The Sapphire Heist (A Jewel Novel Book 2)

by Lauren Blakely

  He held up a hand, like a stop sign. “No, my dear. I need to talk to you. I’ve been thinking about what you said the other day at brunch.”

  “You have?” she asked, taken aback.

  “Indeed. I’ve done some soul searching and you’re right. I wasn’t fair to Shelly.”

  Her chin clanged to the ground like a cartoon character. Eli didn’t apologize for anything. This was front-page news. “In the divorce? You weren’t fair in the divorce you mean?” she asked, needing to be very specific. She didn’t want an ounce of confusion about this moment.

  He shrugged an admission as he lifted his champagne flute. “That. Yes. But also while I was married to her. I wasn’t fair then, either.”

  “What?” She rubbed her finger against her ear. Was she hearing things?

  He sighed heavily. “Look. I’ve made some mistakes. I was, for lack of a better word, a bit of a schmuck.”

  “A bit?” Her voice rose. To the ceiling. Perhaps to Mars, even.

  “OK, more than a bit,” he conceded as a waiter brought gourmet burgers to a nearby table. “I could have done many things differently. Isla has been helping me to see that. She’s helping me to be a better man. To make up for my past mistakes and to move on with a clean slate.”

  “So, like, making up for cheating on Mom multiple times?” Steph countered.

  “Now, Steph, my dear,” he said in a firm voice, setting down the glass.

  But before he could continue, the salt-and-pepper-haired Tristan scurried over, beaming as he reached the table. He dropped a hand on Eli’s shoulder. “How is everything so far? Is my waitstaff treating you well?”

  “They’re the best on the island, Tristan. Always have been,” Eli said, flashing his trademark smile.

  “Ah, you flatter me, but I’ll take it.” Tristan wagged a finger at Eli. “I’ll be sure to send you one of my new chocolate concoctions for dessert,” he said, then gestured to the maître d’ stand before Eli could reply. “Must go.”

  “Chocolate concoctions?” Steph asked.

  “He fancies himself a chocolatier,” Eli said dismissively.

  “There are far worse things to be.”

  He flashed a grin. “So true.”

  With Tristan out of sight, Steph returned to the conversation, “Are you going to apologize to Mom now? Maybe try to settle matters a bit more fairly?”

  “Let’s not get into those matters. I said I was sorry, and I fully intend to let Shelly know that I’m working hard on becoming a better man and turning over a new leaf. And I will do everything I can to see if I can make things more equitable.”

  Steph raised an eyebrow and shot an approving nod. “Like paying alimony? Changing the terms of the settlement?”

  He nodded, but then made a rolling gesture with his hands. “Let’s not spend our time delving into the specifics of dirty little money matters. Suffice it to say, I’m making changes, and Isla is by my side every step of the way. Some of the money from the sale of the Lynx art has gone to charity,” he said, and though she’d previously wondered if Isla was somehow laundering diamond money through the charity, the thought now occurred to her that his new giving side might truly be part of this makeover. The possibility tugged at her heart. “We’re hosting a small gathering at her gallery in a few days to raise more money for the African charity. You should come to it if you’re still in town.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “This is all part of my commitment to reinvention,” he said, gesturing to himself, as if he were presenting the new mold of stepdad.

  She thoroughly approved of Eli 2.0.

  “You’re trying to become a new man,” she said, wonder coloring her tone. A happy, contented sensation bloomed inside her chest. All along, everyone had thought he was irredeemable. Her mom, Andrew, Jake—they were steadfast that Eli was all bad. But this was why she came to the Caymans early. This was her hope. That he was changing. That he was willing to move beyond his mistakes. It bolstered her to take another step. To try harder to be the one to help him make amends. “Does this whole coming clean approach extend to your company?”

  He cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

  “Eli,” she said in a soft but chiding tone as she went out on a limb here. She glanced from left to right, leaned in closer, and lowered her voice. “I’m twenty-eight. I’m active online. I hear what people say about your company and why you left.”

