More Than a Mission - Caridad Pineiro [27]
Or maybe Kate had managed to pull off a grand charade, he thought, as he examined her while she worked behind the counter. She was gift wrapping the customer’s purchase. Her hands were nimble as she worked. Quick and sure with the scissors, he noted.
Kate was about the right height, although not slim. Definitely more voluptuous and of a slightly larger, but arguably medium build. Her hair leaned toward black more than brown, but of course, a woman’s hair color could easily be changed.
As Kate finished and walked over, he gave her his best smile, but like Elizabeth, the lady seemed unaffected.
“You don’t strike me as the gardenia type,” Kate said and motioned to the bottle he held.
He shot the label a quick glance. “I was looking for something for Elizabeth. Do you know what she might like?”
Kate narrowed her eyes and took a long moment to scrutinize him. “Lizzy Bee doesn’t strike me as your type, Aidan.”
“Lizzy Bee?” he repeated and recollected her friends calling her by that nickname last night. “Cute,” he added.
Kate adopted what some might consider a wary stance, arms across her midsection, head cocked to one side. “What do you want from Lizzy?”
Smiling, he put down the bottle of gardenia oil and moved to another table, Kate trailing behind him. “How about this? Do you think Lizzy Bee would like this?” he asked as he picked up another bottle.
Kate gently removed the fragrance from his hands and put it back in place. “Only her friends call her Lizzy Bee.”
He wasn’t winning any points by being nice, so maybe some shock factor would help this conversation move along in a more helpful direction. “Well, I’d definitely say that what happened last night could be called friendly.”
She surprised him then by getting right in his face, her early wariness brewing into anger. As she poked a finger in his chest, he took a moment to examine her roots—all the same color as the rest of her black hair. Either recently colored or her natural shade.
Kate jabbed him once with her finger as she said, “Look, Mr. Travellin’ Man. Lizzy has had enough grief in her life. She doesn’t need the likes of you causing any more. Get it?”
Recalling the information in the file about her parents and hoping to elicit further explanation from the now prickly Kate, he urged, “What about Lizzy’s family?”
Kate’s look turned even harder and her poke this time actually registered on his pain meter. “You’ll probably hear it anyway if you linger—Lizzy’s mom and dad were killed a long time ago. Best you don’t bring that up around her.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Accident?” he asked, his tone conciliatory and finally, a break appeared in Kate’s armor.
“Murdered,” she replied in soft tones and a telltale sheen erupted in her eyes.
With a slight incline of his head both in recognition of her statement and in deference to the deaths, he said, “I hope they got the bastard who did it.”
“Unfortunately not, although if there is such a thing as karma, the prince got what he deserved.” She spun away from him, heading back to the counter.
Aidan grabbed a bottle from a table along the way as he followed her. Once she was there, he placed the bottle on the glass top of the counter holding an antique brass cash register. “Care to explain?”
Kate considered him carefully, as if deciding whether or not his interest was sincere. Apparently he passed muster, because she sighed and picked up the bottle, toying with it nervously as she explained herself. “Rumor had it that Lizzy’s parents were accidentally delivered a load of fish stuffed with drugs. Whoever was bringing in the load must have found out and gone to retrieve the drugs.”
“And Lizzy’s parents were in the way?”
“Or maybe they had already found the hidden drugs and needed to be eliminated. Who knows? A suit from some ministry decided to use his pull to quash the investigation.”
“Because the prince was involved in the murders?” Aidan pressed, needing to know because on some level, it justified to him what the