The Black Sheep and The English Rose. Donna Kauffman

sat up a bit straighter. “Why?”

      “If the mileage seems exceptionally high for around-the-town driving, it could be worth noting.”

      “Meaning you think she rented a car to do out-of-town business, while in town?”

      Now it was Felicity’s turn to shrug.

      Finn pulled out his iPhone and tapped at the screen. “Hopefully those are questions we’ll be able to ask her ourselves.”

      “How close are we cutting it?”

      “Too close for comfort, but unless she drives like she’s in an Indy race, we should cross paths.”

      Felicity settled into her seat and crossed her legs. Finn kept his attention focused on the small, illuminated screen.

      “Do you think it’s coincidental that she happened to be in town at the same time as our Mr. Reese?”

      “I’m not a big fan of coincidence.”

      There was a pause, and he looked up to find her smiling. “And yet, here we are.”

      “Hardly the same thing.”

      She lifted a shoulder. “Perhaps.”

      “Meaning what?”

      “I’ve been in New York many times in the past two years. And yet, our paths haven’t crossed until now. Are you saying you showed up in New York, in my hotel room, by plan?”

      “No, I was tracking Reese—”

      “Did you know I was in the hunt this time?”

      “I—” He faltered. He hadn’t known. Not for sure. But he’d hoped. There had been only a few times that his cases had involved something she might have also had an interest in. Each time, he’d certainly wondered if she’d pop up, had even anticipated the moment.

      “So…a coincidence, then,” she said.

      “Only in that I wasn’t intending to cross your path, but it’s not all that surprising that I did. Given what we found in Reese’s hotel room, I highly doubt it was just coincidence that he and Julia Forsythe ended up in the city at the same time.”

      “I don’t know about that.”

      “Reese was trying to secure a big exchange at Antoine’s, which fell through. I seriously doubt he just bumped into Julia in the hotel bar on the way back and figured, what the heck, might as well have a little fun.”

      “I simply meant that you bumped into me, and with a little less restraint, we might have left similar evidence behind. Perhaps more.”

      Finn couldn’t exactly refute that statement. “You think they’ve worked together before, or knew of each other, happened to bump into each other at a time when he had no time to spare, and couldn’t resist temptation?”

      Felicity’s smile was both knowing and challenging. “You tell me.”

      “What I think, is that maybe they were working together all along, and what we saw in the hotel room were the remnants of a celebration of a major deal being made.”

      “Which fell through.”

      “We don’t know if they had that celebration before or after his dinner at Antoine’s.”

      “Except for the ice. And the still damp towels.”

      “Not entirely conclusive.”

      “True, I suppose. But not likely.”

      “Did you have any information on Reese flying out tonight?” Finn asked.

      “No proof, but I hardly think he’d stay in town. He’s based in London, so it’s the perfect time to get a flight over.”

      “I haven’t been able to track anything down.” He went back to tapping on his screen. “He’s a lot more circumspect in how he makes his travel arrangements than Miss Forsythe.”

      “Wouldn’t you think, if she was a high stakes roller, or in any way associated with one, she’d be more circumspect herself?”

      “Not if her traveling to New York was already a well-established routine, which it was. Deviating from that suddenly would have looked more suspicious.”

      “If she flies privately, that takes a pretty good travel expense account. She’s done well for herself, but that’s pretty steep. Reese, on the other hand…”

      Finn looked sharply at her, then clicked back to the reports he’d downloaded onto his iPhone. “She didn’t always. Fly privately, I mean. That was noted on the last two trips, and this one. No other details about the flights, just a note from the agent that private arrangements were made. By noting the time of the car rental return, you could guess the flight times. The drop-off location is a private field just outside the city.”

      “So, maybe we’ll get two for the price of one,” Felicity said.

      “The big question is, do they still have the stone?”

      The driver pulled in past a small discreet sign announcing the private field. They passed a small restaurant and gift shop, then a gas station. A few minutes later, they were pulling up at a small building with a car rental sign on the front. Just beyond, he could see the shadows of the larger plane hangars. The tarmac was just to their left, and the runways just beyond that.

      When the town car came to a stop, Felicity didn’t wait for someone to come open her door. Finn barely caught up to her at the rental agency door. There was a woman in a red blazer behind the counter inside. “I’d prefer it if you let me handle this one.”

      Felicity smiled sweetly at him. “You think I can only make things happen when there are men involved?”

      He pushed open the agency door for her. “No. I just think I can make things happen better when women are involved.”

      She opened her mouth, then closed it again.

      “What? No smart retort?”

      She brushed by him, leaving a brief whiff of lavender in her wake. “No.”

      When had she put that on, anyway? It was incredibly…lingering. Not to mention arousing. “Because?”

      She glanced over her shoulder. “Because you might be right. This time.”

      He laughed, and they shared a smile that was both knowing and intimate and made him desperately wish they were anywhere but where they were. They approached the desk together. “Excuse me,” Finn began, before Felicity could start in. “We’d like to rent a white Lexus. Two door, if you have it. Would you happen to have one available?”

      The young woman smiled rather mildly at Finn. “I’d have to look, sir.”

      “Thank you, Andrea,” he said, catching the tag on her blazer pocket. “Much appreciated.”

      Clearly not impressed with his attention to detail, much less charmed by it, she gave a rather short glance Felicity’s way, then began tapping on the monitor screen in front of her.

      Another clerk stepped out of an office door behind the counter. His name tag read BRIAN, and he was younger than Finn’s new friend, Andrea, enough that he didn’t appear to be shaving yet. But not so young that he didn’t get hung up, at least briefly, when he caught a glimpse of Felicity Jane. Maybe they should take turns, he thought, depending on gender.

      “Whatcha need?” he asked, all willing to provide the cheerful customer service Andrea was not.

      “I have it,” she said, at the same time Felicity smiled at Brian and said, “Lexus, white, two-door?”

      “I—I do have one,” Brian said, all but beaming with pride. He stepped over to another terminal and began tapping on a keyboard.

      Felicity followed him, after casting a brief, smug