“He lives in there.” Finn motioned across the street to Huntington Plantation. The entrance was set off with giant gray boulders and a cascading fountain. Two low-watt floodlights illuminated the entrance and a white security house. Outside, a uniformed security officer smoked a cigarette and kept an eye on things. He was no Miles. This guard looked like he could do some damage. Sneaking through wasn’t an option, at least not with the truck. Finn continued up the road and turned off into a shopping complex, and parked. Tall, full-leafed trees provided our cover.
“Here, throw this on.” He reached in the backseat and tossed me a black button-up dress shirt. The fact that the man carried black clothes in his backseat was questionable. I swam in the material, but, even a bit loose, the shirt provided more cover than my bright-blue dress. Finn untucked his own dress shirt and changed out his shoes. I wasn’t so lucky.
We pulled out of the parking lot and back onto the road, turning left and heading back toward Delgado’s. Finn was careful to keep his distance from the front security entrance, parking at least two hundred yards away on the deserted gravel shoulder. I got out of the truck without a word. Finn’s shirt fell past my dress, making it look like I wasn’t wearing any pants. I left my silver shoes in the car and met him at the back of the truck. The grass was slick with dew, allowing specks of dirt and gravel to stick my bare feet.
“Let’s go in up there.” Finn pointed to a section of the plantation’s side hedge up ahead. The foliage wasn’t as thick, like part of it had died out and hadn’t been replaced yet.
I watched in awe as Finn moved along the hedge with military precision. I could tell this wasn’t the first time he’d snuck around in the dark. His footsteps were careful, but sure. His body blended with the hedge, using the branches to their full camouflage capability. I was realizing there was a lot about Finn I didn’t know. Me? I was just trying not to step on a picker or get branches caught in my hair.
Finn turned and signaled to me, like they do in the movies. Only, I wasn’t sure what his finger pointing meant, until he climbed through the hedge. I followed after him. Finn moved slower now, patiently holding back branches and clearing the path. Pine needles and sticks poked at my bare feet, but I couldn’t change that. There was no way that I could have done this in heels. My dress and the over-sized shirt were making it difficult enough. I was no expert.
We came through the hedge in someone’s backyard. It was beautifully landscaped with white-striped hostas and blooming red roses. The grass was the shade of green that only money could buy and, in the distance, a pool fountain sputtered, making me have to pee. I should’ve gone at the club when I had the chance.
“It should be this way.” Finn motioned to his right. I let him lead the way.
The neighborhood was quiet. Air conditioners hummed and sprinklers ticked on the nearby golf course. The homes back here were for the super-rich with helicopter pads, gorgeous pools, and tennis courts. Luckily, none of the neighbors had privacy fences or large tough dogs. I would have to ditch the dress in order to attempt climbing a six-foot-tall fence, especially if a Rottweiler or Pit Bull was chasing me.
“Get down.” Finn pulled at my shirt and crouched low to the ground. I ducked, taking coverage behind a lilac bush in full bloom. The sweet scent tickled my nose, and I was terrified that I would sneeze. That could be a disaster, given that I still had to pee. That is, until I heard the voices. Sneezing and peeing became the last fear on the list.
Finn held his finger up to his lips. He didn’t have to worry. I wasn’t planning on making a sound. I heard the voices again, and what sounded like water splashing, coming from the other side of the hedge. Whoever it was, they were close. I hoped they weren’t coming our way to investigate. I tried not to freak out. This would be so bad for business if I got busted. I could see the headline now, Beauty Consultant Busted for Burglary, or something to that effect. What if I got pegged for all the other robberies? This was such bad karma. Cautiously, I moved a branch slightly to the left and peered through.
Um, wow, I found Aria. She and Delgado were skinny dipping and doing things that I didn’t know you could do underwater. Finn’s expression told me he saw it too. I punched him in the arm, and he turned around.
I jabbed my finger at him while mouthing the words, “Stop looking.” Finn had a goofy smile on his face. Suddenly, he looked like he was sixteen. I ignored him and crawled away from the lilac bush, in stealthy moves … well, as stealthily as possible for me. Aria giggled in an ooh-I-like-that sort of way. I shuddered. This was so wrong. I’d never felt dirtier in my life. Aria and I were close, but not that close.
