Sasha didn’t have a clear view of the SUV when it entered The Haven, so she couldn’t see who got in or out of the vehicle. But once it pulled out, she followed it. It headed in the direction of Coconut Grove. Sasha kept at a safe distance as the SUV pulled up in front of Simone’s house. Sasha strained to see if the other woman was with Simone. But only Simone exited the car. Sasha immediately texted: Subject returned home. Alone. Other person unaccounted for.
Everything was breaking loose at the same time. Charles received the message that the second woman’s whereabouts were unknown. Fergus checked the photo of the ring. It looked like a simple GPS device, but having the ring itself would be ideal. That way he could scan it and find the source.
*
At the same time, in Florida, Gabby was explaining what she knew to Maggie, Alexis, and Yoko.
“I don’t know too much except early this morning a black SUV pulled in with two women.” She took another gulp of her water. “One I did not recognize. Tall, slim, dark, honey-toned skin, with straight black hair. The other one was a new Tyro named Jennie. But she looked completely different from how she looked a few days ago. New hair, makeup, clothing. There was a man following them with luggage.
“The only thing I could hear was ‘Diecinueve camino de la luna amarilla.’ And then, a few minutes later, I heard the sound of an airboat. And the taller woman got back in the SUV and was driven away.”
“Do you think you can repeat all of that?” Maggie asked.
“Sure. But can I take a shower first?” Gabby looked at her with puppy-dog eyes.
“Of course! And some clean clothes.”
“I’m kinda liking this robe.” Gabby snuggled inside it. She was finally feeling calm and safe.
Maggie dialed into the secure network so that Myra, Annie, Charles, Fergus, Nikki, Kathryn, and Isabelle could hear the news. “Gabby is here. At the Biltmore,” Maggie said with great relief. “She actually pedaled her way on an old bicycle. It took her two hours, but she’s okay. A little shaky, but okay.”
Annie and Myra squealed with delight.
“Now don’t make fun, but I am going to order room service ...” Her sentence was interrupted by the others in unison. “Of course you are!”
“It’s not just for me, you know.” Maggie pretended she was being defensive. “Anyway, I want you to hear the whole story from Gabby. She’s taking a quick shower. Question: Do we know what ‘Diecinueve camino de la luna amarilla’ means yet? That seems to be a big part of this puzzle.”
Fergus spoke first. “It’s the address of Daniel Ruffing’s Cuban estate.”
The three women in Florida looked horrified. Maggie blurted out, “Then he may be trafficking women there!”
Lots of voices came through the speakerphone. Gasps, questions, expletives.
Several minutes later, Gabby came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her head and wearing a fresh robe. She tossed the first robe onto the pile of funky clothes she had been wearing. “Someone should put a torch to that.” She made a squeamish face and pointed.
Maggie motioned Gabby to sit on the sofa in front of the table that held the speakerphone. The other women surrounded the table, creating a circle.
Maggie started. “Hi, everyone. I have Gabby Richardson with us!” Loud cheers and hoots bounced through the speaker.
Annie was first. “Gabby, we cannot tell you how happy we are that you’re all right.” Myra echoed the sentiment, followed by everyone else with sighs and sounds of relief. “Did you really ride a bicycle?”
“It was more like I was pushing a bicycle with my legs. It was an old one-speed, with a basket, streamers, and a bell.” She took another sip of water. “The only thing that was missing were the training wheels.” Gabby chuckled nervously, still getting used to having both feet on the floor. A few soft laughs and giggles could be heard coming from the other end.
“Gabby, before you run out of steam, tell us everything you know. Even the smallest detail can be useful, even if you’re not sure what it means,” Myra encouraged her.
Gabby started from the beginning, recapping the incident from the airport to the florist and back to The Haven. “Noah gave me a tongue-lashing. I told him that Liam had given me permission, but he didn’t seem to care. Liam gave me phone duty to cover for Maxwell, one of the Guardians, so I could contact my mother.”
“Oh, you mean the one who called you a ‘stupid bitch?”’ Myra asked sourly.
“I can’t believe you heard that, but yes. That’s him,” Gabby replied.
“Apparently you were fumbling with the phone but it made it to Maggie’s voice mail before the call was disconnected,” Myra said.
Gabby continued with as much information as she could remember. “One night I overheard Noah and Liam arguing. Liam was not happy about some people Noah had been dealing with. Then, one day when I was on phone duty, a couple of men who looked like gangsters came to The Haven. They looked out of place and had Eastern European accents.” Gabby paused. “I could never hear what was going on behind closed doors.”
Maggie asked, “So is that when you started to think there were ‘strange happenings?’ ”
“Yes, partly. It was the phone messages I would take. ‘Package ready for delivery.’ That kind of stuff. There were no computers, except behind the locked doors of Liam’s and Noah’s offices. My orders were to take messages only. I was to tell anyone that whomever they wanted to speak to was not available. It was very odd.”
Back at Pinewood, Annie was writing on the electronic wall that served as a type of blackboard.
Gabby continued, “Another strange thing is the laundry. It’s always in bags with locks. The kind you’d put on luggage. The Tyros, the newbies, would do the heavy lifting, but no one ever saw the contents. Same thing with the dry cleaner. Bags in and bags out. All of it was under the supervision of the Guardians.”
“Tell us about this morning,” Myra urged.
Gabby recounted every detail of her observation of Simone and Jennie: the man with the luggage, the airboat, and “Diecinueve camino de la luna amarilla.” “There’s one other thing: I befriended one of the other Pledges. Her name is Rachel. She told me in confidence that she was chosen to be a spokesperson for The Haven. She would get new clothes and travel to help raise money.”
Charles cut in. “Anyone want to bet she’s at Diecinueve camino de la luna amarilla? Also known as 19 Yellow Moon Road.”
“Gabby, you mentioned every Pledge wears one of those rings, correct?” Alexis asked.
“Yes.”
“So perhaps the other women are still wearing theirs?” Charles asked.
“It’s possible.” Gabby was starting to wane.
Annie jumped in. “Here is what we have: 1 Ruffing is funding The Haven through a shell company.
2 Laundry, dry cleaning, car wash—cash only equals money laundering.
3 Noah is in jail for drug dealing. Ruffing?
4 The ring is some kind of device.
5 Ruffing is currently in Cuba.
6 A woman was sent there this morning.
7 Dignitaries are going to Cuba. Are they going to Ruffing’s?
“Gabby, where does Liam fit into this mess?”
“I really can’t say. He hasn’t been around very much lately. Noah has been sending him to conferences. It’s almost as if he was trying to keep him away.”