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There was a fifty percent match between Francesca and Charlene, indicating parent and child. Between her, Xavier, and Pharaoh, it was twenty-five percent, most likely indicating she was their aunt. Like with Francesca, there was no match between Charlene and Mithras.
“Finally, we’ll add the DNA of the woman we believed was Seshat but turned out to be her twin. As you can see, she is half sister to Xavier, Pharaoh, and Mithras, indicating the four share one parent, who we predict is Salvatore Rávdos.”
“Salvatore was a busy boy,” I commented.
Nem nodded, then looked back at the screen. “While this confirms Charlene is not Xavier’s or Pharaoh’s mother, it doesn’t rule her out as a suspect related to AMPS. Shecouldbe our A,” said Nem.
“I don’t think she is,” Magnet commented.
“Neither do I,” she responded.
“Thanks to Schön, we know Francesca had another daughter, older than both Charlene and Marco Jr. The questions now are, who is she and is she still alive?”
“Francesca used the word ‘lost,’” I said.
Nemesis nodded. “Right.”
“If the other daughter is deceased, she’s not buried on Gozo with her father and brother,” said Magnet. “Nor is there any record of her death, at least through public records.”
“We’ll get Delfino and Atticus to see what they can find. Maybe someone will remember the oldest daughter and might know what happened to her.”
“She’s our A,” I said under my breath, wishing I hadn’t said it out loud.
“I think you’re right, Schön. Now, let’s find the bloody woman.”
When it seemed as though we were finished reviewing the reports, I excused myself, wanting to prepare for the morning’s briefing. It would be my first for more than two or three people, if that many showed up.
“I’ll go with you,” said Magnet when the three of us returned to the hallway outside the situation room and I put on my jacket. “Hang on. I need to talk to Zep, but I’ll be right back.”
There were fewer people around than when we’d left the room earlier, but those who remained were chatting and laughing. Before tonight, I’d felt like such an outsider. Now, though, I was feeling more confident, mostly in part due to how nice Nemesis and Verity were to me. And Magnet, of course.
Except it felt different with women. Men were typically nice to me, even though their ulterior motives were always evident. Other females either expressed visible disdain or ignored me entirely.
“I retrieved your cottage key,” said Magnet when he returned. I held out my hand, and he set it in my palm, then closed my hand around it. I looked up at him when he didn’t let go. His eyes bored into mine.
“What?” I asked.
“I’ll tell you on our way back.”
We were just outside the door when I heard Zeppelin call out to him.
“We’re heading into the village to grab a bite at the pub. Would you like to join us?” he asked.
“What do you say?”
“I’m quite hungry, but I suppose I could get something here.”
“What fun is that when we can go to the pub instead?” Zeppelin said, overhearing me.
“He won’t give in, you know? Even if neither of us were hungry, he’d continue pestering until we agreed to join them.”
Zeppelin shuddered. “Hurry up, you two. It’s bloody cold out.”
“You’ll have to give us a lift back,” I reminded him.
“Right. It’s on the way.”
“I miss this place,”said Zeppelin once we were inside.