Page 5 of Island Holiday

“Me,” Jess clarified. “I’m right here. As the regional coordinator for the agency, I could have put a professional investigator on Zimmer at any time.”

“Which is probably a thousand times more effective than me bumbling around. But he doesn’t know me. He’s never seen me before.” That probably wasn’t a lie. She’d put herself in his path, but he hadn’t considered her worthy of his con. She wasn’t sure if she should be offended or relieved. “I didn’t know I could contact you directly.”

“Technically, no. But I wouldn’t have turned you away.” A hint of a smile tilted her mouth. “Or tattled.”

“How did you know I was here?” Sonya asked.

“Because Gamble has had someone tracking you. Easy,” she added when Sonya tensed, her gaze scanning searching the area for a tail she should’ve spotted. “He’s been working remotely so you wouldn’t get spooked.”

That gave her pause. “I’m plenty spooked now.”

“Good.” Jess sat back and crossed her legs.

Her mind raced toward the worst-case scenario. “Are you here to tell me I’m fired?” She probably deserved it.

“Not even close.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” Sonya caught sight of Zimmer once more, still strolling along, watching the activity in the marina. “Does Gamble have a theory about why my target is here?”

“Not that he’s shared with me,” Jess admitted. “I’ve looked at the file you provided.”

“And?” Sonya prompted.

Jess raised her coffee. “And I think you’re right to be concerned. I made a couple of discreet calls.” She paused. “Former cop. Suspicion is my wheelhouse.”

Sonya waited, curious about a professional assessment of Zimmer’s approach to the consumer testing and travel behavior.

“Usually, when things look wrong, they are,” Jess continued. “The suitcase company itself arranged for their products to be shipped around the world, offering plenty of proof that they hold up to the demands of travel. Your target routes his testers through smaller airports, mid-size flights. Hardly any test at all.”

“I agree.”

“What I did learn—entirely by accident—is that three of his testers had their original return flights changed.”

Sonya jerked. “Oh, my God.” Guilt shot through her, pinched her heart. “Where are they?” If ever there had been a time to hate her single-minded focus on the money, this was it. “I knew I was missing something.”

“Stand down, my friend. I’ve sent it up the chain of command and the researchers are picking it apart.”

“What does that mean?”

“So far, they’ve traced the social media accounts. All three are women, college students, and they’ve left cryptic posts on social media about being hand-selected for a special new project. A collage of still photos shows the young women happily posing with the suitcases, in an ‘undisclosed’ location.”

Sonya believed their research team could crack anything. “Meta-data, scenery clues, anything?”

“Not yet. One theory is that the backgrounds were altered.”

Sonya’s stomach sank. “I’ve screwed up so badly.”

“This isn’t on you,” Jess said firmly. “With your target here, I’ve verified that the women aren’t here as well. But no one wants you to become a statistic. You need to back off now. Unless you want to get into the field work.”

“Good grief, no way.” Her palms went damp just imagining it. “I mean, being a protector sounds sexy and looks exciting, but everyone knows I’m better with numbers.” She sighed. “And you caught me unawares to prove the point.”

“Maybe a little,” Jess admitted. “Tell me why this situation is pushing you out of your comfort zone.”

Sonya looked down at the oversized holiday cookie. “Want to split it with me?”

“Absolutely.” Jess grinned. “But I won’t forget I asked the question.”

“I’m not evading. My eyes are just bigger than my stomach.” Especially now that her stomach was in knots over Zimmer and the three young women who weren’t where they were supposed to be.

---