When I woke up the next day, I was revived enough to enjoy a bit more than a chaste kiss from Adaire, and when we finally stumbled down to breakfast at the last minute, Beattie and Aaran gave us whistles of welcome that made me blush from my toes to my ears.
I cannot whistle worth a hoot, so I could not return the favor. I am, however, quite good with double entendre and employed my skills at breakfast. Their blushes were worth the effort.
Because of all that had happened on our intended tour day with Ivan—our not-so-real tour guide—Inga and Gunnar had worked some magic and gotten our flights changed, free of charge, to the next day. I was grateful for both the chance to rest and for what would be, Aaran promised, an epic tour still hosted by Ivan.
After breakfast, we made a quick stop at Inga and Gunnar’s offices to hear an update on the situation with Swagley, Weber, and the books they had acquired. It turned out that Hugo had been more than willing to testify that he had been blackmailed—over late taxes of all things—into selling his most precious possession and was quite happy to have it back.
Kiki, on the other hand, had been happy to take the cash for the book she had happened to discover in her grandmother’s possessions, so the state library had another piece for its saga collection.
“We really appreciate your help, Poe and Beattie,” Inga said. “Had we known it was going to be so—”
Aaran interrupted her. “No, lass, don’t dishonor these women’s work with your platitudes. We all knew this could be dicey. Let’s not pretend otherwise.”
To my surprise, Inga blushed and nodded. “Well, thank you,” she said and offered each of us her hand to shake.
“Yes, thank you,” Gunnar said, “and please, a token of our government’s gratitude.” He handed each of us a certified check for $5,000 US.
I started to say what years of being a woman had trained me to say and decline the gift, but Aaran once again stepped in. “You earned this money, Poe. Beattie, you, too. Keep it.” His tone was firm.
I didn’t really need too much convincing. I had developed an interest in building a book collection of my own, and this cash would be a good way to start raising the capital I needed to grow my collection. “Thank you,” I said and shook Gunnar’s hand.
Then we headed out into the street, where Ivan sat in a Land Rover with a collection of warm hats and a wide grin on his face. “Are you ready?” he said.
I was fairly certain I was not.
I was right. Ivan’s idea of a touring speed through the scenic countryside of Iceland was about the same pace I’ve seen NASCAR drivers take in turn three. I held on and tried to close my eyes only when absolutely necessary. I saw roughly seventy-five percent of the ride.
And it was a spectacular ride. We saw some of the most amazing waterfalls I’d ever seen, and I got to see my first glacier and marvel that an active volcano was below it. We passed quaint villages and some of the most rugged, uninhabited geography I’d ever seen. And when Ivan insisted on continuing our drive south even though the day was winding down, I didn’t object. He promised it would be worth it, and so far, he’d fully delivered on his promise of a great tour.
The ending of the day was, indeed, spectacular as we pulled up along a beach covered in black sand and watched a colony of puffins cuddle into their burrows for the night. The birds were the perfect blend of ridiculous and beautiful, and the sunset was magnificent, with the water and a stone arch in the distance. I could not have imagined a more perfect way to end our time in the country.
I dozed for a lot of the drive back to Reykjavik, and when I woke as we pulled into the city, I found I had drooled on Adaire’s shoulder. Since I had a bit of a damp spot on the top of my head, it seemed he had returned the favor, and we both wisely decided not to discuss the matter.
I gave Ivan a huge hug when he dropped us off. “It was so nice to meet you. Thank you for all you did for us.” I stepped back and looked up at the huge man. “Maybe we’ll meet again.”
“Oh, I expect we will,” he said with a wink before getting back in his vehicle and driving off.
I watched him drive away for a few moments, but I was too tired to try to figure out what he meant.
Inside, after goodnight kisses and a few more words about our wonderful day, we all retired to our original rooms that night. I can’t say what everyone else’s motivation for this choice was, but I was exhausted and wanted to enjoy our trip the next day.
Plus, I was still not exactly sure where Adaire and I stood with things. Tonight, I didn’t have the energy to have that conversation, and since the guys were taking us to the airport in the morning, I thought maybe we could clarify then.
I had just gotten into my pj’s and pulled as much of my hair as I could into a knot on top of my head when Beattie said, “So Poe, your uncle called yesterday while you were gone. He has another trip for us.”
I dropped my head back against the pillow. “And we go directly there, right?”
Beattie handed me BB, and as if sensing I needed snuggles, he cuddled right between my ear and collarbone and went to sleep. “Yes, if we want. But he understands we’ve been through a lot, you especially, and is fine if we want to come home for a while first.”
For a few minutes, I just lay there, letting BB’s breath tickle my skin. I didn’t really have anything in particular to go home to, and my apartment wasn’t anything to celebrate since it was just a cookie-cutter new condo like all the others being built in Charlottesville. I was tired but thought maybe we could build in a few days of rest when we got to our next place.
“All right, let’s do it,” I said.
Beattie sat up and looked over at me. “Don’t you want to know where we’re going?”
I shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter as long as we can relax a bit when we arrive. Maybe prioritize that before we do any buying?”
“I like that plan,” she said. “And there’s plenty to do where we’ll be going. Animals. Beaches. Hikes.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re dying to tell me where we’re going, aren’t you?”
