Love, Money, and Lies

by Olivia Saxton

  “That’s a good idea, but can you do it without raising any red flags?”

  “Yeah. I’ll just route it to look like the funds came from other institutions. It will take me a few hours, though. On New Year’s Eve, I had already preprogrammed the transactions in advance.”

  “We’re not going anywhere.”

  They started searching for the IDs for Aaron’s other alias. Ten minutes went by before Bobbi found it in a compartment on the yacht in the captain’s station. Margo pulled out her laptop and got to work. Two hours later, she had split twenty-five million dollars; half in the account of one of Bobbi’s aliases and the other half to Margo’s number account in Switzerland. Just in case both her fake IDs were compromised, she would still have something. Granted, she had plenty in that account, but a little more never hurt.

  “Did you check on him?” Margo asked as Bobbi came back.

  “Not yet. I’m putting it off, to be honest.”

  “I understand, but we have to feed him. Even though he killed Aaron, two wrongs don’t make a right.”

  Bobbi nodded. “I guess, but if he’s starving, I don’t feel bad about it.” She walked out of the sitting room.

  Margo put her laptop in the bag where she had her IDs and money. Then she remembered that she used one of the IDs to check into a room at the yacht club. Aaron’s body would be discovered in the morning by a maid. She couldn’t use it for anything now. A knot formed in her throat when she realized that twenty-five million dollars of her money was gone.

  Oh well, I still have the other alias and the Swiss account.

  She ran her hand through her hair as she went down the stairs. They had dragged Anthony to Aaron’s bedroom just in case someone boarded the ship. The last thing they needed was someone seeing a man who was passed out and tied up on the floor.

  Margo was about to round the corner when she overheard a conversation that stopped her in her tracks.

  “You know I’m speaking sense,” Anthony hissed. “If she gets caught, that boyfriend of hers will see that she gets a good deal to rat us out.”

  “Margo’s not a rat.”

  “No one is a rat until they are facing twenty to L. Look, I know you two are close, but we are talking about survival here. You know I’m right.”

  Bobbi was silent.

  “If you can’t do it, give me the gun back, and I’ll do it. We’ll stash her body in the closet, and when we take off tomorrow, we’ll dump her body in the ocean.”

  “You actually think I’ll give you the gun back? You tried to shoot me earlier,” Bobbi sneered.

  “I wasn’t going to shoot you. I was just going to scare you with it – force you to make a choice. Either escape Cancun with me, or stay with Margo and take your chances.”

  They were quiet for a moment.

  Margo wasn’t sure if she should interrupt or not. It’s not everyday someone overhears two people talking about murdering someone, especially when that someone is you.

  “We can pull it off, Bobbi. And we’ll have Margo and Aaron’s extra cash in their bags. We’ll drive the boat to South America and dump it. Stay there until the heat dies down and then go our separate ways.”

  Bobbi didn’t say a word.

  “If you run upstairs and do it now, she won’t suspect a thing.”

  “Don’t rush me. This is a big decision. It’s not like I think about killing someone every day. I don’t usually think about it at all.”

  Margo’s eyes bulged. It might be the stupidest thing she had ever done, but she’d rather risk getting caught then stick around and wait to see if her best friend was going to shoot her or not. She quickly and quietly climbed the stairs. When she got to the sitting room, she grabbed her duffle bag that had her cash, gun, laptop, and IDs in it. Margo had no choice but to leave the suitcase with her clothes and makeup in it behind. She had to travel light.

  Using her gun on Anthony and Bobbi was not an option. She maybe a hacker and a thief, but she wasn’t a killer – despite the fact that people she had known for years were contemplating killing her.

  She walked out on the deck, and she moved as quickly and quietly as she could. Sweat rolled down her back and it tickled her forehead and temple as she made her way to the yacht club lobby. The doorman was about to open the door for her.

  “Excuse me, but is there a bus station around here?”

  “Si, tour bus.”

  “No, no. A bus to leave Cancun,” she explained.

