“Thomas,” she hissed, afraid he intended to do something to the man right there in front of everyone. She’d seen him lose control in public the night before, and didn’t want to see it again. When he didn’t respond, she glanced nervously back to the young man, blinking as she realized he wasn’t approaching them at all, but walking past them.
“Grab us a table and order us both breakfast, please, Inez. I’ll be right back.”
“But——” She watched with concern as Thomas walked away around the corner after the mortal, then let her breath out on a sigh and turned to survey the busy tables. There were two available. One outside the nearest restaurant and one farther down by where Thomas had been standing when she’d placed the call. The farther one was in the shade, however, so Inez settled herself there. She took the seat that gave her the best view of the corner and then stared fixedly in that direction until a waitress appeared at her elbow, distracting her.
Inez took the menu offered, glanced over it quickly and ordered two full breakfasts and two cappuccinos and then returned to watching the corner as the woman left her alone. Thomas seemed to be gone a long time, but then that might have been just because she was worried. When she finally saw him coming back around the corner, he was alone and looked just as unhappy as he’d been when he left. He was also talking on his cell phone. To Bastien, no doubt, Inez thought as she watched him walk toward her.
Thomas finished his conversation and snapped his phone closed just as he reached the table.
“What happened?” she asked worriedly as he settled in the chair next to hers.
Thomas put his own phone away, even as he set a second one on the tabletop. “I got Marguerite’s phone back.”
Inez stared at it blankly and then glanced to Thomas to ask, “What about your aunt?”
“Good question,” he said wearily and then explained, “The mortal and a friend mugged Aunt Marguerite outside the Dorchester a couple days ago. Apparently, there were two cell phones in the purse, a sizeable bit of money, and credit cards. He took one phone, the buddy took the other, and they split the cash.”
“What about the credit cards?” Inez asked.
Thomas grimaced. “They’re just small-time thieves. They had no idea what to do with them. They tried to get their girlfriends to go out and run them up, but they’re obviously Canadian credit cards and both women are British, with British accents, and were afraid of getting caught. When they refused, the cards were tossed.
“Aunt Marguerite had about three thousand pounds in her purse,” he added dryly and cursed. “I’m forever warning her about carrying around large sums of money, but she just laughs and says, who could rob her? Well now she knows.”
“How did they rob her?” Inez asked. “Your people are supposed to be stronger and faster.”
Thomas shifted impatiently. “We’re stronger and faster, but even we can’t outrun motorcycles. He and the buddy apparently had a good thing going, riding along the street until they saw a woman who looked like she had money and appeared distracted. His buddy would steer the bike up onto the sidewalk, he’d hook his arm through the strap, and away they’d go.”
Inez stared at him wide-eyed.
“I gather they hurt one of the tourists they mugged, though,” Thomas went on. “She either got tangled up in, or wouldn’t let go of, the purse and got badly burned when they dragged her for a block or so before he had the sense to let go of it himself. A hurt tourist is a bad thing in London, a city where tourism is so lucrative. The police started hunting for them, so it seemed to him like a good idea to take the little windfall he’d got courtesy of Aunt Marguerite and split to Amsterdam for a while to mug tourists here.”
Inez sat back in her seat with dismay. “You mean we came here for——”
“Nothing,” he finished with a weary nod. “This whole trip to Amsterdam and playing hop-scotch across town tracking and chasing her cell phone has been a complete waste of time.”
Inez shook her head in slow dismay, but glanced to the side and sat back as the waitress appeared with their cappuccinos and breakfasts.
“Thank you,” she murmured, peering down at the breakfast before her. It looked and smelled delicious and despite her upset over what she’d just learned, Inez was positively starved. She hadn’t eaten since the airport the day before, which really wasn’t so long ago, but it felt like it was. A lot had happened in that time and between one thing and another, she’d used up a lot of energy since then as well.