Page 80 of Code Name: Reaper
“There was.”
When Vera didn’t elaborate, it was clear she either didn’t know the outcome or wasn’t permitted to share it.
“What about my mother?”
Vera stood and moved to a chair facing us. “Earlier, when I said answering questions about your parents was difficult, I was referring to your mother more than your father.”
“I see,” Amaryllis said in a soft voice.
“Do you want to tell her what you learned from Mr. Hill?”
“Right. According to a neighbor of my grandparents, it’s possible that Hyde was my mother’s maiden name.”
“I cannot confirm or deny that information.”
Code for, yes, that was her maiden name.
“Was she related in any way to Edgar Hyde, code name Jekyll?”
Vera took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I cannot confirm or deny a familial connection,” she repeated.
“My mother was his sister.” Amaryllis didn’t phrase it as a question.
Vera’s nod in response was almost imperceptible.
“Did either of their parents work for the foreign service?” she continued.
“Nothing I’ve seen indicates either did.”
Amaryllis sat up straighter, finished the whiskey in her glass, and poured herself another, then turned to look at me. I’d seen the expression she wore more times than I could count. In my experience, it meant she was about to go for the jugular.
“I have an unrelated question.”
“Go ahead,” said Vera.
“Why don’t you want me to find Mercury? And was it your decision alone to stonewall me, or did it come from higher up?”
Vera raised her glass, I poured more whiskey into it, and she downed it. “It was not my decision.”
“But it was intentional.”
She gave another barely perceptible nod.
“Why?”
“While it may sound trite, it was and is for your protection.”
“I hate trite,” Amaryllis blurted.
“As do I,” said Vera.
“What am I being protected from?”
“I will answer that question, but it will be the last I do today.”
“Understood,” Amaryllis repeated.
“You are being protected from the same thing that resulted in the deaths of your parents, Prism’s departure from the CIA, and Mercury’s disappearance.”