  “Oh, si, but you wouldn’t want to go to that part of the city. Not safe for tourists. You’d be better renting a car.”

  She would have to fill out paperwork to rent a car. That was not an option. “Taxi? Will they take American dollars?”

  “If you use the company we are partnered with, they will.”

  By a stroke of luck, a taxi was pulling up to the entrance. A black couple was getting out of it. “Is that one of the taxis the yacht club is partnered with?”

  “Si.”

  “Thanks.” She hurried over to it. “Excuse me, are you finished with this taxi?”

  “Yes. You’re welcomed to it,” the man said.

  “Thanks.”

  The man held the door out for her as she hopped in.

  “Airport?” the driver asked.

  “No. Drive me to Playa de Carmen.” It wasn’t far, but it was far enough away from Bobbi and Anthony. She’d get a room there and figure out her next move.

  “That’s over an hour drive. It’ll be dark soon, and my shift ends in thirty minutes.”

  “Look, if you take me there and drop me off at a motel right now, I will pay you mucho dinero.”

  “How much?”

  “I’ll pay the fair and give you a three-hundred-dollar tip.”

  His eyes squinted. “You better be telling me the truth.”

  “I am, but I won’t give you a damn dime until you get me there — now,” she said sternly. The next thing she knew, her body lunged backward as the taxi screeched out of the parking lot.

  Chapter 43

  It was eleven a.m. the next day. Bruce and Alec had been called to Rolls’s office by Blanchette. This had to be a big deal. Rolls didn’t call any agents to his office unless they were in deep trouble or a raid had to be organized.

  When they got to Rolls’s office, Blanchette, Vic, Tommy, Troy, and Jack were already there.

  “Thanks for coming, boys,” Rolls said. “I think we got a break this morning. Two people fitting the description of one of our suspects were spotted in Cancun, Mexico.”

  “That was fast,” Jack commented.

  “Well, if a dead body wasn’t discovered in one of the suspect’s room, it wouldn’t have been that fast,” Blanchette spat out.

  “What?” Alec blurted out.

  “A poor maid at the Sunset Marina Resort & Yacht Club got the shock of her life this morning. She opened the door and wham, dead body; American mid- to late thirties. According to the Mexican federales, the corpse fit the description of Aaron Stokes,” Blanchette said.

  Rolls cleared his throat.

  “I mean the Mexican National Guard,” Blanchette corrected.

  “Someone got greedy and wanted more of a cut?” Tommy asked.

  “Don’t know, but we do know that he was shot four times in the chest. The Mexicans questioned the guests on that floor. No one heard gunshots,” Blanchette said. “His body is at the morgue in Cancun waiting for pick up.”

  “The room was registered to a Misty Phillips,” Rolls added.

  “Who is that supposed to be?” Vic asked.

  “A resort clerk and manager said Misty had long blonde hair down her back and blue eyes. They swore it was the woman in the picture that the National Guard showed to them.”

  Please God let it be Bobbi with a peroxide job and contacts that make her eyes look blue.

  “The description fit Margo St. John,” Blanchette said.

  Alec, Bruce, and Vic’s face contorted.

  “Seriously?” Vic commented
.

  “Yeah, why?” Rolls said.

  “Well, I met her at one of Alec’s parties. She didn’t seem like the type to shoot someone.”

  “You know her?” Rolls asked Alec.

  “She used to live on my street, sir. My wife invited her to the party,” Alec answered.

  Rolls rolled his eyes. “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time you knew someone that was involved in a high-profile case,” he mumbled.

  Alec’s eyes squinted. Bruce knew he didn’t appreciate the comment.

  Bruce was just grateful that Rolls didn’t know that he had dated and fell in love with one of the suspects. Rolls was so out of touch with the field agents that he didn’t know half their names much less what went on behind closed doors. Blanchette didn’t tell him anything personal about the agents unless he absolutely had to.

  “The Dallas field office wants me to send a few of my own to assist,” Rolls said.

