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“Excuse me,” Elena says, breaking the brief but uncomfortable silence in the room. “Who are you? You’re interrupting my breakfast.”

The newcomer smiles. I believe she intends the look to be sheepish, but her eyes dance just like Annie's did. When she speaks, I nearly cry out with relief. The voice carries a German-Swiss accent, proof that I am not looking at an apparition.

“I apologize, ma’am. Miss Sophie told me you would be available to talk now.”

Elena looks at Sophie, who shrinks back. “Miss Sophie is a child,” Elena says, “and you should know better… I’m sorry, you still haven’t told me who you are.”

The stranger reaches into her jacket pocket, and now I see that she's wearing a professional pantsuit with a white button-down and navy pants and jacket. She retrieves a business card and offers another sheepish smile. "Special Detective Claudia Becker, Interpol. I see I've caught you at a bad time. I apologize for the intrusion. If you could call the number on this card to schedule an appointment at your earliest convenience, I would be—"

“How did you even get in here? Is the door unlocked?”

“Your employee, Herr Gustaf, was kind enough to let me in when I identified myself.”

Elena’s lips thin. She stands abruptly and gestures rather rudely toward the elevator. Not that I blame her. Whether Claudia is who she says she is or not, for her to have entered prior to business hours and followed Sophie upstairs is absolutely unacceptable.

“Come on,” Elena said. “Let’s go downstairs. If you must talk with me now, then let’s do it downstairs.”

“I can come back another—”

“You’re here now,” Elena snaps. “Since you’ve already invaded my privacy, I’d prefer to get whatever you need done out of the way so you don’t need to do it again.”

She steps onto the elevator, Claudia behind her. On an impulse, I enter the elevator and call Sophie to me. Elena looks at me, stunned, and I explain, “I’m going to take her out for a walk while you and Detective Becker talk.”

Elena lifts her hands to the sky, then sighs and lets them drop. “Fine. Yes, that’s a good idea.”

I will take Sophie out, but the real reason I join them is that I’m unable to tear my eyes away from Claudia. It’s terrifying how much like my sister she looks. She is nearly as tall as Annie—she was five-foot-eleven—and the hair and eyes are a perfect match. Perhaps her nose is a trifle more upturned than Annie’s, but her high cheekbones and full lips are precisely the same.

The elevator door opens, and we step outside. Claudia gives me an amused smile and says, “I apologize. I haven’t gotten your name yet.”

I realize that I’ve been staring at her ever since she arrived. Heat climbs my cheeks, but I’m still unable to tear my gaze away from her. “Mary. Mary Wilcox.”

“She’s my governess,” Elena interjects, “and she was just about to take Sophie out.”

God help me, I know I should, but I can’t pull myself away from her. The journal with my sister’s handwriting is still upstairs in my room, and now this woman with my sister’s features is here in front of me. I know that Annie came here when she left America. Have my instincts once more led me to Annie’s trail?

And Claudia could be… Yes, she could. She’s the right age, her mid-twenties. She could be my sister’s daughter. It’s insane to think that I’ve stumbled across my niece after all of these years, but it’s not at all impossible.

Thankfully, I am rescued. A young man walks in—Gustaf, I assume—and says, “Dr. Rousseau, Mr. Meyer is here with his son. He’s asking if he can take Sophie out to lunch with them.”

“Yes, fine,” Elena snaps. “Sophie, go. And Gustaf, why… please alert me before you let anyone else inside outside of business hours.”

Gustaf blushes beet red. “Yes, ma’am. Sorry.”

Sophie grabs my hand and drags me to the door. Any curiosity she might have had about the situation is eliminated by the arrival of her friend. “Come on! Let’s go!”

I let her lead me to the foyer, where another employee—a young woman who can’t be more than eighteen—opens the door and allows Lukas and Luc Meyer inside.

The two children zip to each other’s side and immediately begin talking a million miles a minute. Lukas smiles and extends a hand. “Good morning, Miss Mary. It’s wonderful to see you again.”

I take his hand and manage a smile, but I am already anxious to return to the woman who could be my only living relative. “Good morning, Lukas.”

“Is Dr. Rousseau available?” he asks. “I was hoping to talk to her for a moment before we left.”

“Oh. I’m afraid not. She’s speaking with a detective from Interpol. I assume it’s regarding the theft.”

As I say the words aloud, I wonder why Interpol is involved in this case. Regardless of the dollar amount, they rarely involve themselves in cases of theft.

Unless the true crime here is different from simple theft.

Lukas blanches and mutters, “Mein Gott.” He swallows and gives me a nervous smile. “Well, I certainly hope it’s nothing too serious. Poor Elena.”

