Son of a bitch. And that was Nadia with him. She was willing to bet that Ted—Ted of all people—had assured Hank and Diane that he’d get to the bottom of things in Nassau while they held down the fort. But Ted didn’t know where Robert took his morning tea, and that had made all the difference. How could Ted do this? What possible gain could be worth the risk of prison and loss of his personal honor?

She scrawled the news on Robert’s notepad and waved it to get his attention. She knew he’d been trying to evade telling the embassy that he was actually in her presence, but there was no time.

Robert peered at the note, then put on his glasses and peered again. “Martin—you know, I think all in all, it would be wise for you to dispatch some representatives quickly.” He sighed and 225


gave Tam an apologetic look. “Yes, Sterling and Barrett are here.

And, apparently, so is Langhorn. It would be most efficient if you were prompt and discreet. Our doors open in fifteen minutes.”

He hung up the phone and got to his feet. “Miss Barrett, come with me. Tamara, I am quite sorry about all this, but you’ll have to stay here.”

Just like that, Tam was alone in Robert’s office. It was disconcerting, but not unexpected, to hear a key turn in the office door lock.

All this way, all that worry, and she was caught. She suspected the windows wouldn’t open and the high transoms that let the island air circulate were too small for her to climb through.

Besides, she wasn’t going to go leaping about rooftops and swinging through trees. It wasn’t necessary and would only make things worse.

Ted, of all people, and Nadia helping? She thought over the past week. Maybe Ted hadn’t had the flu and they were covering preparations to run? Maybe Nadia didn’t know anything about it, actually. She had no proof... With a sinking heart she realized that it had to have been Nadia who guided their hacker to Tam’s passport and background information, who had to have been the one who explained what to remove. She had deliberately exposed both of them to the scrutiny of curious and hostile eyes.

Everything she’d told Kip she’d have to tell again, and not to anyone she thought had any damn right to know. After their years of unspoken support for each other, behaving somewhat like the sisters they might have grown up to be, this betrayal was in a place she was only just realizing might have never fully healed.

She sank into a chair to put her head in her hands. Vernon Markoff, a fraud and embezzler, had hired Ted and Nadia, or both, to derail her. They had really put their heart and souls into it, and found insidious ways to wound and distract her. She was wondering now if Ted was the hacker she’d been stalking online. He’d been so good at software design in school—had an aptitude that matched her own. But he never pursued it seriously, saying it was too much hard work. Life was easier if you were 226


handsome and glib. But if he’d kept up, knew or bought the right access, he could probably figure out how to carry off the entire scheme. He could do that anywhere he traveled. Nadia , with the mysteriously issued employee ID card that Kip had discovered, would be available when necessary to doctor the statements.

She’d been a fool. It had been right under her nose, the whole time. She’d distracted Kip with bad information; otherwise, Kip might have seen it.

Through her shock she chafed at the inactivity. Robert’s office was excessively quiet. She couldn’t hear anything but a low whir.

She paced once around, then paused to listen again. Clicking, whirring, clicking... She opened a door to what she had assumed was a closet and discovered Robert’s computer desk. It looked like they were using UNIX, or an equivalent.

She trailed a finger across the keyboard. UNIX. It had been awhile. She went back to Robert’s desk for the list of transactions she was hoping to reverse. She might as well make use of the time.Robert’s employee login had security nine ways from Sunday.

It would take her too long to crack. But like most people, he had a personal login for access to basic, nonsecured tasks, like web browsing. And really, he ought to know better than to use his wife’s name as a password. Once past the sign-in she looked for the programmer’s backdoor exploit.

Kip tried not to dance with worry as Robert conferred with the bank manager. He, too, looked like a Swiss expatriate, but didn’t appear to have started his day quite yet. Robert repeated himself and then, after an elaborate search for the right keys which had allowed time for the delivery of spiced coffee, they proceeded in due haste to the file rooms in the basement. It was more damp than Kip liked down there, but the manager explained that records were only temporarily domiciled on site. In another week, the paper in question would have been transferred to a 227


secure storage facility.

