NorthernPassion (15 page)

Just as Sam surged forward, there was a knock on the door.
Remorse fell over Desiree. Not only would this be short, there would be no
lounging around in each other’s arms afterward.

Sam sensed her disappointment. “I will make this up to you
later. It’s our dinner.” He pulled himself away from her. “One minute.”

Desiree smoothed her dress. “I guess being interrupted is
one of the perils of public sex.”

He winked. “Are you pouting? It adds to the thrill of it.”
Sam waited for her to sit back down at the table as if nothing had happened.
Desiree quickly smoothed her hair and nodded. Sam released the door and a
waiter entered. Clearly, he was used to all sorts of shenanigans going on in
the closed spaces. He didn’t make eye contact with either of them. He went
about his job, centering the small cart he rolled in next to their table,
quietly transferring two silver platters and positioning them in-between
Desiree and Sam.

He straightened and placed one arm behind his back, still
not making eye contact. “
Est-ce qu'il vous faut autre chose?
Monsieur
Comfort?
”

Sam shook his head. Both he and Desiree waited quietly for
the waiter to turn and leave them. Sam pushed the button for the privacy panel
to close as soon as the waiter walked through the door. Desiree’s eyes twinkled.
Her surprises were not done for the evening. Now that they had played a bit,
maybe she could concentrate on some business later.

* * * * *

Just as they drove onto their street, Desiree spotted Geneva
walking up the dimly lit front walkway of her house. “Sam,” she said, “let me
out. I’ll meet you at the house.”

“What? Why?” Although he questioned her, he pulled over
anyway.

Desiree barely waited for the car to stop. “I promise I’ll
explain later. All I need is ten minutes.” She resisted the urge to run,
instead walking briskly and calling out to her neighbor at the same time. Sam
had been eager to get home to finish what they’d started earlier at the Moulin
Rouge, but he would understand once she completed what she had in mind.

Geneva turned, then smiled. “Hey, neighbor.” Her face
softened. She waited for Desiree to get closer. “It’s good to see you. Don’t
you look nice? Date night?” By now, a smile was plastered across Geneva’s face.

“Wouldn’t miss it. Sam and I love to steal a little time to
keep the relationship flames going.”

“Isn’t that nice. Heaven knows we have to work harder and
harder the longer you stay married.”

Desiree blushed a bit. Marriage wasn’t really what she’d
come to discuss. She paused on the front steps. “Your garden always looks so
nice. How do you do it? I can’t seem to grown a thing.” She chuckled.

Geneva’s laughed was as stilted as Desiree’s had been. “It’s
the champagne. It works wonders.”

“Excuse me?”

“I drink champagne and watch the landscapers.” An amused
smile played across Geneva’s lips. “I have no patience for gardening or
anything like that.”

Desiree laughed in earnest now. “I totally understand.”

As if by magic, Desiree’s laugh relaxed Geneva. “I’ve been
meaning to come over and see how your transition has been. I’ve just been so
swamped lately. We are usually better than that around here. It’s usually a
tight-knit community. Our little spot of America.” Geneva cocked her head to
the side, her smile genuinely warm now. “Come in for a bit and let me make it
up to you.”

Desiree nodded, only briefly glancing toward her house. Sam
had pulled the car into the driveway now. “I do have some paperwork to
complete, but it’s early. I can sample some of that champagne that makes it so
easy to watch the gardeners.”

“Oh it’s always easy to watch them,” Geneva said. “Especially
when they work with their shirts off.”

This time they laughed together. For a spilt second, Desiree
felt that under different circumstances, she might actually be friends with
Geneva. “Well, lead on, then.” She fell into step behind her and followed her
into the house.

The house felt eerily still in the absence of the crowd of
people Desiree had experienced the last time she’d been there. Without
revelers, Desiree could hear the soft whir of the air conditioning. “Is Martin
around?” she asked more to be polite than anything else. Truthfully, she was
glad he wasn’t there. That was one less thing for her to worry about.

Geneva shook her head and guided her guest to the sitting
room. Desiree smiled. This was going better than she could have hoped for.

