‘Oh Matt, I can’t expect you to take me there again. I’ll get the train.’
Matt pulled her in for a hug and kissed her temple. ‘As I said before, I’m as invested in this dress story as you are. There’s no way I’m going to let you take the train.’
Darcie slipped her arms around him. ‘I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve someone like you or why we met, but I’m so grateful we did.’
‘Me too.’ Matt looked down and kissed her.
Darcie just wanted to melt in his arms there and then. There was something different about his kiss. She couldn’t quite articulate it, but she could sense a deeper level of whatever it was going on between them.
‘So, are we going tonight or tomorrow?’ she asked when they finally pulled away.
‘It might be a bit late to get somewhere to stay tonight when we get there. Let’s stay at my place and leave early in the morning. How does that sound?’
‘That’s fine with me.’
‘OK, let’s go back to yours, have a tidy-up and get a bag together.’
‘And hope we don’t have any surprises when we get there this time,’ said Darcie.
‘Yeah, could do without any more of those,’ agreed Matt, taking her hand and beginning to head down the street.
Darcie stopped in her tracks as the scrap of memory she hadn’t quite been able to reach earlier burst to the fore.
Matt stopped walking and turned to look at her. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘The man I saw across the street from the bank,’ she said, trying to keep her composure. ‘The one on the phone who got into the car with another man driving.’
‘Yeah. The one you thought you knew,’ said Matt slowly.
‘They were the two men we passed on the staircase at my apartment. They must have been the ones who ransacked the place.’
Chapter 36
Darcie
‘It’s going to be all right,’ assured Matt for what must have been at least the twentieth time. They were in the car, heading into Brittany.
Darcie had to admire him for not only his patience with her but also his ability to install a sense of calm. She could almost believe him. Almost.
‘And there’s no way they can get to the safe deposit box,’ she said for probably the one hundredth time.
‘None at all. There’s absolutely no way they can access the box without full identification and the key. I promise you, it couldn’t be in a safer place.’
‘Maybe I should have left the sketchbook there as well,’ said Darcie, looking down at her bag where the book now was. At the time, she’d told Matt she was happier keeping the book with her, but now she was questioning her wisdom.
‘Quit worrying. You have it with you. Neither of us are going to let it go anywhere,’ reassured Matt. He reached over and squeezed her hand. ‘Look, let’s focus on the plan. We’ve got this opportunity to speak to Odile and, after that, we can work out what to do next. Whether that’s going to the police with evidence or taking legal advice about the dress or about Padgett and warning his hitmen off.’
‘Hitmen!’
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. Just an expression.’
‘I know you’re right.’ Darcie had to stop going over the same ground. She switched the conversation to more immediate things. ‘So, how long until we’re there?’
‘Another thirty to forty minutes,’ said Matt. ‘Traffic is light. No hold-ups. I’ve had a message from Elaine confirming it all, so all is good.’
Thirty-five minutes later, they were pulling up in the car park of the care home where Odile resided. Elaine was waiting in her car.
‘Thank you for coming,’ she said. ‘I know it’s a long way.’
