by S. L. Menear
She gazed into his eyes. “No, she’s trying to avoid more emotional pain. The truth is she finds you very attractive, but you’re leaving tomorrow, and she doesn’t want to get hurt. She hasn’t recovered from the last guy.”
“Are you takin’ her place or just distracting me?” He ran his hand through her long hair.
“Um, I kind of have the hots for a detective where I work. He hasn’t met me yet, but—”
He drew her into his arms and kissed her so passionately she melted into him.
When he came up for air, she was left breathless.
He leaned in for another kiss, and she scooted backward.
“Sorry, Snake. You’re really hot, but I don’t do one-night stands.” She stood. “We should get back.”
By the time they returned to Jett’s house, Mike had left, and Sophia and Jett had retired to their bedrooms.
Gwen snatched up her little overnight bag. “I’m sleeping in Jett’s bed tonight so I can make sure she doesn’t sleepwalk again.”
He laughed. “If I tried that, Sophia would shoot me.”
“She’s very protective of Jett.”
“You don’t have to tell me. She almost shot me my first night here.” He took her bag. “Let me carry that, darlin’.” He put his arm around her shoulder. “You know, I’ve got plenty of room in my bed, and it’s going to be awfully crowded sharing Jett’s bed with her and the puppies.”
Twenty-Six
JETT
The next morning, Chef Hugo stopped by to deliver a delicious breakfast of eggs Benedict and cut fruit to the terrace table for Gwen, Snake, Sophia, and me. He was eager to meet Sophia.
When I introduced them, she said, “Ah, it’s the French teddy bear I’ve heard so much about. Give me a hug, big guy.” She reached for him and received a warm hug.
It didn’t hurt that she referred to the short Frenchman as a “big guy.” Of course, everyone seemed big to her at four-foot-ten.
After the hug, he kissed her hand. “My dear, I’m told your cannoli is second to none. You must show me how you make them.”
“Tell you what, handsome, I’ll share my cannoli secrets if you’ll teach me how to make a good Béarnaise sauce.”
“It will be my pleasure.” He bowed. “Enjoy your breakfasts.”
Snake and Gwen smiled as they dived into their meals. The puppies tried to get a good sniff of what was on the table. Sophia gave them a dark look, and they immediately dropped to prone positions on either side of her. Good dog nanny.
Snake gazed across the table at me. “What’s your next move in the investigation?”
I checked my watch. “After I drop you off at the company hangar, I’ll swing by Signature Aviation and see if Mayor Peabody’s pilot is available for a chat. I’d like to confirm if he saw the mayor speaking to my parents the morning they flew to Freeport.”
“Why don’t you call his cell?” Gwen said. “I know you have a lot to do today. I can drive Snake to the airport.” She smiled at him.
“Good idea. I need to swing by Formally Yours on Main Street and pick up my gown for the ball tonight. This will give me extra time in case they need to make alterations.” I smiled at them. “Snake, I can’t thank you enough for helping me out with the dive and everything. Give my best to your team.”
He grinned. “Happy to help. Keep me in the loop. I want to know how this turns out.”
Gwen stood. “I’ll clear the table while you and Sophia say goodbye to Snake.” She stacked the plates and headed for the kitchen.
Sophia reached for him. “Give me some sugar, ya big galoot.”
He lifted her off her feet and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek and a warm hug. “You’re one unforgettable woman, Sophia. Any chance you might send me a box of your cannoli every once in a while?”
“Anything for you, handsome. Leave your address with Jett.” Sophia put the cups on a tray and carried them inside.
He walked around the table and pulled me into his arms in a bear hug. Leaning down, he kissed my neck and said, “Any time you need me, just call.”
“Be careful out there, Snake.” I gave him one last kiss goodbye. He pulled me in and made it a memorable one. Zowie, that man knew how to kiss.
After picking up my gown, which fit perfectly, I drove home and tried calling the mayor’s pilot.
No answer. I left a message asking him to call me.