  She’d heard no such thing online, but it seemed a plausible enough thing to read about, and perhaps it would help her get to the truth.

  “What did you hear?”

  Her voice dipped even lower. “They say you, ya know”—she made a motion with her hands, like she was sweeping—“skimmed a little off the top.”

  His eyebrows shot into his hairline. “They say that?” He sounded incredulous. “Oh, ho ho. They say wrong. Why do you think I left the Eli Fund? I loved that company, but I could not tolerate Andrew’s chicanery any longer.”

  Now it was her turn to furrow her brow. “Andrew? What do you mean?”

  He beckoned for her to come closer, and she practically rested her torso across the plates and silverware because she was dying to hear this new spin.

  “He stole money from the shareholders,” Eli whispered, and if a person could be comprised solely of one emotion, one feeling, one sensation, it had happened to Steph. She was stitched through with shock. In seconds, her mind began to spin with new twists and turns. Was Andrew setting up Jake? Was Andrew setting me up? He’d always seemed like a good guy, but was he the one who’d stolen the money? Had he tried to pin the stolen funds on Eli? What if Andrew had taken the money? What if the diamonds were just Eli’s diamonds, and Andrew’s evidence was doctored?

  Her stomach rose and fell like a roller coaster.

  “He did?” she asked, her throat dry.

  Eli nodded. “That’s what I believe to be true.”

  “Why do you believe that? Why would he do that?”

  “He wanted to impress your mother.”

  “Why?”

  Eli shot her a look that said, You can’t be serious. “Steph. You really don’t know?”

  She shook her head.

  “Andrew has been in love with her forever. He’s known her since college. They’re old friends. But he wants to be more. So what does he do when she’s single? He nicks a little off the top because he thinks he can buy her love.”

  “You’re saying he skimmed money off the company to impress my mom?”

  “I’m saying that if there was money missing from the Eli Fund, fingers should be pointed at him, not at yours truly. That’s all,” he said, then shook his head in disbelief. “And I highly suspect it’s to feed this lifelong obsession he’s had with Shelly. He thought he would be the one to comfort her after your father died.”

  She winced. She didn’t like hearing anyone talk this way about her father. “Please don’t bring my dad into this,” she whispered, her voice threatening to break.

  “I’m sorry, dear. But you asked why I believed that. And the reality is Andrew has been carrying a torch for Shelly for years.”

  Steph cringed. “But he’s married and has children,” she said, but then again, so was Eli when he dipped his stick elsewhere.

  He nodded. “Indeed. All the more reason, as you can see, why I don’t trust the man. All the more reason why I got out of that company.”

  After the waiter set down the salads, Eli dug into his and pronounced it delicious. “I could eat salad every day and be happy,” he said with a broad smile. “And I used to just be a steak man.”

  A memory resurfaced of dinners growing up, and Eli manning the barbecue. He loved grilling; he’d hated salads. But he’d changed, evidently. Fine. That was over something seemingly small, like one’s regular choice of meat or veggies for lunch. But he was changing in other ways, too, like giving more money to charity. Was it possible that he’d seen the light? That his love for Isla and vice versa had transformed
him?

  Their affection for each other seemed truly genuine. Maybe love could change a cad, a thief, a bastard. Maybe there were no stolen diamonds to retrieve. Only diamonds he well and truly owned.

  Steph ate her chicken salad, wondering whether her stepfather’s personal makeover changed her next steps.

  When the chocolate dessert concoction arrived, Eli seemed to savor the first sip. Then he wrinkled his nose. “Nuts,” he said in disgust.

  “There are nuts in it?”

  “I hate nuts,” he said.

  “Funny,” she said drily. “We have that in common.”

  Sometime during lunch, the sky heated up. The blissful island air turned hot, as her weather app had predicted, and the sun sweltered. Steph tugged at the cotton of her sundress as she walked to Eli’s car.

  “Every now and then we get these brief heat waves,” he said with a shrug as he opened the door for her. She slid inside, and when he joined her, he cranked up the air-conditioning. The cool jets were welcome, and Steph sighed in appreciation.

