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“I wouldn’t quite describe it in that way, but I also avoid serious relationships myself. Once again, what does any of that have to do with me?” I questioned, baffled by this rambling.
“You look like you’re missing someone. Since I’m sitting right beside you, I know it’s not me. You’ve never been one who is attached at the hip to mom and dad either, so I must assume it’s a woman that you’re pining over,” he smirked. “Anyone I know?”
“I’m not pining and secondly, I’m not even dating anyone at the moment. So much for being the top PI. Maybe you’re losing your touch,” I said before turning to look out the window.
My mind may have been on MaKayla, but I definitely wasn’t pining over her. There was a simple explanation. I hadn’t heard from her. It wasn’t as though I expected to receive a text the moment she woke up, but maybe sometime through the day. It must be close to nine at night back in Halifax, and still nothing. If I reached out to her now, Draven would jump all over it, and believe his accusation had been correct. No matter how badly I wanted to check on her, it would need to wait until I was alone. Based on my calculations, it wouldn’t be that much longer.
A few moments later, the flight attendant announced, “We’re approaching the landing field. Please secure your belongings and your seatbelt.” Then she moved on to the next set of passengers to make sure they had heard.
There were a total of eight passengers on this small jet that could only hold a max of thirty-six passengers. There really was no need to have an attendant on board. I was sure it had something to do with protocol, because she informed us she worked for the resort, and the name on the Jet was New Hope.
I’d much rather have chartered a private jet, or even flown a commercial, but this was the only mode of transportation to Tabiq. It was as though they wanted to control who entered and left the island. Tabiq might say it was a democracy, but I wasn’t convinced.
And any doubt that I had in regards to how involved the Hendersons were in Tabiq had vanished when I’d booked my stay. New Hope had a questionnaire, or rather an inquisition, that one was required to complete before they were allowed to even book a room. Since when does a resort look at anything other than whether you can afford to pay to stay?
I leaned over to Draven when the airport came into sight. “She meant it when she said field. There's only one runway and no track control tower.”
Draven leaned over to peer out my window and said, “Damn it. If this is what they consider an airport, I’m afraid to see what they call a resort. Do you know for sure if there is indoor plumbing,” he laughed.
“The Hendersons own and run the resort. They even stay there frequently. What do you think?” I asked.
“Sounds like I’m going to network while I’m here,” he replied.
I felt the wheels making contact with the ground, and after a few bumps, the jet smoothly came to a stop.
I turned to Draven and softly reminded him, “You’re not here to socialize or network.”
“Yeah. I am supposed to have your back. But from the sky, this looked like a tropical paradise, and I have no idea what I’m supposed to be watching out for,” he replied.
“For whomever I piss off while I’m here,” I stated.
I’d learned many years ago that when you start digging into things that no one wants to be uncovered, people go to extreme measures to ensure they stay hidden. I’d been shot at several times and stabbed once. It wasn’t as though I expected either to happen here, but when in a foreign country, it was nice to have someone know if you’ve gone missing. Maybe even prevent it from happening in the first place.
I’d have brought my team here with me, but with all the red tape involved in getting here, they would’ve been a red flag and that would’ve blown my cover. No one would’ve believed we were on vacation. Brothers on the other hand passed. Well barely.
The attendant stood and said, “Welcome to Tabiq. You will find three SUVs parked waiting to take you to the resort. They will also give you the instructions again regarding any travel or sightseeing while you’re here. Please know that they will not deviate from their course. No stops are permitted along the way. If you have any questions, the resort manager will be happy to answer them for you when you arrive.”
“Who is the manager?” someone asked.
“This month it will be Dean Henderson,” she replied.
I knew that name. If I recalled correctly, he left home at an early age, fifteen or sixteen. I’d say more like ran away. His father James was an asshole, but I still couldn’t believe he walked away from all that money. But even though Dean was hard as nails when it came to business, I respected the fact that his success was all a result of his own efforts.
Since he was involved with the resort, I had to believe he’d dealt with the issues that had made him leave in the first place and he had mended ties with his family. As we disembarked the jet, I knew I’d find out soon enough. I might not have a problem, but I had a hell lot of questions. I was just not sure how willing he would be to answer them.
The ride to the resort showed a country that was in the process of rebuilding. But from what? It didn’t look like a natural disaster, yet some homes were so dilapidated that it was hard to imagine anything other than that. Same with the vehicles. It wasn’t a matter of needing a paint job. Many didn’t even have paint on them. Unless you consider rust being the official Tabiqian color.
I knew Brian mentioned that theyhadbeen a third-world country. Not sure they still weren’t. It was evident that they were poor.
Maybe this was why Venus left Tabiq and never returned. She didn’t want her daughter to suffer the same life she had. But that didn’t explain how she managed to leave this place. And even more than that, why did she do it and where the hell did she get the money to have a document created to make it look as though MaKayla had been born in Canada? I knew it could be done. But it wasn’t cheap.
Hendersons have that kind of money. Did they pay her way out of here?
If so, it had to be James Henderson, because his children weren’t old enough, at least, not all of them. MaKayla was twenty-five. The older sons could’ve pulled it off. But Brian said they hadn’t been involved with Tabiq until ten years ago. I’d never seen Brian being wrong before, but there’s always a first time.
My gut said that the answer wasn’t that simple. Not saying the Hendersons were innocent, but I didn’t think they were guilty of this.
We pulled into the resort, and Draven leaned over to me. “Armed guards? Yeah. There’s stuff we don’t know about Tabiq.”