I waited until I was safely past the neighbor’s house, and snuck through the hedge, not caring if it was thicker here or not—I needed to escape. I thought, if Finn was smart, he’d follow right behind me. I didn’t look back to check. Branches scraped at my arms and legs, stinging and poking my skin. I moved as quickly and quietly as possible, praying I wouldn’t walk right into a snake or any other creepy creature. This wasn’t the city; you didn’t walk barefoot through the brush without getting bit by something. To think, I used to be a Girl Scout. There went my common-sense badge. I couldn’t get back to the truck fast enough.
I counted my blessings when I stepped through the other side of the hedge, with nothing worse than a couple bug bites and a few scratches. I shook the extra-large shirt out, ballooning it with air to check for spiders, and ran my fingers through my hair as if lathering it with shampoo. I’m tough and all that, but spiders scared the bejesus out of me. Invisible bugs crawled on my skin, and I frantically brushed them away, jumping up and down in the process. Finn came out of the hedge behind me and laughed at my creepy crawly dance.
“Feel better?” he asked.
“Not really.” I examined the scratches on my skin and saw one or two were bleeding. Tonight had been a disaster. And to think, it started out so promising.
“Well, at least you know your friend’s okay,” Finn said with a smirk as we climbed into the truck.
“Aria’s going to kill me once she finds out what I know.” Now that I knew she was okay, I was feeling some major guilt.
Finn was silent, and that was smart on his part. I thought about Aria some more. I planned to fess up to her later today and hoped she wouldn’t hate me forever. I thought about her car, and I felt even worse. I was becoming more depressed by the minute.
“I have an idea. Why don’t we get some breakfast? I’m starving. I know you must be too. Then, we can think about what to do next,” Finn said.
I looked at the clock. It was already close to four AM. Aria would be picking up Arjun from her mom’s in a few hours, and then I could talk to her. I wouldn’t be able to sleep until I did. “Okay, good plan,” I said.
Finn drove off the island to a local greasy spoon. It was too early to be busy, but a couple senior citizens occupied a table here and there, mixed in with the all-nighters like us. There was no chai tea on this menu, and I was pretty sure the black coffee would kill me. Not like my nerves needed the caffeine either. Finn, of course, ordered a Coke. I went with the hot chocolate. Chocolate was always good. Chocolate was my friend. I loved chocolate.
“What time do you think the insurance company opens up?” I asked Finn.
“Ziva, I’m sorry about that. Justine’s seriously screwed in the head. You have no idea.”
“Actually, I do.”
Finn’s eyebrows rose.
“She’s been my enemy since fourth grade, and the universe keeps throwing her my way. I must’ve done something to piss karma off, because I can never seem to get rid of her. What’s your story with her?” I asked.
“We dated a few months back, nothing serious. She was normal when we were together. I had no idea she’d go all psycho when we broke up.”
“You must’ve done something to set her off,” I said.
“Thing is, I don’t know what. It’s not like I cheated on her. It’s like, after we broke up, I kept running in
to her. It took me a while to figure out she was stalking me. When she dropped in on my vacation in Mexico, that was it.”
“What? She crashed your vacation? That is crazy … and sadly, totally like her.”
“Oh, it gets better. First, she showed up at the resort, and then, when I told her to get lost, she called Customs and told them I was a drug smuggler.” I tried not to laugh, but couldn’t help it. “Then when I finally got back to the States, we caught her breaking into Murphy’s, trying to spike the cola with a love potion.”
“Yeah, she doesn’t get over things easily. She’s still ticked she didn’t make the cheerleading squad in high school, so you’re totally screwed,” I said with a smile.
“You’re telling me. I haven’t had a serious girlfriend since her, and I’m pretty sure that even if I moved away, she’d hunt me down and make my life hell. She already tracked me out of the country once.”
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. She needs to get herself a boyfriend, and some therapy.”
