Page 54 of The Spy
I gave him a nice long, slow blink. "I'm sure we'd have to explain the body at some point."
I turned to go, but he still held on to me. "What? I need to go."
He swallowed hard. "Something is wrong. I don't know what it is. I don't want to let you go until I know."
"Nothing is wrong, okay? I've got this."
And even if I didn't, I was going to lie through my teeth.
17
Tabatha
"So, tell me all about you."
I shifted in my seat. "I don't know what you want to know."
"Everything. I'm fascinated. You fascinate me. Why art?"
I had an answer keyed and ready to go. "Why not art? Even if you don't comprehend exactly what the artist is trying to say or don't understand what makes art beautiful, it makes you feel something. You can never look at a masterpiece and not feel anything. Have you ever met anyone who sees the Mona Lisa and goes, 'Eh, overrated’?"
He chuckled low under his breath. "Actually, you'd be surprised."
"Well, those people are anomalies. I also have a strong sense of justice, and well, I'm a little fascinated by thieves."
His brows lifted. "What?"
"Yeah. Growing up, Robin Hood was my favorite hero."
He laughed, throwing his head back. I like that he laughed with his whole body. It was an unfiltered response.
Careful now, don't go getting too close to the mark.
"What's so funny? Look, I have a strong moral compass. I believe in right and wrong, it’s just sometimes different from what other people believe. I love Robin Hood. He steals from the rich and gives to the poor, something I can get behind. But it also made me aware that for every someone willing to steal for good, there is also someone willing to steal for bad, and I wanted to catch them. And I could marry that desire with my love of art."
He nodded. "You are a fascinating woman."
"But what about you? Antiquities. That must be fascinating too."
He shrugged. "The thing is, when you hear someone talk with real passion, someone who cares, like yourself, you realize how your life is dictated by the things you don't personally care about."
"You don't want the family business?"
He shrugged. "It's fine. It just isn't what I wanted to do, but there was never any real question of me doing anything else."
I nodded. "All right. And if you could have done something else, what would you have been?"
He seemed to consider that for a long moment. "Maybe I would have been a doctor."
"Well, that's certainly noble.”
"Yes, but you know, Dad had the family business all laid out for me."
"But the family business has done well for you. Surely, with the wealth you’ve amassed, you could find ways to help people in medicine."
His brow furrowed as he stared at me for a long moment. "You know, I've never quite looked at it like that before. I probably should have been paying attention to what was still possible."
"Sometimes you just need someone who isn’t so close to the situation to see things from a different angle."
