Chapter 3
“I don’t know you, but you bring to mind the only French person I do know.”
“Let me guess. Jean Luc Ruse?”
Dane didn’t even bother with a nod. Deep down he wasn’t surprised.
Jean Luc had been part nemesis and part ally the previous summer when he ran a surfing competition scam as a front for a Brazilian human trafficking operation.
Jean Luc had cooperated with the Brazilians under duress and had helped Dane and Shana tag the notorious Tavares brothers.
It seemed a lifetime ago—his first case with Shana—but now seeing this young lady, who was obviously related to the French con man, his heart ticked up a beat with some kind of excitement.
“He sends his regards.”
“And you are?”
“Angelique Dubois.”
From the corner of his eye he saw Shana emerge from the dressing room.
He stifled a wolf whistle. His pounding heartbeat gained speed and his nerves went to full alert from his chest down to his toes and especially certain parts in between.
The turquoise dress shimmered like the sun reflecting off the ocean, but as he turned his full attention to Shana, his eyes were naturally drawn to the places the gown didn’t cover.
The plunging halter front might have reached her naval and the slit up her right leg went far too high for panties.
She swirled in a circle on her way to him and he saw that there was no back to her gown—only Shana’s golden, glistening skin.
She stopped in between him and Angelique, made a circle, and looked at the young woman, towering over her.
“Are you related to Jean Luc Ruse?” Shana asked.
“I am his niece.”
Dane laughed. “That’s what they all say.”
“No, I see what you think, but I am his niece. Really. Vérité.” She put out her hand, a delicate porcelain perfect hand tipped in frivolous pink polished nails. He took it and squelched his urge to kiss it. He gave a light squeeze and she caressed his hand as he let go.
*****
Shana watched and felt hot and bothered by this smooth, dark-haired, dark-eyed, pale-skinned petite beauty. Shana felt like a giant next to her. A clumsy giant. But she was not.
Shana said, “Don’t pay attention to Dane. The family resemblance is obvious.” She smiled and hoped it looked friendlier than she felt. “I’m Shana George.”
“I knew you must be. Uncle speaks fondly of you.”
“Are you in the family business?”
Angelique was not taken aback, but laughed a graceful musical laugh and shook her head and said, “Non, non.” Her French accent was annoying but Shana could see it might charm a weak-minded man. She glanced at Dane.
It was a good thing he was not weak minded. Of course, he did have other weaknesses that Shana should be more concerned about.
“Nice to have met you, Ms. Dubois. We have some shopping to do.” Shana looped her arm through Dane’s.
Before she could draw him away he said, “What’s wrong with the dress you have on? Why don’t we buy that one and be done with it?”
Resisting her temptation to punch him in the ribs—and if she were honest, her temptation to take his face in her hands and devour his lips—she gave a small shake to her head.
“He is right. That dress becomes you.” Angelique smiled in such a sincere way that it made Shana feel mean.
Angelique said to Dane, “I’m glad to have met you. I hope we meet again during my stay.”
“How long will that be?” Dane asked.
“We’ll see…” Angelique glided toward the door with a wave and a mysteriously provocative look. Shana didn’t trust her no matter how sincere she might sound. Angelique was cut from the same cloth as Jean Luc.
“Let her go. We’ll look into her later,” she said.
She knew Dane would want to follow the woman.
He had to be suspicious too. Waving her hand in the direction of some silky, expensive-looking dresses that looked like they were made more for someone like Frenchie than Shana, she said, “I’m sure Mr. Gable wouldn’t mind if I purchased a second dress as a backup. ”
Shana was proud of her athletic strong body. She had a generous share of curves along with the muscle. She looked toward another rack with a hot pink tube dress made of Lycra and something more expensive, if the price tag was any indication.
“I’ll try on that one.” She reached for the one in her size and eyed it skeptically.
Dane growled in a voice for her ears only. “Damn. I should take you shopping more often. I can’t wait for you to try that on. Of course, I’m not so sure you ought to wear it in public—especially not on assignment. I’d be too distracted.”
“I’m sure you could keep your eyes off me and on your work.”
“That’s not the problem. The problem is I’d have to fight the men off you. You will definitely need protection if you wear that dress out.”
“Lucky thing for you I know how to take care of myself.”
He smiled and nodded.