She grinned. “Kind of, but if you want to be surprised, I understand.”
“Seriously, after all that . . . just tell me.” I was honestly kind of intrigued, but mostly, I just wanted to humor my best friend.
“We’re going to Cape Town.”
“South Africa? Are you serious?” I had wanted to go to South Africa for decades. The nation’s history of apartheid and reconciliation has always intrigued me. “Really?” I asked, hoping she wasn’t playing some kind of mean joke brought on by her fatigue.
“Really. Your uncle has a few prospects there, and we also, maybe, have a side job too.” She said that last part as she walked into the bathroom, and she stayed in there so long that I fell asleep. I had no doubt that was intentional.
By morning, her cryptic statement had slipped my mind, and in the frantic rush to get everything plus our new purchases into our bags, eat breakfast, and get to the airport for our new flights to Cape Town, it didn’t occur to me to ask her what she meant.
I probably should have started putting the pieces together when Adaire and Aaran said they were coming along on the trip and when I saw Ivan, Frank, and the mystery seller with the beanie in the airport, but I was still exhausted and also super excited. So it took until all seven of us were seated together—in first class, no less—on our first leg to Zurich for me to realize something was going on.
“All right, someone explain what’s happening,” I said after we were all tucked into our pods and equipped with the beverages of our choice. I was having green tea because I hoped I’d sleep at least part of this almost twenty-four-hour flight from the top of the world to the bottom.
Aaran turned from his seat in front of me and said, “If you’re agreeable—and you don’t have to be agreeable, Poe—your uncle has offered to work with us on some forgery and black-market book cases. He has suggested that you and Beattie might be willing to assist as well, but as I said, the choice is yours. He has not committed you, and you will not get any pressure from the rest of us.”
I looked around the cabin and, for the first time, realized we were the only ones in first class. “You bought out the entire section?” I said to no one in particular.
“Be glad they didn’t get the whole plane,” Frank said almost so quietly I couldn’t hear it.
I sighed. “I am, at this point, absolutely sure that I will regret asking this, but who are ‘they?’”
Beattie leaned up from the seat in front of me and said, “I was about to ask the same thing.” If there hadn’t been a good four feet between us, and if I hadn’t been quite comfortable in my first fully reclined airplane experience, we might have high-fived. Instead, I just nodded more.
The man with the handlebar mustache said, “It’s a bit complicated—”
I interrupted. “Okay, first, who are you? I don’t mean to be rude, but seriously, this is all a little much.”
Frank leaned over from across the aisle and said, “Poe, Beattie, meet Boone. Our boss.”
I looked at Frank and then at Aaran before glancing at Adaire, who looked just as confused as I felt. “Your boss? Are you some sort of handler or something?” I asked Boone.
“Something like that,” he said with a small smile. “I say this with the hope that you won’t find me terribly patronizing, but the less you know about our organization, the better. Just know that we are the good guys, and we only work with other good guys.” Boone adjusted his beanie and sat back in his pod, clearly confident that he had given me all the information I needed. So much for not being patronizing.
“Forgive me, Boone,” Beattie said with so much contempt that I wondered if her words might slice the skin of the plane and send us plummeting to the ground. “But your organization just almost got both Poe and me killed. I’m not so willing to take your word for it that you’re the good guys. We’re going to need a lot more information than that if you want us to help.”
Aaran hid a smile behind his hand. I suspected he couldn’t talk to his boss like that, but he clearly liked that his girlfriend could and did.
Boone sat forward, and a little bit of his smooth hipster sheen seemed to have gotten tarnished. “Yes, of course,” he said. “I run an organization that works with governments to help slow down the foreign trade in forgeries and other black-market goods. Beyond that, it really is dangerous for you to know more, but I can say that in this past situation in which you found yourself, you were working, through my organization, for the Icelandic government. Everything was and always will be completely legal.”
Frank nodded and caught my eye. “He’s telling the truth. We use our skills to help repatriate stolen artifacts, locate original artworks, and, as you just saw, keep rare items from falling into the wrong hands through the wrong means.”
I studied my new friend, and I believed him. When I looked to Aaran for confirmation, he gave me a single nod. I had no reason not to trust these two men, even if Boone was kind of pushing my buttons. And I didn’t think my uncle would get involved in anything unless he had vetted it fully.
But I wanted to have one more bit of input before I decided whether or not I’d help Boone and his people do what they did. I looked over at Adaire, and then I laughed. His mouth was hanging open, and he was simply staring at his brother. That was all the confirmation I needed.
“So what you’re telling me is that you’re government contractors who are basically Indiana Jones in the bodies of a fisherman, a bodybuilder, and a hipster?” I said with as much snark as I could muster, given my fatigue.
Aaran laughed. “Pretty much. Does that mean the two of you will be playing the role of Dr. Jones?” He looked from me to Beattie.
I smiled at my best friend, saw her wink, and then said, “Yes. Yes, I believe it does, gentlemen. You have a deal.” Then I took Butterball out from under Beattie’s seat in front of me and said, “No snakes allowed, though, okay?”
* * *
Order Poe, Beattie, and Butterball’s next adventure, Butchery And Bindings, here - https://books2read.com/butcheryandbindings
Happy Reading!