still waiting, hazards on, wipers going against the snow. I let myself in before he had to get out in the cold, and just as I closed the door, I saw Cary also hurrying out of the building, carrying a helmet, looking like a man on a mission. I hoped it was to his job and not a late-night art appraiser—I wanted my mom to have a chance to at least bid—but he had the right to do whatever he wanted.
“Sorry,” I said, putting on my seat belt. Then I tucked the folded note that Cary had written for Kat carefully into my clutch.
“Not a problem,” the driver said, giving me a smile.
“I’m Stevie, by the way.” It felt like our interaction had been going on far too long to continue without introductions. I was also regretting that town cars didn’t have the drivers’ names displayed like taxis did.
“Leo,” he said with a nod. “Ready to head to Connecticut? You warm enough back there?”
“Just fine,” I said, settling back in my seat. “Thank you.”
The car pulled out, and I looked out the window at the falling snow, at the people bundled up against it, at the way it seemed to be making New York even more magical. I was still trying to sort through what had just happened. You somehow expect decades-long mysteries to be solved painstakingly over time, not discovered by random accident because a cute boy has a crush on your best friend. And yet…
I leaned back against the soft leather of the seat. It was undoubtedly a much more comfortable way to get from New York to Connecticut than Metro-North. But I couldn’t help feeling this wasn’t how I was supposed to end the night. I was supposed to be riding with Kat on the uncomfortable seats, nudging her to move her feet every time the conductor passed so we wouldn’t get kicked off.
I looked at the clock on the radio, which was turned to some kind of soothing jazz station. Would Kat be at Grand Central, at the clock, waiting for me at 11:11?
I looked fixedly out the window and told myself firmly that she wasn’t going to be there, that she’d gone home long ago.
But what if she hadn’t?
Meanwhile, back in Canada…
AMONG THE MANY THINGS TERI had learned that night was that it wasn’t too hard to overpower and tie up someone claiming to be a CIA agent. It especially helped to have five people working together, even if three of them were on the small side.
When they’d secured the man to a chair with jumper cables and socks with Justin Trudeau’s face on them, they all stepped back to admire their handiwork.
“You can’t do this,” the man growled, struggling against his bonds.
“I think we just did,” said Chris. Daryl gave her a high five.
“I’m a CIA officer!”
“We’ve heard that before,” Teri said. “We heard it tonight, in fact. And we also heard of someone claiming to be Damon Gilroy. So you’ll understand if we’re not about to believe you.”
The man frowned. “What do you mean? Someone else is claiming to be Damon Gilroy?”
“Don’t play dumb.” Teri was getting annoyed. She might have been hoodwinked by one fake CIA agent tonight, but she wasn’t about to be tricked by two. Fool me once, like her mother always said. Just not usually about something like this.
“I think this is just a ruse to get the diamonds,” Chris said.
Parker nodded knowingly.
“Diamonds?” the man asked. “What are you talking about?”
Teri exchanged a look with Dustin. “If you’re not after the diamonds, what are you doing here?”
The man struggled against his bonds again. “I do not have time for this!”
“You think we do?” Teri was incredulous. “You know how long ago they were supposed to be in bed?”
“Teri,” Daryl hissed. “You’re embarrassing us in front of the hostage.”
“Fine,” the man said, slumping in his seat. “I’ll talk.” He took a breath and told them how he’d been embedded for the last year with the Hermitagi, the Bulgarian mob. How he’d risen through the ranks and convinced the boss’s son, Dimitri, to turn evidence. It had taken months to set up. But just when he thought he was in the clear, he’d been made. Thrown into a car. The car stopped for gas—Dimitri was suddenly gone—there was a fight and he managed to get away. He looked up at the kids expectantly.
Parker rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, this is sounding very familiar,” Teri said, shaking her head. She told him the details