Domino Effect (2019 Edition)

wasn’t the time. “Thank you both for doing this,” she said. “I appreciate any help you can give me.”
“I took your advice and went back to teaching. Third grade,” Tiffany beamed. “So I have the week off for spring break. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
Sin eyed Troy. “What about you, Stubbs? Don’t you have an island to protect?”
Troy traced the rim of his frosty mug. “One of the first things I did as a small town sheriff was to incorporate Tumbleboat’s force in with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department. Better pay and benefits for the guys, and I’m not tied down to a desk. I have time coming. I’ll take it if I need to.”
Sin sipped from a water glass while they waited for their food. She used that time to bring both up to speed on the case. Troy and Tiffany sat close as they viewed the video and listened to the audio via earbuds.
Finished, Troy handed the phone back to Sin. “What’s your plan?”
“I need to meet with Jason Sawyer, the Secret Service agent who oversaw Becca’s team. I don’t trust the information we’re receiving. I need to crawl inside his skin, find out what he knows.”
The server appeared with their food, and the table quieted until he left. “Tiff,” Sin said, munching on a carrot stick, “I want you to act like a coed. Hang out at the hotel pool where Becca was staying, see what you can find out, but”—she pointed a finger in Tiffany’s direction—“be discreet. You’re not a reporter, you’re just a college kid here to have a good time. Understood?”
“Trust me, after everything that happened in Miami, I have no plans to do anything else. Where was she staying?”
Sin pulled her phone from her pocket. “I’m texting all the pertinent information. Hotel, friends, places I know she’d been frequenting.” She looked up from her phone, “I’m sending you a photo of Pia’s cousin, Savio; he may have been the last one to talk to the girls. Becca’s detail hasn’t had any luck locating him since the girls disappeared.” She slid her phone to the side. “I booked you a room.”
“And me?” Troy said.
“You just need to be yourself, big guy. No one knows the Lower Keys and Key West better than you. I want to know anything or anyone that seems out of place.”
“Christ, Sin. It’s Spring Break in Key West, everything and everyone seems out of place.”
“Exactly, that’s why you’ll recognize any pieces of this bizarre puzzle that don’t fit.”
Sin grabbed the bill when it came. “Everything is on the Bureau’s tab, so leave your wallet in your pocket, Stubbs.”
“Does that include room service?” Tiffany said, a gleam in her eye.
“Yeah, but remember, you’re a college student on a coed’s budget. Don’t go and order champagne. It’ll seem out of place.”
Troy excused himself from the table to use the rest room leaving the girls alone.
“It looks like you’ve made a home down here,” Sin said.
“I couldn’t have done it without you and Carmelita,” Tiffany answered. “Both of you have been so kind.”
“You didn’t tell her I was here, did you?”
Tiffany shook her head. “I didn’t have to. That woman has a sixth sense when it comes to you. She called me this morning and left a message on my phone.” She opened her phone and played Sin the message.
“Dígale a mi hija que tenga cuidado y que ella es amada y en mis oraciones.”
Sin translated the message in her head: Tell my child to be careful and that she is loved and in my prayers. She smiled as she listened. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think she had a GPS on me.”
Tiffany smiled. “It’s nice to have someone who cares that much.”
“Speaking of having someone who cares, how are you and Troy working out?”
Tiffany shrugged. “Just good friends. I think he still has a thing for you.”
Sin was about to answer when Troy sat back down. “It’s too quiet, what have two been talking about?”
“Relax, Stubbs,” Sin said, paying the server, “not everything is about you.”
After lunch, they made their way outside. The parking lot was almost empty, so she spied Troy’s pick-up immediately. “Where’s your Mustang, Tiff?”
“I traded it in for a Jeep,” she said, pointing to an orange Wrangler. “It fits my lifestyle down here.”
Sin nodded in agreement. “I have to meet Sawyer in fifteen minutes. How about we all meet up tonight? Nine p.m.?”
Troy fiddled with his keys. “Sounds good. Where at?”
“The Johnson Place,” Sin said. “I need to access Char—” his name caught in her throat, “the computer. I’ll have Carmelita and Maria join us. I haven’t had time to stop and see them, and I’m feeling guilty about it.”

11
Fifteen minutes later, after winding her way through the throngs of coeds and motor scooters along Duval Street, Sin rolled up to Captain Spanky’s, a local seafood joint down by the docks. She pulled around back and parked her bike next to a rusted pick-up with a bumper sticker that read: I’d rather be fishin’.
Stepping inside, it wasn’t hard to spot Sawyer. He was the only one sitting alone—and wearing a suit. When the door shut behind her, he didn’t even look up. It was as if his mind was somewhere else.
“Penny for your thoughts,” she said, taking a seat.
“O’Malley?” Sawyer said, doubt dripping from his words.
Sin nodded and shook his hand. Strong handshake, she thought. “I see you found Spanky’s okay.”
Sawyer’s lips rose in a sideways grin. “I thought I knew all of Key West’s hang outs. This one is definitely off the beaten path.”
“Yeah. That’s the way Spanky likes it. He’s been in the same location since I was a kid. He likes to be close to his babies.”
“His kids?”
“His boats.”
Sawyer leaned across the table, his voice low. “I don’t mean to be rude, but you’re not exactly what I expected for an FBI agent. Do you mind if I see some creds before we begin?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” She