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We tried to see if Sully was at his shop, but the lights were off inside the store when we drove past it. “That’s too bad.” I let out a sigh in disappointment.
Aiden murmured in agreement. “Now what?”
“We should head back to San Francisco and meet up with Julia.”
“That’s a good idea. We can pick up take-out sushi for dinner.”
“I love that idea.” I texted Julia our plan, and she immediately responded back.
Sounds delish. Can you order extra? Tristan and Will are coming.
“Who’s Will?” Aiden asked, reading Julia’s message.
I responded with a thumbs-up emoji before I answered his question. “Will is Tristan’s friend. He’s an FBI agent, and when we went out for coffee after the guys looked at the new place Julia and Tristan are going to rent, we told him about the stuff hidden in Annisa’s closets. At the time, he wasn’t sure if the luxury items in Annisa’s closet or even the scuba diving stuff in the guest closet were stolen, but he mentioned a black-market ring in San Francisco that is selling stolen goods shipped from overseas.”
“That’s interesting,” Aiden said, but by his tone of voice, he wasn’t surprised by the nefarious activity in the Bay Area.
“What is it?” I asked when I saw his eyes light up.
“With his FBI background, he would be a good person to ask if Annisa’s stuff was part of the illegal activity,” he said.
I nodded thoughtfully, but then I jumped a little when he let out a startled sound.
“If Annisa is involved with them, she’s in way over her head,” he said slowly, shaking his head. It was one thing to help Annisa when she was thought to have killed her scuba diving instructor, but it was another thing entirely to be involved with an Asian mafia group in the Bay Area. The feeling of dread grew as I thought about Annisa’s answers.
“Didn’t you find it weird or at least annoying that Annisa wasn’t forthright with her answers?” I asked. His brows were furrowed together as he stared straight ahead and thought about my question.
He sighed before he said, “When I first met Annisa, I thought she was a harmless flirt, and I’ve met plenty of women like that. But during the past two days, when I was helping her at the police station, I saw a different side of her.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. I was captivated by what he was telling me because I’d never been alone with Annisa. I wondered if I hadn’t seen a different side of Annisa because we were always with Julia.
“She was manipulative,” Aiden said, making me snort.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” I said. I didn’t have to witness her actions to know that she was a master manipulator.
Aiden quickly glanced at me before he continued, “When I brought up the luxury accessories in her closet, she suggested that if I wanted to make more money, she could set up a shipment for me.”
“What?” I yelled and grabbed his arm, making him veer into the oncoming lane. “I’m sorry.” I released his forearm when I realized what I had done.
“That’s okay. I was just as shocked as you were when she mentioned this at the police station.”
“So, what did you tell her?” I asked, amazed by Annisa’s audacity.
“I said that I wasn’t interested.”
“How did she take your answer?” I would’ve loved to see her reaction when he told her that he wasn’t interested. She didn’t seem like a person that would handle rejection well.
“She laughed and tried to brush it off as if it was a joke. Then, when Officer Shin came into the interview room to check if we needed anything, she started to pay him more attention. At the end of our meeting, the police told Annisa that they were going to corroborate her story, and when I asked her if she wanted me to take her back to San Francisco, she said that she would stay the night in jail,” Aiden said.
“Hmm…it sounded unbelievable when you first told us this, but now I wonder if she tried to involve Officer Shin with her business,” I said, using air quotes around the word business.
“I hate to say it, but I wouldn’t put it past her to ask him,” Aiden said.
I hoped that Officer Shin had more integrity, but he seemed to fall for Annisa’s charm. I said, “I guess this is another thing that we have to find out.” I sighed and looked out the window. Miss Diva has a lot of explaining to do.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Thanks for ordering the sushi,” Tristan said with a big grin on his face as he helped carry the food into the kitchen when we arrived.
