When I saw where the nearest police station was located, I just did not think it was possible for them to arrive in 15 minutes like the manager said. They would certainly need a fast boat, since that is how they arrive each time. I called Rock and told him what was going on. “Hmm, that sounds like an interesting case,” he said, “maybe we should check into that one and maybe help that older couple at the same time.

I will send Mac and John, but they will not know you. Mac will pose as a jeweler from Paris. They will also bring you some trinkets to tempt those thieves with.” “Tell Annelie to check on this hotel, who owns it and who the manager is, complete with a picture of him,” I said, “something tells me this manager is mixed up with this group of thieves too.” “I will do that right away and send you the info as I get it,” she replied.

Sky came out from her swimming and sat beside me. “Who did you call?” she asked. “Rock, he thought we should get involved in this case to help out the older couple,” I told her. Then I mentioned what the couple had told me. “Wow, that is a lot to lose,” she said, “and such a gift too, that is terrible.” The other girls joined us just then too. “Mac and John are coming, but will not know us,” I told everyone, “plus they are bringing bait for us to use and hopefully trap these thieves.”

The girls were excited about this. I also told them to check their backpacks, there is a necklace in there they should wear at night which should keep them from being hypnotized. “But wear those earplugs too, just in case,” I said. Then the police boat showed up at the dock. “Hmm, right on time,” I said, “just 16 minutes. Quite something for such a small boat.”

I then explained that the nearest police were too far away to arrive that quickly. Even with a faster boat it would take about 40 minutes to get here. “Then these cops are not real,” said Crystal, “they are part of the group too.” “Most likely they are,” I said, “they might even be the ones who do the stealing.” Crystal, Kristina, Galyna, Aasta, Tracy and Bridgette had come along as our guards. Some of the other girls were sick with colds so they stayed home this time.

The police left in about half an hour and the older couple came back to where I was sitting. The girls had gone back in swimming. “They sure asked a lot of questions,” said Rob, “personal stuff, where I worked, how I could afford such jewelry, did we have more, did we have cash with us.” “Yes, I told them we had $3,000 in cash because we were told many of the vendors on the island would only accept cash,” she said, “but nearly all of them accept credit cards too.”

“Hmm, too bad you told them that,” I said, “you should never mention cash to anyone, someone may have been listening.” “Oh my, now I am going to be more worried than ever,” she said. “Sorry, I did not mean to make you worried,” I said, “but keep that cash in a safer place, like hiding it under your mattress at night.” “Good idea,” said Rob, “they probably would not think someone would hide it there these days.

And after all those questions, those cops told us to forget about recovering the diamond necklace because the local people get rid of things quickly to people on the mainland who then send it to Europe or America where it likely is already.” “Well, it could not be in either location,” I said, “there has not been enough time to get there.” “Hey, that is true,” said Rob. “Do you not like swimming?” asked Maddy.

“No, I nearly drowned once, so I prefer to stay on dry land now,” I said chuckling, “perhaps one of these days I will try it though.” We just spent the day relaxing and walking around the island a bit. There was no ringing that night so we all slept well which was nice. Mac and John did show up the next morning while the girls were swimming and after checking into the hotel they came over and sat in chairs next to me.

But before sitting down John dropped something into Sky’s beach bag. No one was close by at the time, but John did it so well that I doubt anyone would have noticed anyway. We introduced ourselves and talked for a bit, then the girls came out to lie in the sun for a while and our new friends went back to the hotel to sleep for the rest of the morning. Then the cats came running over with some interesting news…

To Be Continued.

©2023 Steve McLeod.