“We can keep a lookout too.” Mum’s suggestion had merit, although I didn’t want her getting in the middle of it. The last thing she needed was to get arrested for aiding and abetting and ending up locked up after spending ten years confined by RP.
“I don’t know.” I blew out a breath. “The less you have to do with this, the better. I don’t want you getting in trouble.”
She stood taller, determination steeling her gaze. “I may have lost my magic, but I haven’t lost all my skills. I can look after myself. Don’t you worry about me.” She used her “I’m the boss because I’m your mother” voice, and I wasn’t going to argue with it. Old habits died hard… and so did cliches, apparently.
Imani slid her phone from her pocket. “I’m going to call Will, make sure he lets us know as soon as they’re in the interview. At least Mrs Dal Lago won’t be at the hotel then. That leaves the young man who took our bags, the bartender, kitchen staff, and that old lady, Isabella.”
Unease slinked across my belly. “That’s still a fair few witches. We’ll just have to be careful. Do we know if the hotel staff sleep on-site?”
Imani shook her head. “No. Honestly, we know nothing at this point. Angelica was keeping us in the dark so she didn’t ruin our holiday, but who knows how much the Italian agents know since they didn’t want to blame the wife. It’s like they don’t want to do the work.”
“They’re more conservative than us when it comes to investigation techniques. I’ve come across it before. Just prior to falling pregnant with James, I was here for a month investigating a drug and arms ring. The London agents had to push for every bit of information to be gathered. It was hard work. The Italians like to take their time to the point of ridiculousness. It’s just their way, I suppose. And you’ve been dealing with Agent Tondato, but I’ll bet my second chance at life that he’s got four or five levels of management above him that want to okay everything. Their bureaucracy is painful, but it is their way, and we’re in their country, so….”
I sighed. “Well, I’m happy to risk being arrested if it means we can find Angelica. Worst comes to worst, I’ll run, then come back to search. I won’t give up till we find her.”
Imani frowned. “Don’t be silly.”
Mum’s brow wrinkled. “You were never patient, but don’t lose the plot now, Lily. Please.”
I sucked in a deep breath. “I’ll try not to.”
Imani dialled Will and put the phone to her ear. “Hey, it’s me. Just wondering when you’re interviewing Mrs D.” She listened for a minute. “Okay, excellent. I’ll pass it on. Let me know when the interview is wrapping up. We’re going to see if Lily can find anything at the hotel…. Yeah… okay. Bye.”
I stared at her. “So? What’s the latest?”
She smiled. “The security footage from both places they got it from showed her disappearing into thin air. They’ve confiscated it, too, since those places are run by non-witches. Had that footage reached the internet, we might have had some damage control to oversee.”
I gave her a “you’ve got to be kidding” look. “Meh. No one believes that stuff. It’s too easy to say it was doctored. I’m sure it would’ve been fine.”
Imani raised a brow. “You’re joking, right? I give you two words: flat-earthers. People believe all sorts of things on the internet.”
She’d pointed out something so obvious that now I was embarrassed at being so stupid. Maybe I was only a few brain cells away from becoming a flat-earther. I needed to protect the brain matter I had left. “Hmm, okay. Fair enough. Point taken.” Note to self: no more drinking, and buy a helmet. “So when is the interrogation taking place?”
Imani put her phone in the back pocket of her white shorts. “In fifteen minutes at the PIB Trieste office. Let’s go back now, and we can start. You can take a photo of us in the hallway, get a pic of him last time he was there, see where he was headed. If we need to go into any restricted areas, we’ll wait till Mrs D is gone, and I’d be happy to distract the bartender while Katerina acts as a lookout for you.”
I nodded. “That’s a great plan.”
“Why, thank you, love.”
“Mum?”
“Yes, sweetie.”
“I’m going to cast a return to sender on you, just in case.”
Her eyes widened. “You can’t do that! It’ll take too much power, especially if someone attacks me.”
I smiled. “You do know I can handle it, right?”
Imani nodded slowly. “Some of the stuff your daughter’s done in the last few months is ridiculous. She can totally handle it.”
Mum’s eyes shone with what might be pride, or maybe she had allergies and her eyes were watering? “I know. I’m sorry. I just…. I still see you as the innocent fourteen-year-old I waved goodbye to as the taxi drove your dad and me to the airport.” She cupped my cheek with her hand. “I’m so sorry, Lily. If I’d known we weren’t coming back and that we’d be leaving you and James as orphans….” She shook her head, and this time there were tears, one escaping to run down her cheek.
I pulled her into my arms and gave her a massive hug. “It’s okay. You were fighting crime, trying to bring down the evilest witches on the planet. You couldn’t have known what was coming. And James stepped up. He was the best big brother I could’ve wished for.”
“But I can… well I used to be able to… tell the future, but I never saw it. I’m sorry, sweetie. I’m just so sorry.” She shook as the tears well and truly took hold.
I rubbed her back. “It’s okay, Mum. Why don’t we talk about this later? We’ve got a job to do right now, and I know your agent instincts are
