AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hugo wondered how solid this lead was. “How did he track her down?”
“Oscar is a computer genius. There’s pretty much no one he can’t find with just a few clicks on the keyboard. I guess you can tell we’re opposites when it comes to technology. I’m not sure I remember ever seeing a pen in Oscar’s hand. If he can’t beat the words or some fancy computer code out on his keyboard, he figures it’s not worth writing down.”
“He must not have been able to find her, though, if you haven’t maintained your correspondence,” Lancelot said carefully.
Sylvia shook her head. “Oh, he found her. He just said she was okay, and then asked if I wanted to know where she was. I said no.”
Lancelot’s eyelid twitched. “Why would you say no?”
“I just wanted to know she was okay, not stalk her,” she said defensively.
“So your brother is the one with the investigator’s spirit. Maybe I could chat with him, compare notes.”
Sylvia was grinning. “My brother is very good at what he does. He probably tried to tell me in great technological detail how he’d found her, but all that stuff is Greek to me. I shouldn’t tell you this, but I think he hacked into something he shouldn’t have. Like I said, all I really wanted to know was that she was all right.”
Sylvia frowned and looked at her watch. “Oh dear. Speaking of Oscar, I promised my mom I’d check in on him today. He’s had a nasty head cold the past few days, but he’s terrible about taking care of himself. I’ve been stopping by every couple of days to boost him full of medicine, vitamins, and chicken noodle soup. I hate to cut this short, but I should probably head out to his place.”
Hugo stood. “I understand. We’ve interrupted your plans for the day. We’re going to be in Charleston for a few days more. I hope we can—”
“Can we come?” Lancelot asked.
Sylvia blinked in surprise.
“I want to meet this tech-investigator genius. Talk shop. Maybe offer him a job.”
At that, Sylvia laughed. “Of course you can come. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet. It’s just so wonderful to see you, Hugo.”
“I feel the same.” He truly did.
“I didn’t expect our paths to ever cross again. I was actually going to see if the two of you would be interested in having a local play tour guide for you while you’re here.”
Hugo smiled. “You’re too kind. We don’t want to impose.”
“No imposition. I’ll show you the sights on our way to my brother’s place.”
The gnawing fear that the conversation with the fleet admiral had instilled in Hugo melted away. If Oscar could tell them where Alicia was, they’d go pick her up and be on their way home within a matter of days.
And in the meantime, he was going to enjoy this chance to reconnect with Sylvia.
Chapter Six
Lancelot had offered to drive, but Sylvia insisted they join her in her Nissan LEAF. Lancelot took the front passenger seat—claiming he needed more leg room—leaving Hugo in the back. He took the middle spot and leaned forward, forearms braced against the front seats so he would still be able to converse.
Sylvia looked around her seat, then said, “Hold on, I forgot my tote. I’ll be right back.” She opened the door and dashed into the house.
Lancelot twisted in his seat, face grim. “This is too easy. I don’t trust it.”
“It or her?” Hugo ducked his head to look at where Sylvia was letting herself into the house. “You can’t seriously be concerned that she’s a threat.”
Lancelot grunted. “We just need to be careful. The postmark on that letter was from four months ago. Before Alicia killed Derrick and quit her job, so that part checks out. You don’t know this brother of hers, do you?”
Hugo shook his head. “No. I knew she was close with her family, but no details.”
“If the Trinity Masters are setting us up…” Lancelot tapped his fingers on the dashboard.
“You’ve set up a silent alarm on the safe house. If they start looking around, we’ll know.”
Lancelot took no comfort from that reminder. “One of us should drive our car and follow. Otherwise we have no way to get out.”
