A/N: Huge thanks go out to Caranath, max2013, zenfrodo, Stork Hardy, ILoveMom, Jackie, bhar, flowerlover, Future Animator, Vinsmouse, Lady Emily, Burned Spy and Leya for your reviewing! I appreciate your taking the time to leave a comment! And of course, thanks to those reading!
Chapter 23
Nancy braced herself for the reaction when Bess opened the door to the hotel suite. She wasn't disappointed.
"Good grief, what happened? You all look like you just escaped the set of a horror movie!"
"It wasn't that bad," Nancy said as she stepped into the living room, brushing marble dust out of her hair.
"But it could have been." Frank limped through the door and groaned a little as he leaned against the wall for support.
"Explanation?" Bess raised an eyebrow at Nancy as Guillaume led Emily into the room with his arm around her waist for support. "Serious explanation."
"Whoever wants us off this case hasn't given up."
Nancy guided Frank over to the sofa where Lauren and Tammy made room for him, while Guillaume sat Emily on the adjacent couch, then stood, hovering, by her side.
"And?" Bess prompted.
"And whoever this jackass is, he tried to drop a marble statue of some beheaded saint on Nan and Emily," Frank said, as he rested his head against the back of the sofa and closed his eyes.
"What?" Bess's eyes grew wide. "Nancy, maybe it's time to call in the police."
"Not yet." Nancy's voice was firm. "We think we know why this is happening. We just need to find a few more pieces to the puzzle."
She did not want the police involved. They always got in her way. And she was positive they were not going to allow an American girl to investigate a crime in their jurisdiction. She'd be tossed off this case faster than she could tell them her name. Nancy was just happy that she managed to talk Father Xavier out of contacting them. The fear of the public discovering that the Madonna was missing had been enough to win him over to her side. For now.
"So are you going to tell me what happened, or do I have to force it out of you?" Bess tapped her foot.
Nancy detailed the events of the afternoon while Bess, Lauren and Tammy listened with open mouths.
"Frank, you get a gold star for being so quick on your feet," Bess said when Nancy finished. "I don't even want to think about what would have happened if any part of that statue had landed on someone's head."
"I'm just glad I heard the noise and looked up. I only wish I could have been faster." Frank opened his eyes. "How's your shoulder, Em?"
"Not that great at the moment."
"I hear you." He glanced toward the bar. "Do we have any ice over there? That might help."
Nancy jumped up from her seat. "Oh, I'm sorry, honey. Here, let me get both of you a cold pack."
She hurried over to the bar and dumped the contents of the ice bucket into two dish towels resting on the counter. She chided herself for not putting Frank's injury ahead of her case. Some girlfriend she was.
Bess looked at Guillaume, then toward Frank. "Um, just curious. Why is he out 'amongst the English?'"
Frank grinned. "Emily needed some help getting over here."
"Can we keep him?" Lauren asked, tilting her head and pursing her lips into a half smile. "He's hot."
Nancy laughed as she returned from the bar with the two ice packs. "I believe you'll have to take that up with a higher authority."
She handed one to Guillaume, who held it against Emily's shoulder, and brought the other one to Frank. She reached for his belt again and Frank chuckled.
"Damn, woman, what do I have to do to keep you out of my pants?"
Tammy and Lauren giggled and Bess rolled her eyes.
"Frank, behave," Nancy scolded, unable to keep a smile from turning up the corners of her mouth. "You're sounding more like your brother every minute."
Frank groaned and whispered an expletive. "I forgot about Joe for a second. Where is he, by the way?"
"He and Kathy went out to dinner," Tammy answered. "Somewhere romantic, no doubt. I don't know when they'll be back."
Emily dropped her head at that announcement as Tammy continued, "We were going to have the kitchen send up pizza for us. You want some?"
OOOoooOOO
"Joe?" Kathy hissed at him across the table for two they were sharing in a dimly lit restaurant on the town square. "I think that's him."
