Midnight Mass (The Alex Wake Thrillers Book 1) by Matt James & Richard F. Paddon

Author:Matt James & Richard F. Paddon [James, Matt & Paddon, Richard F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Conundrum Publishing
Published: 2023-07-06T16:00:00+00:00

30

“Are you sure I can’t interest you in a glass of this very exquisite red?” Ghost asked, holding up the half-empty bottle of Bordeaux. “It’s from France and comes highly recommended by no less than five sommeliers.”

Ghost and the translator were up in the shop at the beginning stages of hashing out the details of the job in question. Her name was Sabine, and she sat on the opposite side of the counter. It wouldn’t have done him any good to take the civilian down to the basement, not unless he wanted to frighten her.

Can’t risk my operation, either.

“Thank you, but I’m fine,” Sabine replied, shaking her head politely. “Wine makes me gassy.”

That’s a lie, Ghost thought as he studied her.

She definitely wasn’t Italian, but nor did she look like she was from Saudi Arabia. He couldn’t pinpoint where she was from, but her accent sounded worldly. She had come with impressive recommendations. Who was he to judge if she didn’t want a glass?

“I understand completely,” Ghost said, flashing her his most charming smile. “I have a cousin, Fredo. You’d love him. Anyway, Fredo can’t have any dairy. He’s one of those lactose intolerant people. I couldn’t live that way, could you?”

It was clear the translator had no idea why she was sitting in a wine shop with an old eccentric Italian prattling on about a cousin who couldn’t hold his diary. Her eyes darted around the room, and Ghost did his best to hide his smile.

“I’m sorry,” Sabine replied, trying to sound as respectful as possible, “but what does this have to do with me translating for you? You haven’t told me anything yet.”

Party pooper, Ghost thought.

He lowered the bottle back on the countertop. After he’d made the appropriate calls, he’d discovered that the only man, apart from the prince, who would know where in the free port the painting would be was the head of security. He’d also discovered that this man had the day off today, which meant he would be easy to track.

Naturally, before the translator had arrived, he’d messaged Alex. They were currently waiting for him to make contact with the Saudis.

“You’re going to translate a conversation for myself and an associate of mine. You don’t need to know anything else, except that it’ll be in Arabic. For your time and effort, you’ll be paid triple what you normally get.”

At the mention of her pay, Ghost saw Sabine’s eyes widen momentarily. It was clear he’d bought her silence. Before she could respond, Ghost’s phone rang.

Unlike his normal habit of keeping it on vibrate, he’d left the ringer on. That way, he wouldn’t miss the call. He snatched it up and put the call through the speaker.

“Alex,” he said in English, “you’re on speaker with me and our translator, Sabine. Say hello to Alex.”

The translator leaned forward. She cleared her throat. “Hello, sir. I hope I’ll be able to help you today with your translation needs.”

There was a pause on the other end. Ghost looked up at the woman opposite of him.

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