AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“When I was going through some photos on Valentina’s phone, I saw a man who looked like Paolo, from the picture Francesca showed me.” It sounds particularly ridiculous saying it out loud, especially to Tamar, who is a serious person.
“You told us that you couldn’t remember what he looked like.”
“I couldn’t. And when the photos of him were published in the media, after he was killed, it didn’t jar my memory at all. But yesterday, as soon as I saw the photo, I knew it was someone I’d seen before. I don’t know why, but it made me think of Francesca’s photo. I’m sure it’s nothing. Tying up the case has me a bit out of sorts, I guess.” I sound like a moron. Way to go, Lexie.
“Déjà vu is a subconscious message. Something we’ve experienced in the past—and I don’t mean a past life. I’m not a fan of woo-woo, but an experience that’s stored in our brain is closely related to a gut feeling or instinct. I wouldn’t create a battle plan around them, but I never ignore those feelings either.”
“Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t ignore it. It has me a bit spooked.”
“Did you ask Valentina about the photo?”
I nod. “It’s one of Marco’s clients.”
“Who else was in the photo?”
I wouldn’t have brought it up if I didn’t want to talk about it with her, but she seems to be taking this more seriously than I expected. “Marco and the man. There was a family walking on the beach behind them. That’s it.”
“Were they posing for the camera?”
She’s observing me carefully. It’s a bit odd.
I shake my head. “It was candid, taken from a distance. Why do you ask?”
“Unstaged photographs tend to tell us more than staged ones. They’re almost always truthful. Was this a recent photo?”
Oh God.
“It was taken on her trip to Greece.”
“Did Valentina have anything to share about the photo?”
I’m starting to feel as though she has suspicions about the photo too.
“No. She offered to ask Marco about the man, but I told her not to bother.”
“Why?”
I shrug. “I don’t know.” I’ve been too anxious to explore it.
“Why, Lexie? Allow yourself to think about why you didn’t want her to ask Marco about the man.”
“I got this terrible feeling. I didn’t want her involved.” I feel myself flush. I must sound like a foolish girl to her.
“Have you mentioned any of this to Rafael?”
“No. I try not to talk too much about Marco with him. Rafael’s not a fan.”
She nods. “You said they were at the beach. In Athens?”
“Rhone.”
“Rhone,” she repeats, drawing out the word.
R. Oh God. My heart begins to panic. I can’t just let this go.
“Tamar, is there any way you can pull up Valentina’s photos? I know she stores them in the cloud.” I can’t believe I just asked someone to hack Valentina. I’m sorry, sweetheart. But I don’t want to involve you in this if I can help it.
“Of course there’s a way. But Valentina’s my boss. I can’t go rifling through her personal belongings.”
