Page 122 of A Secret to Die For

“She must be feeling better if she’s hunting dick again. Anyone want to share a bottle of wine, or should I drink it all myself?”

“Isn’t it a bit early for that?”

“Somewhere in the world, it’s happy hour.”

In New York, in fact. I’d barely taken a sip of my rosé when Gracie phoned.

“Did you see the news?” she asked.

“No, I’m in a restaurant.”

“Find a TV. Then find a bottle of champagne.” She gave a long exhale. “My gosh, I can’t believe it’s over.”

“What’s over? What do you mean?”

I found out two minutes later when Blue convinced the bartender to hand over the remote. It didn’t take much channel-hopping to land on the news.

Police have released the name of the man killed in a fiery crash in northern Virginia last night. Graham Mandell, who served the people of Oregon in Congress for the past twenty years, left the road in what is understood to be a single-car accident. The late-model Lexus was found by a passing motorist, and although emergency services were fast to arrive on the scene, it was sadly too late for the occupant of the vehicle. During his time on Capitol Hill, Congressman Mandell put forward a number of bills to…

I tuned out the reporter. Mandell was dead? Really gone? Holy heck. Brooke looked as shocked as I felt, but Blue’s expression was more admiration than anything else.

“That…is fucked up. And also damned impressive.”

As the details began to sink in, I had to agree. Mandell had left the road in northern Virginia, the same way as my parents had, and the Bad Samaritan had made my mom’s last wish come true. He’d burned. Was that a coincidence, or was the Bad Samaritan psychic as well as smart and deadly? I was shaking. I was actually shaking.

And relieved.

And free.

I waved the bartender across. “Please could you bring a bottle of your best champagne?”

Gracie was right. It was over.

And as usual, Blue’s mind was racing ahead. “Did you know Deck’s out of town? I wanted him to fix the railing on my stairs, but he said he wouldn’t be back until later this week.”

Brooke’s mouth formed a perfect O. “So you think…?”

The bartender returned with a bottle. “Ms. Baldwin-Forlani?”

I hadn’t realised he knew my name. “Yes?”

“The boss says this is on the house.”

“What? Why?”

“He didn’t give any details, ma’am.”

Blue dug an elbow into my side. “You mean Nico? We should thank him in person. Is he here?”

“He’s unavailable right now, but I’ll be sure to pass on your appreciation. How many glasses do you need? Four? Are those gentlemen with you?”

I spun to see Garrett approaching with Lewis trailing behind, and Garrett’s concerned expression said he’d seen the news. He took his place by my side and kissed my forehead.

“You okay?”

“Today, I’m better than okay.” I turned back to the bartender. “Seven glasses. We’ll need seven glasses.”

I thought it was over.

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