Studying Marc’s expression, Casey didn’t hesitate. Marc’s instincts rivalled hers. If he said it was for real, then it was for real. “Find out when she lands, then set a time. I’ll alert the team.”
“I owe you one.”
Marc got Gia back on the line and got the details, wondering all along what could have so badly shaken the strong young woman he knew.
LaGuardia Airport
This time, the greeting between Gia and Dani was a very different one than the last. It had been days—and a lifetime—since then.
The instant Dani stepped into the arrival area, she and Gia rushed toward each other, hugging tightly as soon as they could. There was a newly formed bond between them, and a sense of belonging. But both those precious things were marred by an underlying profusion of fear.
“This was the longest flight of my life,” Dani said in a shaky whisper. “My emotions are all over the place. I have a twin, and I can’t get over the joy of that. I have a million questions, all of which have me tied up in knots. And someone is trying to hurt us—or worse—and I can’t wrap my mind around that, either.”
“I know.” Gia stepped back and squeezed Dani’s hands, surveying her once again with that awed surreal feeling. Her twin. She had a twin. “I’m thrilled and I’m lost and I’m terrified all at once. But that’s why you’re here and we’re together—to get the help and the answers we need.”
“You said Forensic Instincts is expecting us,” Dani responded. “I know next to nothing about them, except what I saw online.”
“I’m not an expert, either,” Gia replied. “But I did ask Marc some questions when I was handling his and Madeline’s wedding. I’ll tell you what I know in the car. Let’s get going.” She seized the handle of Dani’s carry-on. “I assume you brought more luggage than this?”
“Since I have no idea how long I’ll be staying, yes,” Dani replied. “One suitcase and a garment bag.”
Gia nodded. “We’ll go straight to baggage claim, yank your stuff off the carousel, and carry it to the car ourselves. We have no time to deal with carts or porters. Marc’s team is staying late for us. I don’t want to keep them waiting.”
“I don’t want to keep any of us waiting.”
Office of Forensic Instincts
First-floor meeting room
The team took their coffee mugs and settled in, either on one of the leather tub chairs or on one of the twin matching couches situated between them. Hero stretched out on the area rug alongside Casey’s center-stage chair.
This was the same meeting room the team had used to interview Brianna Mullen. It was unintimidating and meant to put nervous clients at ease. In contrast, the main conference room was ideal for keeping more complex and ambiguous clients awed and a bit on edge as they were being closely interviewed.
The choice of which room was used during a first-time client meeting was Casey’s. She seemed always to make the right call. And as she’d determined re their meeting with Brianna, this time she was equally certain that the team’s interview with Gia Russo and her sister belonged right here.
“Gia Russo didn’t give you any information other than the fact that she and her sister are in danger?” Patrick asked Marc, perching on the edge of a sofa cushion and taking a belt of coffee.
“Nope.” Marc shook his head. “But my gut tells me it’s bad. The Gia I worked with was a force to be reckoned with. She’s a bulldozer, running over anyone and everyone if the sweet-talking doesn’t work first. That wasn’t the woman I spoke to on the phone. Whatever’s going on, it’s not imaginary or exaggerated.”
“Yeah, she sounded that way to me, too,” Emma said. “She couldn’t get me to put Marc on the phone fast enough. I know the sound of desperation—that was it.”
Claire frowned. “It’s strange. I never met Gia at the wedding.”
“That’s not strange,” Marc replied. “Gia’s philosophy is that a good wedding planner’s job is to make everything perfect while staying invisible. Kind of like a puppeteer who pulls the strings but remains out of sight.”
“She sure pulled that one off,” Ryan commented. “Not only didn’t I see her, I’m still not sure what a wedding planner does. But whatever it is, I guess she did it right, because the wedding was way cool.”
Casey was watching Claire. “That’s not what you meant when you said it was strange, is it?”
“No.” Claire’s frown deepened. “I’m getting an aura of shock and confusion mixed with a sense of discovery. And danger—a strong surrounding force of it. What’s strange is, I’m getting all this having never made contact with either of these two women, or even with a person or an object close to them. I don’t think that’s ever happened to me before.”
“That is weird,” Ryan said. “I don’t get how this works. Does that mean you expect to have a stronger-than-usual connection once you’ve met them?”
Claire’s shoulders lifted in a shrug. “I have no idea.”
“It looks like we’ve already made progress on a case we have yet to offic
ially accept,” Casey noted.