Page 95 of While You Were Spying
I ignore everything she’s saying because she just reminded me of why we’re here. Whether I like it or not, we still have a job to do. Together.
“You told Bernard about me,” I say to Josephine, quickly setting the train once again on the tracks. I’ll circle back to the love thing once Isabelle and I are finished with our questions. “What exactly did you tell him?”
She considers it for a moment. “Not a whole lot. Mostly your name and how you two are close friends.” A frown crinkles across her brow. “Now that I think about it, I didn’t tell him about your job or that you work with Isabelle. But when he contacted me two weeks ago, he seemed to know what you do for a living.
“He was the one who suggested that you could help him with his dilemma since the police weren’t interested in the case.”
“He told you that he had spoken with the police?” Isabelle asks, catching the same discrepancy between that and what Bradshaw told us.
Josephine nods. “He said they weren’t smart enough to solve the mystery themselves. And that he needed someone with the brains to puzzle it out.”
“And you suggested that Isabelle could help him?”
“No, he did. It was his idea that you both go to his resort to help him.”
“Why us both? Why not just me or Jayden?” Isabelle asks.
“Because he said the resort was the perfect setting for you to finally admit to yourselves that you’re in love.”
Isabelle narrows her eyes at her grandmother, but then her voice goes soft, almost chiding. “Admit it. That’s the real reason you agreed to his scheme, isn’t it?”
Josephine grimaces. Henri mournfully says, “I guess we won’t be having champagne after all.”
Liza pats him on the knee, her voice sympathetic. “I’m sure we’ll find an occasion to use it soon enough.” She smiles sweetly at us.
“Did he say anything that raised alarms when you and he talked about the plan?” I ask.
Josephine gasps, her face suddenly pale. “Alarms? Do you think he was responsible for Isabelle being kidnapped?”
“We believe there’s an excellent chance he was involved. Unfortunately, the men who did the actual kidnapping aren’t talking.”
“Oh, heavens. If I had realized he was capable of something like that, I would never have agreed to the plan. I really thought he was helping me get you two together.”
“Had you seen Bernard recently—before he called you to ask for our help?” Isabelle asks.
“He came up to San Francisco a few days before he asked me to contact you. He said he was in town for business but would love to see me before he returned home.”
“So you met him here at the house?”
“No, at a restaurant.Le Pierre.”
“By we,” Henri says, “she means thatshemet with Bernard, but Liza and I tagged along. Only he didn’t realize it.”
“We wanted to make sure Josephine was okay. That he wasn’t trying to take advantage of her.” Liza spreads her arms, gesturing to the grand house that screams money.
I smile at the two friends. “I’m glad to hear that.” God knows what else the asshole would’ve tried—or could still try—given he had arranged to have Isabelle and Landon kidnapped.
“Did you notice anything suspicious while at the restaurant?” Isabelle asks.
Josephine shakes her head. Liza and Henri exchange questioning glances.
“There was a table with three men not far from where Josephine and Bernard were sitting,” Henri says. “They kept looking over at their table. One of them was older. Not quite as old as us, but definitely up there in years. There was also a much bigger man. Like a wrestler. He didn’t really say much. It was the older man and the younger one who did all the talking.”
“We thought the older man might have recognized her from back in the day,” Liza adds. “He was old enough to have seen her movies. It wouldn’t be the first time people recognized her and stared at her or approached her for an autograph.”
“Did they talk to her or go near the table at any point?”
They both shake their heads.
