“Not yet, but they’ve been able to use other means to trace the distribution. An insider would certainly help, but Ruffing may be onto the interest being taken in him and his operation. He seems to be spending more time in Cuba lately.”
“So in order for the authorities to catch him, he would have to be on US soil,” Nikki mused.
“Correct.”
“So do you think he’s planning on skipping the country?”
Fergus continued, “There doesn’t seem to be any evidence of that since he hasn’t tried to move any money.”
“It appears we are still in a state of suspended animation, then.” Myra stroked her pearls.
“We should have more information from Gabby tomorrow,” Yoko reminded them. “Hopefully, it will be a piece of the puzzle that allows us to move forward.”
“The US government may not be able to take down Ruffing in Cuba, but that doesn’t mean we can’t,” Annie said with gusto.
“Woo-hoo!” Kathryn bellowed. “Now yer talkin’ my kind of language.”
“Before you get too excited, let’s wait until tomorrow when we have a bit more information.” Myra could sense the enthusiasm among the women.
Kathryn sulked. “Oh, okay. If you insist.”
“Now that’s our good girl.” Annie gave Kathryn’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze.
“Anyone have anything else they can offer?” Myra asked.
“Nope.” “Not yet.” “Me either,” came the responses.
“I have a good feeling about all of this,” Myra said happily.
“Oh, by the way,” Charles interjected. “I called all of the stores Simone and the unidentified woman visited and asked them to please duplicate everything, and to please bring the packages to the valet station at Neiman Marcus. Alexis, a black SUV will be picking you up in about an hour. He will drive you to the Bal Harbour Shops. The shopping bags should be awaiting your arrival. So please dress as closely as you can to Simone. We’ve sent you several photos. You don’t have to get out of the car or speak to anyone. Just nod.”
“Charles, why on earth would we do something like that?” Myra asked.
“To see exactly what the unidentified woman will be wearing when she eventually leaves the condominium. Once we’re done, we’ll donate the clothing to young women who are starting their own businesses. Sound all right with you?”
“Bloody brilliant!” Annie cheered. The rest of the women responded in kind.
“We’ll send photos of the clothing as soon as I get back,” Alexis added.
“Okay. Let’s meet up again tomorrow,” Annie said. “Until then, everyone behave.”
Whoops and clapping ended the session, with a salute to Lady Justice.
*
An hour later, Alexis sauntered into the living room of the hotel suite, looking like a body double for Simone. “Wish me luck. Depending on what’s in those bags, you may never see me again.” That caused a burst of laughter.
“As if,” Maggie replied. Two hours later, Alexis needed two bellhops to bring up all of the beautifully packaged boxes from the high-end boutiques.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Friday
The Farmers’Market
Gabby had already been cleared to attend the market on Friday. The Pledge who covered for her before was going to be on phone duty that afternoon. She would have to be sure to only spend a short amount of time with Yoko. Otherwise, the Guardians would become suspicious.
She fiddled with the other two decoupage boxes she had made. She figured it would look like she really wanted to pursue this new endeavor. Naturally, she didn’t put as much thought into the others, but they looked good. If someone wanted to purchase her covert operations box, she would tell them she was holding it for another shopper, and she would offer to make one just like it. She tried to calm her nerves. She knew that the Guardians were keeping a special eye on her since the episode at the airport. The fact that they were able to find her at the florist’s was disconcerting. How that was possible kept haunting her.
*
Maggie was anxious to get to her friend, but she knew she had to steer clear of anyone who might recognize her from the morning she got plucked out of the foliage by security. For all she knew, they could have her on video. She paced the hotel room.
“You’re going to rub tracks in the carpet,” Alexis taunted her. “Help me finish with the photos of the clothes I picked up last night.” Alexis jerked a finger at the beautiful designer outfits. “Then you can order room service.”
Maggie clapped her hands gleefully. Food was always a good incentive.
Yoko was getting ready to leave for the market. She adjusted the broach, which served as a surveillance device. She would be able to record her conversations with audio and video feed, and it would be simultaneously sent to Charles.
She settled a straw hat on her head and did a little twirl. “Do I look like I want to join a cult?”
Maggie and Alexis couldn’t help but laugh. “You look kinda normal,” Maggie said with a straight face.
“Normal is good.” Yoko took a slight bow.
They high-fived each other as Yoko headed out the door to go to the market, where she hoped and prayed she would get more insight and information from Gabby.
Yoko parked her vehicle away from the other cars and casually walked into the market area. She stopped at a few stalls on her way and looked at some merchandise. She didn’t want to seem like she was on a mission. Which she was. Mission. The thought made her chuckle softly. After several minutes of browsing, she finally arrived at The Haven’s stall where handmade items were being sold. She began studying some of the crafts, looking for signs of Gabby. For the first few minutes, she couldn’t spot her. She didn’t dare ask anyone for fear of casting doubts about the purpose of her visit. She breathed a sigh of relief when Gabby returned from one of the other stalls.
“Hello again,” Yoko said to her. “Do you remember me? I was at the open house the other night.”
“Oh yes. Nice to see you again.” Gabby was in synch. “Anything in particular you’re interested in?” Gabby motioned for Yoko to follow her to a table. “We have some new items this week. We make everything at The Haven.” Gabby picked up one of the boxes. “Even the box itself is crafted in the woodshop.”
“I love doing crafts,” Yoko said coyly. “I also like gardening.”
Keeping the conversation in line with what one would expect of the members, Gabby proceeded, “We also grow our own vegetables. Right over there.” Gabby pointed to the stand several feet away.
Yoko had already taken notice of the security men standing in the wings. She would have sworn one of them had an eagle eye on Gabby. Wanting to move the encounter forward, Yoko said, “These boxes are very interesting. Decoupage was all the rage quite a while ago. I’m glad to see it’s making a comeback.” She smiled at Gabby. “How much are they?”
“This one is thirty dollars.” She handed one of the other boxes to Yoko letting her inspect it. “But this one is my personal favorite.” She lifted her box of clues and handed it to Yoko, retrieving the first one.
“Oh, I like this one,” Yoko said, beaming. “How much is it?”