Page 117 of A Touch of Treachery
“Whatanswers?”
She laughed, as though it should have been as clear as glass.“About your father, of course.And what really happened in Mexico.”
Once again, my entire body stiffened, even as my heart gave a painful wrench.A dozen questions dangled on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them all down.Henrika was playing yet another game, and she wouldn’t tell me anything she didn’t want me to know.
She eyed me, but when it became apparent that I wasn’t going to demand answers, her mouth puckered with disappointment.“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out sooner or later.But in the meantime, I have another engagement.”
Henrika delicately blotted her red lips with a napkin, slid out of the booth, and got to her feet.She pulled a hundred-dollar bill out of her coat pocket and laid it on the tabletop.She stared at me, a thoughtful look filling her face.“Come work for me, Charlotte.”
Shock zinged through me.That was just about the last thing I’d expected her to say.“What?”
“Come work for me,” she repeated.“We both know your talents are being wasted at Section 47.Jethro Percy is a duplicitous fool who will never appreciate your skills.I could use someone like you in my organization.Someone smart and dedicated.Someone who can see the big picture and isn’t afraid to break the rules to get results.”
Truth, my synesthesia whispered.As crazy as it seemed, Henrika’s offer was genuine.
I slid out of the booth and climbed to my feet so that we were eye to eye.“I willneverwork for you,” I growled.“And I will never stop trying to take you down for what you did to Desmond.You should just kill me now.Because sooner or later, one way or another, Iwilldestroy you.”
A mysterious smile played across her lips.“We’ll see.Enjoy your evening, Charlotte.And please tell Pablo that cheesecake wasamazing.”
Henrika lifted her fingers to her mouth and blew a chef’s kiss.She smirked at me a moment longer, then strolled away.The two guards followed her, and all three of them left the diner.
Helpless and angry, I stood by the booth and watched through the windows as my greatest nemesis climbed into a waiting SUV and disappeared into the cold, snowy night.
Ididn’tcallGiaor Evelyn and tell them what had happened.I didn’t call Joan or Diego either.I didn’t even alert Gabriel or Desmond.Instead, I finished my shift, closed the diner for the night, and went to my apartment.
Desmond was working late at Section headquarters, still caught up in his own mission debriefings and reports.I texted to let him know I was home, stripped off my waitress uniform, took a hot shower, and threw on some fuzzy fleece pajamas.
Then I got to work.
Over the past two weeks, I’d brought home copies of every single Section file relating to Henrika.All the initial research I’d done on her, all the reports about our confrontation at the Halstead Hotel, all the info from the Tannenbaum mission and the Vault heist, and every map, photo, and report relating to the Winterfest mission.Several towering piles of folders, binders, and papers covered the kitchen island counter, and I hadn’t had a chance to put them in any kind of order yet.
No time like the present.
I grabbed the files, sat down on my yoga mat, and spread everything out on the floor.And then I went through them all again.Only this time, instead of trying to figure out where Henrika had gone, I scoured the files for anything connected to my father’s doomed Mexico mission.
An hour passed, then two, then three.I didn’t find anything I didn’t already know, and I didn’t see any report I hadn’t already looked at a dozen times.
Frustration pounded through my body, igniting a dull ache in the back of my skull.I needed a break, so I left the papers behind, opened the to-go box Pablo had given me earlier, and shoved a big bite of cheesecake into my mouth.Summer-sweet blackberries floating in a rich, creamy vanilla-bean custard with a buttery graham-cracker crust and just a hint of cinnamon.So good.
I poured myself a glass of milk, then took my cheesecake and returned to the nest of papers and pictures on the floor.I stared out over the haphazard mess, and a tired sigh escaped my lips.As an analyst, I usually wanted more information, but right now I was drowning in facts, figures, and files.I knew the solution was here somewhere, but damned if I could see it right now.
I sent you everything you needed to find the answers you’re so desperately searching for, Henrika’s mocking words filled my mind.
“Sure you did, Henrika.”I scoffed and shoved another bite of cheesecake into my mouth.
I sent you everything you needed to find the answers ...
Sent you everything you needed ...
Sent you ...
My fork froze in midair.What had Henrika ever actuallysentme?
As soon as I asked the question, the answer popped into my mind: the invitation to the Winterfest event at the Glittertop Resort.
Henrika had mailed the invitation, so I supposed that counted as sending me something.Either way, it had been one of the first dominoes to fall in this long, twisted chain of events, so I dug through the files until I found a Section report with a picture of the invitation.
I read through the invitation itself, but it was the same as it had been the day I received it, and no clues were hidden in Henrika’s snarky words.According to the Section techs who had analyzed it, the invitation was exactly what it appeared to be—ink on paper, with no microdots, invisible messages, or anything else extra or suspicious.So why would Henrika boast about sending me everything I needed?