“I thought about that, but I couldn’t set her up with anyone I know. The poor bastard wouldn’t know what hit him.” Finn flagged down a waitress to take our order. Given how slow they were, you’d think the waitresses would’ve been right on it. I didn’t care much, seeing how I had a couple hours to kill, but I was getting hungry. After the waitress left, Finn continued, “Heck, I even have a restraining order on her, but you see how well that worked.”
Yeah, about as well as my cease-and-desist letter.
“Well, I’m sure Delgado’s got cameras in the parking lot, so we can take that to the police if we want to. Plus, you have all the drama inside. Not sure how much trouble she’ll get in, but I’ll do whatever I can to help you out.” I was just as eager as he was to get rid of Little Ms. Cuckoo, especially if I was going to start seeing Finn on a regular basis.
“Anyway, I’m sorry for what Justine did. I’ll talk to Aria for you if you want,” Finn offered.
“No, that’s okay. I need to talk to Aria anyway.” I wasn’t sure what I wanted to lead off with. Either: Hey, you know that guy you hooked up with last night? Or Guess what Justine did to your car. The later might be easier to explain, and I could blame it on someone else.
“You going to tell her about Delgado?” Finn asked.
“I have to. I know she likes him now, but wait until I tell her what I know.” Aria liked her fair share of bad boys, but dating a murderer was going a little too far. She was going to be crushed. Not the first time tonight, I prayed Delgado wasn’t Detective Brandle’s man after all. If he wasn’t, though, I had no idea who was. I was getting depressed. If this case went unsolved, I would never feel safe again.
Our food came out and I was grateful. I tucked into my pancakes, after drowning them in syrup, and Finn did the same … minus the syrup part. We ate in silence, and I’m embarrassed to say that I cleaned my plate. If I had been offered another pancake, I would’ve eaten that one too. As it was, I was thinking about ordering dessert. Chocolate cream pie sounded divine. Maybe I shouldn’t have sworn off working out. Maybe I shouldn’t be such an emotional eater.
Finn was dropping me back off at home when my cell phone rang. It had to be Aria. I snatched the phone out of my purse and checked the caller ID. I was close; it was her mom.
“Ziva, thank goodness you picked up. I thought it was too early to call, but Aria insisted I did right away.”
“Why, what’s wrong? Is she okay?” Finn glanced over at me and looked ready to help.
“She’s more than okay,” Mrs. Rao gushed.
“Oh, thank heavens.” I exhaled a shaky breath. I knew Aria was more than okay when I saw her a couple hours ago, but anything was possible when Delgado was involved. I wouldn’t feel better until Aria was back home and I had a chance to talk to her.
“She was just worried that you didn’t get her message last night,” she continued.
“She’d be right about that.” I had a feeling I had Sasha to thank for that. It would be a long time, if ever, before I hung out with her again.
“I won’t keep you sweetie, but Aria just wanted to let you know that she’d be in touch in a couple of days. Her cell phone fell in the pool, or something along those lines. I didn’t quite catch the details. She said she’d call you as soon as she could.” I could take a wild guess why she bypassed the pool details to her mom.
Then, I thought about what Mrs. Rao had said. It took my sleep-deprived brain a moment to kick in. “Wait, did you say couple of days?” I was in panic mode again.
“Yes! Isn’t it wonderful? Last night, her boyfriend surprised her with a Caribbean vacation. I can’t even imagine. I’m so happy for her. I didn’t even know she was dating anyone, but I’m sure you know all about him.”
That I did, and none of it was good.
“Listen, what did she say exactly? Where’s Arjun?” Finn stared at me, trying to figure out what was happening. I relayed the information as fast as I could.
“Arjun’s still with me. Aria asked if I’d watch him for a couple of days. As for where they were going exactly, that I’m not sure. Aria made it sound like he owned some island, but that couldn’t be, now, could it?” Mrs. Rao’s voice went up with excitement.
Yes, that was exactly where they were headed, to Delgado’s private island. Sweet sugar, my luck, Delgado caught wind of what was about to go down and was fleeing the country before he could get charged, and he had my best friend with him. I had to stop them before they left.
