“I don’t understand.” Rachel was more confused than ever.
“You will shortly. Follow me.” Yvonne escorted Rachel to the main house. It reminded her of Vizcaya, former villa of industrialist James Deering, which had been built on Biscayne Bay in 1916. Vizcaya was now a historical landmark on ten acres of beautifully landscaped gardens. Thirty-two rooms had been restored to their original splendor and were open to the public. Rachel remembered the few times she had brown-bagged her lunch and sat among the fountains and sculpture. It was a spectacular architectural achievement. She would fantasize what it would be like to live amidst such splendor. Was her dream coming true? Only if one’s dreams were nightmares.
As they walked through the main hall, Rachel was awestruck by its size and opulence. They climbed the grand staircase that led to two separate wings.
“You and Diedre will be sharing a room.” Yvonne opened the door to the large bedroom that included two queen-size beds. Yvonne pointed. “The bathroom is for both of you.” Then she swung open the door to a large closet. “You can keep your things here.”
Rachel was struck by the size. It was bigger than her entire bedroom when she shared an apartment before she joined The Haven.
“Dinner guests will be arriving in a few hours. I suggest you freshen up.” Yvonne opened Rachel’s luggage and began to put the items on the hangers and shelves. She spotted a metallic Dolce & Gabbana dress. “Wear this tonight. The sheikh likes to see the ladies shimmer.”
Rachel was speechless. Sheikh? She finally got up her nerve to ask a question. “Was he one of the men on the patio?”
“No. Those are members of his entourage. The sheikh is on a day-trip with his host.”
“Liam?” Rachel couldn’t think who else the host could be.
Yvonne let out a low laugh. “No, dear. Not Liam.”
“But you said ‘host,’ and since I’m a spokesperson for The Haven, I naturally assumed it would be him. Or Noah.”
“The Haven. Right.” Then Yvonne explained carefully, “You are here to be a hostess. You will live a very comfortable life and will do whatever is asked of you.” Yvonne was about to exit. “Now be a good girl and freshen up. Especially down there.” Yvonne pointed to Rachel’s lower abdomen. “They like it very clean, so if you didn’t get waxed before you came, we’ll send someone up.”
Rachel was dumbfounded. “Waxed?”
Yvonne almost pitied the girl. “Yes, dear. Waxed. By the expression on your face, I am going to assume not.” Yvonne turned toward the bathroom and fetched a robe. “Take a shower and put this on. Sonya will be up in half an hour to take care of those curly hairs.” She turned and left.
Rachel sat on the bed. A sense of doom fell over her. She began to sob and rock back and forth.
Chapter Twenty
The War Room
By seven o’clock, everyone was in place, either in person or on video feed. Annie started. “Maggie was held prisoner for a couple of hours at The Haven this morning.” Gasps came from everywhere. “Apparently she took it upon herself to leave her stakeout position with Jimmy and sneak around the perimeter of the property, which is where she was caught by security. Maggie, do you want to take it from there?”
“Sure thing. As Annie said, I strayed from the truck where Jimmy and I were parked, but for good reason. It was five thirty in the morning, and a black Escalade pulled into the driveway. I wanted to see who would be showing up at that early hour. I saw two women get out of the Escalade but only one get back in. Jimmy told me after we reconnected that the older woman was a Simone Jordan, who works for Daniel Ruffing. He saw her as the SUV came out of the driveway because she had lowered the rear window on the side closer to him.
“Unfortunately, even though I was on public land, I was threatened with a gun and forced to spend about two hours in a barren room. A man I think was Noah Westlake finally came in to talk to me, and I gave him the excuse that I was looking for my dog. I guess he bought it because he let me go. As he was escorting me down the hallway, I heard a voice in the background answering the phone. I swear it was Gabby’s voice. She was about twenty-five feet away, and the man was standing between us, so I couldn’t get a good look at her. But I recognized her voice.”
“Do you think she spotted you?” Myra asked.
“I don’t think so. If she did, she didn’t say anything. We have to get in there and get her out.”
“Hold up on that for a minute. Although they did stop her from flying home to see her mother, it doesn’t appear that any of them are being held against their will. After all, despite security, anyone who wanted to leave could simply walk away from the farmers’ market. So why do you think she hasn’t simply made a run for it?” Charles asked.
“Good question,” Maggie replied. “But if you remember, in her last message she said, ‘strange happenings.’ Maybe she put her reporter hat back on and is trying to get more information.”
There were mutters of agreement. “That could be true,” Annie concurred. “But why hasn’t she reached out since?”
“Perhaps she hasn’t been able to,” Myra suggested. “Also, consider this. People might be able to walk away from the farmers’ market, given how public it is. But Gabby wasn’t at the farmers’ market, and it is possible she could not simply walk away from The Haven where she is.”
“Then we need to send someone in,” Nikki said. “And it certainly can’t be Maggie.”
“Which leaves Yoko and Alexis,” Charles pointed out.
“I would suggest Yoko because she can use her martial-arts skills if necessary. Anyway, I have an idea percolating for Alexis.” Myra gave Charles a quizzical look as he pulled up a photo of Simone Jordan. Charles continued, “Their height, weight, and shapes are similar. Simone works for Ruffing. Jimmy saw Simone leave The Haven. There is a direct connection between Ruffing and The Haven, but we don’t know the what or the why. Now we learn that there is a direct connection between Jordan and The Haven, and we already knew that there was a similar connection between Jordan and Ruffing. Alexis could be a good decoy.”
“It appears we have several puzzles.” Annie started to make a new list on the wall: 1 GABBY IS STILL AT THE HAVEN. WHY?
2 WHY IS RUFFING INVOLVED WITH THE HAVEN?
3 WHY IS JORDAN INVOLVED WITH THE HAVEN?
4 WHO WAS THE OTHER WOMAN IN THE CAR?
5 WHERE DID SHE GO?
Fergus had information he began to share. “We received more information about Trident Enterprises. In addition to bankrolling The Haven, they also own a dry cleaner, a car wash, and a Laundromat.”
Nikki went further. “We checked on the alleged founders of The Haven: Devin Marlow, Christopher Giamelli, and Isaac Greenstein. None of them exist. Or ever existed.”
Fergus confirmed it as well. “Nothing from Interpol or Scotland Yard, either.”
“So the founder story is a cover as well,” Charles stated.
“Let’s add this information to the list.” Annie began to write.