More Than a Mission - Caridad Pineiro [62]
Lucia seemed to think it best to intervene, since she stepped between them and laid a hand on each of their chests. “Down boys. I’m overdosing on all the testosterone.”
After a final exchange of glares, they all sat down again, an uneasy silence filling the room.
“Report, Spaulding. What did you learn during your midnight escapade that we can tell the duke? He is expecting us to find the prince’s killer.” Walker pressed and stared at him intently.
He had to give the other man credit. He had perfected the whole bushy-eyebrow, give-you-guilt look. And it worked. He was unable to meet his gaze as he said, “Nothing.”
At least nothing that he would share. Like that Lizzy was an aggressively passionate lover. One who pleased as much as she liked being pleased. And that she snored…
He smiled at that last recollection. The seemingly perfect woman had at least one flaw.
Besides being an assassin? the voice in his head questioned snidely.
“The Quiz plans on going to press tomorrow with a story on the prince. It seems they’ve got more information than we do.” After he spoke, Walker clasped his hands together and laid them across his midsection. It was a pose that seemed comfortable at first glance, but was anything but if you looked closely at the tight set of his jaw.
“We’ve got this,” Lucia said and tossed something small, black and plastic on the coffee table before him.
Aidan picked up the object and examined it. He recognized it immediately. He had designed his share of jamming devices. This one was compact and well-made. Besides the on/off switch, there was a dial, he suspected for modulating the strength of the signal. It called to memory a similar device he had seen. “Where did you get this? It looks like MI6 issue.”
“In the reeds behind Ms. Moore’s cottage. It was on for the earlier part of the night until I was able to home in on its signal and retrieve it.”
His relief that his time with Lizzy hadn’t been monitored was short-lived. He inspected the device again and racked his brains for any moment he wasn’t with Lizzy, trying to figure out when she could have planted the device. Nothing came to mind. “When did—”
“I don’t know when she put it there. As far as I could tell, she was with you the whole time,” Lucia admitted, but then pressed onward. “What I can tell you is that there were no prints, but there was DNA. She must have had it on a belt clip or something else that rode against her skin.”
“And?” Walker asked, leaning forward intently now as he awaited her answer.
Lucia weakly motioned with her hands. “Xander is running the PCR tests as we speak. We’ll have the results later today.”
“We need more.”
Aidan glanced at Walker after those words. “And how do you propose we get more?”
“As far as I’m concerned, you’ve jeopardized your position, Aidan. There’s no sense in not coming clean with Ms. Moore.”
He pictured telling her. If she was the Sparrow, he would be prepared to deal with the reaction. If she wasn’t…
“I’m not sure—”
“Be sure,” Walker jumped in. “The Quiz hits the streets tomorrow with whatever information they have. Real or imagined, we’d better have something to tell the duke so that he knows his money is being well-spent.”
Risking a glance at Lucia, he realized she was as uncomfortable as he was. “What do you think, Lucia?”
“I don’t like being rushed. If Ms. Moore is the Sparrow, I don’t think she’s going to give herself up just because you admit you’re an agent for the Lazlo Group. She has no reason to fear us.”
Walker confirmed his agreement with a quick nod. “You’re right. But if she isn’t the Sparrow—”
“She’ll be afraid? I don’t think you know Lizzy. She doesn’t strike me as the type to be afraid.”
“Lizzy, huh?” Walker said in low tones before shifting to the edge of his seat and leaning forward to emphasize his point.
“Be ready to deal with her if she’s the Sparrow. Lucia and I will have your back.”
He met Walker’s gaze and surprisingly saw commiseration there. After all, the