woman seated regally in a bamboo peacock throne chair.
Despite the sweltering heat, she was bundled in a shawl of soft wool. Antique gold rings adorned every finger, and the woman’s wispy hair, which had once been an almost blue-black, was now a bright shade of purple, contrasting with her pink scalp into a pastel tapestry.
The entire scene evoked some long-past era. However, the vast assortment of electronic equipment—state-of-the-art cameras, night vision goggles, satellite dishes, high-powered telescopes, a computer console that looked capable of launching nuclear weapons, and two drones sitting on a counter—could have come straight from the Department of Homeland Security.
“I don’t think I’m in Kansas any longer,” Donovan murmured.
“Speak up, young man.” The woman’s voice rang out.
“I was just commenting on your equipment.”
“Isn’t it nice? I used to have to order from Spy Store catalogs. Now, thanks to the Internet, I can keep up to date with whatever’s new on the market.”
The woman’s eyes turned to Lani. “It’s about time you brought a man home,” she said, holding out her arms.
Lani knelt beside the chair, giving the woman a hug as she pressed a light kiss against her weathered cheek. “You know I always do what you tell me to, Tutu,” she said, using the Hawaiian word for grandmother.
Margaret Breslin snorted. “Ha. If only that were true. You’re like your brother. Both of you have minds of your own.” The old woman’s gaze returned to Donovan. “You’re that policeman friend of Nate’s. It’s good to see you again. Even if you are too skinny.”
“We’re working on that,” Lani said.
“I should hope so. You should do something about that limp, as well.” She turned her attention back to Donovan. “I slipped and hurt my hip a few months ago. Lani has the most amazing massage that will fix you right up.”
“I’m sorry about your hip,” Donovan said.
“So was I. More because it was such a damn stereotypical old lady thing to do. If it weren’t for Lani, I’d probably be stuck in that wheelchair the doctor tried to keep me in.
“Nate told us all about your adventures when he was here with his darling Tess for Thanksgiving,” she said, segueing into a different topic. “I’m not at all surprised you’re looking overworked. A terrible thing, what happened to Tess. And gracious, I can’t imagine what it must have been like for those poor people in the Pacific Northwest living with that serial killer among them. I’d never leave my house.”
“You barely do now,” Lani murmured beneath her breath, but Donovan heard it just the same.
“Is that new?” Lani asked. In an obvious attempt to change the topic, she pointed toward a black-and-chrome entertainment center that looked as though it could have come from the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.
“It just arrived yesterday,” the elderly woman confirmed with a broad smile. “This little baby just happens to be cable equipped for 380 channels. And surround sound. It also has editing capability for video.”
Her laugh was rich and delighted as she rubbed her beringed hands together. “Old Sturm und Drang will die from envy when he sees this.” Her sparkling eyes laughed up at the thirty-something man standing beside her, who thus far had remained silent. “Won’t he, Kai?”
“We’ll hear the explosion from here,” he answered with a nod of his dark head.
“Sturm und Drang is Tutu’s nickname for Maximilian Heinrich von Schiller,” Lani explained in answer to Donovan’s questioning glance. “He was one of her early directors. In fact, Max took credit for launching her to stardom.”
Despite her advanced years, Lani’s grandmother proved her hearing was still that of a young girl by overhearing Lani’s murmured explanation.
“Which is ludicrous!” she spat out, banging an intricately carved cane imperiously on the floor. “If anything, it was I who saved Max from
Despite the sweltering heat, she was bundled in a shawl of soft wool. Antique gold rings adorned every finger, and the woman’s wispy hair, which had once been an almost blue-black, was now a bright shade of purple, contrasting with her pink scalp into a pastel tapestry.
The entire scene evoked some long-past era. However, the vast assortment of electronic equipment—state-of-the-art cameras, night vision goggles, satellite dishes, high-powered telescopes, a computer console that looked capable of launching nuclear weapons, and two drones sitting on a counter—could have come straight from the Department of Homeland Security.
“I don’t think I’m in Kansas any longer,” Donovan murmured.
“Speak up, young man.” The woman’s voice rang out.
“I was just commenting on your equipment.”
“Isn’t it nice? I used to have to order from Spy Store catalogs. Now, thanks to the Internet, I can keep up to date with whatever’s new on the market.”
The woman’s eyes turned to Lani. “It’s about time you brought a man home,” she said, holding out her arms.
Lani knelt beside the chair, giving the woman a hug as she pressed a light kiss against her weathered cheek. “You know I always do what you tell me to, Tutu,” she said, using the Hawaiian word for grandmother.
Margaret Breslin snorted. “Ha. If only that were true. You’re like your brother. Both of you have minds of your own.” The old woman’s gaze returned to Donovan. “You’re that policeman friend of Nate’s. It’s good to see you again. Even if you are too skinny.”
“We’re working on that,” Lani said.
“I should hope so. You should do something about that limp, as well.” She turned her attention back to Donovan. “I slipped and hurt my hip a few months ago. Lani has the most amazing massage that will fix you right up.”
“I’m sorry about your hip,” Donovan said.
“So was I. More because it was such a damn stereotypical old lady thing to do. If it weren’t for Lani, I’d probably be stuck in that wheelchair the doctor tried to keep me in.
“Nate told us all about your adventures when he was here with his darling Tess for Thanksgiving,” she said, segueing into a different topic. “I’m not at all surprised you’re looking overworked. A terrible thing, what happened to Tess. And gracious, I can’t imagine what it must have been like for those poor people in the Pacific Northwest living with that serial killer among them. I’d never leave my house.”
“You barely do now,” Lani murmured beneath her breath, but Donovan heard it just the same.
“Is that new?” Lani asked. In an obvious attempt to change the topic, she pointed toward a black-and-chrome entertainment center that looked as though it could have come from the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.
“It just arrived yesterday,” the elderly woman confirmed with a broad smile. “This little baby just happens to be cable equipped for 380 channels. And surround sound. It also has editing capability for video.”
Her laugh was rich and delighted as she rubbed her beringed hands together. “Old Sturm und Drang will die from envy when he sees this.” Her sparkling eyes laughed up at the thirty-something man standing beside her, who thus far had remained silent. “Won’t he, Kai?”
“We’ll hear the explosion from here,” he answered with a nod of his dark head.
“Sturm und Drang is Tutu’s nickname for Maximilian Heinrich von Schiller,” Lani explained in answer to Donovan’s questioning glance. “He was one of her early directors. In fact, Max took credit for launching her to stardom.”
Despite her advanced years, Lani’s grandmother proved her hearing was still that of a young girl by overhearing Lani’s murmured explanation.
“Which is ludicrous!” she spat out, banging an intricately carved cane imperiously on the floor. “If anything, it was I who saved Max from
Similar Books