“What time were they leaving? Did she leave a number or anything?” I asked.
“No, why? What’s going on, Ziva?” Mrs. Rao asked.
My breakfast rested like lead in my stomach. How was I supposed to tell Aria’s mom that I set her daughter up with a murder suspect? I couldn’t do it. “Nothing, I just wanted to catch up with her from last night. Did she give you any other details?”
“No, but I’m betting you have about an hour to catch her. After that, it’ll have to wait until Wednesday.”
17
Finn didn’t wait for me to give directions. He was already thinking the same thing. We barreled back down the highway toward Delgado’s estate, knowing they’d probably depart from his house. After all, what was the point of having your own helicopter pad if you didn’t use it?
During the drive, I stared at my phone, willing it to ring. There was no point in dialing Aria’s cell, now that I knew it was broken. I thought about how else I could reach her. I flipped through my social media accounts to see what had been posted. A couple of pictures and location check-ins from last night popped up, but nothing since. I left Aria a private message, anyway, telling her that I had talked to her mom this morning and to call me back ASAP and that it was an emergency. I didn’t dare go into details in the message, because, who knew who she was with? Last thing I needed was Delgado to know I was on to him.
In between stressing and messaging Aria, I tried to contact Detective Brandle. I hoped he could intervene somehow, arrest Delgado before it was too late, or delay the flight, but he didn’t answer his cell or office line. I seriously debated dialing 9-1-1, but had no idea how to explain the situation to the operator without sounding like a total nut ball. I’d waste more time trying to explain the problem than I was afforded. My only prayer was for us to make it to Delgado’s before they left, and not get pulled over in the process. The speed at which Finn was driving was sure to land him a ticket and a reckless driving charge, if a cop tagged us.
“So, what’s the plan?” Finn asked.
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought of one. We obviously can’t sneak through the bushes in broad daylight, and I don’t even have any free samples to pull off a beauty delivery.” Come to think of it, the only thing I had on me were the clothes on my back and the contents of my purse. “Wait, I have an idea, but you’re going to have to let me drive your truck,” I said.
“I’m fine with that, if you think you can get us in,” Finn replied.
&n
bsp; “I think I can, but don’t look for a sec. Keep your eyes on the road.” I shouldn’t have said that. I should’ve just went about my plan because, of course, Finn was going to watch me now. I unclicked my seatbelt and, as discreetly as possible, shimmed out of my panties and tucked them in my purse. Thank goodness I had worn my fancy panties, or this plan wouldn’t have worked at all. “Now, before we get to the gate, pull over and hop in the backseat and hide. I think my plan will work better if the guard doesn’t see you.”
“I don’t think I want to know what you’re planning,” Finn replied.
“Don’t worry; it’s nothing like that,” I said.
When we neared Huntington Plantation, Finn pulled into the same shopping complex as last night and parked, to switch spots and hide in the backseat. At the plantation entrance, I pulled up to the gate and was greeted by the guard. The fact that he was an older man seemed encouraging.
“Good morning, Miss. What can I do for you?” he asked.
“Hi there. I’m here to see a guest of Mr. Delgado’s, a Ms. Aria Patel? She asked me to drop off a couple of necessities for their upcoming trip.” I pulled the panties out of my purse. “It’s a surprise for Vincent,” I said with a smile. The guard fumbled with his pen against the clipboard. “I’m just going to make this delivery to her really quick, and then I’ll be out of your hair.” I took my foot off the brake and inched the truck forward, not giving the guard much time to think.
“Oh, okay,” the guard said when he managed to find his voice.
“Thanks so much. Have a good one.” I tried not to gas it when the gate lifted, but I knew we were running against the clock.
Finn waited until we were out of sight from the security station, to sit up in the backseat. “Which way?” I asked him. It was a harder than I’d imagined, finding Delgado’s estate in the daylight. Huntington wasn’t a normal subdivision. The houses were as grand as they built them, with their stone facades, manicured lawns, and circular drives. Even the mail boxes were fancy, with their gold and stone accents.
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