Read Online Blonde Ops by Charlotte Bennardo - Free Book Online Page B

I’d been dismissed.
    No—dissed.
    And I wouldn’t be getting any further information.
    Right there I made a holy vow to get even with Candace. No one—and I mean no one —touched my stuff and got away with it. It was probably one of the agents who did it—before they returned to the office, when I’d stopped at the bakery. Or it could just as easily have been Blondie herself. Or her little minion. They were both here before I was, thanks to the ID photography session. I stomped back to my room. Someone had been in there, and dammit, I was going to find out who and what he—or she—messed with.
    I pulled my pencil case out of my backpack, retrieved my makeup kit from the bathroom, and took out my black eye shadow, blush brush, and some clear tape. I locked the door against someone coming in, then like a CSI investigator hunting a serial killer, I dusted the surface of the desk and the envelope from Dean Harding. Real detectives used a special black powder. I would have to make do with MAC Onyx Dust.
    Using the brush, I gently swept the powder away and a number of fingerprints appeared. I took a picture of each with my phone, then using the clear tape, lifted the prints off. I didn’t bother doing the entire room because between maids and former guests, I’d get too many prints to identify. The desk and the envelope were enough. I stuck the samples in a notebook. Now the only thing left to do was to get prints from Candace, Varon, and each agent and find who matched. If it was Candace, then my evidence would prove that she was a liar and I wouldn’t believe anything she told me. If it was any of the agents, well, then I’d blame her for that too.
    Satisfied with my plan of action, I moved on to the more important task of finding Parker. I’d already called the closest hospitals, but in addition to the language barrier, it was possible that an order not to disclose the fact that Parker might be there stood in my way. Time to go stealth digital. If the agents were watching—monitoring the Internet—they’d be able to see that someone at the hotel was trawling for Parker’s name. Of course I would be the prime suspect. Couldn’t have that! Bypassing the hotel’s wi-fi, I tapped into a neighbor’s connection and scrambled my IP address just to be safe before I launched a search of all the hospitals in the city. That done, one by one I coded myself into the patient databases.
    Medical Nuovo Salario. Nothing.
    Casa Di Cura Villa Salaria. No Parker Phillips.
    Nothing came up in any hospital in Rome.
    Case said he couldn’t disclose where Parker was, but she couldn’t have gone far if she was in serious condition. I had to dig deeper, but I knew I wouldn’t have much time; I was sure Candace itched to get rid of me, so any excuse—like getting caught hacking in a foreign hospital’s patients’ private records—would do. Mom would be in Belize for the next two weeks. If I got sent back to the States, she would have to cut her business trip short and she’d be furious. I’d never managed to kill one of her deals. Or Dad’s. What would they do to me if that happened? House arrest?
    I ate dinner alone in my room and used the rest of the evening to try and dig up some dirt on Candace. I only found things that everyone already knew: temper like an unstable volcano, a penchant for five-inch heels, preferably in the skin of an exotic species like Komodo dragon, baby seal, or shark. And that infamous icy stare. Surprisingly, there wasn’t much on the Web about her life before her glamorous career.
    No one came looking for me even though I’d been quiet for hours, which just reinforced everything I’d heard and seen on TV: Candace Worthington was domineering, stone-hearted, and cutthroat—and didn’t notice anyone she considered beneath her. I was unnecessary and unwanted baggage. And with my history, a