Page 66 of The Grave Artist

“Who exactly is this guy?” James asked.

So their special day would be tainted, after all. On the other hand, the groom’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Maybe the trade-off for the disruption was that he’d have a story to share about their honeymoon for the rest of his life, even if his bride wished the incident weren’t happening.

“We’ll go into details later,” Sanchez said, and was saved from dodging more questions when her phone vibrated. She held it up for Jake, who typed in the appropriate information on his tablet.

Within minutes he was reversing through the surveillance footage to a point that was about ninety minutes in the past. Then slowly the video rolled forward. Soon they saw another watercraft leave a different dock—one not far from the honeymoon suite. This was not for guests, but a small outboard. It navigated to the suite, and a figure climbed out. Left the wine and chocolates at the door, rang the bell and quickly departed.

Too dark to see any details.

Sanchez tapped the service dock. “He’s probably waiting there.”

“Waiting for what?” Robin asked, her voice unsteady.

Jake said, “We think he spiked the champagne or the chocolate. Roofies maybe. Something stronger. To knock you out.”

“Oh, shit,” Robin muttered, looking at the gifts as if they were explosives. “And then he was going to come back and ... what?”

Sanchez didn’t answer. She nodded to a wall clock. “Time’s up. We have to move.”

Jake said, “Wait here and stay away from the window.”

“Where are you going?”

“Into the bedroom.” He glanced at Sanchez. “We need to strip.”

Chapter 31

In under three minutes, the switch was done.

Carmen had traded her maid’s uniform for Robin’s terrycloth robe, and Heron had done the same with James, who now wore the bellman outfit.

Carmen wasn’t thrilled at the idea of wearing only her skivvies underneath the plush terry, but the rule for working “sets”—Special Enforcement Teams—was that you looked the part to trick the bad guys. Presumably, this was true for pen testers as well.

There was, however, a major difference. The robes concealed the body armor both she and Heron had worn here. Covering front and back, it was specially designed to ward off both bullets and bladed weapons.

The memory of what had happened to Tandy was prominent in their minds.

“You should go now,” she said to the couple. “The manager has a room in the resort proper. You can stay there if you like. Or go someplace else.”

Robin said, “We’re not staying here.”

James was a little less certain. As if he was enjoying the adventure. But his new wife’s mind was made up, and Sanchez knew he’d comply.

“We can’t take anything, can we?” Robin asked.

Carmen told her, “Wallets, phones. That’s all. Whatever fits in your pockets. You have to be a maid and a bellman, returning from an errand.”

“Won’t he see we’re different? You’re taller, and I’m blonde.”

Heron said, “It’s a risk, but a small one. It’s so dark I don’t think he’ll be able to see more than your silhouettes.”

Carmen shooed them out the door and watched as they stepped onto the ferry and vanished toward the main building.

“I’m really not liking this, Heron.”

“We don’t have a choice. The best chance of catching him is on the water, when he moves in for the kill. If Grange and the others try to hunt for him in that vegetation, he’ll spot them in a minute and vanish.” He glanced at her with a smile. “If the plan’s going to work, we both have to be bait, me included.”

She understood. But she didn’t like it: using a civilian to draw out a suspect. She was trained law and used to roles like this. He was not. Pen testing wasn’t in the same league.