Page 39 of Island Holiday

“We have really great people,” Jess reminded him. “Knox Moore, Logan Harris, and Boone Reynolds were all in on this venture.”

Sonya mentally tripped over Knox’s name. Was that the same man who had kept Harper infatuated through the years? It must be. How many could there be in this immediate area?

“And the plan?” Sonya asked once they stepped aboard the water taxi. “Will Connor and I be part of the crew too? Or posing as tourists?”

Jess held up a hand. “You’ll be witnesses only. From a distance,” she said, her voice firm. “The three of us will stay right here in our lane and watch the professionals handle the take down.

“The fire department water rescue is on standby with a police boat. They’re waiting up river, out of sight of the dock at the condo.”

Sonya relaxed as the details sank in. The agency had everything covered. Zimmer wouldn’t escape and the girls would be rescued. It was almost over. “Good. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Jess said with a little laugh. “You’ve done really good work here. Both of you,” she added. “The three of us will head downstream a bit, just to make sure we don’t tip anyone off.”

“Do you think Zimmer’s watching the river?” Sonya suddenly wished she had brought more than her phone. “Of course he is. He should be.” She gripped her phone. “I should’ve brought my laptop.”

“Take a breath,” Jess urged. “You’ve done more than enough. Everyone agreed—”

“Everyone?” Sonya interrupted. A hot lick of panic shot across the back of her neck. The more people who knew about this, the lower their chance of success. Had Jess forgotten that Mertens had someone on her payroll tracking Sonya?

“We don’t work in a vacuum,” Connor reminded her.

“He’s right.” Jess twirled her sunglasses. “There’s no cause for concern. Gamble and Swann, along with the state police and the FBI agreed that your research on this is impeccable. They’ve launched their own investigations based on what you brought out of the shadows. Today is the beginning of the end for Mertens and Zimmer.”

Sonya supposed a new investigation was for the best considering some of her access points hadn’t been entirely above board. That option, when used carefully, only proved there were more and more benefits to working with the agency.

“So they’re tracking down Mertens as well?”

Jess nodded. “That’s my understanding. I’m not privy to every detail, but I do know she is a person of interest and they expect to find her quickly based on your efforts and Zimmer’s eventual cooperation.”

“They expect him to roll on her?” Connor asked.

“You’ve probably seen more of Sonya’s research than I have,” Jess replied. “You’ve dug into his life. What do you think?”

Connor leaned back against the deck railing, his arms folded over his chest. “He’ll roll.” He scowled in the direction of the condos. “In fact, I’m sure he either has an exit strategy in place or some excuse all polished up and ready to go. Anything to protect his reputation and lifestyle.”

“Just my educated guess,” Jess said, “but if he is anywhere near this mess with the girls—”

“His credit card sure is,” Sonya interrupted.

“Exactly.” The smile on Jess’s face turned sharp. “He’ll do time for kidnapping and fraud and who knows what else.”

“How much longer?” Sonya queried.

Jess donned her sunglasses. “Here comes the charter now.” She pointed downriver where the bow of a big white fishing boat cut through the water. “We’ll give them a good head start and then sweep in and see if we can help explain the situation to the girls.”

“I still can’t believe their families aren’t suspicious,” Sonya grumbled. “Connor found the text messages that were sent, but still. Someone should’ve asked more questions.”

“Zimmer’s a con man at heart,” Jess said. “He knows what to say and when and how to be convincing about it.”

Sonya caught Connor nodding along. “Eventually that will bite him in the ass.”

“Please let it be today,” Sonya murmured to herself.

Jess lifted a hand in salute to the charter boat as it glided by. “Take a seat, Connor. We’re in a holding pattern until Zimmer is on that boat with the girls. That’s what it will take to make the federal charges stick.”

“I’ll behave,” Sonya promised when Connor gave her a long look. “You do the same.”

He grunted and turned to Jess. “What do you think Zimmer told the girls to keep them content all this time? I just can’t make sense of it.”

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