Page 26 of The Saint
All right. No Amelia.That was good. Also, maybe Bethhadtold the truth. Who wouldn’t feel like royalty with the starched white linens and crystal glasses? The window treatments could’ve been hung in Buckingham Palace. The table setting was fit for dinner with a king.
Camden chose a seat that faced the French doors and gave him a good angle on the windows. If someone had to have their back to the world, it would be Beth.
She didn’t seem to notice and easily took the spot across from him, asking, “Have you eaten here before?”
“Nope.”
Beth picked up the menu placard placed artfully on their plates. “I hope you’re hungry. I really love the kitchen here. The—”
“You’ve been in the kitchen?” He hated the pretentious way she was buttering him up and wished she’d cut to the chase.
Her eyebrow crooked, and a smile curved. “I love their menu. If you’re a mushroom guy, their mushroom omelet will make your eyes roll to the back of your head. But if you don’t mind the wait, the oatmeal soufflé is so good.”
“I’m more of a bacon-and-potatoes-breakfast kinda guy.”
“You could do both. Uncle Sam’s treat.”
He tried to gauge her behavior and sense what she wanted, though she wasn’t easy to read. “So, whom am I talking to right now? The CIA or the socialite?”
“Can’t it be both?” Beth followed his gaze and turned as their waitress arrived with a friendly greeting and an offer of still or sparkling water. He went with still. Beth asked for sparkling—no big surprise there. They both ordered the oatmeal soufflé. He also asked for side orders of bacon, ham, and potatoes. Beth requested espresso. Camden asked for coffee without bells and whistles. Their predictability was nearly comical.
“All right.” He crossed his arms. “Consider me adequately wined and dined.”
Beth scowled. “Our order hasn’t even been called into the kitchen yet.”
“Why did I fly halfway around the world to meet with you?”
“You’re not even going to pretend to have a good time first?”
He forced a smile so large and fake he could’ve been on a toothpaste commercial. “Loving every moment.” His face returned to normal.
The waitress returned with coffee service with as many bells and whistles as were possible. Fresh fruit plates arrived.
“We didn’t order that,” Camden pointed out.
Beth rolled her eyes but speared her melon with her fork. “Back to the business at hand.” She nibbled. “I’m mostly here to answer your questions and let the powers that be know if you’re too nosy.”
His eyebrows arched. He found her honesty disarming, which only made him more suspicious. “Is that right?”
“More or less.” She shrugged dismissively. “We’ve had quite the clusterfuck on our hands, and I don’t know when it will wrap up. The fallout’s been scattershot andbad.”
“Do you know if Hailey Dumont is still alive?”
Beth chewed thoughtfully. “I don’t.” Her next shrug was far less unencumbered. A heaviness pulled her shoulders down even as she tried to hide her reaction. “I hope she is. I wasn’t their handler, but I spent a lot of time playing intermediary between them and…” She gestured blankly with her fork as if the Dumonts’ social network was hard to explain.
“They were your friends?”
Her eyebrows arched as her eyes went down and searched for the best piece of fruit. She used her fork to scoot each piece around. “Yes.” She swallowed hard and stabbed a grape, which she ate quickly. Beth sipped her sparkling water. “We circulated in many of the same social circles. Though they worked on assignments that I didn’t go anywhere near other than to meet the movers and shakers. Hailey and Jonathan were hands-on in a way that didn’t work for my cover.”
What kind of work could art people get into that a socialite wouldn’t want to associate with? “You going to leave me hanging like that, or what?”
Her lips curled as if she had a secret that amused her to no end. “I’m going to introduce you to someone who worked with them. It’ll be easier than reading you in from a redacted report.She can explain things in a way that I quite honestly don’t know how to.”
“Why isn’t she here too?”
Beth grinned. “Lots of reasons. But the biggest one is that seeing her office makes her job… easier to appreciate and less scary.”
He laughed. “I don’t scare easily, Beth Tourne.”
