Deadly Lode (Trace Brandon Book 1) (18 page)

Before
Thorny
could reply,
Rosenburg pumped three hollow point
s
into his chest.
Thorny
was dead before he hit the floor.
Rosenburg
stepped from behind his desk
,
slipped
a
wicked
-
looking
open stiletto into Thorny
’
s hand
, and
dialed 911
.

C
hapter
10

I
stepped
off the plane at George Town, Grand Cayman Island
, and stepped into paradise
. The warm
,
humid
sea breeze
sure
beat the cutting cold
wind
I
’
d left behind.
Clearing customs, I saw Cyrus in the small crowd waiting to meet passengers. He looked right at home in cream
-
colored slacks and a light
-
blue silk shirt.

“
Trace,
”
Cyrus
yelled
, waving his hand.

I grabbed my luggage and headed in his direction.

“
Cyrus, thank you for picking me up
,
”
I said, shaking his hand.

“
My pleasure, Trace. Sorry to hear about Tina
’
s mother. I was looking forward to meeting
Tina
.
”

“
Thanks, Cyrus.
”

“
I keep a townhouse here
,
but I
’
ve booked you a suite at the
Colonial
.
The Hollywood boys have used the hotel in lots of movies.
Just beware of hookers
at the bar
,
”
Cyrus said
,
with a laugh.

“
I remember
some of the
movie
s
.
And don
’
t worry
.
I
’
ll be careful
. . .
but not too careful
.
”

“
Fair enough. I
’
ll drop you at the hotel
. T
ake a swim, relax a bit
,
and I
’
ll meet you there for dinner.
Jack
’
s
Grill,
in the hotel, a
round seven?
”

“
Perfect.
”

“
See you then.
”

Cyrus dropped me
off
at the hotel
.
I checked in
and then
hit the pool for few laps
.
Rejuv
e
nated, I
plopped in a lounge chair and called Dominic.

“
Dominic? Trace Brandon. Did Wally get hold of you?
”

“
Yes, Trace. Do you want to meet?
”
she asked, her
French
accent adding to her allure.

“
Can you come over to the
Colonial
?
”

“
Give me about fifteen minutes.
”

“
Okay,
I
’
ll be at the pool. I
’
m about six feet with dark hair,
navy swimsuit
,
and Central Washington University tee shirt. Bring your swim
-
suit if you want to take a dip.
”

Twenty minutes later, I spotted her.
Wally
’
s
rating was a tad low.
I put her closer to a
twelve
. Dark complexion, shoulder
-
length
,
jet
-
black hair
,
sapphire
-
blue eyes
,
a
nd a body like
a centerfold
.
She looked in my direction
,
and I waved her over.

“
Trace?
”
she asked, extending her hand.

“
Dominic, very glad to meet you,
”
I replied, shaking
her
firm hand.

“
So, Trace, you
’
re meeting with Cyrus?
”

“
Well, when he called and
invited me to come down here for a meeting,
it was about twenty degrees in Ellensburg with blowing snow. Coupled with the fact
that
Cyrus is a large shareholder in Montana Creek Mining, the decision wasn
’
t too tough,
”
I said
,
with a laugh.

Dominic laughed
.
“
V
ery understandable
. I
hate snow too. Have you met Cyrus before?
”

“
Yes, he came to a presentation I made in Vancouver. We spoke for a few minutes. He
’
s quite a character.
”

“
Yes, he can be all charm and wit
,
but don
’
t underestimate him, Trace. He
’
s hard as nails and gives no quarter.
”

“
I know. He
’
s already had a couple of his
miscreants
try and foul up our drilling operation. And as you found out, he
’
s acquiring our shares both here
,
and in Vancouver.
”

My cell phone rang.
“
Speak of the devil. Excuse me just a sec.
”

“
Trace, Cyrus.
”

“
Yes
, sir
, what can I do for you?
”

“
Listen, Trace. I
’
m bringing a date with me to dinner. Do you want me to have her bring a friend for you?
”

“
Hold just a sec, Cyrus
,
”
I replied, cupping the phone
.
“
Dominic, care to have dinner with me
,
Cyrus
, and his date
?
Jack
’
s
a
round seven.
”

“
Love to
. I
t should be quite interesting.
”

“
Cyrus, I
’
ve got a date. We
’
ll meet you at seven.
”

“
Tell Dominic I look forward to her company
,
”
Cyrus said
,
with a chuckle.

“
Why am I not surprised you
’
d figure it out?
”
I said.

“
It
’
s a small island, Trace.
See you tonight.
”

Dominic and I swam, had a
drink with an umbrella in it
,
and go
t
to know each other a bit. Around five she left to get ready for dinner.

At seven sharp we all met at
Jack
’
s
Grill
.

“
Dominic, Trace, I
’
d like you to meet Lisa Miller. She
’
s from Sa
vanna
h
, Georgia
. G
raduate
d from
the University of Georgia
and
is
a former Miss Georgia
. Lisa manages the day
-
to
-
day operations of Carib International. Of course
,
you may already know that
.
”
Cyrus said, smiling at Dominic.

“
Nice to meet y
’
all,
”
Lisa
said,
her southern drawl like warm butter.

Sh
e
looked
to be in her early forties
,
but still a
b
eauty.

Cyrus
had
reservations
,
and we were seated
ahead of a large crowd waiting for tables.

From our table,
in a
VIP
reserved area
, we had
a breathtaking view of Seven Mile Beach.

We all ordered drinks
,
and Cyrus order
ed
a starter of
broiled
scallops for the table.

“
I think you
’
ll find the food here excellent,
”
Cyrus said
,
between bites of seared, curried scallops.
“
Jack
’
s
has become one of the most popular restaurants on the island. If you
’
re not
a friend of the management, so to speak, it
’
s damned hard to get a reservation.
”

Dominic and I order
ed
the
r
ed
s
napper with
cous
-
cous
. Lisa went with the
w
ahoo
,
and Cyrus chose lobster. Several bottles
of
two
-
year
-
old
,
and very expensive
,
Sauvig
n
on
Blanc
compl
e
mented the seafood and the conversation.

“
So, Trace, my compliments on your acquisition of the Sullivan Mine, g
oing
public
,
and a rising share price,
”
Cyrus said, raising his wine
-
glass in a toast.
“
I
’
m glad my vigilance of new mining claims allowed me the good fortune to participate in your venture.
”

“
Thank you, Cyrus,
”
I replied.
“
We appreciate Twisp River taking down a good portion of our private placement
,
and
Carib
’
s
continued investment in our shares.
”

Cyrus smiled and nodded
at Dominic.
“
Actually, I
’
m
quite happy Dominic was able to provide you with information on my ownership
of
Carib International
.
Without which, I doubt we
’
d all be together here tonight.
”

Dominic smiled at the polite jab
.
“
C
orporate research is my
speciality, Cyrus.
”

“
Touché,
”
Cyrus replied, winking at Dominic.
“
De
s
sert anyone?
The vanilla bean
créme-br
ûlée
is top
of the line.
”

As we were leaving
Jack
’
s
, Cyrus invited Dominic and
me
to join h
im
and Lisa
tomorrow
for a cruise and lunch on his boat.

“
Tomorrow at
e
leven
,
Blue Water
Yacht Club.
Dominic knows the way,
”
Cyrus said.
“
I
’
m moored at slip number thirty
-
five. She
’
s a black
-
and
-
white
,
forty
-
four
-
foot
Atlantic
.
”