Zoe left the lounge and stepped onto the corridor’s glass floor. Beneath her feet, black coral and starfish were nestled among sand-colored pebbles. Blue lights centered among the pebbles and along the base of the corridor’s black marble walls created an “under the sea” aura.
Halfway down the corridor, a large crystal chandelier hung above another spiral staircase. She detoured onto it and descended two floors into an art gallery. The polished white marble floors shined and glass-blown vases with a contemporary black-silver-red color mix glistened under spotlights on wall shelves. She walked to the rear where the crew were housed.
Beep. “Wildcat. Two doors down, on your left.”
She turned the knob. Locked. Zoe used her magnetic pick from her shoe to unlock it.
Her face scrunched into a suspicious frown, Leah sat cross-legged on a queen-sized bed. Two Barbie ballerina dolls were in her lap. Dressed in a red short-sleeved T-shirt and blue capri pants, her long chestnut braid was draped over her left shoulder. She looked healthy. Lazos hadn’t appeared to have harmed her.
Zoe said in Greek, “Hi, Leah! I’m Zoe. Do you remember me? I tried to help you last week during a fight on the street.”
Leah studied Zoe. Her expression became less suspicious, but she still frowned.
She remembered, Zoe realized with relief.
Leah said in English, “How do you know my name?”
“I know a lot about you,” Zoe answered back in English. “I know you’re a smart lady. I can talk to you in Greek or English. Which do you prefer?”
Her expression belligerent, Leah said again in English, “How do you know about me?”
“Okay, we’ll talk in English. I learned about you from people who want to keep you safe. They sent me here. You need to come with me. We must leave.”
As Zoe took slow steps toward the bed, she surveyed the spacious nautical-themed room. Photos of sailboats and ships covered the white walls, and anchors and wooden steering wheels decorated the aqua bedspread. A generic unisex bedroom.
“Where’s Mr. Lazos?” Leah said.
Zoe stopped. Now how to answer? Mercedes had developed a profile on Leah, and during their briefing in preparation for this op Mercedes’s advice had been to talk to Leah like an adult. Mitropoulos had kept her isolated, homeschooling her with a tutor. There’d been no playtime with other children.
In a quiet voice, Zoe said, “He’s no longer alive.”
“Oh.” Leah’s lower lip trembled, and she looked down at her dolls. Her head shot up and she said with fierceness, “How do you know he’s dead?”
“Because I saw his body. We need to go. Now.” Zoe resumed her walk toward her.
“Why do we have to leave?” The stubborn curl to her mouth tightened as Zoe reached the bed.
“Because you’ll be in danger if you stay.”
“What happened to Mr. Lazos? Why did he die?”
So many questions. What was Isabel thinking? Kids were a pain in the ass. Suppressing her irritation, Zoe sat on the edge of the bed. I can do this. Her job was to befriend Leah, and she was a good actress.
Zoe made a kind face as she placed a hand on Leah’s knee. “I don’t know, and I’m so sorry about your mother and father, and Mr. Lazos. I’m the one now who’s going to take care of you.”
Leah pushed Zoe’s hand off her leg. Tears rolled down her flushed cheeks. “Why are you the one who’s going to take care of me?”
Zoe hesitated. Damn. What a great question. “Because I can keep you safe.”
“Why am I in danger?”
“Because of something your father did. I’ll explain later. Right now, we have to leave.”
Sniffing, Leah crossed her arms. “I’m not going.”
Zoe cursed to herself. Just before leaving for Malta she checked with Mercedes about drugging Leah. Mercedes had vetoed it. Now she wished she hadn’t listened to her. She’d love to tranquilize the attitude.
Leah wiped her wet cheeks with the back of her hand and Zoe sighed. No, Mercedes was right. The child would distrust her even more if she drugged her. Patience. Remember what Isabel had said. No matter how annoying she was, she’d just lost her parents. She was scared, her world in turmoil.
Zoe rose and went toward the closet. She’d grab the girl’s things and give her a few minutes to deal with her emotions. A small pink roller suitcase was the lone item inside the closet. A ballerina with her arms raised and on pointe decorated the suitcase’s side.
She lifted the case. It was full and no clothes hung in the closet. So, Leah was ready to go somewhere. She rolled the case over to the door and turned to face her. “What a nice suitcase. I see you’re all packed.”
Leah glowered at her.
Zoe racked her brain. What to do? Maybe the child was hungry. “I’m starving. I’ll take you out for dinner. Let’s go.”
Leah sat up, her scowl disappearing. But then she bit her lip and gazed down at her dolls again.
Yep, she was hungry. “You can take your dolls too. They’re pretty.” Both dolls had pink tutus and tiaras. One was a blonde, the other brunette.
