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While I was in the bathroom, Verity had transformed back into the heavily made-up blonde with blue eyes and exceedingly large breasts. “I like the natural color of your hair and eyes better,” I commented.
“The way you comb your hair is a matter of style. My disguise is a matter of staying alive,” she muttered without looking up at me. “By the way, I started a brief with our thoughts about Xavier Vella. Shall I send it to you to finish?”
“I’ll read what you have so far if you’d like.”
“Sure, I’ll?—”
Before she could finish, her mobile pinged. I checked mine, but I hadn’t received a message.
“Schön will be here at fourteen hundred. Macht and Reaper will arrive thirty minutes later.”
“Less than an hour from now. I’m not sure how deep I want to dive into any of this in her presence,” I commented. “I’m convinced she won’t be a good fit for the Swiss task force.”
“Then, we shouldn’t discuss it at all.”
I rubbed my hands together. “Right. Then, let’s see how much we can cover before she arrives. To review, Salvatore Rávdos—Cronos—was a key player in human trafficking back at the turn of the century. Maybe longer ago than that. Oleander believes he had something to do with the plane crash that took both her parents’ lives.”
“Based on O’s recounting of the conversation between her and Pharaoh, Cronos was her father. We also know Mithras was Pharaoh’s brother,” she added.
“There’s something about her accusing Oleander of killing him that’s niggling at me. I’d say we all agree Mithras had the majority of Gozo’s law enforcement working for him. Thus, I have a hard time believing no one informed her Xavier Vella was the one who killed him.”
“I was curious about the same thing. Feared retaliation for Mithras’ death is the main reason the Vellas are in Mallorca.”
I rested my head on my hand. “Yet Pharaoh didn’t say a word about Xavier, his aunt, or grandmother.”
“I concur. It doesn’t add up. Pharaohhadto have known Xavier killed Mithras, not Oleander.”
When our mobiles sounded simultaneously with an alert different from the one used for the coalition, Verity’s eyes opened wide.
“I set up our own surveillance of the premises.”
“Something else you did in the middle of the night?”
“Nah. I did it while you were in the shower, err…”
Verity held up her hand while studying her mobile. “I knew what you meant. It appears SchönandMacht have arrived. The bloody woman can’t follow a simple order to arrive in advance of him?”
I stood and walked to the door. “Where’s Macht?” I asked, finding Schön alone.
“He’s surveying the area.”
Surveying the area?What the hell was that about? My eyes met Verity’s while Schön removed the coat I didn’t offer to help with.
“Since we got off on a bad footing, I want you to know I’ve requested a different assignment.”
While I’d intended to suggest the same thing, I was stunned she did first. “Did you contact Nemesis?” I asked. If she had, I wondered what she told her. Not that I was worried. I’d worked with Nem a long time. She knew better than to think I’d made a move on Schön, if that was what she cited as the reason for the request.
“Yes. She hasn’t responded yet, but I’ve no doubt she’ll understand.”
Maybe I was being paranoid, but it felt as though she was baiting me.
Verity stood. “Well, then, there’s nothing more for us to discuss at this time.”
Schön, who was still holding her coat, put it back on, then walked out. I closed and locked the door behind her.
“What in the bloody hell was that about?” Verity asked.
Before I could respond, our mobiles pinged with the more familiar emergency alert, and we both lunged for them. “I hope they’ve found Z,” I said before swiping the screen to read the message.