"Who?"
"The guy that was watching us on the slopes the other day. I think that's him." She made a slight gesture with her head toward the bar.
Joe picked up his drink and took a sip as he turned his head. It was one of the federal agents. Joe pressed his lips together to hide a spontaneous smile as he lowered his drink and turned to Kathy.
"I think you may be right."
A look of panic came into her eyes. "What do we do?"
"We don't do anything."
"But Joe, what if he tries something?" Kathy twisted her hands around her linen napkin.
"He's not going to try anything in a crowded restaurant," Joe assured her. "Relax. You don't want him to think we've noticed him."
Kathy took a deep breath and seemed to steady herself before taking a sip of her soft drink. "Okay. I'm okay."
"Yes, you are." Joe smiled. "I won't let anything happen to you."
Tears filled Kathy's eyes. "Thank you," she whispered. "You don't know how much it means to have somebody say that to me."
"It's all right," he said. "Why don't you finish your dinner?"
Kathy looked down at the lobster on her plate. "I can't. My stomach's in knots."
Joe nodded again. "Do you want to go back to the hotel?"
"Can we? I'm trying to be calm, but I'm just not as brave as you. I'm sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry about." He signaled to the waiter. "I'll take you to the suite, then I'll come back here and see what I can find out. In fact, why don't we leave something here, so I can use that as my excuse for returning. How about your scarf?"
Kathy nodded as the waiter appeared and Joe signed for the meal.
Standing, Joe helped her out of her chair and stole a glance at the agent seated at the bar, who tipped his glass slightly in acknowledgement.
Kathy grasped onto Joe's arm as they headed for the door of the restaurant and Joe felt her tremble.
Victory. She really did think someone was stalking her now.
OOOoooOOO
Frank pulled Nancy close to him while Lauren and Tammy were discussing what kind of pizza to order. "Joe is going to go ballistic when he finds out what happened today. We can't let that happen."
"You have a plan to rein in the infamous temper of Joe Hardy?"
Because Nancy was under no illusion about how difficult that could be, having been on the receiving end of Joe's wrath before. It was something she wanted to avoid again at all costs.
"We need to head him off," Frank continued. "Otherwise he'll blow our cover for sure. If he takes one look at Emily like this, no one is going to believe he's really Kathy's boyfriend."
"I agree," she said. "How do you propose we do that?"
"Let's go down to the lobby. Then we can catch them when they come back to the hotel."
"Frank, who knows how long they'll be gone?" Nancy protested. "And you're hurt."
"They have couches down there. I can sit and wait for him."
Nancy blew out a breath of air in frustration. Frank could be so stubborn. She knew his hip was killing him, and going all the way down to the lobby was something he should not be doing. She also knew by the determined glint in his eye that there was no arguing with him about it.
"Fine," she said. "I'll come up with some excuse for why we need to leave here. But only because I can't think of anything better at the moment."
OOOoooOOO
Twenty minutes later, Joe and Kathy walked into the lobby of the St. Sylvie hotel. Joe felt her stiffen as they moved through the crowd of people returning from the ski slopes and heading to and from nighttime engagements.
"It's okay," Joe whispered to her. "You're safe."
He turned his head as he heard his name being called and saw Nancy hurrying toward him. Joe stared at her. She seemed to have a fine coating of white dust in her hair and on her clothes. Her smile was also a little too bright. Something was wrong. He knew it.
"Um, hi guys," Nancy greeted them. "Did you have a nice dinner?"
"Yeah." Joe was wary.
"Great, uh, listen, Frank wants to talk to you about something, Joe." She glanced at Kathy. "In private."
"Okaaaay. Where is he?"
"Over there," Nancy gestured to the sofas surrounding the fireplace area of the lobby. She turned to Kathy. "I'll go upstairs with you."
"I don't want to go upstairs with you. I want to stay with Joe," Kathy protested.