  “Best car AC ever,” she said.

  Eli patted the dashboard. “It is. It’s like the perfect blast of chilly air, but never too much.”

  “Sure beats the crummy AC in my rental,” she said as she relaxed in the beige leather seat as they drove toward the club.

  “What did you rent?”

  “A Jeep.”

  At the light, he slowed, then turned to her. “Take this one.”

  “What?”

  “Yes. Take it. I have another car. Use this while you’re here.”

  “Eli, I can’t do that.”

  “You just said the AC isn’t working well.”

  “It’s not, but—”

  “And this AC works swimmingly, right?”

  “Yes,” she muttered.

  “So drive it while you’re here. There’s absolutely no reason not to,” he said as the light changed and they cruised along the strip of concrete, the ocean hugging them on one side.

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I know I don’t have to. But I want to,” he said, patting her thigh in a fatherly way. “Look, I know I wasn’t a model husband, or even always a good man, when you were younger. But I’ve always thought of you as my daughter, and I’ve always liked the idea of helping you. Maybe I haven’t done enough to make that clear over the past few years, but I’m trying to be more giving now. To stop being so focused on Eli Thompson and to focus more on others. And if something as small as letting you use my car for the next few days helps you, then it would mean the world to me if you said yes.”

  The heat of the sun warmed her shoulder through the closed window, and the vents piped cool air. There was no point saying no, especially if this was part of the amends. She said yes. When they reached the club, Eli parked the car out front and told her he’d be right back. “Just need to grab my extra keys from my desk drawer for you,” he said.

  “Thank you again.”

  She got out of the car and leaned against the passenger door as she waited for him. The security guy was there, like a sentry. He nodded at her, a flicker of a smile at the corners of his lips. She flashed back to something Isla had said at her house party.

  “Oh, Eli got called away into the club. Had to check on a security issue there. You can never be too careful, you know.”

  As the man guarded the door like he was the last line of defense in a war, Steph wondered what sort of security matters the club had faced a few nights ago. Come to think of it, the evening Eli was called away happened to be precisely one night after Jake and Steph had scoped out the club—during that stakeout, Jake had spotted the manager eating nuts while leaving Eli’s office.

  Her spine tingled.

  Ferdinand had been at Isla’s party. He’d been at Happy Turtle during one of her visits. Had he also slipped into Steph’s hotel room?

  She wrapped her arms around herself even though she wasn’t cold. A minute later, the security guy opened the door for Eli. He wasn’t alone. The inked man joined him. Steph tensed, moving away from the car.

  “Steph, I want you to meet Ferdinand Costello. He manages this club like a pro,” Eli said and clapped him on the back. “He was out running some errands for me, but now he’s back.”

  Ferdinand shot her a closed-mouth smile and offered a hand to shake. She took it, nerves storming through her as she searched his brown eyes for any sort of clue that he might be Mr. Smith.

  “Good to meet you,” he said, clasping her hand longer than needed. “We’ve all heard so much about you. You’re the adventure tour superstar.”

  “She is indeed,” Eli said, stepping next to her to squeeze a shoulder.

  “What are your favorite spots? Eden Rock? Stingray City? Happy Turtle Cove?”

  The little hairs on her arms stood on end. Happy Turtle was the combination to her safe.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Two could play at this game.

  Oh, yes, they could.

  Jake left the beach in a huff. Because Jake did the spying. Jake did the investigating.

  He did not like it one bit when someone tried to turn the tables. That woman was not going to beat him. On his return to the diamond district, he rang International Diamonds.

  “Hey, I’m calling to see if Monica Smith will be working this afternoon.”

  “She’ll be here. Shall I give her a message?” the woman on the other end of the phone asked.

  “Nope. I have a new stone and I need her keen eye. I’ll just head over shortly with the rock.”

  “Wonderful. We look forward to it.”

