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Godiva: International Woman of Intrigue (Chapter Ten)
09 June, 2010 by chris
Godiva, International Woman of Intrigue
Godiva, International Woman of Intrigue
By Mathew D. Rhys and Chris Lawton
Chapter 10
I again found myself in Etienne's arms. I almost wept when I told him everything Hugh has told me. It seemed like a betrayal of my friendship with Hugh, but I couldn't help myself. To not tell felt like betrayal, too. A betrayal of love itself, perhaps.
"I'm sorry," I said. "Hugh gets a bit worked-up. He's so stubborn."
"Don't apologize," Etienne replied. "You clearly care about him. That means a lot."
I paused for a moment, and then turned to face him. "He's not right about you, is he?" I asked, immediately feeling guilty afterward.
His eyes were soft and comforting. "Of course not," Etienne smiled. "He could not be more wrong."
We fell asleep at that point. I slept soundly, content in the knowledge that Etienne was innocent, and Hugh was horribly mistaken.
–
The next day, I awoke to an empty bed and a knock on my door. I opened my door and two police officers standing on the other side. "Ma'am," one of them said, removing his hat. "If you have a moment, we'd like to talk to you."
"Of course, officers," I said, letting them in. "What can I do for you?"
"It's about the robbery at Perkins Astrotech," one of the officers said. "We've done some checking with other agencies. It looks like we have a pattern."
"Oh really?" I asked, a bit surprised. "What have you found?"
"Well, it seems like this sort of robbery is not the first of its kind," the officer said. "In fact, we found reports of three similar crimes in the past year all over the world."
"Really," I said, more thoughtfully than anything else. "Where were these robberies located?"
"We received reports from Paris, Venice and Barcelona," the officer replied.
"Um," I stammered, "what?"
"Well," the one with the moustache started, "there were some schematics for weapon systems taken from Labs in Paris and Barcelona, and a prototype rocket stolen from a lab in Venice."
I felt my heart drop through my stomach. The surprise must have been visible on my face, because the officer stepped over and grabbed my arm, to keep me from falling.
"Are you alright, ma'am?"
"Uh, yeah, officer," I said. "Thank you. And I will incorporate this information into my investigation. I appreciate you bringing it to my attention."
I said good-bye to the officers, and showed them to the door. "I will definitely call you when I have something," I said. The cops waved and walked down the sidewalk to their cruiser. I shut the door and numbly walked into my living room.
It was the cities that concerned me. My heart refused to believe it, though my brain had already figured it out. I had heard the list of cities before. They had all been the cities Etienne had mentioned, when he spoke of traveling the world. Cities where he had 'loved'.
I needed to talk to Hugh.