The Scotland Yard Exchange Series by Stephanie Queen

Author:Stephanie Queen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Stephanie Queen
Published: 2014-09-16T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

DAVID arrived for cocktails at the chief’s house before his dinner date with Frenchie, wearing his customary dark suit, starched white shirt and tie. When Dan opened the door he felt like he should have a corsage and they should be going to a prom. It had been too long since he’d courted a girl. They were all women now.

“Just in time—but not for cocktails. We’ll call Inspector Mateo in Peru soon. They’re an hour behind us so it’s not too late. We have our translator.” Dan led David from the entryway toward the living room where Esther, Frenchie Maria and Jason were seated.

“You’re sure about this?” David stopped in the doorway before entering the living room. Dan turned and looked behind him at Frenchie. She and Esther were looking back at him and Esther wore a big smile.

“Come on in.” Dan waved his arm with a glass in hand. “We’re having ginger ale until after the call.”

David strode into the room and walked toward Frenchie with a nod and a smile. “Aren’t we lucky to have a language professional right here at our disposal,” he said.

“Maria is fluent in Spanish as well as French—aren’t you Maria?” Esther looked at David expectantly, and Maria nodded rather hesitantly. David thought she clearly lacked Esther’s enthusiasm for the task.

“Of course.” Dan smiled and raised his drink as if the deal was sealed.

“But…”

David could swear Frenchie was about to back out.

“Of course you’ll help out, won’t you? Translating a Spanish conversation should be a piece of cake for you. You’ll be assisting in official police business,” Esther enthused as if it were everyone’s idea of a dream come true.

“Of course I’d love to help—if you really think I can?” Frenchie begged him with her lovely astonished eyes for encouragement.

Dan and Esther watched him, no doubt with their collective breathing stopped, waiting to see how he’d respond.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine…Maria.” David realized he’d have to stop thinking of her as Frenchie. It also occurred to him that he didn’t know her last name. It was just as well because it was probably something French and he was terrible at French pronunciation.

“Of course, it will be a brief telephone call. We’d appreciate it very much. You won’t need to get involved with the case at all,” Dan said, making an adjustment in his tactic.

“I’m not used to being under pressure…”

“Look at that: someone who appreciates the gravity of police business and doesn’t want to meddle,” Dan said to David. David raised his brows in response.

“I appreciate that you take the responsibility of police business seriously—” David started.

“Very refreshing,” interrupted Dan.

Esther was turning red and looked at David with that “please excuse my idiot husband” look. David focused on Maria.

“No need to worry. We won’t be making any life-or-death decisions during the course of our conversation, and you’ll have a chance when we’ve concluded to check on any dialectic nuances,” he said.

“If you think so—I’ll give it a try.” Frenchie smiled prettily, if shyly. David could see Esther and Dan exhale their tension.

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.