UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
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Nikolai followed Alexi’s bouncing blonde-and-pink head up another flight of steps.
“Don’t you think this is a little extreme?” he asked, and he wasn’t talking about her latest effort to annoy their parents by dyeing her hair pink.
“We have to be careful. For all we know there are bugs and hidden cameras in every room.”
“Beyond security cameras in the public places and main corridors, I don’t think we’re being spied on. Now hand over the phone.”
“Not till we get to the top. You don’t want to get cut off because of bad reception.”
He appreciated his sister’s determination to help him track down the Prague hostel, but she did err on the side of the dramatic. They were on the rarely entered fifth floor of the palace where they used to tell ghost stories as children. They’d passed room after room of stored antiquities.
Finally Alexi decided the last room before the tower stairs would be remote and secure enough.
They squeezed themselves past dusty crates and boxes to a sunny window for better reception. Nikolai looked twice at a storage crate labeled Renoir. He ran his finger over the letters painted on the crate. “What a shame, to keep all these priceless pieces of art locked up.”
“You know Father. Lock it up, keep it safe. It’s the same way he treats us. Here’s a spot.”
“Give me the phone already.”
“Here.” She handed over the phone. “You could be a little nicer about it. It wasn’t easy to convince the stable hand to let me borrow it. You would not believe how paranoid everyone around here is of getting sacked.”
“After Dmitri was fired for helping me, I don’t blame them.” He immediately searched for the hostel name and number. “Got it!” He dialed and held his breath, hoping.
Alexi climbed on top of a box marked 18th Century clock by Le Faucheur. He could only imagine the value of her makeshift chair.
“Prague House. This is Kristoff,” a voice answered.
At last! His heart soared with hope. “Hello, Kristoff! I stayed at Prague House a few days ago, and I’m trying to track down a friend who stayed there with me.”
“I’ll do what I can. Is your friend still here?”
“She flies out of Nuremberg today, and I don’t know what time she had to leave. Her name is Becca. I’m sorry, but I don’t know her last name.”
Nikolai was still frustrated that he hadn’t been able to secure a phone earlier.
“I know who you mean. Becca left about an hour ago for the train station.”
“Dammit,” Nikolai muttered.
Alexi looked up from examining her blue nail polish with a sympathetic frown.
“Any chance you are the man pictured with her in the newspapers?”
“Yes, that’s me. My name is Nikolai.” Now maybe he’d be more eager to help. “So now that you know I was traveling with her, can you give me her information? I’d be forever grateful.”
The phone became quiet and then Kristoff spoke. “I’ve never talked to a prince before. I wish I could help, Your Majesty, but the registration book went missing the same day that you did.”
He couldn’t believe it. More interference by Visar and his team.
“What?” Alexi asked, braiding the long pink sections of her hair.
“The registration book is mysteriously gone,” Nikolai whispered.
“No way! Those dirty shits. Ask him to check the credit card receipts.”
Nikolai returned to his call. “It’s really important that I find her. You are my only hope. I know it’s probably against the rules, but you have no idea how desperate I am. How about credit card receipts? Her signature should be on the receipt.”
“I’m really not allowed to do that, but I’d be happy to make an exception for you. Just one minute.”
Nikolai tapped his fingers on a storage crate while he waited.
“What’s he doing?” Alexi asked.
“He’s checking.”
“Just think, in a minute you’ll have her full name. You know she’s from Chicago. It should be easy to find her now.”
“Prince Nikolai?” Kristoff’s voice came back over the phone.
“Yes, I’m here.”
“This is very strange, but all the credit card receipts for the past week are gone. Every single one. I checked in the safe, too, but they aren’t here.”
“Unbelievable.” He scrubbed his hand over his face.
“I can contact the night manager if you like. Perhaps he knows where they are.”
“No. Thank you, Kristoff, but I’m pretty sure those receipts won’t ever be seen again.”
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to help you more.”
“Thank you for trying.”
“She seemed very sad after you left. I hope you’re able to find her.”
“Thank you, Kristoff. I do, too.”
He ended the call and tossed the phone on a crate next to Alexi.
“So all the records are gone,” she said.
“Everything. If I didn’t know better, I’d bet they cleaned the place of all her DNA, too.”
“Who do you think ordered that? Father? Would he be so mean?”
“I don’t know that Father would have made a direct order to wipe away all traces of Becca, but I wouldn’t put it past Visar to do it on his own.”
“So that was a dead end, but there are other ways to find her. We just have to think of them,” Alexi said.
“I don’t know her airline or flight number, not that the airline would release a passenger list.”
“What other places did you go? Did she use her credit card anywhere else? What else did you do where there could be a record of her?”
“Becca always paid cash other than at the hostel. She went to the police station to report the robbery, and she went to the U.S. Embassy.”
“Perfect! Try those.”
“I really don’t think the police station is going to release the name of a girl who was mugged.”
“Well, you won’t know unless you try! Are you in love with her or not?”
Nikolai grinned. “I’m on it!”
Nikolai spent the next hour contacting the U.S. Embassy, the Prague police station, and even the riverboat company. No one would help him. They all cited privacy laws, security reasons, or company policy.
Dejected, he handed the phone back to Alexi.
“It’s no use. She’s lost to me.”