Erik and Cassie traded quizzical glances.
Griffin continued to listen. “That’s brilliant! Thank you. We can still catch the afternoon flight back to Karachi and fly out tomorrow to meet with you. I’ll ring you again as soon as our travel plans have been sorted out.”
He ended the call and regarded his teammates with a look of triumph. “My friends, our run of bad luck appears to be at an end.”
Chapter 16—The Benefit of a Doubt
Cassie tiptoed down the hotel corridor. It was late, and she didn’t want to disturb anyone. After Griffin’s surprise phone call, they’d made a mad dash to get back to Karachi for the night. They needed to catch an early morning flight to meet a trove keeper in Kochi which was at the southern tip of India. Griffin, as usual, had been stingy with the details. He said he didn’t want to get their hopes up prematurely. Cassie knew it was pointless to try to pry information out of him until he was ready to reveal it. She checked her wristwatch—11 PM already. She hoped he wasn’t asleep. She tapped gently on the door.
“Just a moment,” came the muffled response from the other side. When Griffin swung the door open, a look of alarm crossed his face.
“Sorry to bother you,” Cassie said in a low voice.
The scrivener’s expression didn’t change. “Is everything alright?”
The pythia drew back, realizing how much her unexpected appearance had worried him. “Fine, everything’s fine. I just wanted to... um... talk to you about something.”
“Please, come in. I was just repacking my suitcase.” He stood aside to let her pass, but she hung back.
Glancing furtively down the hotel corridor, she said, “Not here. Let’s go down to the lounge. I think it’s still open.”
“As you wish.” Griffin hastily pocketed his room key and followed her lead.
They rode the elevator down to the lobby in silence. In the lounge a few other groups were seated at tables and at the bar, presumably enjoying a nightcap before retiring. The room was dimly lit by candles on each table. Cassie immediately headed for the table farthest from the entrance. She positioned herself so she could watch anyone entering the bar.
Griffin took the seat opposite, a concerned expression never leaving his face. “Are you sure you’re alright?” he persisted.
She gave a weak smile. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. I just wanted to talk here because there’s less danger of us being overheard by Erik.”
“Erik?” Griffin leaned forward over the table, scowling. “What’s he done to you?”
“Nothing, nothing at all.” She shifted her focus to a waiter standing a few tables away. “Do you think they serve hot chocolate in a place like this?”
“I’m sure it can be arranged.” Griffin motioned for the waiter and ordered two cups of cocoa.
Cassie relaxed slightly. “Erik didn’t do anything wrong, but I was wondering...” She paused again. “Does he seem different to you lately?”
“Different?” The scrivener echoed in puzzlement. “In what way?”
Cassie propped her elbows on the table and tipped her head to the side, considering how to answer the question. “I feel like he’s pulling away from me. I mean, he can be kind of moody, but this is different. It’s like a part of him has gone MIA.”
“MIA?” Griffin repeated.
Cassie dipped her hand into a small bowl of pretzels which had been left on the table. “MIA means missing in action,” she said, crunching on the snack.
“When did you first notice this strange behavior on Erik’s part?”
“It’s been building ever since we got to India, but I really felt a difference today.”
The scrivener helped himself to a few pretzels as well. “What happened today?”
“It wasn’t anything that happened, but I think something I said might have set him off. Remember when we walked on ahead because you wanted to take a closer look at the ruin that was called the Grand Bazaar?”
Griffin merely nodded.
Cassie continued. “I can’t remember exactly what we were talking about, but I joked, ‘Can you see us doing this when we’re in our forties? The pythia and her middle-aged sidekick crawling around sand traps in the desert.’ I saw a strange look cross his face just for a second and then it was gone. He shrugged off the comment, but I noticed that he got really quiet for the rest of the day.”
“I can’t imagine that Erik would be petty enough to resent you calling him your sidekick,” the scrivener observed.
“Neither can I,” Cassie agreed. “Whenever I tick him off, he’s not shy about telling me so.”
The waiter arrived with their order. They suspended their conversation long enough to take tentative sips of their scalding beverages.
“Now that you mention it, he does seem more subdued than usual,” Griffin agreed. He hesitated before continuing. “I’m loath to ask something this personal but is your romance... er, on track?”
Cassie giggled at his choice of words. “I’m not sure I’d call it a romance. We’re just friends with benefits if that’s what you mean.”
“And are the benefits still... um... satisfactory?” Griffin blushed to the roots of his hair.
The pythia chose to gloss over his embarrassment. “When we get together, everything’s fine, but he has been spending more nights by himself the last couple of weeks.”
“I see.”
Cassie noticed Griffin’s jaw muscles tighten. She pounced. “What is it? You know something, and you’re not telling me.”
“I don’t know anything,” the scrivener protested too quickly.
“Yes, you do,” Cassie persisted. “I need you to tell me what you know. Griffin, we’re friends. That means we’re supposed to look out for each other.”
The scrivener gave a short, bitter laugh. “If I’d truly been looking after your best interests, I would have discouraged you from forming an attachment to Erik in the first place.”
Cassie drew back, stunned. “What do you mean?”
Griffin refused to meet her gaze. “I mean he has a reputation as a ladies’ man.”
“Are
