Cheers erupted in room 1531 at that exact moment. Sophia and Ava jumped up and high fived each other. “Yes!” they yelled. It was a great feeling.
“Thank God he bought that story,” Laura said excitedly. “Now we’ve got some work to do. I’ve got calls to make, a tactical team to assemble and prepare and a rescue to plan.” She looked at the team and thought for an instant. “After Dom returns why don’t you guys take the day off? There won’t be much for you to handle around here, might kind of boring actually. You’ve gotten us this far and you’ve earned a free day. You better take it while you can.”
“Ah, trying to get rid of us, huh?” Luke laughed. “I see. Well David, I guess we could play the round of golf. What do you say ladies? Are you in?”
They both agreed and thought it would be fun. “I want do a little shopping first in the resort boutique to find a cute outfit,” Sophia said.
“Oh me too!” squealed Ava clapping her hands and jumping a few times.
David and Luke just rolled their eyes, smiling and shaking their heads.
Just then Dom walked in and they all gathered around him to congratulate him on a successful meeting, shaking his hand and patting him on the back.
“Nice work,” said Luke.
“Thanks,” Dom responded. “It was all I could do to keep it together, but I kept remembering the goal and I will have my little girl back soon. I need to go call my wife, though. She wanted to come, but I thought it would be better if I just made the trip myself in case I needed to help. I’m supposed to call to keep her updated.”
“That’s fine,” Laura replied. “Just please stay in the hotel, either in your room or in here. I don’t want you recognized or anything jeopardizing this mission. They are taking the day off,” she said pointing to the group. “Luke, don’t say anything to anybody about this case. If you are asked please just deflect and change the subject. I know you are acquainted with people on the island and I don’t want anything getting back to this mystery investor. The party must go on as scheduled, OK?”
“No problem,” answered Luke. “Ready ladies?” he asked Ava and Sophia.
“Yep, let’s go!” they answered.
“OK, we’ll meet you downstairs in the lobby in one hour,” Luke declared. “Come on David, let’s go locate my clubs and shoes, and I think I have some shirts hidden somewhere.”
They all left the room and Laura and her crew got to work.
Luke and David were parked outside under the awning in the red SUV waiting on Ava and Sophia to emerge from the lobby. They had on their khakis and golf shirts and looked very sexy. When the ladies came out David whistled. “Wow! You two look fabulous!”
“I second that,” Luke said smiling devilishly at Sophia.
“Thanks, just a little something we threw on,” Ava giggled. They each had on cute little shorts with summery flowered tops with sandals, perfect for a day outside on a beautiful island.
Luke took them on a scenic tour around the island where they let the music drift in through the windows and the ocean breezes fill their lungs. They reached the golf course and went into the clubhouse. The fees were paid, a couple carts were ordered, and they headed out to the first tee. After a few holes the ladies were very impressed at how well David and Luke played golf. The bet was for who paid for dinner, so Ava and Sophia had to keep score.
They had brought some snacks and a cooler for cocktails, so by the time they reached the eleventh hole they were all feeling pretty relaxed. Luke had his arm around Sophia and leaned over to kiss her. She looked up into his eyes and just melted.
They came upon a group of four waiting on the next tee. As soon as they pulled up Luke knew one of the men was Kyle Kaloni.
“Hey Kyle! How are you doing?” Luke called out to him.
“Luke! Nice you see you. Sophia, you too,” he said as he tipped his hat to her. “You all out having a fun day?”
“Yes, we thought we’d enjoy the island for a little bit,” Luke replied.
“I heard you were investigating the disappearances of those women. How’s that going?” Kyle asked.
“Oh, nothing really came of it, so we are backing off for a while,” Luke answered. “How’s your golf game these days, old man!”
“Better than ever young whipper snapper,” he chuckled. “We’ll have to get together to test it out.”
‘I would love that,” Luke said.
“You guys want to play through?” Kyle asked motioning that the tee was free.
“No go ahead, we’ll wait,” Luke stated. “We might see you later on though. Have a good game.”
“You too,” Kyle said as he waved and took off in the cart to play the next hole.
Luke ended up winning the round, so David had to pay for dinner. They went back to the resort to change clothes and spent the evening out on the town. They started at a restaurant that Luke suggested called The Black Angus. After having seafood every day they were all in the mood for a good steak. It was as wonderful as Luke said it would be.
After dinner they went over to the Atlantis Casino. It is situated on a lagoon and has massive windows overlooking the beach. It was just an incredible view. David and Luke played blackjack while Sophia and Ava played some slots. Everyone had a good time.
They met back up and had a couple drinks in the bar. “Isn’t that Luther?” Sophia asked. “It looks like he’s going in that room over there.”
“That’s the high roller room,” replied Luke. “We probably had better get going before he sees us. I don’t want anything to slip out about tomorrow night if we happen to run into him.”
“Good idea,” agreed David as they all got up to leave.
Luther did see them leaving though. He had seen them earlier too. It looked they were having a good time and forgetting about their investigation. Maybe this was blowing over, he thought. He would have to call the skipper and let him know the yacht party was still on…