"Yes, well, we can't always have what we want, can we?" Nancy took Kathy's arm and led her forcefully to the bank of elevators against the far wall, while Joe hurried over to his brother.
"What's wrong?" were the first words out of Joe's mouth.
Frank held up his hands. "Sit."
Joe sat next to his brother, and noticed how Frank winced as the movement jostled him.
His brother was hurt. What the hell had happened at the monastery?
"Spill it, Frank."
"First of all, Emily is all right. Her injuries are minor."
"Her what?" Joe jumped up from the sofa and his voice rose to a pitch loud enough to attract the attention of everyone around them.
Frank paused. "Joe, I need you to listen. Not freak out."
Joe sighed, "Okay, okay, I'm fine. But I won't be if you don't tell me exactly what's going on...right now."
As Frank explained the events of the afternoon, Joe began pacing back and forth, his fists clenched at his side. "I want to see her."
"Listen," Frank cautioned. "When you walk through those doors, you are not her boyfriend, understand? You can't blow our cover."
Joe stared at the floor. He didn't think he could do it. He thought he was barely successful at pretending he liked someone he couldn't stand. Now he was going to have to act as if he didn't care about someone who meant the world to him. He wasn't that good of an actor. And he knew it.
"Joe," Frank warned. "I mean it. If you can't promise me you can control your reaction, I will call upstairs and Nancy will take Emily out of that suite to another room."
"No." Joe was emphatic. "I don't want her moved. Someone's after her."
"Okay. Then we have a deal?" Frank asked. "You don't treat her any differently than you would if say, Bess, were injured. Got it?"
"I got it." He stared at his hands. "This really sucks, Frank."
Frank rested his hand on his brother's shoulder. "I know."
OOOoooOOO
Emily undid a button of her cashmere cardigan and slid it off her shoulder so that Guillaume could cover more of the bruise that she knew must look awful…because it sure felt awful.
She was just grateful for Frank's quick reflexes at the moment. If St. Denis's head had landed on hers, they both would have ended up decapitated. She smiled at little at the irony and almost mentioned it out loud. But after glancing around at the teenagers in the room, she knew the geeky art history humor would be lost on them.
She sighed as Guillaume, who sat on the other side of her, wrapped his arm around her back, and adjusted the ice-filled towel against her skin.
Tammy shuddered. "I can't even imagine how much that hurts."
"I've felt better," Emily said, in an attempt to lighten the mood in the room.
It hadn't worked, judging by Kathy, who looked sullen as she sat in the wing chair, her arms crossed in front of her. Simone was making Emily a cup of tea at the bar, and Louis was standing next to Tammy, clucking sympathetically.
Emily felt like a spectacle.
Nancy appeared from her room, where she'd changed her clothes and also managed to get most of the marble dust out of her hair, although Emily still thought it had a white tinge to it. Great, that meant her own hair looked even worse.
"And you say nobody saw anything?" Louis asked.
You know what, Louis? I don't know for sure," Nancy said. "We never asked Guillaume if he saw anyone."
Guillaume looked up as Emily repeated Nancy's question in French.
"Did he see someone?" Nancy asked.
"He said he saw another monk walking up there, but he was wearing his hood, so he couldn't see his face," Emily replied.
"Is that normal? The hood thing?"
Emily addressed Guillaume and he nodded.
"I guess some of the brethren do wear the hoods from time to time. It helps them feel more removed from the world," Emily explained.
Nancy sighed. "Did he notice anything else about his appearance? How tall he was? How he walked? Anything that could be a clue?"
Emily repeated Nancy's questions again, and Guillaume shook his head.
Nancy blew out a sigh of frustration that lifted her bangs from her forehead.
"Well, that's not really going to help us, is it?"
OOOoooOOO
Joe approached the main door of the suite with Frank and paused. He took a deep breath, and willed himself to remain calm.
"You can do it, Joe," Frank said.
