Page 79 of Blue Moon

“What kind of woman steals ten million bucks and then goes back for more?”

“A greedy one who thinks she won’t get caught. Be careful.”

Ryder went to find Shani.

Three hours later, Ryder was getting twitchy, even though Luna said she was fine and working on a new song while Rocky chewed on one of the seven new bones she’d bought for him. Mack had messaged with an update on the cuff Luna had received—it had come from the gift shop at the Who Were the Ptolemies? exhibition. Which wasn’t a static collection—it had moved from London to Berlin to Barcelona to New York to Vancouver—so they couldn’t even say for sure which city Mark Antony had visited.

“Okay, so Miguel’s brother-in-law’s cousin has a bona fide mansion,” Shani said. “And he’s eighty percent sure we could borrow it.”

“Does it have a waterfall?”

“No, but it has a fountain. Maybe we could do something with camera angles?”

“Can’t risk it. Elene or Irina or whatever her name is, she’s smart. I found another option—where’s Mercer Hills?”

“It’s a new development in the north-west—think golf courses, multimillion-dollar homes, and guards to keep the riffraff out. It’s meant to rival the Summit Club and Southern Highlands.”

“There’s a property there with a waterfall, and it’s available for short-term rent on Airbnb.”

“Are you trying to bankrupt yourself?”

In an ideal world, no. But if Ryder could convince Elene to reveal her location, renting the ridiculously opulent property would be the best investment he ever made.

“I only get one shot at this.”

“Who are you shooting?” Marcel asked from behind them, and Ryder spun the chair to see him holding three cake boxes stacked on top of each other. He dipped to put them on the desk. “Since you’re here, you can take Luna’s honey cake. She can’t eat it today, though. The filling needs to infuse. Does she really have a stalker? I guess it’s not totally surprising because if I was straight and had homicidal tendencies, I’d follow her around too.” He leaned in closer and peered at the screen. “If you’re trying to find a place for a dirty weekend, I wouldn’t go there. The owner is a real busybody. Always in everyone else’s business.”

“Are you sure?” Shani asked. “The reviews don’t mention that.”

“She probably stands over the guests until they give her five stars. Her husband ran off with his therapist, and the only way she can afford to keep that house is to rent it to tourists for two weeks out of every four. But she just moves into the pool pavilion and spends the whole time spying.”

“How do you know?”

“She lives near us, and Sin told me. I think she got lucky, though—the busybody, not Sin—because her ex-husband lost most of his money when the crypto market crashed, and now he lives in a walk-up apartment in New Jersey.” Why would a person even know that? “If you want to get away for a few days, my friend Jeremy owns a lovely little cabin near Lake Tahoe. It’s kind of rustic, but if reporters come sniffing around, there are plenty of places to hide a body.”

Ryder looked for a sign that he was joking, but Marcel didn’t crack a smile.

Shani laughed, though. “Ryder isn’t taking a vacation. It’s kind of a long story, but we need a mansion with a waterfall in the yard for an undercover job.”

“Ooh, I love stories.” Marcel wheeled over an empty chair from the next desk and dropped into it. “Do tell.”

“It’s confidential—” Ryder started, but Shani gave him a look.

“Ryder’s acting as bait for a swindler. A female swindler.”

“And he needs to meet her somewhere fancy?”

“Not in person. She’s overseas, and the team has only spoken with her online so far.”

“Let me guess, let me guess… Someone got carried away describing a property, and now you have to find one to match?”

“That’s about the size of it,” Ryder admitted. “We were hoping this would be over already.”

“Do you know anywhere private with a waterfall?” Shani asked.

“It would only be Ryder there?”

“Yes.”

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