Page 36 of The Mouse and the Maestro

“But for how long? Eventually they’re going to track her if she stays in the city. You know how it is; the intelligence community is tripping over itself here. Everything everywhere is wired, recorded, photographed. She needs to be out of the city.”

“I’ll take her,” Blue heard himself volunteer, turning his back to Jane.

Ridge did the pause thing again. Sometimes it meant he was thinking, and sometimes it meant he was trying to keep a cap on his temper. Since Blue hadn’t done anything to draw his ire for the moment, he figured he must be thinking.

“Let me ask you this, Blue, and I need an honest answer. If it came to it, could you kill a man to keep her safe?”

Blue turned to eye Jane again, now picking up a paperweight on his desk, turning it over and studying it as if it was one of her artifacts. “Yes.”

“Okay, then. She’s in your hands.”

Chapter 17

Blue hung up with Ridge feeling slightly queasy. What had he just done? Jane’s safety now rested solely in his hands, hands that were more accustomed to typing on a computer than punching someone or shooting a gun.

“So. It appears you may be stuck with me a while.”

“Oh,” Jane replied, setting down the paperweight.

“Try not to sound so thrilled,” Blue said.

“I was thinking of quitting, actually. Before you showed up, I was going to call Mr. Ridge and tell him to find someone else.”

“What? Why?” he exclaimed.

“Really, Blue,really?” she asked.

“Because we shared a few lighthearted kisses?” he said.

“Yes, that’s exactly it. And then after those kisses you accused me of being a terrorist mastermind. It’s hard to know, really, if it was the kisses or the suspicion of being an artifact-forging mass murderer. I’m going to have to think about it, come to a conclusion, and get back to you.”

“In my defense, you’ve done nothing to help yourself prove you’re not a terrorist,” he said.

“You’ve done nothing to prove you’re not Jimmy Hoffa. Maybe you are. Because how do you expect someone to prove a negative?”

“There’s one easy way. Tell me why you have no digital footprint. Tell me why you’re invisible.”

“No,” she stubbornly insisted.

“Why not? What possible reason could you have for not telling me, and what possible reason could you have for being invisible in the first place?”

“How dare I have a private life that’s none of your concern?” she said. “I mean, we’ve known each other for almost two weeks now. You should definitely have the inside scoop on all my secrets.”

“You expect me to trust you, but you won’t give me anything to go on.”

She picked up the paperweight again, seemed to consider chucking it at his head and, with effort, set it back down. “You have issues.”

“I have issues? I’m not the one who stole a car and mysteriously flew home without a ticket or ID. I’m not the one who has no past, no history, no driver’s license, no credit rating, no health or dental records, no social media. I don’t have issues. You have issues.” He pointed at her so she’d be clear on who he was talking about.

She put her hands on her hips, which would have been cute if he weren’t so angry. She was pint-sized and adorable, way too much to ever be taken seriously as a credible threat. But she was trying her best with hands on hips and heaving, angry breathing. “None of those things are any of your business. No one normal looks into them upon meeting a new acquaintance.”

He rolled his eyes. “Absolutely everyone looks into them. Maybe not as deep or as far or as I do, but everyone does it. Want to know someone’s dating history? Check social media. Wantto know someone’s political affiliation? Check social media. Are you honestly trying to tell me you’ve never cyber stalked someone?”

“Never, not once. You know what I want to do when I want to get to know someone? I ask them questions about themselves and listen to their answers,” she said.

“It’s like you’re speaking another language, one that died with the advent of the industrial age.” Blue said. “Who does that, I mean, really? No one, that’s who. Just because you work with antiquated artifacts doesn’t mean you have to be antiquated in real life.”

“You are being totally unfair, not just to me, but to all womankind. Do you think it’s moral to show up for a date knowing a woman’s credit rating and medical history? That’s a despicable invasion of privacy.”

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