Chapter 32
If Markus didn’t want to help, Gabby could handle this investigation on her own. She could Be More, Do More without a man. After fifteen years of marriage, she was used to that.
Maybe Markus was scared of rotting in a European jail, but Gabby was more scared of returning home without a job or benefits.
What was she going to do if this didn’t work out?
Work at Bloomingdale’s or as a Walmart greeter?
She might have to go back to school and finish her degree and… do what? Gabby wanted to be a spy.
Her mission: Find Jasmine and get to the bottom of this affair. Sheridan’s cat sitter might be leaking some information, but Gabby had difficulty believing that was the whole story.
Gabby headed toward where she’d last seen Jasmine: Naomi’s office.
Before she could see them, she could hear them. Justin was still there with Naomi. “Absolutely no pastels!” he was saying.
“It’s a wedding. It’s supposed to be soft and romantic. Pastels are soft and romantic.”
“Gia’s a Scorpio,” Justin shot back.
Gabby poked her head in. “I’m looking for Jasmine.”
“Gia, do you like pink? Be honest.”
Once Justin brought up signs, there was no talking to him.
It was like arguing about religion. For him, it was a question of faith, and if you didn’t have it, you were probably going to hell, and most likely a Sagittarius.
(His most significant ex was a Sag, which apparently had nothing to do with why he didn’t trust Sagittariuses. Yeah right, Justin.)
A sudden moment of perspective struck Gabby.
Everyone was just looking for answers, for comfort.
That’s what all of this was. The people at Inner-G trying to tap into their G.
The president talking to a psychic. So many people talking to a psychic.
Religion. Astrology. Even marriage. Phil running home to her like she would save him.
Gabby would like some answers too, but where was she going to put her faith?
Her mouth still hanging open, her opinion on pink not yet voiced, Justin said, “Well, Gia doesn’t like pink. At least that shade of pink.”
Dear god, maybe they could compromise.
“You guys are doing great,” she said. “Thanks, Justin.”
“You are going to be such a beautiful bride,” he said. “I would never miss one of your weddings.”
“Do either of you know where Jasmine is?”
“She went home.”
A plan emerged, and by plan, she meant that she was going to walk up to Jasmine and ask her if the rumor was true. She almost wished it wasn’t. What did Naomi have to do with anything? This one was coming out of nowhere.
Ten minutes later, Gabby stood at the door to Jasmine and Genesis’s place. She was poised to knock when a raised voice stopped her in her tracks.
“You can’t call the cops,” Jasmine said. “Gia said Sheridan went to town to see a friend.”
“She left her purse!” G retorted. “Where’s she going without money?”
Jasmine huffed. Gabby heard someone violently reorganizing some objects in the living room.
“She’s a psychic. Psychics are not dependable.”
“I don’t know,” G said. “Her whole thing is common sense.”
“Just go surfing or something. I need space.”
“Why is everything a problem lately?” G said with a frustrated exhalation. Angry footsteps approached before the door swung open. The Big G almost walked right into her.
“Oh, hi!” Gabby said, taking a step back to avoid a collision. “I was just stopping by to ask Jasmine a question.”
When he saw her, G took a breath. Ignoring that she might have heard the argument, he said, “She’s inside.”
“Thanks.”
“Did you say Sheridan went into town?” he asked.
“Yep.” Gabby smiled. “She was excited to meet some friend or other.”
And then he was off, probably to soak in the wave pool.
“See you later,” she called after his retreating form.
She pushed into the house. “Jasmine,” she called.
The living room was a mix of magical tropical garden and luxury accommodations, but here was Jasmine slumped in the chair at the edge of the water feature that ran through the center of the house, looking devastated, and with good hair to boot.
You weren’t supposed to be devastated in a multi-million-dollar mansion.
You were supposed to be able to work through the small problems.
“Is everything okay?” Gabby sat down in a chair next to her. The creek burbled around gray river stones.
“Eh.” Jasmine shrugged. “It’s a little rough at the moment. I’m struggling.”
Gabby smiled softly. “I’m sorry. It’s probably hard. You two have to be perfect all the time to be the Power Couple.”
“Tell me about it.” Jasmine huffed out a laugh. “I’m not even sure whom I’m married to anymore, who we are.”
Gabby let her have the space to let it out. Like a real friend. She was a pretend friend, but apparently, she was pretty good at it. Jasmine was letting her in.
A tear rolled down Jasmine’s cheek. Gabby walked to the bathroom to get her a tissue.
Gabby was no longer the honest, trustworthy person she was in her own mind.
She could see how Markus had ended up lying, almost no one ever told the truth in this job.
Everything was so gray. There were so many permutations of the truth that the capital T truth slipped into the fog with all the other secrets, a shifting cloud of facts.
“Markus and I are having trouble too,” Gabby confessed. “He’s been lying, hiding a relationship from me.” Gabby looked down at her knees while she twisted the truth of his relationship with G into something else.
“Is he cheating?” Jasmine looked up in shock.