  He laid in wait outside International Diamonds. Nothing broke his focus. He kept watch at the end of the block. He sat at a café across the street with a view of the shop, eyes on the door the whole time. But Monica never showed up. She didn’t return to the store. She didn’t return to Tristan’s, either. She was nowhere to be seen. He waited, and waited, and waited, and finally had to call it a day. At least he’d been relentless. He’d been on his game, even if the game hadn’t been on.

  When he returned to the hotel, Steph was pulling into the parking lot in Eli’s gleaming black Audi.

  “Nice new wheels,” he said, arching an eyebrow in question, and she told him her stepdad had given her the car. But her voice was flat, a note of sadness to it.

  He’d seen her mad, he’d seen her happy, he’d seen her feisty. But he’d never witnessed listlessness from Steph Anderson. Energy and passion had always unfurled from her.

  Until now.

  He gripped her shoulders and dropped a quick kiss on her lips. Work had ruled the day, and now it was time to help her. “You need a piña colada and you need it stat.”

  A hammock hung between two palm trees at the edge of the hotel pool, beckoning. The branches of the tree canopied it, shading out the harsher rays of the afternoon sun. The waves gently dusted the shore, and the splash of teenagers in the hotel pool crackled in the background.

  “This hammock has your name written all over it,” he said, holding a drink in each hand. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t touch a froufrou drink with a ten-foot pole, but when in Rome . . .

  Or more likely, when your woman is in a funk, sometimes you have to go for the full tropical-drink treatment, complete with red paper umbrellas and swirly straws in each cup.

  Steph flopped onto the crisscross ropes of the hammock and made a clawing gesture with one hand. “Drink. Now. Please.”

  “One fruity, over-the-top drink at your service. The best medicine I’ve ever known for a crappy day,” he said, handing her the drink.

  She took a long, thirsty gulp.

  “Careful of the brain freeze,” he said as he joined her on the hammock so they were facing each other.

  “I honestly wouldn’t mind my brain being frozen right now. Then I could stop thinking.”

  “Talk to me. Tell me what happened. I know you’re bummed about the nuts,” he said.

  “At first it was the nuts,” she s
aid with a scoff that turned into a deep, incredulous laugh. “It felt like I’d gotten a pie in my face at a carnival. But then he told me at lunch about how he’s trying to change, and he’s trying to do right by my mom and make up for how unfair he was in the divorce,” she said, her voice softening. “And that’s honestly all I wanted in the first place. I didn’t come here hunting diamonds. I came here early for a personal family reason.”

  Jake nodded slowly, taking his time to process. As her lover, he wanted to be supportive and respectful of the family matters, even if they didn’t see eye to eye. But as her partner in un-crime, he wanted her by his side.

  “I get it. You feel torn,” he said, keeping his response simple and straight down the middle. He knocked back more of his beverage, brain freeze risks be damned. Stretching his arm to the grass, he set his drink on the grass under the hammock and reached for her leg. He rubbed her calf, enjoying the warmth of her skin. Then he focused his words on the greater good. “I know you feel pulled, and I know you’re frustrated, too, that we’re coming up empty. But we’re close, so close. And I know we can set things right. The diamonds are somewhere here on this island.”

  She shot him a helpless stare. “The diamonds could be anywhere. Anywhere. That’s the problem. We’ve turned over every possible stone, and they’ve come up empty,” she said, then under her breath she added, “and maybe they should. Maybe we should leave well enough alone.”

  “I’m not ready to give up,” he said, trying to stay upbeat for the both of them. He had the big carrot of Andrew’s incentive dangling in front of him, but that wasn’t the only reason he wanted to soldier on. He didn’t believe in giving up. He wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. Sure, some cases went cold, but this one felt crackable, and he didn’t want to lose his partner.

  “What if he didn’t even take the money from his company? What if someone else is the Bernie Madoff in this situation? What if it’s Andrew?” she asked, her voice thready with doubt as she shared something Eli had said to her at lunch. Seemed her stepdad was trying to cast blame back on his former business partner, and nothing could be more suspicious than that, in Jake’s mind. “And then he told me that Andrew has been in love with my mother for years,” Steph added with a what’s-the-deal-with-that look.