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“Yeah.” He paused. “All the financial aid Marino has offered my family over the years makes me think he was involved in my father’s disappearance, but at times I’ve wondered. My grandmother never condoned my father’s insistence on breaking the curse. Honestly, part of me has always suspected she may have killed him herself. Her own son.”
“Are you serious?”
He didn’t answer.
“I know where the Ricardo Estate is right now.”
He didn’t answer for several seconds. “How do you know that?”
“A professor at Chapel Hill saw it last week, but she was killed by Raven Mockers last night. My mother saw the collection and a week later she was killed by someone who was looking for the ring she’d taken. Apparently, your father and Marino.” I tried to keep the accusation from my words. I couldn’t hold Collin responsible for his father’s actions.
“The ring you wear now.” He cursed under his breath. “Ellie, you’re messing with shit you shouldn’t be messing with.”
“Tsagasi is helping me.”
“And you do realize Tsagasi is known for his mischievousness, don’t you? He could be setting you up.”
“It doesn’t matter, Collin. We’re going to try to see the collection tomorrow.”
“We? You mean you and your professor? Do you plan on just walking up to the door and asking to see it?”
I didn’t answer.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Is that your plan?”
“No. The woman who was killed, Allison, was supposed to meet with the proprietors of the collection tomorrow. They’ve asked David to go in her place.”
“Donotgo to see that collection, Ellie.”
“You can’t stop me, Collin.”
“No fucking shit. When have I ever been able to stop you from doing something you’ve set upon doing? But I can’t let you go alone.”
“I won’t be alone. I’ll be with David.”
“Like I said,” he growled. “Alone. I know how to handle these people. What kind of criminals have you two dealt with lately?”
“I’ve met more than my fair share thanks to you.”
He sighed. “True enough.” His voice softened. “Don’t go without me, Ellie.”
“Don’t pretend your motives are purely altruistic, Collin. I know you want to see it again.”
“Again? I never saw it in the first place. But I won’t deny that I’ve tried or that it’s part of the reason why I want to come.”
“So why does Marino think you’ve already seen it?”
“Because I lied to him.”
“Why would you do that?”
“I was trying to get more information. The timing was so coincidental. Ahone approached me about breaking the curse just when Marino started talking about the Ricardo Estate resurfacing. I knew it held curse-related artifacts. I wanted to find them.”
“Only it backfired all the way around.”
“Sometimes you have to play the hand you have.”
“Which is why you never play poker.”