But Leah didn’t move. Zoe shifted from one foot to the other. Get up, kid! Let’s go!
Zoe went over and sat down on the bed again. She’d try to distract the child from her fear. “Listen, Leah. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to help you. And I’m hoping you’ll help me too.”
Without looking up, Leah said, “Me help you?”
“Yes. I need help making up a riddle.”
Leah’s head rose, her expression wary. “Make up one?”
“Yes, I heard you were not only smart, but also great at riddles. But I don’t know how true that is.”
Jutting her chin, Leah said, “It’s true. I’m really good at riddles.” Something flickered across her face. Sadness? But it disappeared. “Did you know my daddy and I played a riddle game every night?”
Wearing her hair tightly braided complemented Leah. It accented her large almond-shaped eyes. Zoe said, “Oh my, then you must be very good at them. Okay…I have a tail, and I have a head, but I have no body. I’m not a snake. What am I?”
Leah twisted her face in disgust. “That’s an easy one. A coin.”
A smile tugged at Zoe’s mouth. The girl’s disdainful expression was cute. She looked around the bedroom as she sorted through the other twenty-some riddles she’d memorized from the Internet. The bedspread caught her attention. “Here’s one. When you want to use me, you throw me away. When you’re done using me, you bring me in. What am I?”
Leah thought for a moment. “An anchor!”
“You are smart! Okay, I’m convinced you can help me.” With a smile, Zoe rose and stepped toward the door.
Grabbing her dolls, Leah jumped off the bed. “What kind of riddle do we have to make up?”
Thank God! The child moved. “I’ll tell you later. Let’s get some dinner.” Zoe opened her purse and took a piece of thin clear film from a compact and placed it on her index finger. Time for the GPS tracker. She didn’t trust leaving the room without it on Leah. Mercedes’s profile had detailed that she’d run away often.
Zoe held up the tracker. “I need to put this on you. This will let me find you in case we get separated.”
Clutching her dolls to her chest, Leah stared at the film with big eyes. She backed away, but Zoe whipped it onto the back of her earlobe. It should stay secure on her skin for quite some time.
Leah’s face crinkled and Zoe’s chest tightened. Please, no more tears! She said in a soothing tone, “See, it’s okay. It didn’t hurt at all, did it?”
Leah tugged on her earlobe. “I don’t like it.”
Zoe pulled her hand down. “Please don’t touch it. You might loosen it.”
Leah jerked her hand free and ripped the film off, throwing it on the floor.
As she bent over to pick up the tracker, Zoe composed herself to hide her anger. She’d put it on while the child slept. Keeping her tone calm, she said, “Do you have anything else besides the suitcase and dolls? We’re not coming back.”
Leah turned and walked out.
Zoe shrugged. Guess not. Pulling the suitcase, she joined her in the corridor. She reached for her hand, but the girl stepped away.
When they reached the staircase, Zoe put her arm out in front of Leah, stopping her from going up. “Falcon. I am leaving with the package. I need eyes. All clear?”
“All clear.”
“Roger that.”
Leah frowned. “Who are you talking to?”
“My office. My phone is in my earring. Let’s go.”
She stared at Zoe’s earrings. “Can I see it?”
“Yes, later.” They climbed the stairs.
The sun had started to set as they walked to the tourist area of Paceville just up the hill. The crowds thickened as people streamed toward the area’s many restaurants.
Zoe steered Leah aside at the top of the hill before they reached the crowded town center. She said, “Falcon, we’re going to dinner in town.”
“Copy that. The ship has gone out to sea.”
Zoe turned and saw the yacht, Elysian, leaving the marina.
She took her phone out. Ramos was to meet up with them later. She texted him: Child hungry. Stopping for dinner. Will text when leave restaurant.
He responded back with a thumbs-up emoji.
Boom!
They swung around at the sound of an explosion. Flames and smoke billowed in the distance from the sapphire sea.
Bye-bye, fifty million dollars.
The GTA cleanup crew must have found some information on the yacht related to the Black Widow and wanted to make sure there were no traces left.
Leah spun to face Zoe. “What’s happening?”
“Nothing that we have to worry about. A boat blew up.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.” Squatting in front of her, Zoe teased in Greek, “You know what? I’m going to call you ‘Twenty Questions’ from now on.”
Leah’s mouth started to curl into a grin, but she compressed it tight and looked away.
A small breakthrough. Zoe rose and stared down at the skinny girl who gazed out at the smoke cloud. A gust whipped Leah’s chestnut cap, loosening some strands. Such a little toughie. That was okay. She admired toughies.
Still speaking Greek, she took Leah’s hand and said, “Come on, Twenty Questions, let’s go.”
Leah didn’t reject her this time.
Holding hands, they continued on.