With the two bank officers slowly thumbing through the cabinet in question, conferring in low tones, she had no choice but to wait.

“Here we are.” Robert pulled out a folder. “Miss Barrett?”

She stepped closer as he opened the folder. Using a pencil, he separated the pages. “Is this what you’re interested in?”

“Yes, it looks exactly like the copy I was given as a valid digital duplicate. May I add a mark to the page?”

“I’d rather we all did, then I will put it in the sleeve for your embassy people. They have to sign for it.”

Kip was glad her hand wasn’t shaking as she initialed the two sheets. Robert and the manager added their own initials and she watched it transferred to the document sleeve, which the manager sealed with a strip of tamperproof tape. Her heart rate slowed.

If Robert was telling the truth—and why wouldn’t he be?—Ted Langhorn’s fingerprints were all over it. Tam’s contention that she had known nothing about it was far more believable. They might, just might, be able to walk away from the whole issue and let law enforcement focus on Langhorn.

She wished she could tell Tam that the papers were here, that they were secure. She could only imagine how worried Tam must be.

“What about Langhorn?”

“Well, I am hopeful that your embassy staff will ask him to assist with inquiries.”

Kip had always known she would have to turn herself in.

“And they’ll likewise want to talk to Tam—Ms. Sterling—and me as well.”

Robert put a gentlemanly hand at the small of her back as they walked up the stairs to the main lobby. “I believe they consider that a priority, yes. I am quite sorry about that, but I have no choice if I wish to preserve a good relationship with your embassy.”

“I understand,” Kip said. Like Tam, she would soon have a locked door between her and the world. Well, it wasn’t as if she 228


hadn’t known that was coming.

“The doors are just opening now. Clients are arriving,” the manager said. “Can I leave this to you, Robert? So much to do this morning...” He signed the sleeve and handed it to Robert before making his stately way in the direction of his office.

They were standing in an alcove at one end of the large marble and plush carpet interior. Bank staff were arriving at their desks and windows, meticulously groomed, all moving at a measured, graceful pace. It had been a long time since Kip had been in a bank that was so...bank-like. There was a hush like a library and even the arrival of customers didn’t add much to the noise level.

Kip shrank back when she picked out the top of Ted Langhorn’s sandy-haired head. His lanky frame wasn’t quite as relaxed as she’d last seen it, and he appeared to be looking for someone—probably Robert. To his left was his wife, as carefully coiffed and ostentatiously elegant as one of the Real Housewives.

The body and tan were flawless. Kip was sure the ankle-wrapping high heels had cost a small fortune, and she wasn’t thinking the jewelry was fake, either.

“He’ll recognize me,” she murmured to Robert. “And probably cause a scene.”

She didn’t know if Robert heard her, though, because he strode forward to greet Langhorn and his wife with a jovial but restrained air. “Ted Langhorn, what a surprise to see you this morning. And Mrs. Langhorn as well.”

Ted began to speak, but Robert continued talking in the same congenial manner. “I must make introductions.” He gestured to the men now assembled right behind the Langhorns. “Martin LeRoi, this is Ted and Nadia Langhorn. I spoke to you about them just a few minutes ago. Mr. and Mrs. Langhorn, these are members of the United States Embassy staff. They have inquiries and believe you can assist them.”

Kip had the satisfaction of seeing Ted Langhorn turn as pale as the uniforms the embassy officers wore. For the first time since she’d taken on the case, all her instincts screamed that she was 229


looking at someone guilty of something.

Ted blustered, and Kip turned her study to Nadia Langhorn, who hadn’t moved. She gave the impression of unshakable composure.

The officers moved forward as Robert invited everyone to his office. Ted fell into step, but there was a small amount of jostling.

Nadia gave a little cry, stumbling on her high heels. Several arms shot out to keep her from falling, then she was back on her feet, offering smiles and apologies.

From where she was Kip saw something in Nadia’s hand she hadn’t had before, and she was slipping it into her oversized designer bag. She glanced at Robert, who was patting his pockets and looking down at the floor as if he’d dropped something.

Kip gave up her hiding place, but had no sooner started forward than Nadia simply dashed for the nearest doors.