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My brain was still working too slowly to wonder what, exactly, Ben was
following up on or if it was related in any way to what he d been doing while
Luisa and Abigail had been dining à deux the previous evening. Nor did I pay
attention to the route Peter ultimately decided upon, as I never paid
attention to directions when I wasn t driving. Whichever highway we ended up
on was choked with cars in both directions, including an astonishing number of
hybrids. I d seen a handful of them in Manhattan, and even a few hybrid taxis,
but here we were surrounded.
As we meandered south in stop-and-go traffic, Peter and I filled in Luisa and
Abigail on the text of the file he d decrypted, showing them a printout of the
e-mail, and together we discussed the ways in which the various dots might
connect.
Let me make sure I understand, said Luisa in a way that really suggested she
was having difficulty understanding how she d found herself involved in this
whole mess in the first place. To start with, there s Marxist Santa, who s
trying to throw a wrench into the Igobe IPO by leading all of the investment
bankers who might handle the IPO on a scavenger hunt.
It s not the most direct way to go about things, but I can t figure out why
else he d be targeting the people he s been targeting, I said.
And we re sure that Marxist Santa has inside access to Igobe? asked Abigail.
How else would he know which bankers to target? I said.
And then there s the hacker, Petite Fleur, who also wants to bring Igobe down
by compromising its technology, said Peter.
So Petite Fleur is second. And then there s the third person we know Hilary s
met with at least once, presumably about her Igobe article, and who also has a
soft spot for Karl Marx, Luisa said.
Which suggests that the third person from Hilary s e-mail could be the same
as the first person, Marxist Santa, I concluded. And maybe Marxist Santa
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knows what Petite Fleur is up to, and that s what he s promising Hilary will
be the story of the century. Or maybe Marxist Santa and Petite Fleur are one
and the same.
Obviously, said Luisa dryly. I had to admit, I was pretty confused myself.
Is it possible that this person or persons kidnapped Hilary? asked Abigail.
I thought about that. I guess it s not impossible, but Hilary s on his side.
Or their side.
And which side is that? asked Luisa.
The side that s standing in the way of the people who would benefit from an
Igobe IPO. Namely, Iggie and Alex Cutler, I said, trying to sound less
confused than I felt.
It would be good to know when and where same time and same place are
supposed to be, mused Abigail. Did Hilary tell any of you where she d been
in the days leading up to the party?
She might have, I thought guiltily, but I d been so wrapped up in proving my
normality I hadn t paid much attention.
I only remember her mentioning she d been doing research, said Luisa. I
don t think she told me where, and I didn t ask.
Ben might know, suggested Peter.
Ben hadn t seemed to know much of anything thus far, but maybe he d come
through on this. We should call him. Do you know if he s still at the hotel
I started to ask.
But then I had another idea, and it was nothing short of brilliant. I think I
may be a genius.
Rachel, you are many things, but you are not a genius, said Luisa.
I chalked this up to nicotine withdrawal and let it go. Hilary left a pile of
receipts in her room. Maybe one of the receipts is from where she met the
person from the e-mail.
So we could put together where Hilary was and when she was there from the
receipts? asked Peter.
Exactly. Then we can meet up at the same time and same place with the person
who sent the e-mail, and he might be able to help us locate Hilary. And maybe
we can also find out if he is, in fact, Marxist Santa and what he thinks the
story of the century is.
That s a great idea, he said. Of course, Peter would be enthusiastic about
anything that didn t incriminate his old frat buddy, but even Abigail, who
hadn t spent the better part of a year convincing herself she was in love with
me, agreed it was a great idea, and she chimed in to say so. To my credit, I
did not turn around to say so there to Luisa in the backseat.
Let s call Ben right now, I said. Maybe he can start piecing together
Hilary s trail, and if we don t have any luck with Iggie or Alex, we can pick
up from there.
Fine, said Luisa, I ll call Ben and run it by him. This was as close as I
was going to get to an admission from her that my idea was a good one. She
reached Ben on his cell phone and spoke to him briefly, explaining about the
e-mail and the receipts.
Well? I asked when she d completed her call.
He says he ll get on it in a bit, she replied.
Did he think it was brilliant? I asked. I bet he thought it was brilliant.
Stop fishing for compliments.
How was that fishing for compliments?
Please.
I wasn t fishing. I was simply asking what Ben said.
She harrumphed in response.
Did you just harrumph at me?
Don t be ridiculous.
I m not being ridiculous. You re being ridiculous.
I m not being ridiculous. And you started it.
I did not start it. You started it.
What precisely did I start, Rachel?
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You know what you started
AARGHH! This was from Peter, not Luisa. Horns blared as he cut across three
lanes of traffic and pulled onto the highway s shoulder.
What s wrong? asked Luisa, alarmed.
Are you okay? I asked as he jammed the car into Park.
I am fine, he said between clenched teeth. The two of you, however, are
not. You ve been at each other s throats since we got in the car. In fact,
you ve been at each other s throats since yesterday. Either stop the bickering
now, or you re going to get out and walk, and I won t care if you go through a
case of soda and a carton of cigarettes on the way.
We can t do that, I pointed out. We were dared, and we don t want to be
wusses.
Then don t be wusses. But the choice is the same. Which is it going to be?
Ride and behave, or walk and bicker?
We weren t bickering, said Luisa. Do you think we were bickering, Rachel?
Of course not, I said. But who knew that putting Peter behind the wheel
would turn him into such a dad?
19
O nly Abigail s calm mediation, Luisa s and my promises that we d try to act
like reasonable adults and the suggestion that we make a quick detour to pick
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zanotowane.pldoc.pisz.plpdf.pisz.plkwiatpolny.htw.pl
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| Cytat |
Dobre pomysły nie mają przeszłości, mają tylko przyszłość. Robert Mallet
De minimis - o najmniejszych rzeczach.
Dobroć jest ważniejsza niż mądrość, a uznanie tej prawdy to pierwszy krok do mądrości. Theodore Isaac Rubin
Dobro to tylko to, co szlachetne, zło to tylko to, co haniebne.
Dla człowieka nie tylko świat otaczający jest zagadką; jest on nią sam dla siebie. I z obu tajemnic bardziej dręczącą wydaje się ta druga. Antoni Kępiński (1918-1972)
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