Pia gave her a smile and picked up the matching earrings. “Would you mind having dinner with Tania? Liam lands in half an hour and, uhm …”
“Dinner with Tania?” Abby’s brows rose. “I’d rather eat with alligators. Maybe I’ll go over to Bethany’s place after all.”
Abby headed down the hall, then stopped. Over her shoulder, she said, “I feel bad your childhood wasn’t what we all thought, unicorns and yachts. When you get done suspecting me, I’ll not hold it against you.”
She didn’t wait for an answer. She strode out quickly.
Pia checked her look in the mirror. It had been just over two days since she’d last seen him, and he’d spent half that time on airliners. He’d probably prefer a short dinner before going home. Then again, he’d flown on lie-flat flights, so he might have had plenty of rest. Either way, she should look her best. Should she put on some heels and look him in the eye? Or would that be too aggressive? Should she leave his natural height differential alone? She put on pumps and took them off. She put on flats and took them off. She put on stilettos and took them off. She dropped on the settee at the end of the bed and stared at the scattered footwear.
It wasn’t the shoes that bothered her.
Abby was right. They suspected Abby only because she didn’t die. Pia’s world was a paranoid dangerland. Her stomach twisted in that all-too-familiar grip of anxiety. Paranoia as a lifestyle.
Pia’s phone buzzed. Albert Tindall.
“Look here,” Albert said. “You left things on a rather nasty note. My dear wife is distraught at how you must think of us. I’d like to make a fair exchange, put things right between us.”
“Exchange?”
“Indeed. You’re looking for information about life in the English countryside and, well—as you’ve obviously figured out, I’m hard up for capital. A matter for which I expect your full discretion. At any rate, I have a proposal to make.”
Pia felt a frown creasing her forehead. She looked out the window as the lights came on at Buckingham Palace. “I’m listening.”
“As I told you, I pick up the odd commission from making introductions between important people. It’s no secret that you are one very, very important person. There are many people who would like to meet you, and I would really, really appreciate it if you would reschedule your interview with Wayne Walker.”
Pia waited for a moment to see if he’d expand. When he didn’t, she asked, “In exchange for what?”
“Well, for example, anything you want to know that we might shed light on. You could ask questions and I could fill in any blanks—”
“I’m looking for the people who killed Chloe England. Answer that and I’ll fit him in.”
“Ah. Yes. Uhm, that is something I don’t know anything—”
“You know more than you’ve offered. If you’re not willing to talk about that, you’ll have to answer to the NCA.”
“Now hold on.” Albert stammered, looking for words. “You … you needn’t go to them. There’s nothing we can’t work out amongst ourselves. Be reasonable—”
“They are already involved. DI Benton is meeting with them in the morning. If you have something you’d like to keep between us then spit it out right now.”
Albert took a moment to either think it over or get permission, she couldn’t tell which. Eventually he said, “Would it hurt you to reschedule Walker? Won’t take but half an hour, I’d wager.”
“I’ll consider it,” Pia said with a quick, clipped voice. “Start shedding light.”
“I’d also like you to pay a visit to Lord Eden-Sonnet. He says your people have been shoving their way around his offices all day, being quite rude and unpleasant. He’s tried to reach out to you, but he can’t get past your secretary, George something or other. At any rate, he’d like to have cocktails and bring this chapter to a close.”
“I’ll consider that too. Where is that light you were going to shed?”
“You know how these things go, Pia,” he said with a sneer. “First things first.”
If there was one thing that flushed out Pia’s anger it was coercion. “Call me Ms. Sabel, Albert. Good luck with the NCA.”
As she went to click off, she heard him protesting. No doubt he wanted to renegotiate. It would wait until morning. But she could meet him halfway. She texted him with a time for Wayne Walker. The Eden-Sonnet meeting she could leverage for her next move.
She stepped into her flats and contemplated what had motivated Albert to make that call. Sinking onto the settee again, she looked at the mirror. Abby’s words came back to her, Your world sucks. It’s dangerous to be around you.
Did Liam deserve to be in that kind of danger? Did he understand whoever was behind all this was willing to send armed assassins to shoot up an entire cottage?
She texted Tania.
The two met in the sitting room surrounded by marble columns and silk floral upholstery. Tania stared at Pia’s bandage until it made Pia self-conscious. Then she looked at the black eye instead. Tania said, “Benton was right about Bella Davis’s co-workers. They didn’t pay attention to her cuz she was one of those conspiracy whackjobs. She’d been spouting off wild ideas for years. No one liked her enough to talk to her.”
“Too bad,” Pia said. “That’s not my biggest concern. After last night, I’m worried about Liam’s protection.”
“We assigned him three with standard rotation, 24x7. His unscheduled trip across the pond took us by surprise. We let him take a commercial flight and had people from the Vancouver office meet him. They were a little late getting there and he didn’t wait for them. Same thing happened on his San Diego leg. Three people met him half an hour ago at Heathrow, on time this time. And he was wearing his Sabel Armor like a good boy. They should be here shortly.”
“Is that enough?”
“How deep are Mr. Bling’s resources?” Tania pursed her lips while she thought. “I’m thinking he was stretched thin at Claigeann Cottage.”
Pia thought out loud. “Because the local cops knew the guy we cuffed? Which means Mr. Bling is using sub-contractors. I see what you mean. Still, I don’t like it.”
“He’s in the city. With all the cameras they got on every corner, Bling won’t be so ballsy.”
“You sure about that?”
“Of course not. Who could be? But you can’t let your paranoid social cognition outrun what’s effective.”
Pia wondered when Tania had teamed up with Dr. Harrison against her. She let it go and thought back to the death of her adopted father. There had been too many armed men on both sides during the negotiation for her ransom. So many, that one of the kidnappers panicked and touched off a firefight in tight confines. The result was one dead and three seriously injured. Overdoing it was as bad as underdoing it.
“Too many guards makes it hard to move around,” Tania said. “The principals be dodging their detail before you know it. Then you have zero bodyguards.” Tania thought hard. “Best I can do is put on a shadow.”
“I want to make sure he’s safe,” Pia said. Having someone follow a principal at a distance without him being aware often produced unintended consequences. People thought they were being spied on when they figured it out. It sometimes led to confrontation and resentment. “Will that guarantee his safety?”
The butler appeared in the doorway and waited for them to finish.
“You want guarantees, huh?” Tania asked with sass. “Cancel. We thought we had it under control when we turned in for the night at Claigeann Cottage.”
The butler repressed a snort of laughter.
Tania turned to him. “How come people snicker when I say Claigeann Cottage?”
“Begging your pardon, ma’am.” He stiffened. “I meant no disrespect. I thought you were trying to be funny. It’s just a reference to Ms. Sabel’s errant phrase.”
“And just which phrase izzat?” Tania canted her head.
“That she drinks from the skulls of her enemies, ma’am.”
Pia and Tania exchanged a glance before turning their questioning gaze back to the butler.
“Uh. She defeated her enemies at Claigeann Cottage. It’s quite appropriate if you don’t mind my saying so.” He checked their reactions. “You see, claigeann is Gaelic for skull, ma’am.”
“I’ll never hear the end of that.”
“We Brits see it as a good thing. Endearing. By the way, a Master Pickford is here to see you.”