I contacted a friend at the NSA. He gave me the cell number and address for Carl Rowan in Miami and told me Rowan was an accountant for a Columbian drug lord. I had plenty of time before the charity ball to drive to Miami and back. Maybe a face-to-face meeting would reveal his guilt or innocence. I clipped my pistol inside the waistband on my shorts at the small of my back. The shorts and pink T-shirt made me look harmless.
Sophia met me in the great hall. “Going somewhere?”
“Miami. I want to visit Carl Rowan and find out if he killed my parents.”
“Good idea, but you need backup.” She checked the pistol in the thigh holster under her dress. “I’m going with you.”
“What about Pratt and Whitney? Who’ll look after them?”
“I have a friend at Silver Lakes, Ruby Glick. She loves dogs, and her condo is only ten minutes away. Want me to call her?”
“Okay, see if she’ll babysit the dogs here for four hours.”
Ruby agreed, and we picked her up outside her one-story end unit. She was maybe two inches taller than Sophia and much rounder, wearing a purple polyester pantsuit and pink sneakers.
Her eyes widened when we pulled in front of Valhalla. “Ooh, you live in a castle. I’ve always wanted to live in a castle. Are there knights in armor inside?”
Sophia rolled her eyes. “No, silly, this is a Viking castle. We’ve got winged Valkyries.”
The two statues in the foyer verified Sophia’s comment. We had only been gone twenty minutes, and it appeared the puppies had waited for us by the front door. Their tails wagging, they slobbered all over us when we came in.
“Hello, there,” Ruby said, bending down and fussing over the dogs.
We spent a few minutes showing her around the main rooms on the first floor and pointing out the water and food dishes for the puppies in the kitchen.
“Help yourself to anything in the refrigerator. We’ll be back in about four hours.” I double-checked my purse for my cell phone with the info on Rowan.
As we drove away in the Bentley, Sophia said, “I’ve got two extra magazines in my purse in case we run out of bullets.”
“We’re not going to a shootout. I just want to talk to him.”
“It never hurts to be prepared. Rowan works for a drug dealer. Could be trouble.”
“He’s just the accountant, but you’re right, it can’t hurt to be ready for anything.”
An hour and a half later, we found his house in an old neighborhood with modest homes built in the 1960s. Canals behind the houses led to the Intracoastal Waterway, which had outlets to the ocean.
I knocked on his front door. A man in his late forties opened the door. He was five-feet-nine with a pot belly, a tanned, half-bald head, and wild hazel eyes. Barefoot, he wore a Miami Dolphins T-shirt and khaki shorts.
His jaw dropped. “Jett? Jett Jorgensen? I recognize you from pictures on your dad’s desk at Jorgensen Industries.”
“Hello, Carl. This is my friend, Sophia DeLuca. May we come in?”
He stepped back and waved us in. “Have a seat on the couch. Like something to drink?”
“No, thanks, we just want to talk with you for a few minutes.” I waited until he sat across from us beside a small table with two drawers and a lamp on top. “I’ll get right to the point. I recently discovered someone sabotaged my parents’ jet. Did you do it?”
He sat up straighter, his eyes wide. “Their plane crash wasn’t just a happy accident?”
“There was nothing happy about their deaths.” Sophia glared at him.
“I hated them for sending me to pris
on. My wife divorced me and took everything. Truth is I was disappointed they were killed in the crash. It ruined my plan for revenge.”
“What did you have in mind?” I asked, struggling to maintain my composure.
“A buddy in the joint arranged my accounting job with the Colombians. Once I earned their trust, I asked for help arranging a hit on your family.” He frowned. “Everything was working out great. The Columbians aren’t very smart. I’ve skimmed almost a half mil, and they have no clue.” He chuckled. “They agreed to let me use their hitman, but then your parents’ plane crashed, and I felt cheated.”
I could barely contain my contempt for this loser. “It wasn’t my parents’ fault you ran up a huge gambling debt and stole money from the company. That’s on you.”
“If they hadn’t pressed charges, I wouldn’t have lost everything and spent two years in prison.” He reached inside the top drawer, pulled out a SIG pistol, and pointed it at us. “But now I have their daughter, and I can get my revenge on a Jorgensen. Get up. You and granny. Take your purses. We’re going for a boat ride.” He waved toward the back door, his eyes glinting with a hint of crazy.
