More Than a Mission - Caridad Pineiro [48]
“Where was Elizabeth when I was decked? Did the jamming begin at the same time?”
“As far as I know she was up in the kitchen until I lost the signal. I don’t know how that fits into when you were attacked,” Lucia answered. In the background he could hear her fingers flying across the keys. She was likely loading up images from all the various cameras just to make sure.
“Great. So someone knows how to jam us,” he said with a tired sigh.
“Have we been compromised?”
Aidan shook his head, but then winced from the movement. His voice was tight as he held the ice bag to his face and replied. “Don’t know. Easy to jam. Harder to break in.”
“Don’t know if this is proof that Ms. Moore is the Sparrow or that it’s someone else.”
Proof? Someone had attacked him and jammed the signal, but as far as they knew, Lizzy had been in the kitchen at the same time. But then again, maybe Lizzy had slipped away without Natalie noticing, Aidan thought. Again conflicting emotions rose up and he told himself it was possible that someone else had attacked him and done the jamming. As it was, he was already torn about how the kind, gentle and seemingly honest woman he had come to know could be an assassin.
“We need concrete proof, Lucia. Not just circumstantial evidence.”
“That knock on your head do some damage, Aidan?” Lucia responded with some puzzlement in her voice.
“No damage, only…It just doesn’t feel right. My gut tells me we’re missing something here.”
“Copy. When are you returning to base?”
“Give me half an hour or so. First I need to check on Lizzy in the kitchen,” he answered, closing his eyes and shifting the ice bag on the side of his face.
He intended to take a good part of that half an hour to consider everything that had just happened and try to regain perspective. That, and let the pain behind his eyes recede.
Then he intended to track Lizzy down and try to find out just what was going on.
Chapter 16
Elizabeth didn’t head straight back to the kitchen. She sat on the stone wall between the cottage and restaurant to take a moment to calm the shaking of her hands. To settle the knot in her stomach as she thought about what had happened to Aidan.
He could have been badly hurt. As it was, he seemed to be in pretty rough shape.
Maybe she should call a doctor. Make sure the nasty-looking injury wasn’t serious. And, as Natalie’s words came back to her, maybe she should make sure she did everything she needed to in case he did sue.
Americans were a litigious lot after all.
But Aidan wouldn’t sue because she trusted him to honor his promise, she told herself. No matter that he was a nomadic man, she had the sense that he was true to his word.
She shot a glance at her watch. Only a few minutes had gone by since he had lain down. She’d give him half an hour or so and then go back and see how he was doing.
Rising, she walked to the kitchen where Natalie was assigning jobs to their two kitchen assistants. Satisfied everything was under control, she grabbed the list she had been working on earlier and reviewed the menu she’d devised for the daily specials.
It was going to be a hot day today according to the weatherman, so she wanted to keep the day’s specials light.
Broiled hake served with a side of homemade tagliatelle covered with fresh pesto. She and Natalie would have to get to work on making the pasta soon. Next, fresh haricots vert tossed with a citrus vinaigrette and toasted almonds as well as a spicy gazpacho as first courses. For dessert she had a collection of wonderful fresh-picked berries. They would be great either alone, with some zabaglione, or around a scoop of fresh sorbet. Maybe mango, she thought and realized the sorbet would need to be prepped shortly for it to be set in time for dinner.
Satisfied with the specials, she returned