I sit back.“So…no poison.”
“No poison.”Vinnie sips his coffee.“We should push on other suspects.People you—” He stops abruptly.Then, “People who were around you in Colombia.Marco Ramirez.Dietrich Klein.Isabella Valentini.”
“Diego Vega,” Robin says, voice low.
Vinnie shakes his head immediately.“Vega is dead.”
Robin doesn’t yield.“I’ve been thinking about that.It could all be a ruse.”
“He’s dead,” Vinnie says.“I’ve seen photos.”
“So have I.”Robin doesn’t budge.“And I also know about the barn.”She swallows, glances at Raven.“About Falcon and Eagle.Ray told me.She felt bad I was the one sibling who didn’t know.”
Raven nods, unapologetic.“I was done pretending that wasn’t part of our story.”
Robin looks back to Vinnie.“They thought that man was Diego Vega.He wasn’t.Vega turned up alive in Colombia later.So what if these photos arealsowrong?What if the corpse is a fake?What if someone wants us off his tail?”
Vinnie leans in.“Unlike three traumatized teenagers, I don’t make mistakes on ID.Not like that.”
Robin rolls her eyes.“Falcon wasn’t a teenager.He was twenty-two.And Hawk had never seen him before.But Eagle had, and he wouldn’t make that kind of mistake.”
“I believe you about Vega,” I say to Vinnie, because I do.“And I think looking at the others might be a waste.”
Vinnie tilts his head.“Why?”
“Because the chocolates are the thing.”I sit forward.“There’s a culinary element here.Today in class, Chef Charleston lectured about chocolate and how it differs by region.Cocoa percentages.Texture.Mouthfeel.If one of those chocolates is different—different origin, different fat content, different nose—he’ll see it.Maybe that’s the ‘special surprise.’Not poison.A clue.”
No one responds.
Robin’s forehead is wrinkled.She gets what I’m saying.Vinnie’s brow is furrowed.He gets it, but he has doubts.Raven has excused herself for a moment.
“That makes sense.”Robin turns to Vinnie.“Admit it.That’s smart.”
Vinnie’s mouth curves.“It’s not dumb.”He rises, leaves the kitchen for a moment, and returns with a zip bag.“But chocolate?Really?”He sighs.“Then again, we have to follow every lead.I only took a portion of each piece.The rest is intact.I figured you’d want them back.”
A shiver runs along my spine.“Thank you.”
“Don’t eat them,” Vinnie says dryly.
“I won’t.I’ll take them to Chef Charleston tomorrow and ask him to analyze them.”
“Careful what you share,” Vinnie says.“Keep the talk in the kitchen.Not the hallway.”
“I know.I won’t tell him why I’m asking.I’ll make something up.”
Raven returns and gets caught up on the conversation.She turns to me.“Are you going to be able to sleep?”
“I don’t know,” I say honestly.
“We’ve got chamomile,” she offers.“And an old movie.”
“Maybe.”
Robin sighs.“I’m worried about you.And about Hawk.I’m afraid he’s going off the rails, which is unlike him.”
“I told him to stop,” I say.
“And?”
