Fettuccini Fiasco: A Jade Sommer Mystery by Nicolette Pierce

Author:Nicolette Pierce
Language: eng
Format: epub

Chapter Fifteen

It was two o’clock in the morning when I received an international call. I hurried to Nana’s bedroom to answer. The others were in the kitchen, eating pizza. And I’d rather not have any of them hovering over me while I talked to Colin.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Is this Jade?”

I had been expecting a French accent. This man didn’t have one.

“Yes. Is this Colin?”

“Yes. You called about wine. I’m not sure I understood the question. How can I help?”

In my message to him, I didn’t mention Mila. I wanted to hear his reaction when I said her name.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about Mila,” I said.

“Who?”

“Mila.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know who that is.”

I paused. If Mila had changed her identity, then he wouldn’t know who I was talking about.

“Listen, I know this isn’t making sense right now,” I said. “Bear with me for a moment. I believe you know a woman under a different name than I know her. To me, she is Mila. And she went missing. I know she buys your wine, and I have a feeling you two are either related or had some kind of friendship.”

“I’m sorry. I still don’t know who you are talking about.”

“She’s twenty-eight, about five-three, dark brown hair currently with purple highlights. She wears trendy clothes and never seems to worry about money . . . well, until recently. Has a wistful love for your wine and serious skills with graphic design. Does any of this ring a bell, or should I continue?”

“I’m sorry. I still don’t know who you are talking about. I’ll have to cut this conversation short. I have a meeting I need to go to.”

“Can I send her picture?”

“Yes. Email it to me. My email is on the website.”

“Thank you.”

He disconnected.

I sat on Nana’s bed, deflated. He didn’t know her. I was so sure he would. Maybe a photo of her would jog his memory. But I had hoped they were close enough that he wouldn’t need one.

With a sigh, I made my way back into the kitchen.

“Lan, can you email Colin a picture of Mila?” I asked. “He says he doesn’t know who I’m talking about.”

“He called?” Nana asked.

I nodded. “It was a quick conversation. I was really hoping he’d know who she was.”

“Maybe he does and he’s not saying.”

“To protect himself?” I asked.

“Or to protect her,” Lan said.

“But from whom?” Nana asked.

That was what we had to figure out and fast.

“I think it’s time to call it quits for tonight,” I said. “I can’t think straight anymore.”

“Probably best,” Nana said. “We still don’t have information on those Jersey numbers. I say we call them and see who answers.”

“Sounds like a good plan for the morning,” I said as I yawned. “Anyone who answered now would be furious.”

“Jade, you want to bunk with me tonight?” Nana asked.

“I think I’ll sleep on the couch tonight if you don’t mind.”

“Suit yourself. You know where the blankets are.”

“Thanks, Nana.”

I gave her a kiss on the cheek and then headed to the hall closet to dig out a blanket and pillow.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.