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Not that she had reason to speak with him. They weren’t exactly friends and he hadn’t been all that available or visible.He’d caught a glimpse of her hugging Juliet and then striding away, her curly ponytail swinging with every step.
Maybe she’d managed to pocket one of the valuables before he’d caught her. Or, more likely, going home agreed with her. He wanted to believe it was the latter, but he couldn’t rule out the former.
For Travis, home was his suitcase. He’d joined the military right out of high school and never looked back. His current permanent address was a post office box in Chicago, monitored by the agency. The majority of his life was managed online, leaving him free to travel per client demands. The active, nomadic lifestyle suited him to the bone. Staying in one place indefinitely gave him the jitters.
With his cell phone in his pocket and the stolen goods packed securely with the rest of his belongings, Travis donned his sunglasses and left the yacht. Hopefully, he’d be back on duty by the end of the week to continue the journey up the coast.
Brett had handed over keys to an agency vehicle that was waiting for him in the parking lot. The insurance company was expecting Travis, but first he needed to check in at the marina office. Better to have as much information as possible before that meeting and he was looking for any other vessels recently arriving from Miami.
The short answer was none. The police and insurance investigators could do more digging, but for now, it was the best he could do. Double-checking the app for the AirTag was working, Travis could only press forward.
He hadn’t expected anyone to recover the stash before they reached Charleston, but with all the coming and going this morning, he’d expected the thief or an accomplice to make a move. Which only brought him right back to Lila being in on it from the start.
Or maybe the thief was smart enough to wait until the action died down. Once the newlyweds were away from the yacht, things would appear calm. Deserted. That would be the window he’d wait for if he’d been the culprit.
How had Lila phrased it yesterday? Oh yeah.A thief’s high.
He gave that phrase, her use of it, considerable thought as he drove away from the marina. Should he share her name with the insurance investigator? Probably the smart thing to do. The responsible choice.
And yet, he kept circling around the question of how and why the thief had stashed the haul in the potato bin at all. Had the thief’s high made Lila sloppy? Was she covering for someone else?
It made him antsy that he didn’t have those answers. Or any others.
Anticipating this meeting, Travis had combed through the security footage in and around the yacht and hadn’t found an obvious culprit, other than Lila. Not among the crew and not among the support services personnel at the Miami marina. He’d sent all the recorded surveillance files to the insurance company, as requested.
Was it wrong to be grateful that none of the footage directly incriminated Lila?
Yeah, that wasn’t the right attitude. Especially since he was the security lead on this assignment. He should keep an open mind while they gathered the facts. He couldn’t let his personal attraction and perception allow him to overlook the most likely suspect.
The fact remained, he’d gone looking for the stolen goods and found them in her possession. He hadn’t seen them in the potato bin, only accepted her explanation of finding the bag there.
Paused at a stoplight, Travis rolled his head, trying to loosen up the tight muscles in his neck and shoulders.
It was gonna suck if she was guilty.
Frustrated with the situation and annoyed with himself, he pulled forward as the light changed. He had to give the insurance company her name. Had to let it play out. If she was innocent, they’d clear her.
But would they clear her before the investigation put her plans in jeopardy?
He did not want to be the person who wrecked her life or ruined her reputation.
His cell phone chimed and an alert flashed across his navigation app. The tracker was moving.
Travis pulled over at the first opportunity and studied the tracker. It moved slowly, in fits and starts, along the marina walkways. That was strange. He signed into the security app and searched the cameras for any sign of Lila returning to the yacht, but whoever had the decoy bag, it wasn’t her.
After a quick debate, he continued on to his meeting. The investigators would probably jump on this new evidence. They’d have the stolen items and the AirTag would lead them to the culprit.
When he reached the parking garage, he found a space. Cutting the engine, he checked the app again. The decoy bag was still in the marina. Weird. Maybe something in the area was messing with the signal.
To ease his mind about Lila’s involvement, he opened up the electronic sign-in log for the yacht. Anyone coming in for deliveries or services had to provide ID along with a name and their company affiliation. Only Juliet’s friends were excluded, though there was a record of who visited and when. The cleaning service had come aboard and groceries had been delivered to the slip.
He sent the information, including a screenshot of the sign-in log, to Connor Brady, the oversight and research assistantthe agency had assigned to Travis for this case. Researchers for the Guardian Agency usually worked remotely, and this was no exception. Still, they had the tech skills that made them as effective as if they were on site. If anyone could sort out the tech tracking questions, it was Connor.
Hoping this wasn’t an AirTag malfunction, Travis took his suitcase and the belongings inside that totaled way more than his personal net worth, and headed to the office for his meeting.
An hour later, the stolen goods had been turned over and Travis had given a thorough statement to the police and insurance team. A few theories had been bounced around, but no solid leads. Travis was tasked with following the tracking device and reporting any developments to the police.
Once he was out of the building, he checked his phone. Connor had sent several texts, knowing better than to bother calling during the meeting itself.
