Page 16 of Heist in Paradise

Nate opened his mouth but caught my pointed look and wisely shut his trap. Zola manhandled him into a chair. He gave her a sappy, lovestruck look.

The painting was notably absent.

The look Olivia shot me was ten streaks of betrayal. “I didn’t realize there were more of you.”

I shrugged. “You didn’t ask.”

“I don’t want to repeat myself.”

“Then don’t. I’ll catch them up.”

She didn’t like that, but I didn’t care. We were on a timer. And my patience was wearing thin.

“Fine,” she said, speaking to the room, but fixed on me. “I did some more digging. Found some other missing girls who were last seen in Puerto Morelos. Open the binder, near the back.”

Using his new knife, Madoc flipped open the binder. There was a bunch of news articles and official-looking reports in the back. A glance confirmed they weren’t public documents.

What exactly did she give this dirty cop?

“Look at the news article,” Olivia prompted. “A luxury yacht capsized a few years ago, not far from here. Six females and two males drowned. All between the ages of seventeen and twenty-three.”

Madoc scanned it quickly, downloading it into his super-brain. His face gave nothing.

“I cross-checked it with the autopsy reports,” Olivia went on, bouncing on her toes. My mouth twitched again. “Those girls had bruises on their wrists and ankles, like they’d been restrained. But not the men.”

“And Salvadore?” I pressed her.

Olivia jutted her chin smugly. “The yacht was leased from his company.”

“That’s a reach,” I said, disappointed when that made her stop bouncing. “He probably owns half the companies in the peninsula. The guy is a rainmaker. It’s not enough.”

She huffed in anger. “It’s more than anyone else has! Keep reading. You’ll find investigation reports from the families of the missing girls. Two of them mention this island.” She flapped her hands dramatically. “Coincidence? I think not.”

Madoc gave me a look. He agreed. Not that it changed anything.

“So what’s the plan here?” I asked her. “Walk me through it.”

“I’m here to find proof,” she said confidently. “I know he won’t be back until Sunday morning. That gives me enough time to search this place.”

“And if you find nothing? What then?”

That made her pause.

Then her eyes found mine, hard and determined. “I will find something.”

My gut twinged. I didn’t believe in fate, and I wasn’t superstitious. But something was off about her. The pain flared deeper in my gut. Listen to it. My instincts were rarely wrong.

I swung my feet to the floor and stood, my chain toppling over with a loud bang. Olivia flinched, crossing her arms nervously.

“You complicate things.” I heard my father in my voice. His quiet baritone of fury.

She swallowed. “I know,” she said. “But I’m not asking you for anything. You can just pretend I’m not here.”

“It doesn’t work like that.”

“Why not?”

“You’ve seen our faces.”