Wild Justice (Nadia Stafford 3)

She shook her head.

We talked for another ten minutes, but it was clear that if Aldrich said anything about that "old friend," she didn't remember it.

CHAPTER 30

We were back at the hotel two hours after we left it. Evelyn and Quinn were still in our room. Evelyn had news.

"Dee," she said before I even got my shoes off. "You're the literary expert here."

"Um, no. I've taken a couple of courses--"

"Then let's try a pop quiz." She plunked a hotel notepad in front of me. "What does this mean?"

Three words were written on the paper. Inferno. Purgatorio. Paradiso.

She knew the answer. She was amusing herself. Jack would shove the paper back at her and refuse to play along.

"It's the three books of the Divine Comedy," I said. "Is that what IPP stands for? A little obscure for a shell company, isn't it?"

She smiled smugly. "That depends on who sets it up. It was used to hide the rental of a vehicle involved in a murder. Given those intrusion worms, it's a company that's very interested in security. A company presumably involved in criminal activities and quite fond of Dante."

I looked at her and said nothing.

"Really?" she said. "If you can't guess, Dee--"

"Oh, I can guess. But if you're telling me what I think you're telling me, then I'm not sure I trust the source."

Quinn glanced over,

confused.

Jack said, "She's right. Helluva coincidence."

"Well, then, it's a helluva coincidence," she said. "Dee's life is in danger, and I would never use that to further my own agenda."

"No?" Jack said.

Evelyn's eyes blazed. "No, Jack. I would not."

"What's going on?" Quinn said.

Evelyn opened her mouth, but I beat her to it. "She's saying that IPP is a shell company for . . ."

I glanced at Jack. He dipped his chin, telling me to go on. There was nothing else to be done, no matter how awkward this was about to get.

"For the Contrapasso Fellowship," I said.

"The what?"

"It's--"

"I know what it is," Quinn said. "But it's not real. Believe me, I've gone looking, like I told you . . ." He studied my expression. "It is real. And you knew that. When I told you a few months ago that I checked into it and you said . . ."

Yep, wouldn't it be cool if the Contrapasso Fellowship was real? Too bad it isn't.

"Not her fault," Jack said. "Evelyn's."

"Excuse me?" Evelyn said.