Page 47 of Fatal Thrill
“SirRef?”
“Ferris,” Jon said, “spelledbackwards.”
Shelby smiled. “So itisa code name. You’re pretty smart, you knowthat?”
“The illustrious treasure hunter got rich, bailed on his investors, and now hunts for other elusive treasures under a fake name using an illegitimate business?” Jaya asked. “Wonderful.”
Jon shrugged. “Sean might have hired him to find the cross, or used him to get a buyer once he located it. We really have noidea.”
Jaya played with the last bite of her sandwich. “And it gets us no closer to findingFinn.”
Shelby’s phone buzzed. Her face blanched when she looked at the caller ID. “Sorry. Gotta takethis.”
Snatching up the phone, she boogied out of the kitchen but not far enough away that they couldn’t hear her. “Yes, sir… I know, sir, it’s just I heard some locals talking about him and this castle, so I did a drive-by, hoping to catch him. The place was abandoned except for his body. Uh huh…yes, of course. I was just about to dothat…”
Jaya, Jon, and Colton exchanged looks. Jon picked up his phone and sent a text to Beatrice. “Guess we better get the full resources of SFI on this before the Garda ties ourhands.”
A moment later, Shelby returned, looking slightly chagrin. “Running Fitzpatrick through the system triggered an alert to my boss. I had told him I was taking a couple vacation days to come here with Colton. He wondered what I was upto.”
Colton rubbed her back. “You introuble?”
“I think he believed me when I told him I came across Fitz byaccident.”
“Honey, you’re the worst liararound.”
She jabbed Colton in the ribs. “Amnot!”
He chuckled, rubbing his side. “Gotta call the localsnow?”
“Afraid so. My boss also wants me to notifyInterpol.”
They allgroaned.
Soon, Jon was on a call with Beatrice, and Shelby was also on the phone, answering questions from a local detective. Jon had stepped outside where it was already growing dark, thanks to the prevailing gloom that seemed to hug this area near thecoast.
Jaya watched him through the kitchen window, noticing Kieran and his dog making rounds and herding the half dozen or so sheep toward thebarn.
Jon was handsome in the twilight, his hair no longer pulled back in a low bun and a couple days’ worth of beard along his jawline. He leaned on the stones just outside the door and she could hear bits and pieces of his conversation, but she didn’t care to eavesdrop. She needed to come up with an idea that would help find Finn, but if these experts, with all their skills and technology, hadn’t figured it out yet, how was she supposedto?
Sensing Jon was going to be a while, she phoned the care facility in Good Hope to check on her mother. She’d already called once that day, but she needed to hear that Momma was safe and doing all right one moretime.
She missed her mother’s voice, and the light in her eyes when she saw Jaya coming. The tender words she’d spoken to ease Jaya’s hurt when she’d been a girl and people had picked on her. She missed her mother standing at the stove cooking. Rocking in her favorite chair. Culling herbs in their tiny garden out back to make her tonics and blends. Their house hadn’t been more than a shack, but Jaya missed the rough wooden floorboards, the herbs hanging from the rafters. Her mother’s humming as she smudged her tarot cards and gave readings to those brave enough to seek out the Indian Gypsy, as the locals called her, to find out about theirfutures.
The gal at the front desk answered and connected Jaya to her mother’s nurse, Vivienne. Vivi had been with the home for as long as Kala had been there. “She’s doing a little better this afternoon,” Vivi said. “Ate well at lunch and is having anap.”
“No one has called or shown up and bothered her, have they?” Jayaasked.
“No one but the bodyguard you sent. She’s had a peaceful day. Is this about your dad,Jaya?”
“Sort of. He’s gotten into a fix with some bad people and I’m trying to make sure Mom isn’t caught in thefallout.”
“We’ll keep a close eye on her, I promiseyou.”
“Thanks,Vivi.”
“Will you be backsoon?”
Through the window, she saw Jon rub his forehead. He looked tired. “As soon as Ican.”
