In her usual race-car-driver fashion, Annie zoomed across the farm to get to Myra’s lickety-split. Fergus decided to drive the other golf cart at a more reasonable speed of thirty-five miles per hour. The last jaunt to Myra and Charles’s had almost sent him flying. This time, he was going to take matters into his own hands. He would be only a few minutes behind Annie, but at least he wouldn’t be holding on for dear life.
Annie’s cart arrived in the usual cloud of dirt, dust, and stones, setting off Lady and her pups to yowling and yapping.
She jogged to the door and flung it open.
Myra and the pooches were waiting for her to make her entrance. “This is great news about Gabby!” She gave Annie a big squeeze.
Annie began to recount the phone call. “According to Yoko, Gabby indicated that there were some very odd things going on at The Haven. We need to get to the bottom of this. And we can figure out a plan to move forward once Gabby and Yoko hook up again at the market. We can’t let Maggie go because someone might recognize her regardless of what disguise Alexis can put together.”
“I agree. Come sit. The others should be here shortly.”
“Who’s joining us tonight?” Annie asked.
“Kathryn is back from her haul, Nikki and Jack are on their way, and Isabelle will call in with the others.”
“Jack?” Annie looked surprised.
“Nikki asked him what he knew about Daniel Ruffing. Jack called Bert Navarro to see if Bert had any intel on Ruffing. Bert contacted his people at the FBI and got an earful. Jack is going to catch us up.”
“So we’re finally starting to get more pieces of the puzzle.” Annie’s wheels were turning.
Charles walked into the room from the pantry, and said, “It indeed looks that way. Fergus also has more info. Where is he, by the way?”
“That chicken wouldn’t ride with me. I have no idea why.” Annie shook her head and started to giggle. “He should be here shortly.” And at that moment, the dogs announced Fergus’s arrival. Before he could get a foot in the door, they were jumping and nuzzling him. Fergus happily handed out treats as he entered the kitchen.
Annie started to make clucking sounds like a chicken. “Aren’t you the funny one?” Fergus gave her a smirk.
“If the feathers fit, then you’re a chicken.” She folded her arms to punctuate her sentence.
“With such short notice, I was only able to prepare some grilled salmon with a salad,” Charles announced.
“Let’s get out of here,” Fergus joked. “No worries, mate. You always provide.” He slapped Charles on the back.
Within a few minutes, the dogs announced the next arrival. This time it was Nikki and Jack. Each took their turn with hugs and kisses.
“Jack, it’s so nice to see you.” Annie beamed.
“Ditto. Everyone always seems to be in different places,” Jack remarked.
“And doing different things,” Nikki added. “It’s rare we’re on the same team these days.”
“I’m just a messenger today,” Jack replied.
“For now,” Annie kidded.
Another round of yapping heralded Kathryn’s entrance. “Well, lookie who’s here! Jack Emery! Nikki, how did you pull this one off?”
Nikki gave Kathryn a hug. “He claims he’s only a messenger. And since he was actually home tonight, I thought I’d drag him along.”
“Good to see you.” Jack gave Kathryn a bear hug.
“We have to get on the call in less than an hour. Cold fish is not very appetizing unless it’s caviar.” Charles motioned toward the buffet he had set up on the counter. Everyone fixed a plate and sat at the long kitchen table. It wasn’t often that Jack was at the same table, so the conversation revolved around the latest tales of the Men of the Sisterhood.
With less than ten minutes to spare, everyone climbed out of their seats. Fergus scraped the plates, Annie washed, Myra dried, Nikki put them back into place, while Charles wiped down the stove. “I believe that is a record for us!” he said gleefully as he checked his watch. “One minute to spare. Let’s hustle!”
The group marched down the steps, saluted Lady Justice, and took their seats. The screens had been fired up earlier, and the women who weren’t physically present began to dial in, their faces popping up on the screens.
“Hellos,” “How’s it goings?” and a few “Hey theres” were exchanged.
“Jack!” Isabelle exclaimed. “Nice to see your face!”
Yoko, Maggie, and Alexis concurred.
“What about mine?” Kathryn pretended to pout. “I’ve been on the road for days!”
“Hello, Kathryn!” Maggie bellowed. “And you don’t look any the worse for wear either!”
“Thank goodness for small favors.” Kathryn chuckled.
“Let’s get down to it, shall we?” Charles urged.
“Yoko. Tell us about your exchange with Gabby.”
Yoko recounted her trip to the open house and how she had fortuitously run into Gabby. “Tell them about your feminine wiles,” Maggie teased.
“Oh jeez. So I flirted with the guy. It was the only way I could get a few more minutes at the site.”
“Whatever it takes!” the sisters chorused.
Yoko continued, “Gabby mentioned the farmers’ market and that she planned to be there this weekend. Evidently, the market will start opening on Fridays at noon.”
“You said there were men who looked like security guards. How will you be able to have a conversation without drawing suspicion?” Myra inquired.
“I’m not sure about that. I assume she’s going to share some information with me. How she plans to do it, I have no idea. I’m going to have to leave that in her hands.”
“Okay. Gabby had been a top-notch journalist who just burned out. She’s smart and resourceful. I’m sure she’ll figure something out,” Annie assured them.
Yoko continued, “She made a point to mention making decoupage boxes that she was hoping to sell. It sounded like a big hint to me.”
Maggie burst out laughing. “Gabby is a lot of things but a crafter isn’t one of them, so it must be some kind of ruse.”
“Then it surely sounds like it was a hint,” Jack agreed.
“So what can we do in the meantime?” Maggie asked.
Jack pulled out his tablet and began to relay the information he had obtained from Bert. “As Nikki mentioned, Ruffing is tied to a number of shell companies that have offshore bank accounts. Like all of you, the fact that Ruffing would obtain a piece of property that has no serious value and invest in a spiritual group was a big red flag. At least it was to the FBI. It’s common knowledge about the lease in Cuba, because its location prevents any government agency from inspecting or surveilling the estate. The source of his income is also sketchy. In spite of all of his holdings, the math doesn’t add up. Obviously, he wouldn’t be the first billionaire hiding money in offshore accounts, but it’s the origin of the money that’s led to speculation.”
Nikki broke in. “At our last meeting, I mentioned the lack of security in parts of the Everglades.”
Jack continued, “The FBI thinks he may be running drugs up the coast of Florida into Alabama.”