Joe nodded, but he wasn't that sure of himself. He felt very tense and he knew it was going to show.
Frank unlocked the door and gestured for Joe to go in first.
He managed to stay composed as he walked through the room and took a seat on the sofa across from Emily. Kathy leapt up from the wing chair and moved next to him, linking her arm through his as she leaned her head on his shoulder.
Joe ignored her.
"So, I hear you ran into some trouble at the monastery?" he said to Emily.
"It was nothing," she said in a soft voice. "I'm fine."
The hell she was. She was pale and trembling, and he could see the pain in her eyes that she was trying so desperately to hide.
Joe nodded stiffly as he continued to observe the scene in front of him. Simone walked over and handed Emily a cup of tea.
"Drink this. It will make you feel better. Warm you up." She laid the back of her hand against Emily's cheek. "You're so cold, dear. I'll bring you a blanket."
Emily rested the cup and saucer on her lap. Joe noticed she couldn't lift the cup with her right hand...her arm was in a sling. But before she could pick it up with her left one, Guillaume took it and held it to her lips while she sipped the tea. She smiled her thanks at him and his face lit up beatifically. He brushed a strand of Emily's long hair over her shoulder and readjusted the icepack.
Joe had never contemplated striking a man of the cloth before, but right now he thought nothing would give him more pleasure than to knock this one right on his ass.
Emily gave a little shiver, and Tammy leaned over her. "Maybe this icepack is making things worse."
She gestured for Guillaume to remove it and she examined Emily's bruise again. "Geez, it looks even nastier than before!"
"Thanks," Emily said dryly.
Joe untangled himself from Kathy and walked over to his girlfriend. He sucked in his breath as he surveyed the red and purple area covering her shoulder and spreading over part of her back. He paused, trying to keep his voice steady and even.
"Have you seen a doctor?"
Emily nodded. "The one from the monastery. He took x-rays. Nothing is broken or dislocated."
Joe took another deep breath as he returned to the other couch, where Kathy immediately draped herself over him.
Guillaume tugged Emily's sweater down a bit and moved the icepack to cover the newly exposed skin.
Joe almost flew off the couch and grabbed him by the throat. What the hell did he think he was doing? She was half naked already.
He studied Guillaume's face and followed his line of vision. Was he staring at her breasts? The man's gaze seemed fixed on Emily's cleavage, which had been exposed a bit, thanks to her unbuttoned sweater. Monk, my ass. He's nothing but a pervert.
Joe's jaw clenched. He heard Frank clear his throat from somewhere across the room and ignored the warning. Joe continued boring his eyes into Guillaume. If "Monk Boy" didn't look somewhere else in the next two seconds, he was beating the crap out of him.
Emily shifted on the couch, breaking Guillaume's concentration. And his stare.
Simone stepped back into the room with a blanket, but Emily brushed it aside. "I think maybe it would be better if I just went to my room now," she announced. "I need to lie down."
"Here," Bess said, heading toward her. "You need to take these pain pills. They'll knock you out, but in this case, I think that's a good thing."
Emily nodded. "Me, too."
Joe closed his eyes for a moment. This was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. He wanted nothing more than to lift her off the couch, and help her to bed. He should be the one taking care of her. She needed to be loved and held and kissed and comforted. She needed him. And he needed her.
Kathy's whining voice penetrated the haze he found himself in.
"Aren't you going back to the restaurant?"
"What?" Joe asked, in an annoyed tone.
"The restaurant? The guy who was spying on us? You said you'd go back and investigate." Kathy pouted.
Joe watched as Bess and Guillaume helped Emily to her feet. He flinched as he heard her gasp in pain.
Guillaume steadied her by slipping his arm around her waist. Joe stood up from the couch.
"Yeah. I'm leaving. Right now, as a matter of fact."
He couldn't watch for one more second.
It was killing him.
He grabbed his coat and headed for the door to the suite without a backward glance.