As he walked behind us, I hoped he wouldn’t notice the slight bulge mid-waist on my shorts.
He did.
“Stop. Don’t move or I’ll shoot you right here.” He reached under the back of my shirt and pulled out my Glock. “You won’t need this where you’re going.” He shoved it in the front of his pants beneath his beer gut.
“And exactly where are we going?” Sophia asked over her shoulder.
“The ocean, in the middle of the Gulf Stream. I’ll make you real bloody for the sharks.” He shoved me through the sliding-glass door behind Sophia.
She must’ve spotted a neighbor across the canal. She waved her arms and yelled, “Help! We’re being kidnapped! Call the cops!” Then she dropped and rolled onto the grass.
Carl held his weapon close to his side and yelled, “Never mind! She’s joking!” He grabbed me and held me against him. “Be quiet and get in the boat.”
I elbowed him, stomped his foot, dropped, and rolled onto the dock.
He raised his weapon and pointed it at me.
Sophia yelled, “Freeze, dirtbag! Hands in the air!”
He turned and fired at her.
He missed.
She didn’t.
Carl jerked, dropped his gun, and fell backward. He landed beside me with a hole in his forehead.
The gory image churned my stomach. “You okay, Sophia?”
“I’m good. Better call the cops.”
“Sorry I got you into this mess.” I pulled out my cell and called 9-1-1. After explaining what happened and that they should send police, two thugs stepped out onto the patio. They appeared to be South American.
One said, “Why you shoot Carl?”
“He tried to kidnap us in his boat.” I stood and brushed myself off.
He smirked at Sophia. “You too?”
“He planned to kill us and dump us in the ocean, so I blew him away. You got a problem with that?”
“He stole money. Boss wanted him dead. You did our job.”
“You’d better go.” I held up my cell. “Cops will be here any minute. I called.”
They gave us each a nod, turned, and left as sirens blared in the distance.
I called to Sophia. “Thanks for saving me. Again. Better sit where you are with your gun on the ground and your hands on your head.” I did the same.
“Don’t worry, I know the drill.” She smoothed her dress and put her hands on her head.
Moments later, Miami police officers charged onto the scene, shouted orders, and collected the weapons.
I explained Carl tried to kill us, that we were licensed to carry weapons, and I was an officer in the U.S. Navy. “This is Detective Mike Miller’s cell number. He’ll vouch for us.”
The detective stood, hands hooked on his belt, looking us over. “Who made the kill shot?”
Sophia waved her hand. “I did.”
He scrutinized her and then me. “Let me get this straight. You’re an officer in the Navy, but Rowan disarmed you, and the senior citizen over there shot him?”
My face reddened. “He got the jump on me, and he didn’t know she was armed.”
After giving me a hard time, Mike vouched for us. We gave the cops detailed statements, leaving out the part about the Colombian thugs. The detective allowed us to go home, but he kept our weapons for the formal investigation.
I glanced over at Sophia as we drove out of the neighborhood. “This was a bad idea. I never expected to get you into a gun battle with Carl. I’m so sorry.”
“No worries. What time do you need to be ready for the ball?”
I checked my watch. “I’ll barely make it. Will you drive Ruby home?”
“Of course. I can’t wait to tell my friends at Silver Lakes about the shootout.”
When we arrived, Ruby handed me a business card. “A nice man from Germany stopped by to see you. He’d like you to call him right away.”
I read the card. Werner Dietrich of Dietrich Enterprises based in Hamburg, Germany. The billionaire who wanted Jorgensen Industries. I tapped his number on my cell.
“Hello, Mr. Dietrich, this is Jett Jorgensen. I understand you’d like to speak with me.”
A male voice with a German accent said, “Ah, Jett, you have an impressive home. Sorry I missed you. I’d like to meet and discuss my purchase of Jorgensen Industries. Are you free tonight?”
