Page 4 of Nikolai
Nick frowned.“Death threats?Have you gotten any?”
She laughed.“Well, my policy of not appearing on camera paid off.I get spidery handwritten letters of enthusiastic thanks from ancient professors of Greek and Latin.The production company gets the emails.I don’t even see them.”
“Were there any threats in those emails?”Nick couldn’t let the idea go.That this beautiful woman who’d created such a charming and uplifting documentary could bethreatened.That went against everything he’d worked for all his life.
Those beautiful eyes looked to the side.“Maybe.But like I said, I don’t see them.”
Nick was eventually going to ask to see them.Because he was so intrigued by her, he was going to be seeing a lot of her.Unless she was engaged…
Fuck.He hoped not.But someone who looked like her?Who was smart and successful?
How to find out?Ask Caroline Munro in an unguarded moment?Maybe check her Facebook feed?Or maybe…
“Do you have a man in your life?”
Parker blinked slowly while Nick wanted to kick himself in the ass for asking the question so bluntly.He wanted to kick himself in the ass, but he also wanted the answer.Now.
She cocked her head and studied him for a minute.“That’s not polite chitchat at a diplomatic reception.”
Nick bit his back teeth.“No, it’s not.It’s intrusive and terrible manners and clumsy.”Though I want to know the answer.“Professional deformation.I wasn’t thinking of politeness, I was thinking as a security expert.I was thinking of what kind of system you have shielding you.”
He hadn’t been thinking that at all, but now that he’d said it, he did want to know.The security lobe in his head had been switched on.
Nowadays even librarians were getting death threats, and the threats were mostly noise, but not always.
“A system shielding me.”Parker wrinkled her nose.“Well…technically, my agent?Though Everett isn’t what you could really call a shield.However, heisgood with contracts.”
Nick had been leaning on the terrace parapet and slowly straightened.“I am going to sound intrusive and obnoxious.But I would reallyreallylike to take a look at some of those threatening emails.I have a program that can check email addresses for fictitious ones and can tell how long they have been in existence.If your producers kick up a fuss, say you’ve hired me.I’ll give you a contract to sign.Objecting toThe Smiling Peopleis sick.”
Parker looked at him, eyes like blue headlights.“You’d be surprised.”
“No,” he said firmly.He’d seen it all, twice.“I wouldn’t.”
“They object to me ‘trashing the manly virtues of Rome.’That was a direct quote.I have a ‘radical feminist agenda’ because I said women in Etruria were equal to men.People are crazy.”
Yes, they were.And the crazy ones could do a vast amount of harm.
“You’ll let me look at the threatening emails?”
“And letters.”
“Through the postal system?”
“Yeah.Some had talcum powder inside the envelope.”
The hairs on the back of Nick’s neck stirred.To the uninitiated, talcum powder was indistinguishable from anthrax.
“I’d consider it a personal favor if you’d let me look into this.You don’t know me but I’m sort of specialized in—”shithead shenanigans.“In dangerous situations.”
“I know you are.Aunt Caroline said you were the best in the business and was really pleased you accepted the contract in person.”
Because Italy had seemed like the perfect place to work in after a couple of years in unsavory places.And now he was really glad he’d accepted the contract.
“That means yes?”
“I guess it does.And thank you.My production company would probably cover your fee?—”
Nick held his hand up, horrified.“No fee.No question of a fee.A favor for a friend.”
