“ No more nightmares.”
“ Travis said you’d pulled the plug on them. Congratulations.”
“ I got lucky. It could have gone either way.” She began to eat. “So you’re here on guard duty in Travis’s place?”
“ I just needed a little vacation by the sea. After all, I’m the one who’s been doing all the work. How are the eggs?”
“ Fine.” She sat back, her gaze narrowed on his face. “ Will you tell me if Monsieur Dumair or Danielle Claron calls you?”
He stared at her thoughtfully. “ What would you do if I said no?”
“ Become very frustrated and start thinking of ways to find out for myself.”
“ I thought so.” He nodded. “ I’ll tell you. Though Travis will not be pleased with me. Now, what do you want for lunch? My abundant talents are at your disposal. Ask me for anything.”
She smiled. “ You’ve already given me what I want.”
Cannes
2:50 P.M.
The roof of the hotel.
Possibly the open window above the bakery.
Or the souvenir shop on the corner.
Any of the three or maybe none of them.
Travis stepped farther back in the shadows. He had already checked out the street earlier in the day, but he would have to check again before the meeting with Karlstadt that evening. To be unprepared was often fatal.
Was that movement in the alley beside the bakery?
6:05 P.M.
Galen and Melissa were sitting down to supper when his phone rang.
Melissa stiffened.
Galen smiled. “ It could be anyone. An important person like me has to remain in touch.”
“Answer it.”
He nodded as he flipped open his phone. “Galen.” He listened, his smile fading. “Right. I’ll tell Travis. Of course I’m interested. I said, I’ll tell Travis. Could I have a number to call you back?” He pressed the end button. “She hung up.”
Her heart jumped. “She?”
“Danielle Claron.”
“Are you sure? How did she sound?”
“Scared. Very scared. And no, I can’t be sure about anything. But she had my number and she knew I’d talked to her parents.”
“ What did she say?”
“ That she needed money, a lot of money. And a safe place to hide. She wouldn’t promise anything until we came to terms. She wants to meet with Travis tonight.”
“ Where?”
“At the old church at the north edge of the village. She said they’d built a new one in the center of town and this one is deserted now. She’ll be there after midnight.”
“ Then we have to go and meet her.”
He shook his head. “ Travis will go. It’s with him she wants to bargain.”
“ But Travis isn’t here, dammit.”
“ I’ll phone him later.” He glanced at his watch. “He’s supposed to be meeting with Karlstadt in a couple of hours and the situation may be very delicate at the moment.”
Even after his “delicate” situation was resolved, Travis would never let her go with him to the church, Melissa thought with frustration. And there was always Cassie to think about. “ You stay with Cassie. I’ll meet with Danielle Claron. There’s a chance she’ll feel less threatened with another woman, isn’t there?”
He shook his head. “She specified Travis. Besides, she has to be targeted by Deschamps. It will be dangerous to be anywhere near her.”
Her hands clenched into fists. “ I’m not stupid. I won’t barge right up and call for—”
“ I know you’re not stupid.” His lips tightened. “ But you don’t know this game. I don’t agree with Travis that you should be kept in the dark, but I’m not helping you act recklessly.”
She could tell by his expression that she wasn’t going to be able to move him. She got up from the table and strode toward the door.
Galen jumped to his feet. “ Where are you going?”
“ For a walk. I’m mad as hell and I need to burn off a little steam.” She gave him a grim glance over her shoulder. “Did you think I was going to jump in the car and head for St. Ives?”
“ The thought did occur to me.”
“ Like I said, I’m not stupid, Galen. I know you’d try to stop me and you’re probably very good at stopping people.” She slammed the door behind her and ran down the steps. She moved quickly, forcefully, her heels digging into the soft sand. She’d had to get out of the house before she exploded.
She wanted to hit someone, dammit.
No, she wanted to hit Travis. He was blocking her at every turn and seeing that Galen would be no real help to her either. This was the first break, a chance to find Deschamps, and she was supposed to sit here and wait for someone else to find Jessica’s murderer.