“Who knows what he’s up to?” She waved her hand in the air
dismissively. “As long as he stays out of my hair most of the time, we’re good.
What can I get you? Would you like that champagne?” She put her hands on her
hips on her hips and looked at Desiree expectantly.

“That would be fine.” She slid into one of the seats near
the door to wait.

A smile spread across Geneva’s face. “You’re a woman after
my own heart. Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back.”

Geneva was barely through the doorway before Desiree jumped
up and made a beeline for the small table she’d knocked over the last time
she’d been there. Although she had confirmation Martin wasn’t there, she still
glanced around quickly to make sure no one was watching.

Geneva hummed as she walked away, making it easy for Desiree
to tell where she was. She quickly removed her phone from her purse. Her
heartbeat pounded in her ears. The pictures were in a different order than
before and for a spilt second, Desiree thought the one she’d been looking for
had been removed. The table was more cluttered now. Instead of just pictures,
there was a collection of small ceramic dogs as well. She moved those to the
side a little and then spied what she was looking for. The picture was almost
turned around completely, facing the wall. Desiree spun it around gently,
trying hard not to disturb anything else on the table. From the distance, she
could hear glasses clinking in the kitchen. Her heartbeat quickened again. She
focused her phone on the photograph and snapped a picture quickly, then slipped
the phone back into her purse.

She stood as Geneva’s hum got closer to her. “Your home is
so beautiful. I can’t wait until we get ours together.” She accepted the glass
Geneva handed her.

“Oh, all it takes is time. You’ll get there. It took us
almost a full year to feel that things were where they should be.”

Desiree reached out to take it and her eyes fixed on
Geneva’s inner arm. “What an interesting tattoo.”

Geneva looked away, snatched her arm back quickly. She
rubbed her arm on her side as if she were trying to will her sleeve to cover
her exposed forearm. “Oh that? It’s nothing.”

Desiree’s eyes narrowed. She knew evasion when she heard it.
“I never had the courage to get any tattoos. Did it hurt? What is it?” She’d
seen that tattoo before.

Geneva shrugged. “I suppose. I don’t remember.” She tried to
laugh it off. “The things men convince you to do. It was dumb, really. Not a
big deal.”

“Do you mind if I look at it?” Her words hung in the air for
just a little too long.

“Actually, I don’t want to talk about it.” Geneva sipped her
champagne. “Tell me what you think of this. You know, in France, real champagne
is a big deal and Martin insists we only buy the best.” She sipped again,
silently urging her guest to follow suit.

Desiree locked eyes with Geneva but sipped her champagne.
The subject had been changed abruptly. She had to think for a minute on how to
proceed. A smile slowly softened her face. She’d already gotten what she’d come
for, but this new development was interesting. The tattoo she’d seen on the
woman she now knew to be Geneva’s sister had been very similar to the one she’d
glimpsed on the inside of Geneva’s arm, if not identical. Was that a coincidence?
Or was it a clue? Geneva had become so tight-lipped so quickly, all feelings of
welcome had disappeared. Things were getting more interesting by the minute.

* * * * *

Sam was waiting outside their home as Desiree made her way
down the block from the Jenilhams’ house. He sat on the front porch as any
other neighbor might but his head hung heavy in his hands. As she got closer,
Desiree had to subdue the grin making its way across her face but she was
having a hard time. It had, once again, been way too easy to get what she
needed from Geneva. That was a bit perplexing. Either the Jenilhams hadn’t done
anything wrong and she and Sam were barking up the wrong tree, or the Jenilhams
were just bad criminals. Their lives really were an open book and the only real
secrecy encountered so far had been around the tattoo on Geneva’s forearm.

Sam looked up as Desiree approached, his eyes full of
questions. “Well, Mr. Comfort,” she said. “You would think you missed me or
something. I told you I would be right back. I’m not a beginner and you’re
sitting here looking like you’re waiting for me to come out of surgery or
something.”

