Jill and Taylor calmed their pace and followed the itinerary for their last two days in the city and they did not find a clue in the second city. They were now in their third city in a third country and Jill was doubting how well she knew her brother.
They flew from the first country to the second but now Taylor was wanting to drive across the continent to the third country. Jill looked at him incredulously.
"Don't we have to go through a desert to reach our next city?"
"Just a small corner of one." He shrugged as she again looked at him as if he may be a little crazy.
She shook her head and went to make sure all of their things had been packed. There was a knock on the door and they looked at each other.
Jill calmed herself and watched Taylor so that she would know what to do. The knock cam again.
"please I am from Blessings Jewelers. I want to talk to you about where it is best to fly."
Both Jill and Taylor frowned. They were both too suspicious of people.
Taylor walked to stand behind the door and looked back at Jill. She went to open it without hesitation. Jill recognized the person immediately. They both saw him casually look up when she recited the inscription but it had been easy unassuming that the look had just been casual look and then him just returning to what he was doing in a seamless un hurried fashion.
But here he was standing at their door. He smiled and just stood, looking a awkward.
Jill had to stay true to her role. "You're from the jewelry store correct? Is my bracelet ready? It is definitely too fast for the earrings.
As she spoke Taylor silently slipped from behind the door to reappear in a doorway on the opposite side of the hall.
"Was that the door?"
He looked at the man briefly and then tensed as if he were not sure that his wife was safe.
"Who is this Jill."
"He is someone from one of the Jewelers we went to today." She answered casually but never took her eyes off of him or lowered her hand from the doorknob Clearly stating that he was not invited in.
The man smiled broadly and leaned in slightly.
"Only if you fly at the right height do you find your true delight."
Jill's hand immediately fell from the doorknob and the man was pulled into the house and the door was closed behind them. He looked slightly startled as he was pushed into a chair by Taylor who had a rather serious look on his face.
"Who are you?"
"Is that truly important right now? He knew the correct response."
"Which he could have tortured out of our true contact." Taylor spoke through clinched teeth and Jill decided to be quiet and watch. Her lips pursed as her instincts screamed that this was her brother's friend they were mistreating.
Taylor looked back to the man before him as if waiting for an answer. The man returned a calm gaze and sat further back into his seat as if trying to get more comfortable.
He looked to Jill with a smile and a nod and began speaking to her, never again looking to Taylor.
"I have known your brother for years. He comes to my country often, mostly for his seminars but sometimes because the rich tend to travel for no reason. But I guess you already know that." He frowned at his own statement.
"But Darren always told me you were not like that. You were never extravagant with your money." His eyes narrowed in suspicion and Jill smiled.
"I came with my husband, Darren's best friend, to find him. We felt I needed to behave this way to confuse people a bit."
Realization flitted across the man's dark face then concern etched itself across his creamy dark skin. He looked down with a frown.
"So Darren is in danger? He told me if anyone ever came to me with those words would need to give them something on his behalf. He told me this many years ago and I truly forgot all about it until I heard what you wanted engraved on the watch."
He paused, his frown deepening and they both sensed the concern he felt for Darren. Taylor finally relaxed and stood up.
Jill smiled. "Would you like something to drink? Then maybe you can pass us what Darren left you."
The man started in his sit as if he had forgotten there were other people in the room.
"Yes of course. Let me give you this immediately." Jill handed him a glass of ice water, that he never asked for, as Taylor took the bag the man was handing them.
They moved to the other side of the room to speak in private.
"Is it okay to allow him to just leave like this? Will he be safe?"
Taylor handed her the small bag, after examining the contents himself, and looked back to the man.
"We have to trust Darren's instincts in this."
The man cleared his throat and looked to Jill with a smile.
"I will be safe ma'am. It would seem that you know more about your brother now. He must truly be in danger. If you need help anywhere on the continent contact me and I will make sure you have it."
Jill smiled in realization. This man was a spy as well? Do spies only befriend other spies?
"Thank you. We will remember that."
The man rose from his seat and bowed. He walked to the door without a word but Jill naturally followed with the small bag in her hand.
He opened the door and turned to speak to her and Jill put money into his hand and like a true heiress she spoke in a grandiose manner.
"The work is truly superb! And done so quickly! I will definitely remember you little shop." Then she simply closed the door in his face as if he meant nothing to her at all. He stood with a small smirk on his face looking at the considerable amount of money in his hand and shook his head then walked away to his car.
Taylor looked at her for a moment then shook his head as well.
"You have really embraced your new heiress role. She rolled her eyes at him and took the bag to the coffee table.
"You know, since we are married now, it would be more appropriate if you were CEO at the family company."
"But the company where I work is not a rival to your company."
"I know. And it is two completely different industries but every email I get asks about you in some way and the board keeps tossing your name into our meetings nonchalantly. They are building to ask this. We might as well give them what they want preemptively."
As she spoke she took out two jewelry boxes. She knew that these were items she had ordered from the store: a tie clip for Taylor and a very beautiful Amethyst and diamond pin for her mother.
And now the bag was empty. Without thought she began to carefully unfold the small paper bag, being careful not to tear it. Until she had it completely flat, inside out, before them. She had even made sure that the handles remained in tact.
Taylor watched on in interest, never saying a word. Jill turned the lights off and shown a black light over the paper. An elaborate drawing of the Taj Mahal was revealed.
"It seems that he is still drawing. At least this hasn't changed about him?"
Taylor heard the resentment in her voice and reached over and stroked her hair. She naturally leaned into his touch and neither of them noticed, too engrossed in the picture.
There was the Taj Mahal but a line had been drawn extending outward from the center of the building. It seemed an odd addition to an otherwise beautiful picture.
"He gave us six in India right?"
Jill nodded. "Maybe the middle of the country?"
Now Taylor was nodding. "Any in the middle?"
Jill paused for the briefest of moments. "I don't think so."
Taylor chuckled. "Of course he would make it difficult. He is such a suspicious ass."
He flopped down on the sofa bringing Jill down with him.
In a large house across from their rented house and further down the street three men and one woman sat playing cards while another woman sat with large headphones in front of a large device with her head in her hands.
"Why are we sitting here listening to static?"
"Because we are trying to gain information on the targets."
"But they evidently have better equipment than we do."
"And their visitor tonight?"
"Delivery. I wish I could get tips like he got tonight. Jeez! She really knows how to spend money."
"And that's why they have better equipment than we do."
"Do we know where they are going next?"
"Of course."
"Maybe we should have more eyes than ears this time."
"They all get jammed. It doesn't matter."
"At this point we are doing all this in the hopes that they slip up."
"Who knew right people were so damn paranoid."