“I don’t know.” Gabby really didn’t know. “I’m not even sure if I’m mad at him. I just want him to be honest. I want to know where I stand.”
Jasmine took a deep breath and released it, as if ready to release her own truth. It had to be weighing her down. Gabby was betting on it. “How are you and G?”
“Same as you and Markus, except messier. We’ve been married longer.”
“Is G cheating too?” Gabby asked.
“Yeah, he has, but I’m worse. I’m in love with someone else.”
Jasmine looked up through wet lashes. She paused for a second and then admitted it. “Naomi. It’s been going on for a while. You probably already knew.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Well, you do now.” Jasmine laughed.
“Are you going to leave G?”
Jasmine dipped her toe into the water running through the center of the house. “I don’t think I can.”
“Why not?”
“I’m in too deep. And I’ve turned my whole life into supporting him. I’m not independent anymore.”
That rang true. Gabby had been financially powerless in a world Phil created, supporting his career, living in a house he bought.
“I don’t even know everything I’m involved in. He has a lot of money coming in, and I don’t think it’s for anything good. It’s messy, and I’m up to my eyeballs in the muck.”
“What’s the money for?” Gabby asked.
Jasmine shook her head. “All I know is that it’s from bad people. The finances are a disaster. The taxes—I don’t know. Inner Beauty would be a success, but because it’s tied to the rest…” She trailed off.
“It was kind of sweet that he brought Sheridan here for you.”
“Gia—” Jasmine gave her a sharp look. “You know that’s a lie, right? He’s never been good at gift giving, but he’s not that bad.”
Gabby had completely bought the gift-giving line.
“What would you do to leave him?” Gabby asked.
“Anything.”
“What if I could get you and Naomi out?”
“You?” Jasmine looked up and gave Gabby a deeper look. “What are you going to do?”
Gabby shut her eyes and centered herself.
There was no great reward without great risk, so she decided to gamble.
“I’m an agent with the CIA, well, actually, the EOD, which is a division, but no matter.
I can secure you immunity in exchange for testimony regarding Genesis’s criminal financial activity. ”
Jasmine shot out of her chair. “What? What are you talking about?” Gabby started to say something, and Jasmine interjected, “What about George? Ohmygod. Are you undercover?”
Gabby didn’t answer.
“Of course you are. You’ve never even done yoga.” She laughed manically. “You took the whole tent down.”
Jasmine stood up and walked to the kitchen, and then abruptly sat back down.
“I’m here for you,” Gabby said, gambling that Valentina would help her deliver on any promises.
“What do you have on him?” Jasmine asked.
“Abducting Sheridan for one. We’re digging into the financials now and about to put together enough evidence to arrest him.” Gabby bluffed. It wasn’t true yet, but they’d get there faster if Jasmine’s testimony backed them up.
Jasmine’s eyes went big. “What?” With fear in her voice, she asked, “What’s he been doing?”
Gabby needed to show just enough of her hand to get Jasmine to talk. “Do you know about iMoan?”
Jasmine wrung her hands. “What’s that?”
“We think your husband is financing this resort in a variety of illegal ways. You don’t want to go down with him.”
Jasmine looked directly at Gabby. “What do you need from me? I’ll do it, but only if you can get Naomi the same deal.”
Gabby did a silent touchdown dance. She had him!
Jasmine shut her eyes and exhaled a troubled breath. “It’s more than finances, Gia.”
“What’s he really up to?” Gabby leaned forward eagerly.
“It’s not like he tells me his nefarious plans,” Jasmine said. “G is up to some shit, and he’s using this psychic as leverage.”
“What do you mean?”
“He didn’t bring Sheridan down here as ‘a gift.’ I think he’s using her to blackmail the president. He knows she knows things.”
“What does she know?” Gabby asked, desperate for any crumb of an answer.
“Something about Amanda, I assume. I think the president did it. I don’t know what G is asking for, cash or political favor, but he’s getting something out of this.” Jasmine struggled to maintain her composure. “I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
That would explain why the president wanted Sheridan dead, assuming he did actually want her dead. Sheridan’s psychic intuition was the main evidence of that so far.
No matter what, Gabby was in the middle of a lot bigger mess than she realized. God, she hoped the president wasn’t the killer, but so far that was the one thing everyone agreed on. Sheridan and Jasmine were consistent on that.
And how was she going to get her job back if the bad guy she was offering up was President Simon? That posed a problem.
Thirty minutes later, Gabby walked out of Jasmine’s place filled with terror and anxious energy.
She had just offered a deal to Jasmine without being able to back it up.
If she didn’t make this look good and convince Valentina there was a chance she’d spend the next few months, or maybe even years, of her life in a Portuguese prison. What would happen to Kyle and Lucas?
On her way to Naomi’s, someone called her name, and she turned to see her mom. She seemed upset, but Gabby couldn’t deal with her anymore.
“Not right now, Mom.”
She’d had enough manufactured drama for one day, especially when she was busy creating plenty all on her own.