“That is a bit creepy. So what do you plan to do?” Jimmy asked. “Go to The Haven?”
“That’s just it. We’re kind of at an impasse. We don’t want to storm the place before we have more information about the setup. The shell-company stuff is what’s making this situation ominous. Why would a place like The Haven have to hide behind shell companies?”
“Good question. Knowing you and your boss, I’m sure you tried to trace the shell companies.”
“We have. There are several, which lead to a dead end when we get to the offshore banks.”
“Yeah, that’s tough. If the countess can’t get the goods, I don’t know who can.”
“Exactly.” Maggie picked at the crumbs on her plate.
“How about this. I’ll go through the archives to see what stories have run about The Haven and the Westlake twins. Maybe we can find some strands leading to something or someone.”
“Jimmy, that would be great. It would save me a lot of time.” Maggie was relieved that she hadn’t made the trip only to find herself locked in a room of archival information.
“And I will keep it under my hat,” Jimmy assured her.
“You are the best!” She reached over and grabbed his hand. “Let’s make a plan to have dinner in a couple of days.”
“How long are you in town?”
“As long as it takes.” And whatever it takes. She reminded herself of the Sisterhood credo.
“Okay. Cool. I’ll do some digging when I get back. It’s a quiet day on the desk. Well, so far. But it’s Miami, anything can happen. New York may have invented the phrase ‘in a New York minute,’ but here we say ‘un minuto de Miami.’ ”
“Thanks, Jimmy. I appreciate this very much. Especially the pastelito.” They both rose from their chairs, and Maggie gave him a big hug. “I have a new temporary phone number.” Jimmy knew exactly what she meant. It wasn’t unusual for a reporter to carry a burner phone in case they had to ditch it in a hurry.
They parted ways, Jimmy promising to get in touch in a day or so. Maggie was relieved that she had some backup boots-on-the-ground help.
*
That same afternoon, Gabby reported to the main house to relieve Maxwell for his break. He was in a foul mood. “Try not to break anything today.” Gabby resisted correcting him. She hadn’t actually broken anything, but arguing with Maxwell would not be good form. Instead, she apologized one more time.
Maxwell continued. “Liam is on leave, so it’s vital that you take copious notes. Understood?”
“Yes. Understood.” Gabby was not thrilled that she would have to deal with Noah, but maybe Maxwell would return before she had to interact with him. Unfortunately, that wasn’t what happened. Like one of the storms of South Florida, Noah arrived in a bad mood.
“Oh, you again.” Noah’s greeting was terse.
“Good afternoon.” Gabby smiled as if she hadn’t heard him.
“Yeah, whatever.” Noah stomped into his office and slammed the door.
Hard to believe they’re brothers. Even though he was behind closed doors, Noah was a very short distance from where she sat. There was no way she could sneak a phone call today. She sat at the desk and tapped her pencil, trying to figure out another way to get another message to Maggie.
*
Yoko met with Freddie, her flower distributor. They had a quick glass of wine while Yoko explained that she was doing research on farmers’ markets and wanted to see how he ran his stand. She thought it was an excellent way of selling off excess inventory. “Meet me here at eight o’clock. Sharp. We have to get our vehicles out of the way before nine.”
“Thanks, Freddie. I appreciate this.”
“No problem. I can always use the help. Even though my people are used to the temps in the greenhouse, they really hate sitting outside with the sun beating down on the canvas as the humidity increases. When they are in the greenhouse, they can walk around. At the farmers’ market, all they can do is sit and bake.”
Yoko smiled. “Well, I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Ma?ana!” Freddie smiled back.
*
Once the three women were back at the hotel, they brought each other up to date with what they had accomplished.
“Listen, I had to give Jimmy some information,” Maggie informed them. “I know I should have checked with Annie first, but he can be a great resource for us. I didn’t mention anything about anyone else except I was worried about Gabby. Remember, he worked with her, too. Besides, he and Annie know each other, and I trust him. We were on plenty of stakeouts together, except we didn’t carry guns. I knew he always had my back.”
“That sounds reasonable, but you should let the others know right now,” Alexis said.
“Of course! I was just waiting until I got back here. They don’t kid around with the torrential downpours. I didn’t want to be distracted. It was scary out there.” Maggie’s eyes widened. She pulled out the phone and punched in Annie’s number.
“I trust you are using your sunscreen?” Annie chided as she answered the phone.
“Yes, ma’am,” Maggie replied. “When I’m not dodging buckets of rain.”
“Good girl. What’s the latest?”
“I met with Jimmy Griffin today to see what he might know about The Haven. He said it was ‘boring ... b-o-ri-n-g.’ He wanted to know why I was interested, and I mentioned Gabby. He worked with her for a while, so I thought he might have some insight.”
“How much did you tell him?” Annie asked very calmly. Annie knew that Maggie could be kooky at times, but she was sharp as a tack.
“Just that I knew she had signed up for some spiritual enlightenment stuff at The Haven and I had received two odd messages. I told him I was concerned but was hesitant to go there in person. He offered to help out if I needed it.”
“Glad to know we have some backup down there. We’re still waiting on Avery to give us some assistance.”
“I’m glad you’re okay with this.” Maggie breathed a sigh of relief. She would never want to put anyone in danger or jeopardize a mission.
“I was worried that you were too close to the situation,” Annie confessed. “But I also know how resourceful you are, and now you have Jimmy Griffin to help out. Good work for just a couple of hours,” Annie continued. “This could work well in our favor because we need some intel on Daniel Josephson Ruffing.”
“The billionaire playboy?” Maggie asked.
“Yes, the very one. It took some digging by Nikki, Fergus, and Charles, but they found that Ruffing is connected to a multitude of the shell companies, one of which is connected to The Haven.”
“Wow.” Maggie’s jaw dropped. “How were you able to find out?” As if she really had to ask.
Annie chuckled. “As I said, it took a lot of digging, but there is one shell company, Trident Enterprises, that has been paying the bills for The Haven.”
“Why would Ruffing be involved in a spiritual retreat? Or whatever it is?” Maggie asked, puzzled.
“That’s exactly what we have to find out.” Annie paused. “As soon as we find Gabby.”