Murder Undercover by Claire McNab

Author:Claire McNab [McNab, Claire]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Gay & Lesbian
ISBN: 9781594933608
Publisher: Bella Books
Published: 2013-05-01T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

I read the missive Malcolm had passed to me sitting on the green bench in my little hideaway in the gardens. Deciphering the cryptic notes, I found that Lloyd Snead’s lungs had been full of seawater. Why this had happened wasn’t clear, as he hadn’t suffered any serious injury, heart attack or stroke. There were superficial bruises on both shoulders, possibly caused by the harness of his air tanks. The investigating officers had not been able to locate these tanks to check if they had been faulty. The media had been advised it was an accidental death, but I was to assume that the circumstances were suspicious.

In the coffee shop with Vera, I’d had a quick glance at a Sunday newspaper brought over from the mainland. Snead’s death was summed up in one sentence in the breaking news digest: Lloyd Snead, international banker, died Friday in a drowning accident at Aylmer Island luxury resort.

I expected that there would be much more comment in the Monday papers, particularly in the financial sections, as Snead had been well-known for wheeling and dealing on the international stage. From my earlier ASIO briefings I knew of one activity Snead had managed to keep under wraps—his career in money laundering. This was about to change. Snead had had extensive contacts with Russian banks, and his name had come up in ongoing investigations carried out by several countries concerning the transfer of huge sums of money from Russia to banking institutions all over the world. The scandal was that the money was international aid, intended to help the ailing Russian economy.

The other information raised my eyebrows. The CIA had very recently put an operative in place on Aylmer Island. There was no name, or even an indication of gender. I understood the game: All security organizations kept as much from other agencies as possible, even within their own countries. More, they kept as much secret as they could from the governments who set them up.

I checked the nearby path to make sure no one was anywhere near me before I burned the communication. Then I carefully mashed the ashes into the dirt under a shrub, dusted my hands, and set off for a scintillating evening in the rec room.

“There’s an envelope for you,” Kay said the moment she saw me. She was obviously dressed to go out: she wore much makeup, and her dress was in shades of cream and brown to complement her hair. “Like it?” she asked, twirling around.

After the grueling time I’d had with Vera, I didn’t feel gracious enough to fake interest. “Lovely,” I said shortly.

Enthusiasm undaunted, Kay said, “Some of us are popping over to the mainland for a bit of a party. You’ve got time to change if you like to join us. Actually, Bruce was looking for you earlier, to ask you to come, but he couldn’t find you.”

I thought Thank you, Vera as I said, “Bruce didn’t mean as his date, did he?”

“I’d say so.” Kay smirked at my horror.

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