  “Assist? We’re the ones who broke the case open,” Tommy said.

  “Yes, but the crime was committed in Dallas,” Rolls countered.

  “Not if the system was hacked in Tampa and Special Agent Styles had determined that it was,” Vic said.

  “That’s something for the US attorneys to determine, not us. Let’s not turn this into a pissing contest. We’re all on the same side,” Rolls said.

  Bruce started clenching and unclenching his jaw. If we catch her in Cancun and she’s taken to Dallas, they will eat her alive.

  ****

  They were on a small private plane. Blanchette handed out briefing folders. Then he spoke. “If we do get one of them, we want them alive, if possible. Do not show aggression unless the suspects do. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir,” they all replied.

  “US Marshalls have been called in to assist as well,” Blanchette stated. “We need to make sure we do everything by the book. The last thing we need is for these crooks to get off on a technicality involving their arrest.”

  Bruce’s mind was reeling. He was on an assignment to capture and transport a woman he was madder than hell at. When the agents had left Rolls’s office, they had disbursed to their separate corners to get their gear. Blanchette had come into Bruce’s office. He had wanted to make sure he was up for the task at hand. Bruce had assured him he was because he wanted to get to the bottom of this more than any agent that would be on the plane. Blanchette had nodded, but he made it clear that if Bruce showed any signs of over emotion, he was going to get benched.

  During the flight, Bruce had looked over the briefing file twenty times as his thoughts of Margo plagued him. He felt like a complete fool. An illegal hacker was right under his nose and in his bed, and he didn’t realize it.

  ****

  The motel wasn’t what Margo had become accustomed to during the past seven years, but at least it wasn’t as bad as the apartment she had to live in as a teenager. But she didn’t need much. Margo wanted a place where she had privacy and people didn’t ask too many questions, and that’s exactly where the cab driver had taken her to.

  The room had double beds with old-looking comforters with cigarette holes in them. The walls were a hideous shade of green, the carpet had stains, and the bathroom was plain, but clean.

  She had slept till noon. There were small shops across the street. She picked up a change of clothes and lunch. When she took a bite of the burrito, she thought best not to eat any more of it. She picked at the taco salad. After taking a shower, she put on the pink bikini top and jean shorts. Margo was going to pull out her laptop to see if she was featured online as the new FBI target when she heard commotion outside. She walked to the front window and looked out. Her heart stopped when she saw Mexican authorities, US Marshalls, and American FBI walking the grounds and knocking on doors.

  Shit! Margo grabbed her bag and headed to the back window. She slid the glass to the side and threw her bag out first. Then she climbed through the window. When she picked up the bag, she saw two little Mexican boys staring at her. She placed her finger over her mouth and dashed into the bushes behind the motel.

  Chapter 44

  The doorman at the Sunset Marina Resort & Yacht Club remembered Margo. He had told the agents that she took a cab yesterday and he hadn’t seen her since. He had also told them the cab company she used to leave.

  After questioning and showing eight cab drivers her picture, they had finally found the one that had driven her to Playa del Carmen. The break got better when he told them the name of the motel he had dropped her off at.

  They were only half a day behind her. Chances were that she was still there. The Mexican National Guard had let the US Marshalls and the FBI borrow a couple of their vehicles to drive to Playa del Carmen. Four Dallas field agents and two US Marshalls had stayed behind to talk to passing tourists and show them pictures of the other suspects.

  FBI agents and US Marshalls spread out at the small, humble-looking motel like ants. They showed her picture to people in the area. The desk clerk was so scared when he saw them, he told them what room number she was in.

  The teams got into position and drew their weapons. Vic and Tommy were at the door. Tommy knocked on the door so hard that it shook the window next to the door. There was no answer. Tommy looked at Bruce.

  He knew what Tommy was expecting. He normally kicked a door in on an assignment because he was the only who was strong enough to do it in one kick. Bruce approached the door, trying not to look overly solemn, he lifted his foot and put all the force he could into the kick.

