Page 98 of A Real Good Bad Thing

Her scoff turned into a deep, incredulous laugh. “It felt like I’d gotten a pie in my face at a carnival. But then Eli told me at lunch that he wants to do right by my mom and make up for how unfair he was in the divorce.” She sighed and sipped her drink. “I don’t know what to think.”

I nodded, taking time to process. I wanted to be supportive, but I was wary she was having second thoughts about our partnership in non-crime. So, I kept my response simple. “I get it. You feel torn.”

Stretching my arm, I set my drink on the grass under the hammock and then reached for Ruby’s leg. I rubbed her calf, enjoying the warmth of her skin before speaking again. “I know you feel pulled, and I know you’re frustrated, too, that we’re coming up empty. But we’re close, so close. The diamonds are somewhere here on this island. I know we can set things right.”

She shot me a helpless stare. “But they could be anywhere.Anywhere.We’ve turned over every stone, and all we’ve gotten was a handful of nuts.”

“I’m not ready to give up.” While she was low, I could stay upbeat for the both of us. It wasn’t just Andrew’s incentive leading me to soldier on. I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. Sure, some cases went cold, but this one felt crackable, and I didn’t want to lose my partner.

Ruby stirred her drink with the swirly straw as if sorting through her thoughts. “What if Eli didn’t take the money from his company? Is there a possibility we haven’t considered?”

“Like what?” I asked, careful not to shoot down an idea I hadn’t even heard.

She paused, like she needed to be careful with her next words. “What if it’s Andrew?” Her voice was thready with doubt.

“What makes you say that?” I asked, calmly. I had a feeling I knew the answer.

“Eli,” she admitted with a slightly guilty look, like she felt bad for even thinking it. “He said some things at lunch suggesting it might be him.”

Yup, I was right. Eli had cast blame on his former business partner, and well, in my mind, there was nothing more suspicious than that. “Did Eli have a reason for thinking Andrew might have skimmed the money?” I asked evenly.

“He told me that Andrew has been in love with my mother for years.” Ruby added awhat’s the deal with thatlook. “What a thing to say out of nowhere.”

I frowned, thinking over past conversations with my client. “Actually, Andrew gave your mom an offhand kind of compliment yesterday. He said you take after her.”

Ruby gave a short but genuine laugh. “That’s not necessarily a compliment.”

Running my hand over her calf, I assured her, “It is if she’s as tenacious and strong as her daughter.”

Crinkling her freckled nose, she set her empty glass on the ground and pushed up onto her elbows. “Jake,” she said softly, “do you trust Andrew? How do we know for sure what he’s told you is legit?”

“Kate vetted everything beforehand. I wouldn’t have taken the job if I didn’t believe his info was solid and checked out,” I said, feeling enough certainty for both of us. Maybe I could impart some of my own to her.

“What if Kate made a mistake though?”

I blinked at this unexpected turn. “Excuse me?”

“What if those documents and emails were doctored?”

“No. I saw them myself.” Where was she going? I thought we were past this distrust. Also, it was one thing to doubt my character when she barely knew me and another to doubt actual evidence. “Kate specializes in document analysis. She doesn’t make mistakes.”

Ruby hummed thoughtfully, like she was accepting my answer. “Maybe I’d feel differently if I weren’t so personally involved.” Her voice was threaded with frustration as much as suspicion. “I just feel like I’ve had to take people’s word for everything, and it’s led to nothing but dead ends and, oh yeah, the theft of the one thing Ididhave,” she said, so clearly disappointed. “I don’t want to take Eli’s word for things either. I’m just tired of being in the dark.”

I paused, soaking that in. I’d said I understood that she felt torn, but I could only imagine. It was personal for Ruby in a different way.

“Ruby,” I said softly, and running my fingertips down her arm. She tensed. Selfishly, I couldn’t risk fighting with her like this. There was too much at stake. She might tip off Eli. She might turn her back on me. She might cross me. I didn’t think she would, but shecould.

But even more than that, I hated to see her hurting.

I skimmed my fingers down her bare skin once more. This time, she softened. “I know it’s hard. I want to solve this too. I get that it’s tough for you because it’s personal,” I whispered.

“Thanks for understanding. I almost wish I’d left it alone. I feel helpless,” she said in a broken whisper, devoid of anger now, laced only with sadness. “I feel like we’re being set up. Everywhere we turn, we hit a snag.”

“That’s the nature of a case like this. Three steps forward. Two steps back.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the diamonds were with the charity. Or with Nigel. He made the strangest comment when I left today that made me think he knew the combo to my safe. Or maybe Tristan has them. He’s trying to make a deal with my stepdad to carry some new drink.”

“Or with the sex-toy diamond saleswoman,” I said, thinking it was more likely Monica had lifted the diamond from Ruby’s room the other night. She knew the value, after all. She knew Ruby too. “It’s entirely possible that she wanted that diamond of yours from the second I showed it to her at the store. She could have followed us to figure out where you were staying.”

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