept him from making one of his many surprise appearances.

And answering delayed having to make the call to her father.

With a mixture of fear and deep guilt, she picked it up on the fifth ring. Better not to pick it up any earlier than that. It would only encourage him. Passive aggressiveness was all she could dare with a guy like that.

“How is my best fighter this evening?” The King said without preamble, his smooth baritone rich with false friendliness.

“Those cracked ribs still hurt.” That much, at least, was true.

“You need to stop getting in fights outside the ring, my lady. And angering the harbormaster? A poor choice of enemies,” The King tut-tutted.

Ruby’s jaw dropped. “You know about that?”

Stupid question. Of course, he knew about her last case. There was very little The King did not know. And she had made a lot of waves with that one.

“You put yourself in too much peril, and that endangers your rising career with me. Please try to limit yourself to fights within the ring or tossing out the occasional drunk from The Pirate’s Cove. That I have no problem with. It adds to your street reputation.”

“Do you know much about the harbormaster?” Ruby asked. If she had to talk to this thug, she might as well learn something about her most powerful enemy.

Most powerful enemy? Not by a long shot. Her most powerful enemy in Nassau, anyway.

Although it depended on how you looked at it. The harbormaster was her enemy with the most power. The King was the enemy with the most power over her.

Why did life have to be so damn complicated?

“He controls much of the high-end smuggling in Nassau,” The King explained, “the smaller and more valuable cargoes coming off yachts that go to his particular marina.”

Ruby nodded. The harbormaster was in charge of the town’s largest marina for private vessels. Freighters came into a different harbor. Presumably the harbormaster over there managed the smuggling of bigger illegal cargo.

“I already knew that,” Ruby replied. “Maybe you could give me some better info: info that will keep me alive.”

“Oh, he doesn’t know about you yet. He only knows an American woman helped nab one of his best business partners, that cocaine fiend whose smuggling operation made him so much money.”

“He’ll find out about me sooner or later.”

“Yes, he will. But don’t worry, I wouldn’t let anything happen to my star fighter. How’s Marley’s Kids coming along?”

Ruby suppressed a groan. She had been feeding some kids from one of Nassau’s poorest neighborhoods and her self-appointed manager, who she had dubbed Bob Marley for the t-shirt of the reggae star he always sported, had learned about it and all but took over the operation, filling in The King about their activities to get in good with the underground boss. The King mentioning it was his way of reminding her that he held an axe over both her and the kids.

“It’s going well,” Ruby said, trying to sound casual. “We’re going to have another lunch on Sunday.”

Might as well tell him. He’ll learn about it soon enough from that blabbermouth.

“Perfect! I hope you will look presentable to the children.”

Ruby gut twisted. Although she sensed the answer, she asked anyway.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because you have a fight this coming Friday.”

Now Ruby really did groan. It was Wednesday night.

“My ribs still haven’t healed,” she protested.

She had fractured a couple of ribs in one of The King’s illegal matches a little while back. Getting them kicked a few times on her most recent case hadn’t exactly helped the healing process.

Of course, that excuse wasn’t going to fly with this thug. She still owed him one more fight in exchange for some help he had given her on a case. And The King always collected his debts. One way or the other.

“I know,” The King said, “and please accept my profoundest apologies. It’s just that we have a visiting fighter, Toro del Diablo from Mexico.”

“Bull of the Devil?”

“Interesting name, isn’t it? You’ll understand when you meet him. A great hulk of a man who likes to charge head on against his opponents. Quite intimidating. He has a reputation all across Latin America and it’s a bit of a coup to get him to come to our humble little ring.”

“Can’t you pair him up against one of the male fighters?”

“Oh, he heard about you. He wants to meet you.”

“We’ll do lunch.”

The King’s deep laugh rolled through the phone. “Oh, you are droll, Ruby. It is always a pleasure to speak with you. Toro del Diablo heard of your reputation for knocking out male fighters and is eager to knock you out himself. A bit of that Mexican machismo. He cannot bear the thought of a successful female fighter in a male-dominated sport.”

“Wonderful,” Ruby grumbled.

“So get to training. When it comes to the fight, focus on protecting your ribs and I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”

If I protect my ribs I can’t protect my head, and if I get hit in the head I’ll die.

Ruby knew telling him that wouldn’t make any difference, and she didn’t want word of her weakness spreading around town. With all the enemies she’d racked up, that might prove fatal.

