47. Safe Combos
47
SAFE COMBOS
Ruby
“I’ll have the lobster bisque with a Tiki salad. Hold the nuts.” I handed my menu to the waiter and faced my stepfather with a fixed and phony smile.
“And the nicoise salad for me,” Eli said, clueless to my needling dig.
I’d replaced the nuts in the tube and the tube in the frame, returning everything to its place. I shouldn’t have been surprised that Eli was so wily. I’d grown up with his big-hearted softy routine while he’d sneakily had everything ready to yank the rug out from under Mom.
He was always one step ahead. It wasn’t enough to hide his diamonds. He had to turn it into a gag.
Planting false clues to keep his enemies running after his nuts?
Yeah. Just his style.
Now I had to sit across from him, eat lunch, and listen to how business was great, the shop was expanding, and the sky rained gold coins and rainbows in the wonderful old land of Eli.
Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I wasn’t getting anywhere as a sleuth and I was frustrated and disheartened at the thought that I’d have nothing for Mom at the end of this.
Time for a direct approach.
“So, Eli,” I said, snapping open my napkin and spreading it over my lap. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.” Was I really going to dive straight in with questions about his hedge fund? Ask point-blank if he’d skimmed money off the top?
Yes, I was. I was so done dancing around the topic.
But before I could say anything, Eli held up a hand to stop me. “No, my dear. I need to talk to you. I’ve been thinking about what you said the other day at brunch.”
“You have?” I asked, taken aback.
“Indeed. I’ve done some soul searching and you’re right. I wasn’t fair to Shelly.”
I was so shocked that I sat back in my chair and just stared at him, my jaw hanging open. This was front-page news. Eli didn’t apologize for anything . “You weren’t fair in the divorce you mean?” I asked, needing to be specific.
He shrugged an admission. “That, and when we were married. I could have done a few things differently.”
“A few ?” I echoed, my pitch climbing.
His shoulders sank with his heavy sigh. “Willow has helped me see that. I’m trying to become a better man.”
“Are you going to apologize to Mom now? How about paying her back what she gave you to start your business?”
“Let’s not spend our limited time together talking credits and debits. I’d rather invite you to a small party we’re hosting at Willow’s gallery on Wednesday night. It’s a fundraiser for a charity we support to help children. I hope you’ll come if you’re still in town.”
“I’ll try,” I said, burning inside, but taking the opportunity in case it was helpful.
“Now, what did you want to talk to me about?” he asked.
But I was rethinking the “ask point blank” strategy. His “new leaf” strategy had thrown me. My brain whirled, trying to land on how to play the angles with him—this man who’d once taken such good care of me. It was disarming to try to figure him out.
“Eli…” I began, then I glanced left then right, leaned closer, and lowered my voice. “I’ve heard rumors online about why you left your company.”
I hadn’t, but they were undoubtedly out there. One of them might even be true.
“They say all kinds of things about me on the Internet,” Eli said, waving a hand in the air as if dismissing any concern.
My voice dipped even lower as I tried harder to get him to listen. “They say you maybe, you know, skimmed a little off the top.”
“Ridiculous.” He sounded incredulous and outraged. “I loved that company. It’s called the Eli Fund. I’d never do anything to undermine it.” He leaned forward, mirroring me, and lowered his voice as well. “If anyone was funneling off funds, it was Andrew.”
Now it was my turn to furrow my brow. “Andrew?” The floor dropped out from under me like a roller-coaster car. Could that be true?
“He stole money from the shareholders,” Eli whispered. “I didn’t want to be associated with that, so I left.”
My mind spun with new twists and turns. Andrew had always seemed like a good guy, but what if he had stolen the funds and the diamonds were just Eli’s diamonds? Andrew could have given Jake doctored evidence. But then why hire him in the first place? Except to have a fall guy in Eli.
“Why would he do that?” I asked, speaking my biggest question aloud.
Eli shot me a look that said you can’t be serious . “Ruby. You really can’t guess?”
“Guess what?”
“Andrew has been carrying a torch for Shelly for years. I guess once she was single again, he thought he could buy her love.”
I stared at him, gobsmacked. “You’re saying he skimmed money off the company to impress my mom?”
He gave an it could be true shrug. “I’m saying that if there was money missing from the Eli Fund, fingers should be pointed at him, not at yours truly,” he said, then shook his head almost sadly.
“But he’s married and has children,” I said, then cringed when I realized how na?ve that was. Especially considering the company.
But Eli just nodded. “All the more reason why I got out. I don’t want to do business with someone I can’t trust.”
That pinged in my brain, even after the waiter set down the salads and Eli dug into his and pronounced it delicious. My stepfather had unknowingly tipped me off on how to deal with this info bomb. Even if he’d given me doubts about Andrew, I’d be a fool to give up my doubts about Eli.
I was so involved in my thoughts, I didn’t remember much of lunch. When the chocolate lava cake arrived, Eli seemed to savor the first bite. Then he wrinkled his nose. “Nuts,” he said in disgust.
“There are nuts in it?”
“Mm-hmm. And I hate nuts,” he said.
“Funny,” I said dryly. “We have that in common.”
* * *
The day had heated up while we were at lunch. I tugged at the cotton of my sundress as we walked to Eli’s car in the sweltering sun. When we got in and he cranked up the air-conditioning, I sighed in appreciation. “Ah, heaven,” I said as I relaxed in the beige leather seat. “The AC in my rental hasn’t worked properly since I picked it up.”
“That’s miserable.” He stopped at a light and looked at me. “You should take this one.”
I laughed, but his serious gaze said he wasn’t joking. “Eli, I can’t take your car.”
He tutted. “I have another one. There’s no sense in you being miserable.” The light changed and we cruised along, the ocean hugging the road on one side.
I thought about driving in these temps with no air-conditioning and yielded without much of a fight. “Thanks. I’ll take good care of it.”
At the club, Eli parked out front and went to the office for his extra keys. I leaned against the passenger door and didn’t have to wait for long. The security guy opened the door for Eli, who came out, accompanied by Nigel—snake tattoo guy. He’d been at Willow’s gallery party too.
My spine shivered and I stepped away from the car.
“Ruby,” said Eli, “I want you to meet Nigel Harris. He manages this club like a pro.” He clapped the inked-up man on the back. “I would have introduced you earlier, but he was running some errands for me.”
Nigel offered a closed-mouthed smile and a hand to shake. Nerves storming through me, I took it, searching his brown eyes for any clue that he might be Mr. Smith.
“Good to meet you,” he said, clasping my hand longer than needed. “Heard a lot about you. Dive tours, right?”
“That’s right,” Eli said, stepping next to me and squeezing my shoulder.
“What are your favorite spots?” Nigel asked with a warm grin. “Turquoise Rock? Happy Turtle Cove?”
He lingered on that last one.
The little hairs on my arms stood on end. Happy Turtle was where I’d seen him the other day.
It was also the combination to my safe.