Free A Spy Like Me by Laura Pauling Page A

kiss him back.
    Marie clapped. “How wonderful. It is your
lucky day. I made gingerbread cookies and the kettle is on. I keep
telling Aimee she needs to find a good man and settle down. Maybe
you can talk sense to her.”
    We followed Marie into a tiny sitting room
off the kitchen. Herbs growing in pots on a windowsill scented the
air, and a giant fern filled most of the room. Tiny chairs
surrounded an equally tiny glass table the size of a
checkerboard.
    “Looks great,” I said. “I like the new
furniture.”
    “ Merci . Take a seat and help yourself.
I will be right back.”
    As soon as she left, I kicked Malcolm in the
shins. “What were you thinking?”
    He rubbed his shin. “I couldn’t disappoint an
old woman. She probably lost her husband in a war long ago. Would
it kill you to make her day?”
    “Unfortunately,” I said while giving him my
darkest look, “we aren’t exactly coming with the happiest of
news.”
    He reached for a cookie. “All the better to
brighten her day with our young love .”
    “Fine, but let me steer this conversation.
Consider this part of your training in role playing and how to
question a subject.”
    Marie cut our conversation short when she
entered with a kettle and poured us tea. Her hand shook, and I
worried she would drop it.
    Malcolm stood. “Let me do that for you.”
    Marie smiled and crinkled her face up with
tiny lines. She winked at me. “And a gentleman, too.”
    I distracted myself with a tiny thread
unraveling from the cloth napkin. The more I got to know Malcolm,
the more I liked him.
    When the tea was poured, and the cream and
sugar added, Marie settled into her chair. “To what do I owe the
pleasure of your visit?”
    Malcolm leaned back with a cookie, an amused
look on his face.
    I licked my dry lips. How exactly do I tell a
grandmother that her only living relative is missing? “We were in
the neighborhood and thought we’d drop by for a visit. Is Aimee
here?”
    Marie lowered her eyebrows. “Aimee should be
at work. Is everything okay?”
    Malcolm kicked me under the table as if to
say “good one.”
    “Um, my dad gave certain staff the day off to
rest.”
    Marie put her teacup down. “I hope he’s not
thinking of letting her go, because we really depend on her
earnings.”
    “No, no, nothing like that. Aimee is a valued
part of the team.”
    A light sweat broke out on my forehead, and I
could feel a nervous rash spread across my neck. I decided on a
more direct approach. “Did Aimee tell you where she was headed
today?”
    “I have not seen Aimee since she left for
work yesterday morning.”
    Fear bloomed in my chest, pressing against my
lungs, making it hard to breathe. It was hard to laugh and act like
nothing was the matter.
    She clasped her hands in her lap. “Should I
be worried?”
    I waved my hand and laughed, probably a
little too loud to be convincing. “No, not at all. She slept at my
place last night and um, er, left early this morning. She borrowed
a sweater of mine last week. Do you think I could take a look in
her room?”
    If Aimee was on any kind of innocent trip,
her grandmother would know about it.
    “Sure, dear. You remember. First room on the
right.”
    I excused myself from the table, needing to
be alone.
    “Do you need help, sweetie?” Malcolm
asked.
    I mustered the most sugary voice I could.
“I’ve got it, pumpkin. Be right back.”
    I was at the stairs when I heard Marie
encourage Malcolm to go with me. She needed to clean up in the
kitchen, and even though she wasn’t young, she wasn’t that behind
the times either. I begged to differ with the flowered apron.
    I took the stairs two at a time. In the
doorway, I looked over the room before poking around.
    With a warm hand on my waist, which I tried
to ignore, Malcolm said, “Good one down there. You almost sent her
to an early grave. Was I supposed to learn from that?”
    “No one’s perfect.” I kept my eyes on the
room. It looked different and I wasn’t sure