“I’m attending a charity ball this evening, but there’s no point in us meeting. I have no interest in selling my company and wouldn’t want to waste your time.”
“No hurry. Think it over. By the way, your puppies are beautiful dogs. You should watch them closely. Animals will eat anything, and there are so many poisonous things everywhere. It would be a shame if they died, especially so young.” He chuckled. “I’ll be in touch.”
I sucked in my breath and tried not to panic. “Ruby, was that German guy ever out of your sight while he was here?”
“No, he never left the foyer. He handed me his card, asked that you call him, petted the dogs, and left. Why?”
“He made a vague threat about poisoning the puppies. I just wanted to make sure he didn’t have an opportunity to poison their food or water.” I reached down and ruffled their fur.
“No, but maybe you should check the front yard,” Ruby said. “He could’ve tossed some poisoned food on the grass before he drove away.”
We left the dogs inside and searched the front yard. I paid close attention to grassy areas near the driveway where he could’ve tossed something from his car.
No poison.
Twenty-Seven
GWEN
Gwen watched Snake saunter into the private terminal before she drove away. He lived in Virginia Beach, and she had no illusions about a romance with him. And that was fine, because she had her sights set on Palm Beach Detective Clint Reynolds. A few high-ranking police officers always attended Palm Beach events. She hoped she’d see him at the charity ball. He’d look fabulous in a tux.
The day sped by, and soon it was time to dress for the ball. She pulled on a floor-length silk gown that clung to her curves. Sleeveless with a plunging neckline, it was more daring than what she would normally wear, but Snake had given her the confidence to take a chance and maybe snare Clint. Matching stilettos and her mother’s diamond teardrop earrings and tennis bracelet completed the ensemble. She checked her reflection in the three-way dressing-room mirror.
Hugo and Leo greeted her downstairs in the foyer. They wore matching black tuxedoes in a traditional style that made Hugo appear taller and slimmer. Leo looked good in anything.
“Gentlemen, you’re quite dashing this evening. Would you like to ride with Jett and me to the ball?”
“Gwen, darling, you look divine in that emerald gown.” Leo gave her a light kiss on the cheek. “We’ll take our own vehicle in case you get lucky or have
to dash off on police business.”
Hugo tugged at his bowtie. “That gown matches your eyes.” He cocked his head. “There’s no room for your Glock in the tiny purse.”
She patted her leg. “Thigh holster, inner thigh, left leg.”
Hugo crossed his arms. “But how will you reach it?”
She turned sideways and moved her right leg to demonstrate the slit that rose almost to her hip. “I’ll reach in through here and pull out my weapon. No problem.” She drew her pistol and then holstered it and straightened her gown.
Leo grinned. “That’s our girl, ready for anything. We’ll see you at the ball.”
They opened the door just as Jett pulled up.
Hugo held the door. “Madam, your chariot awaits.”
Gwen waved and slid into the front passenger seat. “Hi, Jett, ready for a fun night?”
“Oh yes, especially after the day I’ve had.” She filled her in on the encounter with Carl Rowan and then gazed down at her ruby gown. “What do you think? Is the red too much?”
“Good thing Sophia was with you today. And that red is more like a claret. The color looks perfect with your black hair and golden skin.”
“Thanks, Gwen. I’ll check into Dietrich tomorrow, but tonight we’ll be the belles of the ball, especially with you in that sleek silk gown.”
Fifteen minutes later, Gwen smoothed her dress and waited while Jett gave her keys to the valet. They headed for the grand ballroom at The Breakers. Inside, an ornate coffered ceiling held enormous crystal chandeliers, and tall windows with red velvet curtains lined the long, ocean-side wall.
It was the season’s most popular charity ball. They entered the vast ballroom, and an usher seated them next to Liz and Clive at the guests-of-honor table beside the dance floor, facing the thirty-piece orchestra.
“Thanks for inviting us. We love seeing all the beautiful gowns.” Gwen kissed Liz’s cheek.
Liz squeezed her hand. “Gwen, darling, we wouldn’t dream of coming without you. You look lovely in green silk, and Jett looks fetching in that wine-colored satin.”