“Do they know where the drugs are coming from?” Myra asked.
“They have some intel, but again, nothing concrete. Yet,” Jack answered. “As I mentioned earlier, there seem to be some questions surrounding one Mr. Daniel Josephson Ruffing and his source of income. They have a very good lead that he’s running the drugs through his marina. They could bust him now, but they’re looking at the bigger picture. Ideally, they’d want to round up his entire ring rather than just one dirtbag. And because he has so much money at his disposal, they want to be sure there isn’t a mole. For now, they’re just observing.”
“Okay, but what does that have to do with Cuba?” Isabelle asked over the video screen.
“That’s part of the puzzle. Ruffing has his hands in a lot of things. With the connection of The Haven to Trident Enterprises, the Laundromat, the car wash, and dry-cleaning operation, they believe they’re all part of a money-laundering operation. Literally. That’s where he launders the drug money.”
An eerie silence fell over the room. “So Cuba is something entirely different?” Alexis asked.
“It seems so. It’s probably another offshoot of his global enterprises,” Jack answered.
Myra stroked her pearls. “But the FBI is looking into the drug running?”
“Yes, and Ruffing is slick.”
“So what should we be doing now?” Myra asked.
“My suggestion is to wait until Yoko connects with Gabby again. Maybe Gabby can lead us to something drug enforcement can follow.”
Maggie started to growl. “I don’t like waiting around.”
“None of us do, dear,” Myra offered. “But it’s only for a few more days.”
“True.” Maggie sighed with resignation. “But we do have some intel on Simone Jordan.” Maggie proceeded to explain Simone’s tough journey from abject poverty in the Caribbean to her arrival in the US, where she put herself through school and eventually went to work for DJ Ruffing. “From what we could glean, she is basically a concierge for him. Helps him plan parties, makes arrangements for guests, et cetera. On the surface, what she does doesn’t seem nefarious. Just a loyal employee doing what’s asked of her. She does, however, have carte blanche at most of the high-end stores in Bal Harbour. She was seen recently with a young woman on a shopping spree. She signed for all the purchases.”
“We don’t know if they are her accounts just yet. But we have some intel on an apartment in Miami Beach that is also connected to Ruffing,” Jack added. “On the surface, it appears that it’s one of those corporate write-offs he uses for guests for business meetings. That multimillion-dollar condominium, Faena House, is owned by a different shell company, Golden Shores LLC. It’s the same one that owns the Golden Shores Marina. And Golden Shores LLC also holds the lease for several of Ruffing’s vehicles. Mostly SUVs—Cadillac Escalades.
“The feds have someone watching the building. Recently, Simone was seen with a young woman in her twenties entering the building. They stayed two nights and left early the next morning. No one has been seen coming or going over the past couple of days.”
“Do we know who that other woman was, and was she the same woman on the shopping spree?” Myra asked.
“No, we haven’t been able to identify her, but we have a partial photo. It’s a bit grainy. Hard to see her face.” Jack uploaded the photo.
Maggie jumped in. “How early in the morning did they leave? Do you know, Jack?”
“I believe I was told that it was about five o’clock. Why do you ask?”
“Because I was staking out The Haven one morning and Simone Jordan and another woman drove up at five thirty in a Cadillac Escalade. When the car left, only Simone Jordan was in the car.”
“So, what do we think all of this means?” Myra asked.
“We’re not sure. Assuming Ruffing is in the drug trade, we don’t know what the Simone Jordan connection to that, if any, is. But maybe she has something to do with what goes on at his Cuban property.”
Annie looked into the monitor at Maggie’s face. “Since we have a few days, I think you and Jimmy should put a tail on Simone. I’ll clear it with his boss.”
“Can do. Jimmy has a good handle on her. Shouldn’t be too hard.” Maggie nodded.
“This time, please try not to get caught.” Myra shook her finger at the screen.
“This has been very helpful, if a bit confounding,” Charles added his opinion. “We have a few days before Yoko can meet with Gabby again. Can we recon as soon as we have more? Or can you get in touch if you find out anything else?”
“Absolutely.” Jack was more than happy to help. He knew that government agencies were prohibited from doing certain things, but the Sisterhood was not bound by any such restrictions. None at all.
“I need to get going,” Jack said. “I hope this was helpful.”
“Very much so.” Myra patted him on the cheek. “You are a darling to have come out tonight.”
“Anything for my girls.” Jack nodded to the women in the room and saluted Lady Justice. Regardless of their methods, every one of the people in the room wanted only one thing: justice.
Chapter Twenty-six
Miami
Jimmy and Maggie sat in a silver Kia SUV on a side street from Simone Jordan’s current residence. It was a modest ranch-style home in Coconut Grove, but the landscaping was stunning. Fuchsia-colored bougainvillea climbed the side of the house. Several gardens, filled with blue daze, purple Persian shield, lantana, and black and blue salvia were surrounded by large hammock and palm trees. Hot pink pentas dotted the grounds. It was a sea of shades of blue and green. “Wow. Yoko would really appreciate this,” Maggie gasped in wonder.
“Quick, get down,” Jimmy warned in a loud whisper. “There she is.” Simone exited through the front door and strolled around her flower beds.
“Is she smiling at the flowers?” Maggie muttered.
“Kinda seems that way.” He shrugged.
Simone was carrying a basket in one hand and pruning shears in the other. She proceeded to cut some of the flowers and put them in the basket as Jimmy and Maggie looked on from a distance. After carefully cutting off the blooms, Simone went back into the house. A few minutes later, she came back out with the flowers wrapped in paper, the kind you’d get from a florist.
Simone opened the side door of her car, placed the flowers on the passenger seat, and climbed into her red Porsche 911. Simone enjoyed driving her car. Too often she was being transported in one of Ruffing’s vehicles. But behind the wheel of her own car, she felt a sense of freedom. She started the car, pulled out of her driveway, and headed north. Jimmy and Maggie followed her at a safe distance.
“I hope she’s not in the mood to blow out her engine today.” Jimmy smirked. “I don’t think we could keep up with that beauty.”