“You know better than to discuss this out here. C’mon.” Sam
waved her inside. He followed, shut the door behind them, then walked over to
the radio and turned it on. Finally he spoke. “Tell me. What was over there
that made you have to go right now?” He struggled to contain the anger that
flashed across his face. “This could have been dangerous. You really don’t know
if that woman has talked to her sister or not. We aren’t sure if our cover is
busted and have no idea who knows what. I don’t understand why you couldn’t
have explained what your plan was beforehand.” He paced back and forth as they
moved into the house.

Desiree headed for the dining room. “It would have taken too
long. I saw Geneva go in and decided to take advantage of an opportunity.” She
sat at the computer and wiggled the mouse, waving her phone in the air at the
same time. “I think I love technology.” She paused. “There are no guarantees,
but thinking of the possibilities—I think I might be giving myself lady-wood.”

“Lady-wood?” Sam crossed his arms. “Your confidence is
amazing.”

“Yes, I learned from the best. Just watch.” Desiree emailed
herself something from her phone.

“Now is not the time to be checking your Facebook.”

“Make fun of what you don’t understand. Sam, you’re so busy
being sarcastic that you miss the obvious. Patience, my love.” She paused,
waiting for the mail to arrive on her computer. “Did I tell you I knocked over
a picture while we were over there the other day? Well, Geneva’s sister was in
the picture.”

Sam’s eyes lit up. “And you recognized her as the woman from
the inn—”

“The same woman who ran from me at the agency. Well, I went
over and asked some questions about her garden and other neighborhood stuff and
of course she invited me into the same area where the picture had been.” The
email indicator in her inbox chimed and Desiree wiggled the mouse.

Sam rolled his eyes but waited and watched. Desiree had to
talk him through each thing, step by step. It was just her way and she could do
things with the computer he’d never acquired patience or skills to do. Those
skills were what had gotten Desiree recruited to work at the agency despite her
lack of other training. She was one of the only agents without a college degree
but that didn’t mean she wasn’t one of the smartest. What she lacked in book
learning she more than made up for with practical, technical knowledge that
could be put to use time and time again in the field.

She continued. “I made small talk, accepted some champagne
and snapped a picture of that picture with my phone and even discovered Geneva
and her sister have practically the same tattoo on their forearms.” Desiree
opened the picture and downloaded it onto her computer.

“A tattoo might mean nothing. It’s not unusual for siblings
to have the same tattoo. It could be nothing, like twins dressing alike.”

Desiree’s eyes stayed riveted to the screen while she
talked. “I didn’t say it was. It’s just interesting she clammed up after I
mentioned it. That made me curious.”

He shrugged. “I’m guessing you think it’s another
conspiracy?”

“Perhaps. I have to think about it some more. First things
first.” She tapped her computer screen. “You made fun of me and my phone that
takes such high-quality pictures.” She opened the file, importing it into photo
editing software so she could crop it down.

“I did. I admit I called it phone overkill while we were on
vacation.” Amazed, Sam could not take his eyes off the screen. “And what will
that do?” he asked. “Now we have a close up of her mug shot. I agree she’s the
woman we saw that day at the inn.”

“Just wait on it.” Desiree clicked on her browser and went
to Google Image search. She imported the picture and clicked Send, then sat
back in the chair as her screen filled up with images.

“I’ve never seen this before.”

“Most people haven’t.” The screen was populated with various
pictures of Geneva’s sister from around the web. “This is a reverse image
search. It’s using facial recognition technology to bring up sites where this
woman has been pictured anywhere in the past.”

“That’s amazing.” Sam leaned in so he could watch. The
search results were still popping up.

“It is, isn’t it? It’s amazing what you learn by watching
junk television.” Desiree clicked on one of the pictures near the top. “I’m
going to scan this and see if I can piece together some information about
Geneva’s sister. Even security camera pictures are in here. I’m going to see if
I can find some kind of trail of where she’s been. I think if we find her, we
unravel this mystery.”

Sam nodded, intending to let her do her thing. He leaned
over and kissed her. “Now, this is wood worthy. I’ll have to reward you for
this later.”

Desiree grinned. “I’m going to hold you to that. I want to
work on this a few hours before bed.” She turned back to the computer to delve
in. “She may have tried to disappear, but she didn’t do a very good job. Almost
everyone leaves a trace.”