Page 116 of Secret Weapon

“Is it organic?”

“How the fuck should I know?”

“You read the package, duh.”

“There was no package.You told me the bag was ‘too drab’ and dumped the contents into a canister decorated with butterflies, remember?”

“They’re hummingbirds.”

“Whatever.Talk.”

“I need Tylenol.”

Emmy rolled her eyes.“For crying out loud, someone find him a painkiller.”

Ana slipped out of the room, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if she didn’t come back, but at least Bradley started speaking.

“You didn’t think I could do it, did you?Find the man’s name?”He giggled.“But it was soooo easy.”

“Go on then, tell us how great you are.”

“In the picture, he was wearing a Jacobi Wykoff sweater.They’re very distinctive.”

“Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

Bradley looked her up and down, taking in the boxer shorts and giant T-shirt.

“Probably not.Why can’t you wear silk pyjamas like a normal person?”

“Normal?How many people here do you think wear silk pyjamas?”

At least one, but I wasn’t about to admit that in front of Emmy.They were one of the few luxuries I still allowed myself, okay?Plus they were practical.I always bought mine in black or navy blue, and I could run and jump and kick while wearing them.

Surprisingly, Ana reappeared with a bottle of pills, and Bradley swallowed a couple, then complained the coffee was too hot.If I were in Emmy’s position, he would have been wearing it by now.Hmm.I wondered for a moment whether Moscow’s burns were healing.His skin had been peeling nicely by the time Emmy’s contacts took him away.

“So, the man was wearing a Jacobi Wykoff sweater—which means he has excellent taste, by the way—and you can’t simply walk into a store and buy one off the rack.”

“Then how did he get it?”

“You book a consultation with Jacobi, and he makes you a custom piece tailored to your aura.”

“Are you serious?”

“Jacobi’s a genius at picking out personality traits.The sweater he made for me is pink and yellow to represent both my feminine side and my sunny disposition.”

“And how much did I pay for that?”

“Trust me, it was worth every cent.Anyhow, I can tell you that the man you’re looking for projects a friendly image, but he also has a dark side.See the way the cobalt stripes cross under the cornflower ones?Those are the parts of his psyche he keeps hidden.”

Sheesh.Who knew knitwear could be so revealing?Luckily, my budget didn’t run to a personalised sweater, and there was no way any designer would be analysingmyaura.

“Fantastic.So you’re saying we need to speak to this Jacobi guy?”

“You think I didn’t already do that?I had Barnaby call him up and invite him over.”

“Tell me you didn’t mention the case?”

Bradley narrowed his eyes, indignant.“Do you think I’m a numbskull?”

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