Kingston Kidnappings (What Happens In Vegas Book 3) by Matt Lincoln (classic books for 10 year olds txt) 📕

had a suspicious feeling that she might have overcharged him since two thousand Jamaican dollars came out to a little under fifteen American Dollars. Then again, it had been several years since I was in Jamaica, and I honestly couldn’t say what the going rate for a handmade cloth doll was these days. In any case, Charlie was smiling at the bag, and he looked happier than he had this entire excursion, so I decided not to say anything about it.

“We still have about an hour before we need to head back to the hotel to get ready,” I hummed as we walked away from the stall. “Do you want to get something to eat before then?”

“Really?” Charlie replied as he pulled his own phone out to check the time. “I didn’t realize so much time had already passed.”

“It’s easy to lose track of time in the city,” I shrugged. “There’s so much to see and do.”

“That’s true,” Charlie agreed. “What did you have in mind as far as food? You’re the expert here.”

“Well, let me think,” I mulled it over as I led him over to a different part of the street. We didn’t have to go far before merchandise stalls gave way to food carts and small restaurants. “You’ll have to try some authentic Jerk Chicken, of course. You can’t come to Jamaica and not try it. I think you should try some Kabritu as well.” I shot him a sly smile, and I could read the apprehension in his face.

“What is that?” he asked apprehensively.

“Don’t worry about it,” I brushed him off. “Just trust me, you’ll like it.” In my opinion, Kabritu was pretty good, but most people tended to be put off just from hearing what it was. It would be better if he tasted it first, so he could give his honest opinion.

I led him to two different stalls, first for the Jerk Chicken and then for the Kabritu.

“Soup?” Charlie asked. “Isn’t it kind of warm for that?”

“Stew,” I corrected as I looked around for a place for us to sit. “And no, it’s a traditional street food regardless of what time of year it is. It never really gets cold in Jamaica, so there’s not much in the way of seasonally exclusive foods.”

We sat down on the edge of a large fountain and dug into our food. It had been a few hours since we’d set out, and I couldn’t speak for Charlie, but I felt absolutely ravenous. Though, judging by the way he was scarfing down the food, I could tell he was hungry as well.

“Okay,” Charlie nodded as she finished off his bowl of stew. “You were right. That was pretty good. So why did you give me that creepy smirk when you told me you were gonna have me try it?”

“It wasn’t creepy,” I protested. “And it’s goat meat.”

“Goat?” Charlie asked in surprise, his eyebrows shooting up into his hairline. I nodded.

“Well, I stand by what I said,” Charlie shrugged. “It was good. And it’s probably a good thing that you didn’t tell me what it was beforehand.”

“I thought that might be best,” I agreed.

I was still snickering when he stood up and looked around for a trash can to dispose of the empty stew container. What occurred next happened so quickly that if I hadn’t been used to this place, I might have missed it entirely.

“Stop!” I yelled as I stood up and gripped the passing man by the back of his shirt. He coughed and sputtered as I pulled so hard that it dug into his neck and cut off his airway. I shoved him roughly to the ground before forcing his fist open and retrieving the item he had clutched there.

“What the hell?” Charlie yelled as he stared down at me in confusion.

“He took this,” I explained as I stood up and presented Charlie’s wallet to him. His eyes went wide as he frantically checked his pants pockets.

“How…?” he hissed as he glared at the young man, still catching his breath on the ground.

“He’s a pickpocket,” I replied. “Unfortunately, not uncommon in Kingston. Especially when they spot what looks like a clueless American tourist.”

The young man looked up at us with frightened eyes before shooting to his feet and bolting away in the opposite direction. A few people turned to watch the altercation, but they didn’t intervene or even react. They just continued going about their day.

“Thanks,” Charlie huffed. “Losing my wallet would have been a pain to deal with.”

“No problem,” I shook my head. “Pick-pocketing and other petty crimes are just a sad reality of life here, though it’s gotten a lot better than when I was a girl. I’m just glad I’m not rusty after spending so long away from here.”

We decided to head back to the hotel then, and in the end, I decided not to mention going to see my cousin. We’d had a nice afternoon, and I didn’t want to spoil it by bringing up family drama. We wouldn’t have time now, anyway, since we needed to go and get ready for the mission that evening. That was what I told myself as we made our way back, and I pushed away the small feelings of regret that bloomed inside me as I let the chance to see my family again slip away.

23

Junior

We sped down the highway along with two police cruisers. We’d managed to get in contact with Kamya’s little sister Lakshmi just under an hour ago. Miranda had done everything she could to keep her on the line for as long as possible while Fiona rushed to trace the call, but in the end, whoever was holding Lakshmi captive had discovered that she was speaking to us. The last thing we’d heard before the call ended was Lakshmi’s scream.

Miranda had been shell-shocked immediately following the phone call, but she’d snapped out of it once we were in the car. She’d called Wallace to tell him about what had happened