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Fortune Investigations was dying.
Daisy was no dope, either. She knew this case could help revive it. But at what cost? Things had worked out at Rhodes, but knowing she was so far away from her father had been a terrible feeling, like walking on eggshells every moment of the day. If something happened to her father when she was gone, she’d never be able to forgive herself.
She continued flipping pages through the calendar. “I can see, but I really would have to—"
Goldie said, “I’ll pay, of course, for everything. I’ll give you a black card.”
“A black . . . what?”
“A black card, darling. It’s a card to take care of any of your expenses. No matter what the cost. There’s no limit on it; I’ll cover it all. And of course, what is your fee? Is a hundred-thousand enough?”
Daisy nearly gagged. She’d have to do a hundred cheating spouse cases to make that money. “Well, I—”
“Two hundred, then?”
Daisy’s eyes widened. “Well, I don’t know—”
“Look,” the woman said in a low voice, leaning over so far that the bottoms of her long earrings hit the desktop. “I’m really at the end of my rope. I don’t know who else to ask. And I feel like Frankie has been begging me from the grave. I have to do something. And I see you’re from an impressive lineage. That’s your father, huh?”
Daisy followed the woman’s gaze to the photo of her father with the president. She nodded.
“I see the resemblance. And I can tell you’d be good at this. You’re sweet. But not too sweet. So I have no doubt you’d be able to work your way into their place and find the truth.”
Daisy looked up at the photograph. Though she’d been taught all her father’s tricks, she’d thought she’d be working by his side a lot longer than she had. Goldie was a lot more confident about Daisy’s abilities than Daisy was herself.
But her father, looking at the camera, seemed to say,Do it. Just say yes.
When she turned back, Goldie was standing over her. Clearly a take-charge kind of woman, she had her hand out, ready to shake. “So two-hundred thousand, half on signing, half after the investigation is complete. Is it a deal, doll?”
Two-hundred-thousand.The amount was so big, it made all of her financial problems seem tiny, in comparison.
That was what she needed, to keep her father receiving the best care possible. In the end, that was all that mattered.
Daisy stood up and shook her hand. “Fine. It’s a deal.”
“Great,” she said, her handshake firm. “Send along the invoice and I’ll see that you’re paid. I’ll have my assistant book you on a flight out, say, tomorrow? And send you all the details. How does that sound?”
“Good,” Daisy said, hardly able to believe that at this time, tomorrow, she’d be heading for Venice. She’d always wanted to go there. But if her trip to Greece had proven anything, it was that working at an exotic place and actually enjoying it were two different things. “I can’t wait.”
CHAPTER FOUR
It was Daisy’s first time in luxury class on a commercial airline. Everything was going her way. The champagne was flowing, the snacks were plentiful, and the wealthy, attractive businessman in the seat next to her was attempting to chat her up.
If only she had the ability to enjoy it.
Instead, she was too lost in her head, trying to plan her next steps for when she landed in Venice, in less than ten hours. This was a red-eye flight, so she’d arrive in the morning. Most of the people around her were sleeping, save for the man next to her, who had his laptop out and was busily typing away. Some presentation in Italian with a lot of numbers and graphs.
Daisy couldn’t sleep. Not with everything going through her head.
“More champagne?” the flight attendant asked as Daisy buried her nose in her files, trying to read up on Franklin Tate.
“No thanks,” she murmured, pointing to her still-full glass.
“I’ll take some,” the businessman said, holding his flute out over Daisy in order to refill it. Some drops fell on Daisy’s papers, but she barely noticed.
Franklin Tate was what most would call a wheeler-dealer. He liked to throw things up against the wall and see what would stick. In his youth, he’d had lots of businesses, most failures. But then he hit upon a success in shrink wrapping, and made his fortune there. Not a very glamorous business, but his lifestyle sure was. From the information Goldie had provided, he was often jetting around to all the richest playgrounds in the world, gambling. His villa in Venice was neither quaint nor charming—it was a giant mansion, poised on an island cliffside in the Venice harbor. Everything in the file Goldie had sent detailed his life of wealth and extravagance.
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Even though it was far plusher than riding economy, Daisy didn’t fit in here. She knew it. She recalled the way she’d felt during the last case, in Rhodes, like a piece of lead among so many diamonds. Not only had she been taxed with finding a murderer, but she’d also had to contend with navigating an alien world.
