Livia Lone (Livia Lone #1)(86)

MacKinnon nodded but said nothing. Then she started to shake. She reached for the dog. It whimpered and licked her hand.

“I’m sorry,” Livia said. “I can imagine what this is stirring up.”

MacKinnon smiled grimly. “Well. I think you can more than imagine.”

“That’s true.”

MacKinnon stared out the window at the sparkling bay. “It never goes away, does it?”

Livia wished there were an answer to that. But there wasn’t.

A moment ticked by. MacKinnon said, “I don’t know if he’ll get back to me right away.”

“He will. If that receptionist is smart enough to get him the message promptly.”

“I hope so. Can you wait for a bit?”

Livia glanced at her watch. It had been close to an hour. Plenty of time still to get back to the airport, and there were dozens of nonstops to Seattle. She nodded and said, “Yes. Let’s see if he has a smart receptionist.”

MacKinnon left her phone on the table and made them another pot of tea. She looked tense, and to take the woman’s mind off her dread of confronting her brother, Livia said, “What’s the honey you’re using? It’s really good.”

In fact, it was good, though Livia didn’t expect anything would soon displace her affection for coffee with milk and turbinado sugar.

“Sonoma County Wildflower,” MacKinnon said. “I get it at the farmers’ market. Glad you like it. I’m afraid I’m a bit of an addict.”

“Well, I could see where that would be a danger. Wish they sold it in Seattle.”

MacKinnon returned to the table and they sat wordlessly for a moment, sipping the tea. Livia asked about the dog, her kids, life in San Francisco. Safe subjects. Comforting ones. She wasn’t sure if it was helping, but it was better than silence.

MacKinnon’s phone buzzed and the woman jumped. “Speakerphone,” Livia reminded her, leaning forward.

MacKinnon nodded and looked at the phone. And kept looking at it.

It buzzed again.

“Becky,” Livia said.

MacKinnon looked at her, her eyes wide, then at the phone again. Her mouth twitched and her expression wavered between fear and determination.

The phone buzzed again.

“Becky,” Livia said. “You can do this.”

MacKinnon nodded. She closed her eyes, and then opened them. And Livia could see the determination had won.

MacKinnon pressed the speaker button. “Hello.”

“Becky, it’s Ezra. Is everything all right?”

Hearing his voice conjured his face, and that of his brother, and again Livia had to suppress a wave of disgust. Apparently MacKinnon was having a similar reaction. She closed her eyes and swallowed, then said, “A reporter came to my house today. Asking me questions. About Father. About when we were children.”

“Hold on a minute, hold on. What reporter?”

“I don’t know. She wouldn’t even give me her name, or organization. But she said she had information, about when—”

“Hold on, hold on. How do you even know she was a reporter?”

Livia nodded grimly. She had predicted Lone would be afraid to talk about anything specific over the phone. That he would be afraid to discuss this in any way other than in person. So far, she’d been right.

“Well, who else could she be?” MacKinnon said.

“I don’t know. Some crazy person. Someone unstable who thinks she can make things up to blackmail us. Who knows? Now, did she say anything specific? Just yes or no, Becky. You don’t have to tell me details.”

MacKinnon glanced at Livia. “Yes. Extremely specific.”

Perfect.

“I need to talk to you, Ezra. I need to know what’s going on. If this is going to affect my family.”

“Nothing’s going to affect your family, Becky. Everything’s going to be fine. Now, I can’t talk right now. I’m in Bangkok and it’s the middle of the night—”

Bangkok? Livia thought.

“—and I have meetings starting early tomorrow and then throughout the afternoon. And the next day. It took a lot to set up these meetings with the Thai government people, and I can’t get free for a bit. I just can’t. But I can stop in San Francisco on the way back. Why don’t I come by? I can stay with you—”

“Absolutely not. You will not stay in this house.”

Perfect, Livia thought again. It was exactly the way they’d role-played it. You have to sound reluctant, Livia had coached her. Not like you’re trying to draw him in—like you’re trying to keep him out. Otherwise he could sense a trap. So make him work for it. Make him feel he’s trying to persuade you.

“All right, fine. I’ll stay in a hotel. We can meet in the lobby. Or anywhere else you like. But I think we should talk about this in person. Not over the phone.”

MacKinnon glanced at Livia. Livia nodded.

“When?” MacKinnon said.

“Three days. I’ll get my itinerary revised and text you my flight and hotel information as soon as I have it.”

“If that woman comes back to my house . . .”

“Listen. Whoever she is, if she contacts you again, try to get a name. Or at least a phone number. Whatever information you can. Then you get that information to me, and I’ll find out what we’re dealing with. And I’ll handle it. In the meantime, you tell her nothing.”