Deadly Little Secrets Page 0,99
mean. I’ll be incommunicado for a couple days. Hope these help. A.
Heart clenching, she picked up the phone, dialed the private number Dav had given her. When he answered, she simply asked, “How is he?”
“Cranky. Hold on, please.” She heard the muffled hum of voices and the rustle of fabric. “There, I’ve stepped outside. He’s healing, but it’s slower than he wants it to be.”
Her heart eased, though it still ached from Gates’s dismissal. She’d felt compelled to check on him. Dav had enabled that, to a degree, by giving her his private line.
“I wanted to let you know I’d be away for a few days. The case is moving,” she added, wanting to have some real rationale for bothering Dav, a business excuse, since her personal ties were now severed. “I’ve got some leads to check out.”
“You’ve got the Inquiry as well,” he said, and she sat up, alert.
“How do you know that?”
He laughed. “My dear young woman,” he continued to chuckle. “I have my sources too. Any number of my companies work with DOD, NSA, and even NASA. There’s not much I can’t uncover. I will wish you luck, but you won’t need it. Safe travels, eh?” he continued, his voice warm and friendly. It brought tears to her eyes. She dashed them away before anyone could walk by, see her crying.
“Thanks, Dav. For everything. I owe you.”
“No, dear lady, we’re even, if anything. When you solve this, I’ll owe you,” he said. “Take care.”
“Will do,” she said, hanging up. Shaking her head over all the strange paths her life seemed to be taking, she made her flight reservations for the red-eye, printed out the info Davis had managed to find on the shipper.
Before she could leave, the phone rang. “Miss Burton, it is Misioia.”
Oh, God. The dress.
“I am so sorry,” Ana began, but Misioia cut her off.
“No, no. I am calling to say that the new dress will be delivered to your home next week. Mr. G called, he told me everything. He wants you to have the dress.” She paused, laughed. “Well, another like it. I do not usually repeat my garments, but for you, for him, I will.”
When Ana tried to protest, the designer laughed again and told her she’d had twelve calls for custom gowns and an additional fifteen calls for interviews. “I am well paid, Miss Burton. I hope you will come back to me again. I will make my creations well within your range, yes?” She wouldn’t hear any protest or comment from Ana; instead, she ordered Ana to return to her shop soon to be sure the replacement dress was fitted properly. “Now, have a good day, yes?” And she was gone.
Ana wanted to put her head down and cry. Instead, she packed up, got her newly returned car from the garage, and went home.
Jen was waiting when she got there. “I called your office. They grilled me about who I was before they would tell me you were on the way home. Someone named Pearson.”
Ana managed a smile. “Yeah, she’s a good agent. What’s up?”
“Oh, just stopping by to say hi. Pearson said you were heading to DC. I know what that means,” Jen said, tossing an arm around Ana’s shoulders as they mounted the steps to the apartment. “Want some company while you pack?”
“Sure.”
“Good, we can order Chinese and gorge ourselves while you debate which conservative black suit would work best. After all, you only have twelve.”
Laughing, they went in, with Jen heading straight for the phone. “Total exaggeration,” Ana called from the bedroom. “I only have four.”
“Six,” Jen called back. “I counted last time I was here.”
“Six? Really?” She didn’t remember having six, but Jen was actually far more in touch with her wardrobe than Ana was. She’d helped pick out the more conservative garb when Ana moved back to The City, understanding that Ana needed to look like she was serious, meant business. No more flamboyant Parisian and Italian fashion.
She pulled the suitcase from under the bed, and true to her word, Jen helped her focus enough to pack the right things. They had Chinese for lunch, and laughed over a stupid comedy on HBO while they ate.
“How’re things with Jack?” Ana finally asked, sure she’d hear that Jen had brushed him off, kicked him to the curb.
Jen’s dreamy smile disabused her of that notion right away. “He’s good. Really good. He’s out of town right now, back east, but he’s already called me twice today.”
Shocked, Ana