"Well, that was a waste of time," Tanya said in a fit of pique. "I've never seen that man before, never even heard of him-what was his name? Gregory Crowford? Never. What a waste." She rubbed her nose, wondering what Kevin had been doing while she was gone.
"Yes, too bad you didn't recognize him," Charles said. "It would have been a big help. Headquarters in Vermeil hoped to finally have a substantial lead."
"Absolutely nothing familiar about him. By the way, I didn't know you spoke Italian. You handled those gendarmes as if Italian were your native tongue."
"Of course I speak Italian," Charles said, his attention fixed on the road ahead. "Why do you think I read an Italian newspaper each morning?"
"Oh, right, I forgot. Do you speak any other languages?"
"A few." He laughed. "I speak French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, a bit of German…and, of course, English."
"Interesting. I know so little about you, Charles. You know Malcolm, but you've never worked with him. You're an American, but you live in Canada. You've traveled abroad…what else have you done in your life, besides protect weak little women, like me?" She grinned.
Charles didn't respond immediately. He drove through the open gate at La Mimosa, closed the gate, then finally looked at Tanya. "I spent my life protecting people. Working for them. Risking my life for them…just as I did and will do for you." His eyes, dark with emotion, stared into hers.
"I'm sorry, Charles, I didn't mean to sound ungrateful. Of course you take good care of me. You've proven that time and again." Tanya looked down, abashed. "You've been wonderful to me. Without you, I'd be dead by now." Impulsively, she reached over and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, Charles."
He smiled. "Well, we need to contact Malcolm, tell him the results of our trip. He's not going to be too happy, but there's nothing we can do."
Malcolm's reaction was as expected. "Damn. I had hoped…ah, well, not your fault, Tanya. We'll keep searching." He paused. "Charles, I've hired a new member at the Invicta. He'll work on Tanya's case, among others. He has a vast amount of experience in explosives-all kinds-so we can use his expertise."
"Sounds good, Malcolm. What's his name?"
"His name is Joe Halliday. He was a constable with headquarters in Vermeil. You can contact him, if I'm not around, or my right hand, Paul Brennon."