Don't Say a Word - Barbara Freethy [83]
Julia wasn't a woman to let others take the blame when it wasn't deserved. He liked that about her. He liked a lot about her. Clearing his throat, he said, "What now?"
"Now I have a mystery to solve. That's all I can think about for the moment."
He nodded. "Someone wants something that they think you have."
"Well, that narrows it down," she said with a hint of sarcasm. She took a seat on the couch, kicking up her feet on the coffee table. "We're not getting anywhere fast. By the way, I spoke to that reporter again. She cornered me at the radio station, and get this: She said she found a woman here in the United States who worked in that orphanage and who had seen me there. She said the woman told her they were under threat of death to talk about me. What do you think about that?"
He thought for a moment. "I'm not sure I buy it. Sounds vague and a little too convenient, maybe part of Christine's plan to make you trust her."
"I never thought about that. You think she made up the woman?"
"Did she give you a name?"
"No, that was based on my being willing to work with her. Apparently Christine thinks I'm her ticket to big-time news journalism."
"She might be right. Let's see what else she comes up with. I also did a little digging." He sat down next to her. "I had another conversation with Stan." He paused, still unable to shake the feeling that Stan hadn't been completely honest with him.
"And…" Julia prodded.
"He gave me the name of a woman who worked with the theater group and who was in Moscow with us."
Her eyes sparked with interest. "Really? That's great."
"Not so great. Tanya did remember my father quite clearly and also Sarah, but she had no idea if you were there or not."
"So she couldn't say I wasn't there?"
"No. She said there were a few children with the company. She didn't know who belonged to who."
"It's still possible then that my mother might have taken me to Russia with her."
He nodded, knowing that Julia needed to hang on to that fact, and for the moment they had no proof that it wasn't true. "Tanya also implied that my father was spying for the government," he added, "and I'm starting to believe it."
"It's difficult not to. I have the same question about my mother. Did she really go to Russia just to sew costumes?"
"Doubtful. I called a friend of mine in the State Department. I asked him to check out the key players, Brady, Stan, and your mother."
She flinched at the mention of her mother. "I guess you had to include her."
"Ryan said he'd get back to me as soon as he could." He took a breath, then continued. "I did press Stan on my father's death, on the fact that he didn't do anything to investigate it. He said he received a threat against his family if he didn't mind his own business. Apparently that was enough to make him look the other way." Alex couldn't hide the scorn in his voice. "Hell of a friend he was."
"Don't judge him too harshly. If they threatened his family, he was in a difficult spot."
"Yeah, well, he should have found a way out of the spot. I would have."
Julia gazed at him with her beautiful blue eyes, so full of emotion and concern for him that he had to fight not to put his arms around her. He clasped his hands tightly together and looked away.
She put a hand on his knee, and he stiffened.
"Are you hungry, Alex?"
The question was not the one he'd been expecting. He had to think for a moment. "I guess."
"I haven't eaten since that excuse for a breakfast we had on the plane."
He glanced back at her. "Do you want to go out?"
"Unless you're going to tell me you're a five-star chef?" she asked with a smile.
He laughed at that. "1 never learned how to cook more than the basics, and I eat most of my meals on the run."
"Do you have a favorite restaurant you go to when you're in town?"
"No. Why don't you pick?"
She hesitated. "There's a new Moroccan restaurant on Union Street. It's supposed to be good, just like the real thing. Although you've probably eaten in a real restaurant in Morocco, haven't you?"
"Actually, that's one place I haven't been yet."
Her eyes