Page 93 of Over Her Dead Body

“Doubtful. But like I said, I’m not interested.”

“Then it hardly matters which story you believe.”

CHAPTER 35

EMMA

The gate agent calls the first-class passengers.

“Stay away from me.”

“You crossed the Atlantic for me. I’m not the one having trouble with distance.”

“Yeah, well, I spent ten years wishing you were alive.” I hold his gaze. “You’ve cured me.”

Reid picks up his leather case. “Let’s hope it lasts.”

My boarding pass places me several groups and one financial philosophy behind him.

By the time I step onto the plane, his coat has been taken and a glass of champagne sits beside him. He watches me pass without speaking.

The curtain closes before takeoff.

Ten hours later, the plane lands in Lisbon beneath a pale morning sky. I have slept badly and spent most of the flight aware of the man sitting on the other side of a piece of fabric.

By the time the main cabin is released, Reid is gone.

I look for him anyway.

Then again at baggage claim.

My suitcase appears near the end. I pull it from the carousel and follow the signs through customs.

A man in a dark suit is waiting beyond the doors with EMMA CALLOWAY printed on a white card.

The itinerary from Admin said a driver would meet me in arrivals. I approach him.

“Emma Calloway?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“This way.”

He takes my suitcase without introducing himself.

He is perhaps forty, broad through the shoulders, with a closely shaved head and a dark tie pulled tight against his throat. He leads me toward the parking garage.

“You have the address for the hotel?”

“The one in Chiado.”

“That’s right.”

He nods.

The car is a black sedan. He places my suitcase in the trunk and opens the rear door.

“Thank you.”