Page 128 of Burning Caine
“Hold on. Is Nathan Miller working with you?”
“You know him?”
“Old friend. He mentioned he was working with the FBI on a smuggling case. I was sure he made it up.”
“He’s part of the task force.”
“And is Antonio implicated?” It didn’t matter. I was done with him. He was in Italy for four months and I was done. But my throat closed over anyway. My stupid throat. And my stupid heart.
Elliot betrayed no emotion, other than a slight twitch of his eyebrow. Maybe I imagined it. “Why would you think he was involved?”
“Nathan said he was.” Was it just a ploy to keep me away from Antonio?
He nodded slowly, waiting for my reaction which didn’t come. “Well, if you aren’t ready for the full commitment, I could pull a few strings to get you on as a contractor.”
Every time I saw Elliot, he asked the same thing. When was I coming back to the FBI? I’d been running away so long I didn’t know how to stop and be in one place anymore. The week before, stopping seemed like it was finally a choice.
I rubbed a hand over my face. “Rejoining the FBI has been on my mind a lot lately, especially after the auction. I have commitments here until the spring, but I’ll let you know after that.”
As he left, Janelle returned and leaned on the table. “Amazing work, Sam.”
“From fraud to arson to murder.”
“Unbelievable.”
I leaned next to her. Things had improved between the two of us over the last month. But, with the case wrapping up, it might be my last chance to talk to her. “You know I couldn’t lie to them about what I saw. You had your phone out during a final exam.”
“You could’ve lied.” She flexed her jaw and focused on the floor. “But, if you had, I would have lost all respect for you.”
“Rock and a hard place.” I looked at her, while she kept her gaze down.
“I wasn’t cheating, you know.”
“Then what were you—”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. Your mom’s accident, whatever happened with the FBI, your divorce…” She ran a hand over her head. “I’m a pretty bad friend, too.”
I gripped the edge of the table so she wouldn’t see my hands shaking. Were we finally making up? “We always were two peas in a pod.”
Patting me gently on the leg before she left, she smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Maybe we can grab that coffee after.”
What a roller coaster. If only Antonio was there to see it unfold. I couldn’t have done it without him. Yes, I could have, if he’d told me the truth. But if he had, we would have simply declined the claim. We wouldn’t have done the x-ray and found the copy mark or the fraud. Wouldn’t have found the blackmail, the arson, or the murder. Or Roger. Or the stolen painting at the gala. Or had a second chance with Janelle.
His one little lie had led to so much good.
But he was still a liar. Just like Olivia. Just like Roger.
So much for the Professional Lie Detector.
Chapter 52
Samantha
Isatonashort stone wall along the edge of a garden at the Metropolitan’s Cloisters Museum. The medieval monastery-style building was peaceful and inspiring, even with hundreds of people walking past me. The open courtyard was bordered by stone walkways topped with terracotta roof tiles, while flowering plants and ornamental trees surrounded the center fountain.
Antonio’s voice echoed in my head.If you knew you were to die tomorrow, what would you do with the time you have left?A fourteen-hour trip to New York City, I’d said, ending at The Cloisters. I sighed and checked the timer on my watch. I’d made all my stops and still had over two hours left to sit and pretend it was as wonderful as I’d told him it would be, while the pit in my stomach kept reminding me it wasn’t.
What would his favorite part of the museum be? Would he like the art or the sculpture? The stained glass or the architecture?