The Raven Thief--A Secret Staircase Mystery: Secret Staircase Mysteries Series, Book 2 by Gigi Pandian

Author:Gigi Pandian
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

Chapter 24

“You look more like a mime than a burglar,” said Gideon.

It was the next morning. Tempest was dressed all in black, with her long dark hair pulled under a winter cap. She couldn’t find her black gloves, so her hands were covered in white.

“I was going to say ‘goth model,’” Ivy chimed in, “but ‘mime’ works, too.”

The three of them were sitting in Dahlia’s old station wagon in the parking lot of a campground near the river that ran through Forestville. It wasn’t the season for camping or swimming, so theirs was the only car in the lot, as they’d hoped. This was the location they’d scoped out ahead of time that was walking distance from Hazel’s house for Gideon and Tempest, and that Ivy could drive to without Hazel seeing where she went when she drove away.

Tempest hadn’t been talkative on the drive. She was still distracted and distressed because of the visit from Moriarty. She couldn’t believe she was actually entertaining the thought, but … what if he was right? She couldn’t let that distract her now. She told herself that’s why she didn’t mention Moriarty’s appearance to either Ivy or Gideon. But was it the truth?

Gideon donned his hard hat and opened the back of the car to get the bag of tools and orange cones.

Tempest reached his side as he closed the back. “I wish we’d gotten you a cell phone. We could have bought a burner phone.”

“Like I said before, it wouldn’t matter. I’m the distraction. Not a lookout.” His eyes were barely visible under the hard hat, which was the idea, but she could still feel him looking intently at her. He squeezed both her hands. His fingers lingered longer than they should have. “See you back here in about an hour.”

Tempest slid back into the car.

“I know you’re keeping something from me,” Ivy said as she adjusted her wig in the rearview mirror.

“I’ve told you everything I’m going to do. We went over every contingency we could think of—”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Now isn’t the time for hinting. I have to start walking over to Hazel’s house in a few minutes.”

“Fifteen,” Ivy snapped. “We agreed we should give Gideon time to establish himself before you get in place and I knock. What happened to that precision you’re famous for?”

“The timer is already going on my phone. I’ll know when I need to leave. You’re jumpy because you’re nervous. I won’t be upset if you want to back out—”

“No! God, Tempest. I’m not abandoning you. We’re doing this. I just wish you’d tell me what’s really going on.”

“I’ve told you—”

“No. You haven’t. You’ve told me only what you want to. You don’t really let me in. You don’t let anyone in. You’re following the same pattern of keeping things to yourself.”

“I’m trying to clear my grandfather. I can’t lose him, Ivy. That’s the most important thing.”

Ivy’s expression softened. She nodded. “We’ll talk later. For now, I know what we need to do.”

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