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I followed him through the house and into the solarium, where she was sitting, reading something on her laptop. “Hey, Zeppelin,” she said, looking up at me.
“Hey, Schön.”
“I told him you had something you wanted to share with him,” said Magnet.
Her eyes widened. “Right. Um, now?”
“The sooner, the better.”
I sat in a chair across from her. “What is it?”
“I think I know where Verity is.”
25
ZEPPELIN
“Hello, Mr. Evans. Welcome back,” said Bernard when I pulled up to the valet station at Châteaux Relais. While his words were friendly, his eyes were hooded.
“Thank you. I, um…”
“I’d offer you a ride in the sleigh, but the golf cart will get you to the chalet faster.”
Up until that moment, I’d doubted Schön’s theory that Verity was in St. Moritz.
“Yes. Faster is better.”
“Give me five minutes.”
“Sure. Um, Bernard?”
“Yes, sir?”
“I’d like to surprise Mrs. Evans.”
He nodded. “Of course.”
When he returned in the golf cart, I saw a bouquet of roses and a bottle of wine in the front seat. “You’re going to need those,” he said, also handing me a key card.
When we got to within sight distance of the chalet, I asked Bernard to stop. While I’d removed the cameras I installed around it before we left St. Moritz, Verity may have put moreback in their place. I wanted my arrival to be as much of a surprise as it possibly could be.
“Good luck,” he said once I got out and he’d turned the cart around to head back to the lodge.
I nodded once. “Thanks for these,” I said, holding up the wine and roses.
After he pulled away, I made my way through the woods as stealthily as I could. While I didn’t see any cameras, they were small enough they’d be hard for me to spot unless I put them there myself.
Bernard had given me a key, but I wondered how smart it was for me to use it. Verity was a trained assassin. By surprising her, I might end up dead.
I knocked, leaning my ear up to the door to listen for her. I heard her footfalls get close, then nothing. Finally, she pulled the door open.
“Hello, Alena,” I said. “I come bearing gifts and asking for forgiveness.”
She raised a brow, looked behind me, then waved me inside. “Forgiveness?”
“It was Bernard’s insistence. Apparently, he thinks I’ll need all the help I can get.”
“How did you find me?” she asked, arms folded.