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She paused. She hadn’t really been listening to herself, but she knew from her breathlessness that she’d been talking a mile a minute. She probably sounded crazy. And at this point, she nearly was. “I know, I know. But—"
“You know, Daisy, you sound like you’re letting the pressure fall on your head, and it’s weighing you down. I never could think when I’m under that kind of pressure. You need to take a deep breath and try to get into a better space,” he advised.
He was right. She closed her eyes. Her father always said that she was too excitable, which got in the way of the level head she needed to solve these cases. She was over-excited now, because she felt like she had to solve this case in a day so she could get home. Because of that ticking time bomb in her head, she had been running around like a headless chicken, barely giving herself time to ponder the case. She was never going to be any use to anyone unless she learned to calm herself down andthink.
“Thanks for the reminder,” she said sincerely. “I’ll do that. And thanks for talking me down from the ledge. I needed someone to do that.”
He paused. “Yeah, and if you can’t find anything after Lyon, why not toddle on back home? Goldie hired you to because she thought the wife was in on it. You don’t think she is. Come home and tell her that. No one will think any less of you if you don’t have all the answers. You have the one she was looking for. That’s all that matters.”
She frowned. Maybe Zachary, and her father, wouldn’t think anything less of her . . . but she would. This was only her second real case, and she wanted to bring it to a successful conclusion, to reveal answers that even the police couldn’t find. She’d gotten such a high from it, last time. But not only that . . . it just wouldn’t feel right to stop now.
Not when the answers were out there. Somewhere.
“I’ll think about it,” she lied.
“Good. And then you’ll have no excuse not to come with me to see the show. It’s a great one. One of my favorites.”
“Sounds great,” she said listlessly. “Thanks for everything. I’ll give you a call when I’m back in town.”
She ended the call and stared at her phone. She hated lying to him, especially since he was just trying to help. And he was right. It already had been much more dangerous than she’d expected. It wasn’t wise to get involved trying to find out who’d killed a man that had amassed serious debt with some powerful people. But she needed to see this through.
Pushing off of her chair, she opened her phone and tried to make calls to the flight attendants. Again, the phone rang through, so she left a message for each of them. Then she went to the lobby of the hotel to get a room for the night.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The next morning, bright and early, Daisy’s plane touched down in the city of Lyon.
As expected, she hadn’t slept much in the hotel, since she couldn’t stop thinking of the case. She wanted to get to Lyon as soon as possible, so when she walked into the lobby at just after six to get some coffee, she was happy to see Arlo waiting there, ready to go. As the plane landed, Arlo told her he was going to use the time to catch up on his sleep. “Take your time,” he said with a yawn as he climbed back into the cockpit. “I’ve got nothing better to do.”
It also helped that she was chartering his plane by the hour. “Thanks.”
Lyon itself was a more cosmopolitan city than a resort escape for the rich and famous; it wasn’t as ultra-flashy or ritzy as the other places they’d visited. Homes ranged from extravagant mansions to hovels. There were people around in modest clothes and looking rather bland, just like she felt. But Daisy found herself feeling just as out-of-place as the cab took her to the casino. All the old cathedrals and ancient architecture were a stark reminder that she was still very far from home.
As the cab pulled up to the sprawling, Egyptian-themed casino overlooking the Rhône, she saw a couple of shifty-looking men in dark suits, whispering together, and thought again about what Zachary had said.This could be dangerous.
Squaring her shoulders, she stepped out of the cab and went through the front revolving door, which was flanked by giant sphinxes.
The casino seemed to stretch on forever. Despite the early hour, it was packed with people at the tables, and using the slot machines. Most of them looked as if they hadn’t slept at all last night.
All the staff in the place had the misfortune of wearing flowing white garments and golden headdresses like those of ancient Egypt. She stopped a waitress wearing gladiator sandals. “Excuse me, do you speak English?”
She nodded. “What can I help you with?”
Daisy pulled out her phone and found the photograph of Franklin Tate. “I’m wondering if you might have seen this man, and the people he was with, about four nights ago?”
She stared at the picture and nodded. “Monsieur Tate. Yes, he comes here quite often. But they were not here long. Only about ten minutes.”
“Ten?” That was a surprise. According to Arlo, they’d spent a few hours in Lyon. So where else had they been the rest of the time?
“Oui, I suspect they must’ve gone somewhere else, but I don’t know where.”
“Do you remember anything unusual about what he was doing, who he was with . . . ?”
“I remember bringing him a cocktail while he and his friends were at the tables. He was with a large party, from what I remember. Many men and women. But he usually travels with many people.”
“Was he with a woman? A woman with red hair?”
She nodded. “Now that you mention it, I think he was. They seemed very close. I’d never seen her before. She was not a regular here.”
