Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Mel grins. “Right? And since Matty’s being a weirdo and we’re stuck here for at least an hour, I say, let us eat cake.”
I nod eagerly. “Yes, please, and thank you. I’ll start the kettle for tea or coffee.”
She shoots me a thumbs-up before gripping the rolling cart beneath the massive dessert and guiding it out of the fridge. “Perfect. What’s your ideal cake to icing ratio? The top layer has way more icing per bite. The second and third layers are more cake heavy.”
“The more icing the better for me, thanks,” I say. “Is it okay to put the cat down?”
She nods. “Sure. He’s too little to jump up on any of the prep surfaces, and I have my cleaners coming Saturday morning anyway. I’ll grab him some water and a little melon. I had a cat when I was a kid who loved watermelon when she had a funny tummy.”
“Perfect.” I set Clyde down and start toward the massive stove with the red kettle on the back burner. “Next question: Is this normal Matty behavior? Or something strange and unusual?”
Melissa props her hands on her hips with a sigh. “It’s not totally unheard of. Rare, but the occasional cryptic, late-night request does happen.” She casts a loaded glance my way. “But this is the first time he’s brought along a friend. Or a cat.”
Storing this information away, I add, “And this is a recent thing, or…”
She crosses to a glass-doored cupboard containing pale gray china. She fetches a stack of small plates and a bowl, which she fills with water before placing it on the tile for Clyde. “No, it’s ongoing. Since he graduated from high school. Not often, but every once in a while, he has a strange request and whips out a Pikachu Promise to get me to go along without causing a fuss.” She rolls her eyes. “Pikachu was our favorite Pokémon as kids. It became our code word for super-secret twin business.”
I smile. “I like it. So…what do you think this weirdness is all about?” I raise my voice to be heard as she ducks into the walk-in. “I had a theory, but Matty was quick to debunk it.”
“I have a theory, too. What was yours?” she asks, emerging with a Tupperware container full of chopped watermelon.
“Tell me yours first,” I say. “You obviously know him better than I do.”
Her nose wrinkles as she plucks out a few pieces of watermelon, which she places beside the water dish for the cat. “I don’t know about that. Matty has his share of secrets, even from me. But my best guess is he’s doing some kind of…politically sensitive work.”
“Like being a spy,” I say, deciding to lay it out there.
I’m gratified when Mel’s eyes widen and she hisses, “Yes! Oh my God, yes! Exactly. How are we the only people who suspect this? My parents and brothers just think Matty’s some kind of problem child who didn’t live up to his early, genius-level potential.”
“When really, he’s an international man of mystery,” I agree, nodding along with her. “And clearly in the middle of some kind of super-secret spy mission.” I glance down at Clyde, who’s loudly purring as he devours the watermelon. “Which, for some reason, involves a cat celebrity.”
“What?” Mel cocks her head to one side.
I briefly explain who Clyde is and how I came to be spending Thanksgiving evening with Matty and a kidnapped feline he rescued. I tell her about the Cassie Ann Sweetwater connection and the guy who grabbed me this afternoon, as well as the beeper message that had Matty running back into town. “And that’s why I’m here, I think,” I finish. “He didn’t want to leave me alone, just in case one of the mob guys is still on his tail.”
Melissa’s eyes are nearly as big as the poppies on the cake slices, she’s maneuvering onto plates for both of us. “Crap. This is bad, Nora. Really bad.”
I pull in a breath through bared teeth. “Yeah, it isn’t good. If he’s telling the truth, and he’s actually in deep with the mob, that’s obviously bad. And if we’re right and he’s a spy stuck in the middle of some crazy operation with career criminals, that isn’t great, either.”
Mel curses beneath her breath. “I should have stepped in sooner. I knew something was up with him the past year or so. But I was so wrapped up in my own drama with the divorce and everything, I didn’t stick my nose in when I should have.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” I say. “You’ve had a lot going on and Matty is very secretive. He nearly had me convinced I was a crazy person for even considering the spy thing.”
Her lips twist. “Yeah, he’s good at that. My brother has always been an excellent liar, in any language. I used to be able to spot his fibs, even when no one else could…” She sighs. “But maybe I’m losing my touch.”