The King went on, “I am so happy you agreed to do this. I and my men are at your disposal. If you need anything, do not hesitate to call me.”

I need you out of my life, Ruby thought.

“Um, thanks. Good night.”

“Good night, Ruby. Train hard.”

The King hung up.

Ruby dropped her phone on the coffee table and let out a long exhalation. She fell back on her lumpy couch, closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples. She really, really needed a drink.

A scrabbling noise on the table made her open her eyes. Zoomer stood at the end of the table, eyes wide, mouth open, staring at her front door.

Ice-water ran through Ruby’s veins. The monkey could hear better than a human. Something was out there. Something that made a sound Zoomer found suspicious.

And then she heard it too.

A slight creak of the warped boards on her front porch.

A sound so soft she wouldn’t have even noticed if Zoomer’s behavior hadn’t warned her.

Someone was on her porch. Someone who didn’t want to be heard.

That assassin sent by the Saudis come back to get his revenge? No. She had beaten him up too badly for him to have healed yet. It could be one of his friends, though.

Or someone sent by the harbormaster. He might have found out who she was already.

Or someone from one of the cartels that ran so much of the island’s tourist economy. She had certainly pissed them off enough to want to kill her.

Or it could be the State Department finally tracking her down.

Or it could be someone else out to get her. She had kind of lost track of all the people who wanted her dead.

I desperately need a lifestyle change, Ruby thought.

As quietly as she could, she rose from the couch and crept through the kitchen and to her back door. Fortunately, she had left the kitchen light and backyard light off. That gave her some cover.

She paused at the back door. What if someone was lying in wait there too?

Zoomer leapt up on the kitchen counter and peered through the window. He did not look nervous. That gave her a bit of confidence.

Unlocking the door and easing it open, she slipped through. Zoomer did too.

She closed the door as quietly as she could and moved at a crouch through her backyard. Ms. Strapp had her lights on next door. The last thing Ruby needed was her nosey neighbor loudly demanding to know why Ruby was creeping through her own backyard in the middle of the night. She’d done it before. That woman was going to get her killed one day.

Ruby got to the rickety old wooden fence enclosing her backyard and clambered over. There was no way to do it quietly. The whole thing creaked and shook under her weight.

I really should get this fixed if I’m going to make a habit of sneaking out of my own house.

Luckily Ms. Strapp didn’t appear at the window to scream at her. Maybe she was watching a gameshow or something. Ruby jogged around her block, Zoomer scampering behind her. Few people were out at this hour, only a couple of households enjoying the soothing warmth of the tropical night on their front porches. They didn’t even look twice at the white woman jogging with a monkey. They’d seen it all before. Other than Ms. Strapp, no one in the neighborhood took any notice of her anymore.

When she got to the corner of the street that ran along the front of her house, she paused.

Her front porch light was off. She had left it on. She was sure of it.

CHAPTER TWO

Ruby stood hidden in the shade of a palm tree cast by the streetlight. Hers was a poorer neighborhood, where the streetlights glowed dimly and were set too far apart. Still, if she simply walked along the sidewalk, anyone could see her.

She stared at her own front porch, a pitch-black rectangle shaded from the nearest streetlight by its own roof. Zoomer stared silently from her shoulder.

“See anything, buddy?” she whispered. “Because I don’t see a damn thing.”

Wait. Was that movement? A shadow shifting within another shadow?

A cold rush of adrenaline poured through her veins. Her hands balled into fists, and she took a fighting position without even realizing it. Her senses, always sharp, ratcheted up to high alert, taking in everything around her.

Ruby noticed a nearly solid line of cars parked along her side of the street. Checking that no one was looking, she got down on all fours and crawled along the line of vehicles, using them as cover from whoever was on her porch. Zoomer kept quiet and scampered alongside her, keeping out of sight of the porch too.

It would be just my luck for one of the neighbors to come driving along right now, she thought. We’d make a hell of a sight.

Luckily none did, and she made it halfway to her house before a gap in the line of cars made her pause.

Her neighbor three doors down worked at a disco. He wouldn’t be home for hours. And as luck would have it, no one had stolen his parking space.

Ruby peeked out from behind the front fender of the last car covering her approach. She could see her porch more clearly now. A bulky shadow stood by her door. A soft rapping came to her ears above the rustle of the palm trees in the breeze.

Would an assassin knock?

Too much weird stuff had happened to her in the past few months for her to discount the idea.