  The door swung open, and they swarmed. Nine guys yelled “FBI!” as the two US Marshalls yelled their credentials.

  Alec went into the bathroom. “Clear,” he announced.

  They looked around the room. The TV was off, the back window was open, the bed was unmade, and the lamp was on.

  Blanchette dumped the trash can. There was a half-eaten salad and a burrito that had barely been touched. “I think we just missed her.”

  “She couldn’t have gotten far,” Vic stated.

  They filed out of the room.

  “The back window was open,” Brad Tully, from the Dallas FBI, said. “She might have seen us and climbed out of it.”

  The team jogged to the end of the motel and swooped around to the back. Two little boys were throwing a ball back and forth. The boy who had the ball in his hands dropped it when he saw the gringos with guns and black vest.

  “Hola,” Bruce said to them as he knelt down to their level. “Did you see a woman with long blonde hair come this way?” he asked in Spanish. He put his gun in his holster.

  The boys looked at each other, but they didn’t say a word.

  “Look, it’s really important that we find that lady,” he said in Spanish.

  They looked at Bruce’s backup.

  “Are you going to hurt her?” one of them asked in Spanish.

  “No, but we really need to find her. She doesn’t know it, but we are here to help her,” he explained.

  “You promise you won’t hurt her?” the other boy asked in Spanish.

  “I promise.”

  “What about them?” the other boy asked and pointed at the rest of the men.

  Bruce looked over his shoulder at everyone. “They know something, but their afraid to tell me because they think we are going to hurt her. Put the guns down.”

  Everyone lowered their guns. Some of them put their weapons back in their holsters.

  “We are not going to hurt her. We are trying to find her to get her home,” one of the US Marshalls said in Spanish.

  The boys looked at each other.

  “She looked scared,” one of them said in Spanish.

  “When did you see her?” Bruce asked.

  “A few minutes ago. She climbed out of that window,” the other boy answered and pointed at the motel.

  “Which way did she go?” Bruce asked in Spanish.

  The other boy pointed to the weeds. “Through the tall grass. She probably ended up at the waterfa
ll.”

  “There’s nothing back there but woods and rocks,” the other boy said.

  “Gracias,” Bruce said and rubbed one of the boy’s heads. He stood up straight. Then he told the agents in English what the boys had told him.

  ****

  Margo prayed that no one heard the gun shot and kept moving. She didn’t know if that snake was poisonous, but what she did know was that it was heading right for her.

  The sound of water got louder with every step. Margo pushed through the thicket of bushes in front of her. She stared at the large waterfall. Large gray rocks surrounded it. Greenery was everywhere. Margo was as city girl. She would be lost forever in the woods if there wasn’t anything beyond what she saw. Knowing that the agents couldn’t be far behind her, she secured her bag over her shoulder, stuffed her pistol in her pocket, and took a chance. Running over to the fall, she started scaling the rocks that were dry. Luckily, she was wearing tennis shoes that had a good tread on them. She got to a ledge and pulled herself up, grunting with agony as her limbs trembled. The bag was getting heavy, but she couldn’t leave it behind. Everything she needed to disappear was in it. Somehow, she found the strength and got on the ledge. Then she carefully walked around to the hard-streaming water. Her wish came true when she saw an opening behind the water into the rock. If she had to climb up to the second ledge, she wouldn’t have made it. It would have taken too long, and running in the Mexican heat had taken a lot out of her. Margo was about to enter the cave when she felt something tickle her hand that was braced against the rock. She looked over to see a large tarantula ticking her finger with one of its hairy legs. She shrieked long and loud with terror as she jumped from the ledge into the pool of water below.

  Everything was a blur as she hit the water. The pool was deep, so there was little chance that she had injured herself, but there was one problem. She couldn’t make it back to the surface. The bag was weighing her down too much. Margo struggled to get the strap over her head and off her shoulder, but her energy was depleted from scaling the rocks above. She could feel herself suffocating, but she breathed in water. Everything started going black.