She took the dress off the rack and purposefully sashayed back into the dressing room. Emma came over and offered Dane a drink.
“Something cold. Lots of ice.”
Shana heard Dane before she closed the dressing room door and didn’t feel guilty about being so girlie.
*****
“Yes, of course. This heat wave has been terrible,” Emma said.
It wasn’t the heat wave Dane needed cooling off from, but he didn’t bother explaining. They left the shop and got to work reviewing all the documents the Gables had given them and everything Cap had provided.
Dane didn’t mind the distraction of doing the background work on the case right now. Otherwise he’d be worried that his plan to bring Shana’s family for a visit might backfire.
He’d hoped it would ease the homesickness she felt, hoped it would make her feel better about staying on Martha’s Vineyard if her family came and saw where she lived. If she showed them around like a native showing tourists. Hoped it would make her feel more at home there. With him.
Instead she was bothered by their visit. Because of him. Because having her family stay with him made her uncomfortable. Shit. He should have thought of that.
He did another once-over of the security system schematics and blueprint of the Gable estate and dialed up his friend Acer on his secure line.
“I need you to give me the skinny on a safe.” Dane gave him the brand, model number, and year of the Gables’ safe.
“Good to hear from you. It’s not bad. Tough to crack, but with the right state-of-the-art tools it wouldn’t take long to open.”
“That’s exactly what I needed to know.”
“I know. I read the papers.”
“Have you ever heard of a woman named Angelique Dubois?”
“Should I?”
“Niece of Jean Luc Ruse.”
“Oh, that Angelique Dubois. I’ll check into her.”
“While you’re at it—check into Angelique Ruse and any other aliases she may have. In fact—check into the whole family tree while you’re at it.” There was a beat of silence after that before Acer responded.
“What the hell, Blaise? You think I got nothing better to do?”
Dane knew Acer was toying with him. The man was a millionaire many times over and worked only as a hobby these days.
He also knew that Acer would move heaven and earth for him if he could.
They’d served in the same special operations unit with Governor Peter John Douglas as commander—back in the days before he was governor.
“I have no idea what the hell you do with your time—this’ll keep you out of trouble.”
“Don’t worry—I’m laying low. No more trips to the city. I’ve been avoiding snipers very successfully since I saw you last.”
“Good to hear.” Dane cleared his throat.
He wasn’t accustomed to sentimental lumps clogging him up, but they’d almost lost Acer.
He and Shana had tracked down the sniper and the man behind the assassination attempt but it had been too close to home.
It was different when the attack was right in your own backyard.
It still felt unsettling to contemplate, so Dane cleared it from his mind with a deep breath.
“How soon can you get me the intel? I have a soirée tomorrow night.”
“A soirée?”
“Or gala or big-ass party or whatever you want to call it. Shana and I are going—theoretically under cover but—”
“Everyone on that island knows who you are. Good luck with that.”
“We’ll be a deterrent for the thief—especially if her name is Angelique.”
“I’ll take that bet.”
“You see what you can get me before the party. Money is good that she’ll be there.”
“Will do—take pictures—or better yet, shoot another video.”
“Piss off.” Dane laughed and disconnected. Acer would uncover whatever there was to be had on Ms. Dubois—if that was her real name. It was a matter of how long it might take. In the meantime, Cap would update them that evening on whatever progress he’d made.
*****
As the sun set that evening, Cap, Shana and Dane gathered on the cement patio out in back of the beach shack.
Three tall glasses of cold beer sat on the metal table.
Cap sat back, relaxed. Shana sat, leaning forward on her elbows and Dane stood.
He swiped the back of his hand across his forehead.
It still felt like someone had put the entire island of Martha’s Vineyard inside a giant sauna and cranked up the heat.
He picked up his glass and took a long swallow, then touched the frosty glass to his cheek.
“Acer checked out the security schematics and the safe at the Gables’ place and confirmed my evaluation.
I checked with the neighbors and they all have the same system.
It’s state of the art. It would need to be disabled from the inside—hands-on.
The safe is top-notch and would take some time and skill to crack, but he figured it could be done with the right tools. ”
“I reviewed the surveillance videos,” Shana said.
“Everything from early afternoon—well before the parties started—until the next morning for each of the three homes. Nothing. There’s no way we’d have missed the thief on the surveillance videos if they’d been outside intruders. The thefts were inside jobs.”