She waited until the figure rapped softly again and used the fact that he was facing the door to dart across the open space between the two cars. Zoomer scampered behind her.

Once she got back under cover, she paused for a moment, then dared a peek over the front hood. Now the figure, which she could see was definitely a man, was trying to peek through her front window. She had a habit of keeping the blinds down. Getting shot at by a professional assassin in her own living room had made her more security conscious than before.

Only two more cars now. She crept as quietly as she could to get to the last car, parked right in front of her house because everyone knew she didn’t have a vehicle of her own.

Time for a more direct approach, she told herself, trying to drum up her courage.

She stood and started tiptoeing as quietly as she could up her front walk.

The man went back to knocking on her door, a bit louder this time.

That covered the sound of her movement, but not for long. She hadn’t made it a third of the way to her porch before the figure whirled around.

Ruby sprinted for him, covering the last few feet and springing up onto the porch in barely a second.

“Wait!” the man shouted.

Too late; Ruby was already swinging.

The man blocked, surprisingly fast, and a split-second later Ruby thought she recognized the voice.

She swept for the legs and made the man stumble. He dodged to the side, arms up in defense.

“Ruby, it’s me.”

Recognition fully set in. Relief and embarrassment flooded her in equal measure.

“Tim, I’m so sorry! You scared the crap out of me. What are you doing here?”

“That’s a good question!” Ms. Strapp screeched from her front window. “You have men knocking on your door at all hours of the night, and then you get into fights with them. What’s the matter with you? I was about to call the police.”

“Sorry, Ms. Strapp. It’s just an old friend.”

“Is that the way to greet an old friend?” her neighbor demanded.

“She has a point,” Tim said.

“Sorry,” Ruby repeated, then turned to Tim. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“I got a last-minute opening. Besides, I wanted it to be a surprise.” He lowered his voice so the old woman leaning out the neighboring window wouldn’t hear. “Plus I’m not sure how secure your phone is.”

“Come inside. You weren’t followed, were you?”

“No. Besides, I think your neighbor would have mentioned it.”

“Yeah, who needs a watchdog when you have a nosey neighbor.”

“I heard that!”

Grinning, they went inside, Zoomer leaping onto her back.

“You’re lucky Zoomer didn’t claw your eyes out,” Ruby said.

“He must have remembered me and knew I was a friend.”

“Sorry,” Ruby said, hearing the accusation in his voice. “Why was my front porch light off?”

“I unscrewed it in case anyone was watching. You can’t be too careful, not after what I found out.”

They sat, Ruby on the edge of her seat. If Tim had come all this way with new information, it had to be important.

Zoomer got on the top of the couch behind Tim and started looking through his hair, parting it with his little fingers.

“I don’t have lice, buddy,” he said and laughed.

Ruby smiled at him warmly, taking in his rugged good looks and the hard body of a trained fighter. That fight on the porch would have been a lot harder if he had actually fought back.

Tim Harris, her one-time colleague. It felt good to see him again, better than she had felt in a long time. He smiled back, and that made her smile even more.

They had a fling once back in the States, and she’d been dreaming of making it something more serious.

Being in different countries had put a damper on that, but they weren’t in different countries now.

“Have you found out anything more about Sheikh Omar ibn Hussein?” she asked, pushing aside her dreams and getting down to business.

Tim had evidence that the sheikh was behind Senator Wishbourne’s assassination. If they could prove that, not only would it bring justice to the late senator, but it would get her off the hook.

“He’s coming in a couple of days. I wanted to get here early to prepare. Plus, I have other news.”

Ruby felt a stab of disappointment when he didn’t say anything about wanting to be with her, but that quickly got overrun by her curiosity. This “news” sounded important.

Ruby edged forward. “What?”

“I finally found someone outside the States who can crack that thumb drive the senator left you. He’s right here in the Bahamas.”

Ruby perked up. “Really? Can he be trusted?”

“Completely. I’ve worked with him before. He’s a freelancer, and a hardcore libertarian. Will work for anybody as long as they aren’t evil. He’s got his own moral code. A bit wider than most people’s—,” Tim chuckled, “—but he won’t work with human traffickers or cartels or anyone like that. Does a ton of work for folks on the Dark Web.”

“Um, all right. Can he be trusted?”

Tim raised a reassuring hand. “What I’m trying to say is he’s a neutral. His reputation on the underground rests on being the best-informed and tightest-lipped hacker around.”

