Kate Carlisle - Murder Under Cover

“Fascinating.”

“I know-it’s complicated. Anyway, some experts can open a book and state unequivocally that the book was created at a certain bindery, based wholly on the dentelles. I’m not a true expert, but I know enough to have given a few lectures on the subject.”

He patted my knee. “And I know they were riveting.”

I laughed. “Of course they were. Anyway, call me cuckoo, but I’m almost certain that the particular pattern of this dentelle is identical to the pattern used by the bindery of Jean-Pierre de Garme.”

Derek leaned over with the magnifying glass and stared at the gold tooling for another moment, then sat back in his chair. “Well, that’s lovely, isn’t it?”

“Lovely?” Laughing again, I took the magnifying glass back. “You bet your sweet ass it’s lovely. But I don’t think you grok the true significance of what I’m saying.”

It was his turn to laugh. “Apparently not, so why don’t you explain it in simple English. Speak slowly. I’m still a little weak from your complimenting of my ass.”

“Sorry. That was rude.” I clutched his arm. “But this is an emotional moment for me.”

“Clearly,” he murmured, and pushed a strand of hair away from my cheek. I think it was his way of calming me down with his touch. “Tell me.”

I took another breath and let it escape slowly. “Jean-Pierre de Garme was one of the royal bookbinders to Louis the Sixteenth of France.”

“Ah. Well, that is monumental.”

“Yes!” I choked on a sudden laugh. “Yes!” Unable to sit still another moment, I jumped up and paced a few steps in either direction, then shrieked and raised my arms in victory.

“It’s incredible,” I cried. “If it’s true, this book was made sometime in the late seventeen hundreds, which makes it well over two hundred years old. Which also explains why this translation doesn’t follow the Burton text, of course.”

He stood as well and pushed his chair in. “Because Burton didn’t begin his translation of the Kama Sutra until the late eighteen hundreds.”

“Yes.” Tapping my fingers on the back of the chair, I calculated. “And that brings up an entirely different issue. This translation could very well be the first evidence that someone else in the Western world discovered the Kama Sutra almost a century before Burton.”

“A stunning possibility,” Derek said.

“But I can’t even think about that right now. Not until I’ve done more research.”

“I have every confidence in your ability to find the truth.”

“Thank you. That means a lot.” I kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Just think, Derek. This book might’ve been commissioned by the king of France.” I grinned at him, then frowned. “Was Louis the Sixteenth known for his wild sexual pursuits? Do you know if he and Marie Antoinette were, you know, players?”

Derek laughed. “I doubt it. They were too busy evading the guillotine.”

I laughed with him. “Right. It doesn’t matter. Jean-Pierre is the key.”

“Good point.” He whirled me around and planted a hot, hard kiss on my lips.

“Wow,” I whispered. “What was that for?”

“You,” he said, and bent to kiss my neck, causing shivers to zip up and down my spine. “I’m very proud of you and your discovery. But, darling, if we’re not going to look at the naughty pictures, I’ve got to get back to my phone calls.”

I smiled and touched my cheek to his. “Okay, I’ll be working here a while longer. Oh, I should call Ian at the Covington. He’s going to die when he hears this.”

“Do send him my regards.”

A day later, Robin and Shiva arrived back in the city around noon. Robin called me first thing to let me know that the flowers were beautiful, the cupcakes were delectable, and the bed was spectacular. I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief that I’d nailed it. You just never knew about such things.

“It’s like it never happened, Brooklyn,” she said.

I recognized her tone, so I dropped my scalpel and moved to my desk chair to sit and talk. “You almost sound sad about that.”

“It is a little sad, don’t you think? All trace of him is gone. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad they cleaned everything up. But they cleaned it up so well that there’s not even a vibe of Alex left.”

“I’m sorry, honey,” I said gently. “But that’s kind of what those guys get paid to do.”

She chuckled softly. “And I appreciate it. I guess I thought I’d walk in and feel his presence somehow. And I don’t.”

“And you wanted to?”

She thought for a moment. “No. I really didn’t. I’m just in a weird place. I’m still flipping out to think that I chose to go out with someone so duplicitous. So now shouldn’t I be questioning my choices? Shouldn’t I wonder about my feelings for Austin? Is he really the right man for me?”

I picked up a pencil and drummed it on the desk surface. “Yes, he is.”

“It’s that simple?”

“Yes,” I said. “You’ve loved him for more than half your lifetime. This isn’t an impulsive decision, Robin. It’s nothing at all like the situation with Alex. And Austin finally realizes he feels the same way. Are you really going to question that? Do you know how rare it is to find real love?”

“I guess.”

“Austin is the real thing,” I said. “Alex was a blip on the screen. A bump in the road. A misstep. A wrinkle in time.”

She laughed. “Enough with the metaphors.”

“Really? Because I have more. A leaf blowing in the wind.”

“A ship passing in the night?” she whispered.

“Um, well,” I said, and decided to shut up.

“Anyway,” she said, changing tones again, “the bedding is beautiful. I’m still in shock that you showed such good taste.”

There was the Robin I knew and loved. “Wait till you see the bill.”

“Worth it at any cost,” she said. “Thanks.”

“No worries. So, did your mom get a chance to talk to Rajiv yet?”

“They spoke last night. He’s in New York right now and won’t be in San Francisco until Saturday morning. She set up the meeting for the afternoon.”

“Okay, I’ll tell Derek.”

“Great. I think we should all be there.”

“I do, too.” I grabbed a pencil and pulled out my desk calendar. “Oh, crap-a-doodle.”

“What’s wrong?”

“We promised Jeremy we’d go to the Castro Street Fair to see his street performance.”

“That’s right.” Robin groaned. “I forgot all about it.”

“Rats.” I sighed. “I’ll tell him we can’t make it.”

“Oh, but that’s my favorite street fair,” she said. “There’s a great local sculptor who always has a booth there. And I might get some of my stuff in there, too.”

I thought about it. Truth was, I loved the Castro fair, too. All those cute boys in their leather chaps. And the food stalls were always top-notch. And Jeremy had been so excited about having us all show up to watch him perform.

“Maybe we can set up the meeting for later in the afternoon,” I said. “I think Jeremy’s on at one o’clock.”

“Yes, okay,” she said. “We can watch Jeremy, then meet Rajiv at the Cove Cafe maybe around three or four.”

The Cove was your basic American diner, but it wasn’t greasy, the waiters were great, and it was located on Castro Street. We wouldn’t have to walk too far after Jeremy’s performance.

“And Shiva will love the street fair,” Robin added. “It’ll remind her of the bazaar in Varanasi.”

“Minus the Ganges,” I said, laughing. “Okay, if she’s up for it, that would work out perfectly.”

“She’s up for anything I say she’s up for,” Robin murmured.

“It’s like that, is it?”