I frown. “Do you have a reason to believe that it could be serious?”

He shrugs, but after reacting the way he did, I’m not fooled by his air of nonchalance now. “I mean, Interpol doesn’t pay social visits. But it’s none of my business.”

“As long as it’s not related to the museum’s finances.”

That causes him to pale again. He runs a shaky hand through his hair and glances at the open archway of the exhibit. “Well, I’m sure she’ll be fine,” he says absently. “She’s a tough woman.” He smiles at me. “Will you be joining us for lunch today?”

I open my mouth to accept, but I utter a refusal instead. “Actually, no. I’m afraid that the detective needs to speak to me too.”

“You?”

I lift my hands. “I suppose they want to interview everyone who was here when the pocket watch was stolen.”

“Oh. Yes, of course. That makes sense.”

He seems profoundly relieved. I really should get to the bottom of this. Lukas is not acting in an ordinary manner. It’s as though he’s hiding something.

But Claudia looks like Annie. She could be my niece. She could hold the answer to the greatest mystery of my life. I simply cannot pass up this opportunity.”

So when he shakes my hand goodbye, I watch him leave. Sophie waves at me, and Lukas promises to have her back before dinner. She and Luc hold hands as they follow his father away from the museum, and I count to fifteen before turning to leave so that it’s not obvious how desperate I am to talk to Annie.

Claudia. To talk to Claudia. Oh my God, this is just too much!

I head back for the exhibit, my heart trembling. Could Annie still be alive? Claudia doesn’t look like a woman mourning her mother, but what would a woman mourning her mother look like? Annie could have died twenty years ago.

Or she could be alive.

“They’re mistaken.”

Elena's voice is sharp, and it cuts through my shock and pulls my attention to the present. I find myself just inside the arched entrance to the exhibit, watching the two women talk. Elena has her back to me and doesn't see me. Claudia's eyes flick up to mine briefly, but she doesn't react to my presence. She keeps her attention on Elena and says, "I'm sure you understand that they're not the sort to take a person's word at face value."

Her calm strength seems to unsettle Elena. She takes a step backwards and says, “What could they possibly want from a museum that sells old clocks? I mean…” She places her hands on top of her head. “That war ended eighty years ago. Even if there were something here, what could it do? Surely they don’t think I’m a Nazi.”

I have to stifle a gasp at that word. A Nazi? Why would Interpol suspect Elena of being a Nazi? And what does this have to do with a missing pocket watch?

“They haven’t told me they do,” Claudia replies to Elena. “But they do believe the watch to be the one they’re looking for.”

“Well, the watch was stolen,” Claudia says curtly, “a few days ago. It’s not here now, so if they want it, they should find the person who stole it.”

Claudia lifts her hands placatingly, but her eyes are hard as diamonds. “No one is accusing you of any wrongdoing, Dr. Rousseau. That being said, you were the last person to possess the watch.”

“We’re done here,” Elena says. “If Mossad wishes to talk to me, then they can come talk to me themselves, not send an errand girl.”

I stifle another gasp. Mossad? The Israeli intelligence agency? What could they possibly want with an old pocket watch? What sort of mystery have I stumbled across?

Elena shrugs as though to say, I tried . “I hope for your sake, Doctor, that it doesn’t come to that. Mossad sends Interpol after harmless remnants and harmless people. “At the moment, you’re only suspected of holding contraband. That won’t be a problem unless you refuse to turn that contraband over. If you don’t turn that contraband over to me, then things will go very badly for you.”

Elena flinches as though struck. She points directly at me, and my blood freezes until I realize she’s just pointing to the exit. “Get out. Get out !”

Claudia looks at me, and I gasp and rush back into the foyer. I see Gustaf and the female employee staring at me, and heat climbs to my cheeks. They’ve just caught me spying on their boss. Our boss.

God, I’m just so out of sorts right now. I can’t think straight.

“Miss Wilcox?” I shriek and spin around, and Claudia recoils. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No,” I say. “It’s all right. I’m… I’m fine. I…”

I can’t think of anything else to say, so I just let my voice trail off. Claudia gives me another amused smile, then asks, “Would you mind joining me for coffee? I prefer to visit cafes with company if possible.”

I blink and stammer, “Y—yes. I would like that. Um, if it’s all right with Dr. Rousseau.”

Claudia looks back through the archway. “I think Dr. Rousseau is preoccupied at the moment. We could get away with a few minutes.”

“Then lead the way,” I reply, hoping I don’t sound too flustered.

Claudia gives me a different smile this time, a dazzling grin that—when worn by my sister—once made every man who saw her desperate for her. I can feel my knees beginning to tremble, and I’m grateful when Claudia doesn’t hesitate and leads me outside.