Jewel Heist. JJ Keller

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      John Kajiyama, Special Investigation Agent, wanted to go into his stateroom and immediately erase the interaction from his memory, and the tape before it got admitted into evidence. His colleagues at Atlantic Coast Investigations would tease him endlessly for the Bang Wang comment, if word ever got out. He knew without a doubt the bug he’d hidden while Mary was freshening-up would have caught his surprise at the mention of diamonds.

      He shook his head as he followed Mary down the corridor. Bang Wang. His only excuse was her tempting body and quick wit, in addition to being on an adult cruise. She’d think any randy male passenger would hit on her, so he’d played the part. Yes, that’s what he’d tell his colleagues when they were laughing their asses off. He was adapting to the role.

      Would she take a partner back to her room each night? He’d have difficulty listening to the bump and grind, knowing she was with someone other than him. According to the patterns forming from the data on the pivot chart, Conrad Peabody would eventually contact her, maybe even on the ship or in one of the ports. One way or another he’d find out if she was part of the robbery.

      John’s associate, Debbie Gilbert, would also be searching for Peabody or his partner in crime, Andee Waterman, on the cruise. The thieves were caught on tape for a total of one minute and fifty nine seconds robbing Keefe’s Finest Jewels, enough to show them using a gun and binding Mary’s wrists and blindfolding her. Fortunately her sales clerk had gone to a dental appointment, which made Mary’s role in the heist all the more suspicious.

      Waterman had been the one to disable the guard and the camera. The close up indicated he had a tobacco chewing habit. When John and Debbie got past the yellow police tape and into the store, he’d secured a sample of the brown spit and sent the evidence to ACFI’s lab. DNA led them to Waterman, who had priors. A simple match and evidence was logged. The two thieves had laid a clever escape route and immediately gone underground.

      John’s gut told him they would appear on the cruise or at one of the ports. Needless to say the passenger manifest didn’t list their given names. Debbie had verified the employees on paper, and during the cruise she’d evaluate the crew with a great deal of care, looking for the two criminals.

      Loud blasts of calypso music punctured his eardrums as Mary led him into the pool area. Merry makers were already sipping on straws coming out the top of fake coconut shells. Strong perfume scents rippled through the breeze blowing off the warm ocean water. Many of the colorful sarongs women were wearing wouldn’t be enough material to keep them comfy when the wind took on a chill later in the night. But of course, that could be the very reason they wore the thin, short garments. This was hook-up central.

      He had four days to discover if it had all been a con and Mary was in on the game. He’d attach to her like an insect to a fly strip.

      She sidled up to the Tiki Station, a bar decorated in palm leaves, fake torches and curved banana-shaped bar stools. The bartender–Ryan according to his tag–offered Mary a tuberose and orchid lei. His hands slid along her breasts as he lowered the ring of flowers. Mary’s bosom lifted and lowered as if she breathed excitedly. The floral scent filtered into John’s nostrils. While he appreciated the simple beauty of the white, lavender and magenta necklace, he didn’t like the interaction between Mary and Ryan.

      Across from the Tiki Station, a reggae band ended a song by Bob Marley, and to John’s surprise and pleasure, started Right Time, by The Mighty Diamonds. John took a seat beside Mary and held his palm out as Ryan offered him the lei. Too bad she didn’t offer to lei him.

      “Here.” John held out the flowers. She winked and wrapped the delicate blooms around her wrist.

      “Tonight’s specials are the Mai Tai and the Zombie. Either of you interested?” Ryan held a Tiki mug, a square coconut with a face embossed on the side. The bartender was ready to create the magic of an island drink.

      “What’s in a Zombie?” She leaned on the bamboo surface and held her face cupped in her hands.

      “Fruit juices, rum, apricot brandy, and a cherry,” Ryan said.

      “I’ll take a Zombie,” John answered and clicked on his Blackberry to read a text, but watched Mary.

      Mary leaned farther on the counter and whispered into Ryan’s ear. He grinned as if her closeness was an extreme tip. John had to agree. Her lips touching his ear would be well worth more than any cash reward.

      “Orgeat syrup?”

      She nodded.

      “Okay then, one Zombie and one Mai Tai.” Ryan set a tall glass and a coconut cup on the counter. Mary quizzed the guy about his family and life style. Was this job his living, as in life’s goal, or just a break from existence?

      Ryan didn’t pause in his drink preparations as he answered her laundry list of questions. He was clearly interested in her as a woman, not just for the tips. John didn’t listen to all of her questions, but what he did overhear made him curious about her odd interrogation. Maybe small talk wasn’t part of her nature, as she told Ryan her aunt had provided the cruise and then passed away from a massive heart attack. As far as John knew, she’d told a lie. If she was trying find a method to sell the diamonds, her technique was weird and off course.

      Ryan went into his family’s history as he plopped the ugly brown mug, complete with a yellow umbrella, beside John. With a half-smile, he set a highball glass with an orchid and pineapple slice on the lip in front of Mary.

      She took a sip. “Umm, this is good. I can taste the almonds and orange flower water. What did you call it?”

      “Orgeat syrup, but it’s not nearly as sweet as you, Mary.” The beverage aficionado’s voice was as sweet as the syrupy drink.

      Her thirty-carat smile came into play, and despite the pleasant buzz from the Zombie, John wanted to barf. He swiveled around to evaluate the other passengers and the staff, hoping to spot Waterman or Peabody and get this gig over with before he made more of a fool of himself. Some couples danced in the taped-off area near the pool, but many women simply stood, swaying to the music. A few glanced his way, so he nodded in acknowledgment.

      Mary dug through her large handbag and drew out her phone. A moment later, she lined up a shot. John glanced at Ryan, who had no problem posing, and then rolled his eyes.

      What Goes Around Comes Around jived from the three member band as a tall gangly blond man approached СКАЧАТЬ