33

Jake braked to a stop on a side road on the outskirts of Miami. A few cars drove by, but none stopped.

“You sure this is the spot” Eva asked.

Jake pulled out the map and compared it to the information on his GPS-equipped handheld. He looked around at the palm trees and the few abandoned buildings. “This is the spot.”

“Then I guess we just have to wait.”

Jake leaned his back against the headrest. “When this is over, I want to take a very long vacation.”

Eva bit down on her bottom lip. She slowly shook her head as she looked out the passenger window. “I have a bad feeling.”

Jake jerked his head in her direction. “Not again,” he moaned.

“Something’s not right.”

If he’d listened to her bad feelings in the beginning, they wouldn’t be sitting here, he thought.

“So what do you want to do”

She frowned. “I don’t know. I just get bad feelings—not peeks into the future.”

“I think that’s her,” Jake said, his voice lifting in urgency.

Eva drew in a breath.

“You ready”

She nodded.

The dark blue Taurus pulled to a stop.

Eva opened her door and got out. She opened the back door and took out the duffle bag.

The driver door opened, and she recognized Stan Ingram immediately. “Where’s the wife”

“I don’t see a second passenger. Maybe she doesn’t want you to put a face to her voice.”

Eva swallowed. “Okay. Here goes. You ready”

“Yep. Got my hand on the dial.”

Eva slowly walked toward Stan. When she was a little more than a couple of feet in front of him, she could see that he was sweating bullets. He was scared.

She walked up to him. “It’s all there.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “You look d-different.”

“Goes with the territory.”

“Guess your p-plan didn’t quite work out this t-time.”

Eva bent her head to look in his car. “Where’s wifey I was really looking forward to meeting her,” she said, dripping sarcasm.

He grinned. “S-she’s resting. Little trick I l-learned from you.”

Eva blanched when reality hit. “I see. Well enjoy the spoils. Our business is done.” She turned to leave.

“Wait.”

Eva stopped and slowly turned around. “What”

He wiped his forehead. “S-something that’s b-been bothering me.” He swallowed. “D-id anything … ever h-happen that night”

Eva rolled her eyes over his body. A slow smile moved across her mouth. “Why Stan, don’t you remember” She turned away and walked to the car without looking back and jumped in. “Little problem,” she said, fastening her seat belt.

Jake started the engine. “What”

“We aren’t going to be able to tag both of them. Lenora’s not in the car.”

“Damn. Maybe that was the bad feeling you were talking about.” He watched Stan pull off from his side view mirror.

“Let Jinx and Rita know. Don’t want them to be surprised,” Eva said. “Stan’s not so innocent as he pretends to be.”

Jake made the call to Jinx and brought him up to speed. “Everything else ready Good. We’ll meet you in an hour. Call me when it’s done.” He disconnected the call and pulled off.

*   *   *

Stan was so elated, his hands shook even as he gripped the wheel. When he figured he was far enough away, he pulled over to the side of the road.

He looked around before he unzipped the bag. His heart slammed in his chest. On top was an oversize clear plastic bag filled with diamonds. Underneath were stacks of brand-new one-hundred-dollar bills, neatly held together by rubber bands. Mesmerized, he slowly lifted the plastic bag and opened it. He took out a handful and stared at their beauty. He was rich beyond his wildest imagination. He would never have thought that all this was on the receiving end of his wife’s little scheme. Now, he could buy love. He wouldn’t have to beg for it or grovel for it again. And there had to be at least …

Flashing lights filled the interior of the car, bouncing off the diamonds and turning them into brilliant cuts of red and blue.

A sudden sharp tap on his window caused him to drop his bounty in his lap. His head snapped to the side. A police officer was leaning down into his window with a billy club in his hand. Another officer came up on his other side. The officer on his side signaled for him to roll down his window.

“License and registration.”

Stan fumbled for his wallet and more of the diamonds slid between his legs onto the floor of the car.

“Please step out of the car, sir,” the officer said. “And keep your hands where I can see them.”

“B-but I was…”

“Step out of the car,” the second officer ordered.

Once he was out of the car, the first officer pulled him to the front of the vehicle while the second officer inspected the car. Slowly the officer stood up with diamonds in one hand and a fist full of green in the other.

“You want to explain all that” the first officer asked.

Stan’s throat was so dry and tight, he couldn’t get the words out without choking on them.

“I-I’m a businessman. H-here on business.”

“Is that right What kind of business would have you transporting what looks like diamonds and a bag full of money on a Miami highway”

“I…”

“You can explain everything down at the precinct. I’m sure they’ll sort everything out. Turn around, please.”

Stan did as he was told. His arms were drawn behind him, and the cold metal of the handcuffs wrapped around his wrists. The officer ushered him to the backseat of the police car.

The other officer took the bag from the front seat and put it in the trunk of the police car and got in beside his partner.

“Did you call the impound”

“Yeah, they’re on their way to pick up the car.”

The police car pulled off. They drove for about twenty minutes before pulling up in front of the Miami Police Department. The officers got out of the car and took Stan inside the precinct along with the bag from the trunk.

They brought him over to a bench and told him to sit down.

He’d never been so terrified in his life. How could he have been so careless as to stop and open the bag on the road Oh, God—he was going to jail. But he wasn’t going alone. He’d tell everything he knew from that night in the hotel right up to when he drugged his wife.

He watched one handcuffed suspect after another be carted in and out of the precinct. Metal clanging against metal provided background music in concert with ringing telephones, barked orders, and cries of “I didn’t do it.”

Stan glanced up at the clock on the wall. He’d been sitting there for almost two hours. Where were those cops