They changed their minds, Chase thought,or someone changed it for them. “Thanks. We appreciate your help.” Ushering Harper out of the office, he closed the door behind them. He could tell she was upset but she was doing her best not show it, to concentrate instead on finding her brother.
“It makes sense that they went to the casino,” she said. “Michael loves to gamble. He likes to play blackjack and craps. He says everyone deserves a vice and that’s his.”
Chase’s instincts went on alert. “Deep play?”
“No. Never. Michael says he works too hard for his money. He usually takes a couple thousand dollars. When he loses it, he stops.”
“You sure? Gambling debts owed to the wrong people can be deadly.”
“I met him in Vegas for a couple of days last year. We had fun, but we didn’t lose more than we could afford.”
Unless Michael was putting on an act for his sister, another possibility had just been shot to hell.
Harper glanced back toward the open water where the phones had disappeared. “If they changed their minds and sailed that night, something must have happened to them while they were here. We need to see what we can find out at the casino.”
That was definitely the plan. “We’ll go there later. It was a long sail from Aruba to get here. It would have been evening when they went to the club. Better to go there when they would have been there, speak to people who work the same shift.”
“Good idea.”
“Meanwhile, I need to make a phone call.” Passing a couple of teenage girls in the skimpiest bikinis Chase had ever seen, he walked beside Harper along the dock back toward the boat. He wondered how he would feel if the girls were his daughters. Not good, he didn’t think. He’d probably never know. Home and family had taken a backseat to his work years ago.
“Who are you going to call?” Harper asked, intruding on his thoughts.
“Dutch’s Curaçao contact, a man who might be able to help us get some answers. After I set things up, we’ll do a little legwork, see if anyone on one of the boats in the marina heard anything that night.”
Harper nodded. A warm sun shone down from a clear blue sky, the breeze soft, and scented with the clean, salty fragrance of the sea. It looked as if they would be spending the night aboard. Harper could take the cabin; Chase would take one of the bunks. Lupete would be staying with a friend.
Chase phoned Dutch’s contact, a man named Jules St. Ange, and arranged for him to pick them up at eight. They would start their search at the Trade Winds, hit some of the other casinos in the area if they didn’t have any luck there.
The rest of the afternoon, they wandered the marina, stopping to speak to people on their yachts or working in the area, asking questions and hoping to get some kind of break.
Had anyone heard anything out of the ordinary? Loud conversations, maybe an argument or altercation of some kind? Had they seen someone in the area who looked out of place or was behaving oddly?
But no one had heard or seen anything unusual whenBUZZ Wordhad arrived or when the boat had sailed sometime that night.
Unfortunately, no one was aboard the forty-five-foot Hatteras in slip A-7, the boat docked closest toBUZZ Word. Chase hoped the owners would eventually show up. More than that, he hoped they had heard something that might help him figure out whereBUZZ Wordhad sailed.
The hours slipped past, and darkness settled over the island. Disheartened at their lack of success, they returned to the boat to dress for the casino. While Harper changed in the cabin, Chase dressed in the linen slacks and dark green flowered, short-sleeved shirt he had brought.
He was standing in the salon, checking his wristwatch and beginning to get antsy, when the cabin door opened and Harper walked into the salon in a short black cocktail dress with a flirty little skirt that showed off her long smooth legs. Tiny black straps on the bodice left her back and shoulders bare, and silver heeled sandals pushed her up nearly as tall as he was.
A surge of heat hit him, slid into his groin. He managed to choke out a comment. “You had all that in your canvas bag?”
Harper smiled. “It’s expandable. The bag is part of the EC line.” She turned, the skirt flaring out as she showed him the back, giving him an even better view of her pretty legs. “So is my dress. We specialize in casual, easy-care clothing that is extremely versatile.”
He’d always been a leg man. He looked away, fighting not to get hard.Dammit.She had swept her pale gold hair into a sophisticated twist, and a pair of small gold earrings dangled from her ears. She looked delectable.
Harper smoothed a hand over the front of the dress, mercifully unaware of the effect she had on him.
“The dress is made of a polyknit fabric that doesn’t wrinkle. You can just stuff it in your suitcase, take it out and put it on and you’re ready to go.”
She was obviously proud of the business she had built and the products she sold. He liked that about her. But he didn’t want to want her any more than he did already, and looking at her in that sexy black dress wasn’t helping.
His mouth felt dry. He wanted to walk over there and haul her into his arms. He wanted to release that silky hair, grab a handful and drag her mouth up to his. He wanted to kiss her until she begged him to take her.
He prayed his thoughts didn’t show. “You look beautiful, angel. But then you always do.”
At the name he had secretly been calling her since he had first seen her the day she turned sixteen, color washed into her cheeks.
