“Made any enemies getting where you are? Anyone ticked that you made all of this happen?”
“Jealousy? You think someone wants to bring me down out of envy?”
“It’s one of the most basic of sins, Masini. I suggest you dig back in your diary and see if you’ve shoved someone a little hard.”
“If I had, wouldn’t they have taken pictures of obvious indiscretions? Why snap a photo of me walking on the shore, or kissing a beautiful woman? Wouldn’t it be better to find a senator’s wife, as you put it?”
“That’s a good question.” She wrote it on his paper and circled it. “Michael and I are a link . . . why?”
“Ryder’s first instinct was to flee. Maybe that’s what the photographer wants,” Val said.
“Maybe Michael knows someone on the island who doesn’t want him to know they’re here.” Meg wrote the lead down.
“Plausible.”
“We haven’t spent much time in the common areas of the hotel. Maybe we should.”
She flipped over the papers and sat in one of the kitchen chairs. “Now, let’s talk blackmail and monetary gain.”
Chapter Twelve
Gabi felt her brother’s frustration as keenly as if it were her own. The island resort might not be hers, but she was part of it and would do anything to keep what her brother had built on the island intact.
She worked by Carol’s side to determine who had arrived on the island, and who might have left and come back during the time the Wolfe party had arrived. Three flights had landed and taken off again. The flight staff never left the building on the tarmac. Most of the guests took the charter to Key West and flew from there.
There were daily deliveries that brought familiar faces to the island. Most never left the dock. Still, Gabi spent her early evening interviewing the staff in charge of taking deliveries and greeting those who serviced the island.
“Thank you for your understanding.” Gabi shook the hand of Adam, their head of deliveries. Nothing entered the island without his knowledge. At least in the organic nature.
“I like my job, Miss Masini. If this drill will help me keep it, I’m not going to complain.”
He was the third person who’d alluded to the drill being something more. Maybe it was because of the intensity of questions, or how Lou brought in everyone on his security team to take part in the “drill.”
The first set of employees changing shifts had been interviewed, and slowly filtered onto the off-island charter. Security double-checked their bags and thanked them for their understanding.
Gabi tried desperately hard to smile and thank their staff for their patience as they exited the island. Security interviewed the oncoming staff before they moved to their designated work areas.
When she had a moment to breathe, Gabi took a walk in the warehouse.
She looked at the pallets of food, drinks, cleaning supplies, office supplies . . . any- and everything needed to make the island run. She rounded the corner to find Julio standing over several wine crates. Seeing him placed a smile on her face. “Hello, Julio.”
Alonzo’s cocaptain of his yacht wasn’t a big man. At maybe five foot eleven, he carried an extra thirty pounds for his frame, but he had a nice enough smile. She’d only met the man a couple of times.
“Miss Masini.” He seemed shocked to see her there.
“Did Alonzo come early?” His yacht wasn’t at the dock and hadn’t been all day.
“No, ah . . . he’s due tomorrow.”
Strange. “How is it you’re here?”
“I fell ill last week when we pulled in. Mr. Masini offered me a place to recover. Close quarters of the yacht would have made everyone sick.”
That made sense. “You’re feeling better, I hope.”
“Much. Thank you. Looking forward to getting back to work.”
Her gaze fell on the crates of wine. “I really hope that wine hasn’t been in here since Alonzo was here.” It should have been moved to the cellars, where the wine was kept at the right temperature.
Julio shifted his eyes to the crates.
Gabi looked at the back of the boxes and placed her hand on the sides. They were cool to the touch, as if they’d been placed in the warehouse recently.
“Perhaps Mr. Picano wanted them?”
“That’s silly.” Gabi walked to the end of the aisle and saw Adam walking away. “Adam?”
The man turned, started her way. Once at her side she pointed at the crates. “Do you know why these are sitting here and not the cellar?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“Someone must have made a mistake. Can you see that they’re moved back underground? I’d hate for it to spoil in the heat.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Thank you. I’m going to find my brother and see how much longer we’re going to run the drill.”
Adam lifted a brow as if unconvinced. “I’ll keep the pace here.”
Carol interrupted Gabi’s path, asking her to intervene with some of the female staff who weren’t happy about their purses being searched.
An hour later, and the threat of the ladies’ jobs being placed on hold until the drill was completed if they refused a simple search, and Gabi was ready for more than a sparrow’s portion of food. And perhaps a tiny cocktail . . . or two.
“I don’t like the plan.” Val paced his private office, dismissing everything Meg proposed with a flick of his wrist.
“Do you have another one? Because I don’t think we’re any closer to finding who is behind this now than we were before your investigation.”