Ruby nodded. She knew someone like that right here in Nassau. Goldtooth. A taxi driver who would drive you anywhere, no questions asked. And if you didn’t know where to go to get what you wanted, he’d take you there anyway.

“And he’s here in the Bahamas?”

“Yep. He lives in a beachside bungalow on Great Inagua.”

“Great Inagua? That’s on the other side of the country! I’d have to take at least a couple of days off.”

“I know, I know. But he’s the best. He’s a Dutch expat who decided to move there for the sun, surf, and lack of legal oversight. If anyone can crack it, he can. I worked with him on a job a few years back.”

Suddenly Ruby felt wary. “A job? What sort of job?”

“One of my clients got blackmailed. My Dutch colleague managed to hack into the blackmailer’s computer and erase his hard drive, getting rid of the files he was threatening my client with.”

“Sounds charming.”

“Yeah, it was an ugly business. Proved my contact could be trusted, though. He could have used that information to set up a blackmail operation of his own and get paid far more than my client offered. We need to get that thumb drive to him.”

“Sounds like a good lead. Let me think about it.” This was all going so fast. “Tell me about Sheikh Omar ibn Hussein. You said he’s got property here and he’s coming in a couple of days.”

“That’s what I heard. The information is from a friend of a contact and so it’s third hand at least. The sheikh owns the Blue Skies Resort and always stays in the penthouse when he comes.”

Ruby blinked. “Did you say the Blue Skies Resort?”

“Yeah. It’s a pretty big place from what I heard. Why?”

“It’s one of the biggest and most exclusive on the island. I have a friend who works there.”

Tim leaned forward and put a hand on hers, sending her nerves tingling, and said in an eager voice, “What a lucky break! Maybe she can help us.”

“I don’t know. Desaray is only a chambermaid.”

Deseray was also a regular at The Pirate’s Cove and a good friend. Ruby would rather not get her involved. She’d been putting her friends in harm’s way too often lately.

“Even better,” Tim said. “No one notices chambermaids, and they have access everywhere.”

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea involving her. The sheikh sounds like a bad character.”

Ruby looked down at Tim’s strong hand on hers as it rested on the cushion. God, that touch felt good. It had been an automatic gesture, done out of eagerness, but it spoke of a familiarity she had long felt but had little chance to express.

She looked back at Tim and found he was looking at their hands too. A moment later he looked back into her eyes, blushed a little, and pulled his hand away. His smile remained.

“That’s one of the things I admire about you, Ruby. You’re a loyal friend. Here we are at the edge of finding out who killed the senator and you’re more concerned about your friends.”

“I don’t want to get any of them killed,” she replied, going along with the change of subject since she didn’t know what else to say. “I have trouble enough keeping myself alive.”

“I can see that, given the warm welcome you gave me at the front door.”

“Sorry about that,” Ruby said and laughed. “Don’t sneak up on a girl like me.”

“I’ll try to remember that.” He looked at her, his face registering concern. “Are you in trouble; I mean any trouble I don’t know about?”

Ruby looked away. Should she tell him about The King? Or her run-ins with the cartels or the harbormaster?

No. He’d want to help, and he was helping enough already.

“I’m fine,” she said, and her tone did not sound convincing. “So how will we know if the sheikh comes to town?”

“My contact is supposed to tell me, but I’m afraid he’s not all that reliable.”

“Why not?”

“He works in one of the sheikh’s businesses back in Saudi Arabia, and he’s not as high up as I’d like. He doesn’t hear anything directly, just through the grapevine.”

“That might not be good enough.”

“No. Your friend would be a big help.” When he saw Ruby’s reluctant look, he quickly added, “She doesn’t need to do anything. Just keep an eye on the penthouse or wherever he usually stays and tell us when he arrives.”

“She could probably do that. Let me think about it. So why is he coming here?”

Tim shrugged. “I’m not sure. Of course he wants to oversee his business, but since he’s got so many businesses that might not be the only reason. Besides being a major stockholder in Aramco, he’s got property in three different Gulf states, London, Munich, Thailand—no prizes for figuring out the reasons for that one—and a resort here. He also owns a shipping company.”

That sounded interesting. “Shipping what?”

“Ostensibly freight. It’s a shipping broker. That’s an intermediary that hooks up people who want to ship something with freighters looking for cargos. I’ve asked around if it’s legit or not. So far it’s come up clean.”

“That doesn’t mean it is.”

