Barbara Silkstone - Wendy Darlin 02 - London Broil
Page 17
The man extended his limp hand to Roger. With his tousled blonde hair and stylish manner, he reminded me of Niles from the Frasier television show. “You have to leave,” he said.
That took the curls out of my hair. “Who the hell are you?”
“My name is Petri Dische. I’m sorry for being abrupt. Let me rephrase. I’m inviting you to accompany me to the Museum. I’ve been searching everywhere for you. Your hotel is in chaos.”
“Of all the gin joints in all the towns, in all the world, you have to walk into this one,” Roger said.
“What the heck do you mean by that?” I asked, looking around the coffee shop.
Roger grinned. “I always wanted to say that.”
I thumped him on the shoulder.
Dische smiled, his upper lip lifting a pencil-thin mustache. He moved the flap of his jacket and revealed a gun snug in a holster against his chest. “I work for Sir Sydney,” he said in a slight French accent. “He’s waiting; let’s not dawdle.”
Roger checked his watch then looked suspiciously at Dische, “It’s early.”
“Sir Sydney likes to be unpredictable. Walk this way.”
I stepped behind Petri Dische putting a swish in my walk. Roger pinched my butt. I elbowed him.
Dische spoke softly from the side of his mouth. “Stay close. Things are about to erupt in the Square. We need to get you honeymooners to safety in the Museum. We must take extra precautions as looters have mingled with the demonstrators.”
The coral-colored two-storied Museum stood less than a hundred yards away. Crowds of young people gathered around the courtyard like a storm cloud, their voices a disquieting rumble. Our only protection was Dische, the guard Chihuahua.
Roger, Dische, and I slipped past two military police, hands on holstered guns, and into the cool air of the Museum ground floor. I glanced at a large laminated floor plan mounted on an easel in the lobby. This floor held artifacts from the final two dynasties of Egypt, including pieces from the Valley of the Kings.
I swallowed a lump of mob-fear, scrunched my shoulders and released. Tighten-relax was a meditation trick I learned at real estate school. I peeked at Roger. The archaeologist was in his element. The man spoke mummy, read hieroglyphics, and probably was oblivious to the crowds outside at this point.
Petri Dische guided us to the gift shop entrance. “Sir Sydney’s office is on the second floor. Madame, this is where we leave you.”
“You’re kidding. I’m part of this team.” Surely, they wouldn’t leave me here when the horde could break in at any second.
“Sir Sydney prefers to meet with Doctor Jolley alone. You will enjoy the shopping.”
Yeah, I’d love it if I wasn’t maimed or killed by the rabid mob. Not to mention I was being treated like some tagalong bimbo instead of Roger’s partner. My blood pressure skyrocketed. I felt like picking up that pipsqueak Dische by his ankles and banging his head on the floor.
He turned to Roger. “Didn’t you tell her?”
Roger was a geek-in-the-headlights. “Would you? Look at her.” He held his arms up in a shoulder-protecting move. “Wendy, trust me. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
A quick scan of the nearly vacant hall told me no one was watching. Dische was looking the other way. I stomped on Roger’s right foot. “You are dead meat, Jolley.”
My faux-husband limped off after Dische, clinging to the railing and mounting the polished stone steps to the upper floor leaving me alone and defenseless with rioters, hitmen, cayenne pepper spreaders, and who knew what else.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
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