Blood Beach by Rodmell

Author:Rodmell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Glossy
Published: 2022-02-24T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-NINE

Jake stood and walked towards me. He wore a uniform, a white Navy uniform. He looked staggeringly phenomenal. I forced myself to relax, but he was so handsome and male. His scar was more visible in the florescent light. Panic fluttered through me.

‘Ana-Maria. Thanks for coming in. No Giorgios? He said he might fly out.’

‘No. We, um, broke up.’

The secretary closed the door.

His eyes narrowed as he processed this information. ‘I spoke to him yesterday to get your number, and he said how happy he is. He didn’t stop talking about you.’

‘He seems to have a problem with taking me seriously.’

Jake bit his lip to keep from smiling. ‘Have a seat,’ he said.

I sat demurely in the chair and gazed around the office: leather seats, medals, wide desk, oil paintings of ships doing battle, but no personal items. No picture of Adriana.

‘So, these men in my photos, are they anything to do with the Paulites?’ I said.

‘Not Paulites, but the face recognition picked up on Bruce Salinger.’

He passed me my photo of the mahogany man, then another of him holding up a prisoner number, looking defeated. The criminal shot. ‘He’s a diamond dealer. Specialises in blood diamonds from all over Africa. When he can’t buy them, he steals them. He’s done some time for it.’ He flicked through a slim binder on his desk. ‘Salinger is South African. Primarily a gem hunter but he does it for people who want one-of-a-kind gems, special diamonds, rare sizes – we’re talking big money. He’ll risk going into war zones to deal with insurgents. That way, his profit margin is astronomical. He isn’t interested in protecting a dead saint, believe me.’

‘And the others?’ I said.

‘Nothing as yet. If they don’t have convictions, we won’t have data on them. The Maltese police should help you with their intelligence on the ground. I expect they know about this man. Salinger’s been flying in and out of Malta all year. We’ve turned up no record of flights taking him to Greece, if that’s where your brother actually disappeared.’

‘Okay.’ He handed me the meagre file. I hoped there was something in there the agency could use. I balanced it on my knee. ‘Do you have an address in Malta? Or a psychological profile on him?’

‘There’s no address apart from a known associate in South Africa. I’ve given you a copy of Salinger’s complete file, which has a profile in. What are you looking for?’

‘I’m just desperate to know what I’m up against,’ I said.

‘He grew up in a white ghetto near Johannesburg. No family. Slippery. He’s suspected of killing at least seven people, but nothing has ever stuck to get him convicted for murder.’

‘Do you think he’s killed Alex?’ I said in a small voice.

He walked around his desk and sat on it right in front of me. I noticed how big his thighs were. I’d seen his top half naked and I could imagine how solid he was below. I felt my cheeks blush.

‘I’ve got to be honest, sweet girl, it’s not looking good.

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