“It’s a little funny.”
It was funny. Gabby was now imagining a trip to Iceland. The penis museum sounded fascinating.
“The person using IMoan to generate temporary scandal could very well be the same person looking to escalate things with theleaked photo of the president and Amanda Duvall. It’s at least worth looking into.”
“Who’s our ambassador to Iceland?” Valentina asked. “Probably some small fry. We’ll have to see if they can do anything.”
“You can track that down on your end,” Markus said.
“We will. Is that all you have for me?” She didn’t sound too impressed.
“Yes,” Markus said. “But Agent Greene is getting in close with the inner circle. As usual, she’s making friends with everyone, and no one suspects a thing.”
Valentina said, “Good job with the hard drive last night. We’re not finished sorting through everything, but a fifty-thousand-dollar payment hit one of G’s accounts from what appears to be a dummy account shortly after the picture with Amanda Duvall and the president was leaked.”
“That’s suspicious.”
“I agree. And it confirms my decision to evacuate Sheridan. She’s coming home today.”
Gabby tightened the belt on her robe. “If we let her stay for another day, we might figure out who she’s communicating with. It’s an opportunity that won’t re-create itself.”
“This is not a conversation. President Simon wants Sheridan’s cosmic advice on how to deal with the scandal, so she’s coming home.”
“But—”
“What aren’t you understanding, Agent Greene? I’ve given you a direct order. The president of the United States wants his psychic back. Do your job and nothing more.
“Sheridan’s evac is a go for this morning,” Valentina said. “You two stay and chase the money trail for the rest of the week. See where it leads.”
When they hung up with Val, Markus slipped on some running shorts and a pair of tennis shoes. The sun was just coming up over the ocean. It looked like another perfect day in paradise.
“I’m going to run down and talk to Sheridan, explain the situation. Why don’t you go to yoga so you don’t raise suspicion.” When she gave a nod of confirmation, he said, “Let’s meet back here in an hour.”
In his best impersonation of David Hasselhoff, MarkusBaywatched himself down the beach in a pair of shorts, no shirt.
Gabby, with a glass of water, sat down on a chair on their private patio for a moment. Just one moment to collect herself before she dove back into the insanity. Before she even managed a second sip, she noticed Markus’s phone sitting on the chair opposite from her. Gabby grabbed it and hurried in the direction he’d gone.
“George!” she called. He might need the phone for evidence gathering or, god forbid, to call for help.
No response. He was already out of hearing range, trotting down the sand in… where was he going? Sheridan’s cottage was in the opposite direction from where he was headed.
Damn it. If he was up to something, she was going to have to actually spy on him. And after last night! But her doubt blossomed into a suspicion she couldn’t ignore as he cut up the path toward the wave pool.
Gabby knew what she had to do. She grabbed the Crocs that Kyle had slipped in with her things. When she tried to slide her foot in, her toes bumped up against something jammed in the toebox. A quick inspection revealed the offending object to be a silicone sunflower keychain. It was attached, so Gabby squeezed it through a hole in the Croc, leaving it to dangle on the outside of the shoe. Her heart squeezed at the sight of the flower from Kyle,but she tightened her monogrammed G robe and took the shortcut to the G’s personal wave pool. It was probably nothing, but she had a job to do. Just walk up there and make sure everything was cool.
The wooded path was so pretty with lush tropical plants and smooth gray stones that would go for twenty dollars apiece at the garden store by her house. The scenery did nothing to help with her feelings. With each step, her stomach sank further. Now that they’d slept together, this little tattling on Markus’s side quest was even worse.
Before she got to the wave pool, she heard Genesis’s voice. “Lil’ G!” he called out in greeting. Gabby tucked herself behind a bush on the side of the path.
“Big G,” Markus responded.
They were so dumb. If she didn’t know better, she’d think they were just a couple of bros. Markus was covering something up.
The Big G said, “I’ve got an idea of how to make this really special.”
“What do you mean?”
“You want it to be natural, but also a little extra. A surprise.”