Tim’s face turned grim. “No, it does not. But we have to remember that he was on the legal end of the arms deal. When Senator Wishbourne reneged on her promise to him and voted in one of her senate committees to block the sale of mid-range missiles to the Saudis, he was left with egg on his face. He’d bragged to the Saudi royal family all about his connections in Washington.”

“Yeah, and then Wishbourne’s own husband makes an illegal deal for the same missiles.”

“And Sheikh Omar ibn Hussein’s biggest enemy, Sheikh Abdullah ibn Salman, gets it through, delivering the goods he had promised and failed to deliver.”

“And you think Omar was angry enough to try and save face by killing a U.S. senator?”

“I can’t think of a better suspect. The assassination only happened a couple of weeks later.”

“But the senator was up to her neck in corruption. She must have made plenty of enemies,” Ruby said, bitterness cutting through her. Ruby had looked up to the woman, seen her as a mentor in her new career. On the surface, Senator Wishbourne had been a champion of human rights and an upholder of the law. In truth, she was the political fixer for her husband’s backroom dirty deals.

“You got that right,” Tim said, making a face that reflected Ruby’s feelings. “Maybe the thumb drive will lead us in a different direction. We’ll know in a couple of days.”

“Wait. I have work tomorrow. And the day after tomorrow I’m, um, busy. And Sunday I’m organizing a free lunch for some kids from one of the poor neighborhoods. I can’t go to Great Inagua.”

Tim cocked his head and smiled. “You’ve started a charity?”

“Yeah. There are a lot of kids in Nassau not getting proper meals.”

Ruby felt a touch of pride at what she’d accomplished. Running out on her dad had made her feel miserable, and she hadn’t done much with her life since she’d fled to the Bahamas. Helping those kids made a real difference in her self-esteem.

That pride was tinged with worry. The King and Bob Marley were trying to take over the charity for their own purposes.

She couldn’t let that happen. If only she could figure out how to stop them.

Tim’s arm went around her shoulders. “You never cease to amaze me. Feeding hungry kids? On a bartender’s salary? That’s awesome.”

Well, a bartender’s salary, some payments from solving murders, and my winnings from illegal fights.

Tim squeezed her shoulder and said, “There’s only one flight a week to Great Inagua. It leaves tomorrow morning. I already have a ticket. The plane doesn’t return until seven days later, so I’ll take a boat back. The ferries zigzag all over these islands but I can get back in a day or so. So assuming he cracks it in less than twenty-four hours, with a bit of luck I could be back the day after tomorrow. Just in time to deal with the sheikh.”

“Wait. That means giving you the thumb drive.”

The words just spilled out. As soon as she said them, she regretted them. Tim took on a hurt look.

“Why would that be a problem?” he asked.

“Well, it’s just, um, I’ve been guarding it so long. I kind of wanted to go myself.”

He gave an unconcerned shrug. “Cancel your other responsibilities and come with me.”

Ruby thought for a moment. She could get out of work. Her boss Neville was used to her taking time off to deal with her various personal dramas. The fight, on the other hand, she didn’t dare skip. It had already been announced. And Sunday’s lunch would have to go forward too. If she went off to the other side of the Bahamas for a few days, Bob Marley would be running the whole show by the time she got back.

Regretfully, Ruby shook her head.

“Then I’ll go,” Tim said. “Don’t worry, I’ll guard it with my life.”

Ruby paused, looking into those bright blue eyes, feeling that warm arm around her shoulder.

Why did she hesitate? This was one of her oldest friends. Had she become so emotionally knocked around by the seamy underside of the Bahamas that she couldn’t even trust Tim Harris?

She let out a sigh, rose, and went over to her bookshelf, where she pulled out an old paperback novel. Opening it revealed a space she had cut inside the pages just big enough to hold the thumb drive.

She removed it and stood there a moment, staring at it. This little bit of metal and circuitry had taken so long to find and had frustrated her so much by blocking her access without a password.

Now that she had a chance to crack the code, she had to take it.

But to let it out of her sight …

Come on, this is Tim!

Feeling like she was in slow motion, she walked back to the couch. Tim smiled, extending his hand.

Ruby paused, just for a second, then dropped it into his upturned palm.

Please don’t make me regret this, Ruby begged him silently.

CHAPTER THREE

Throughout her shift at The Pirate’s Cove the next afternoon, Ruby grew more and more worried. After a call in the early morning saying he was hopping on the weekly plane to Great Inagua, she hadn’t heard from Tim at all.

The flight only took an hour and a half. He should have landed four hours ago.