Page 57 of Edge of Secrets

“Let’s go to Italy and ask them,” I said, impulsively.

Everyone stared at me, mouths agape.

“Um, Duncan?” Nell began. “Hold on a second. Slow down.”

“Why?” The fantastic idea was taking hold in my mind, driving everything else out. Castles, frescoes, fields of sunflowers, great pasta, thick Florentine steaks, liters of kick-ass red wine. Walking through winding cobblestone streets with Nell on my arm—her in a skimpy little sundress with lots of cleavage, getting a tan, eating gelato, relaxing, seeing lots of beautiful art and architecture that turned her on. Nell, naked in our rumpled hotel room bed, her eyes sultry, satiated. Yeah.

Nell snorted. “Please. Be reasonable. What about the game? And my summer school students? And your business?”

“The game will wait,” I said. “The students will live. And I haven’t taken a vacation since I started the business. It’s hard to justify vacations when you’re running your own operation.”

“Tell me about it,” Vivi said wearily.

“I cannot afford a trip to Italy,” Nell’s voice had gotten sharp.

“So we’ll divide the labor,” I offered. “You do all the talking in the hotels and the restaurants, and I wave my credit card around.”

Vivi laughed with delight. “I like your style, Duncan.”

I shrugged. “It’s a perfect way to get you out of their sights.”

“Not really,” Liam said. “To my mind, it’s the first place they’d expect her to go. She’d be noticed there, and watched.”

I was somewhat deflated by that very sensible observation, but I still couldn’t let it go. I tracked with part of my mind, taking in data while they brainstormed about the letter, the safe, Marco, the attackers, the map. The rest of me played with the Tuscan vacation fantasy like a dog with a bone. Gnawing it, licking it, loving it.

Nell began rubbing her eyes at about one-thirty in the morning, and I took her hand. “We should get back. You need some sleep,” I told her. “We promised Bruce you’d be at the office tomorrow. But not until later in the morning.”

She stifled a yawn and smiled. “Yeah, I’m whipped.”

“Give them your new phone number,” I said.

Nancy and Vivi looked at each other, mouths theatrically agape. “New phone?”

“Oh, shut up, Viv,” Nell grumbled. “He bullied me into it.” She scribbled the number twice on a cocktail napkin and ripped it into two pieces, handing one to each sister. Hugs and giggles, jokes and teasing admonitions followed among the three sisters, while I and Liam eyed each other.

Liam’s face was grim. “Stay sharp,” he said under his breath. “Those fuckers are motivated. They almost got me both times they tried. It was pure luck that saved us.”

“Same here,” I said. “I’m on it.”

Liam nodded, looking cautiously relieved. “It’s good knowing someone else has our backs from another direction. Let us know what your friend in Oregon says. When Vivi’s on the road, we don’t sleep at night.”

“I hear you.” We shook hands and made our way out.

Nell and I were silent on the way home. I was so heavy into my Italian-vacation-with-Nell fantasy that I was surprised when she spoke.

“They really liked you,” she said.

That made me happy. “Yeah? Great. How do you figure?”

“They told me so. But even if they hadn’t, I could tell, the way they talked about our private problems. Like it was a given that you were part of it. They would never have done that if they didn’t like you.”

“So I don’t have to worry about being disemboweled?”

Nell stifled a giggle. “Not for the moment,” she said. “You sure did throw your weight around, though. Your bank account, too.”

I glanced at her profile. “I’m sorry if that was offensive to you.”

“It seemed like you were trying to communicate to them that you’ve got money. I think they got the message loud and clear.”

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