[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

and a handful of men dressed in the local venture capitalists uniform of
khakis, button-down shirts and computer bags bearing the logos of Internet
start-ups and tech conferences.  Sand Hill Road is nearby, Abigail explained
as we sat down.  That s where a lot of the venture-capital firms have their
offices.
Luisa and Abigail ordered pancakes and an egg-white omelet, respectively,
while Peter drank orange juice. I could have chewed off the one arm I didn t
devour earlier for a nice, cold, caffeinated soda, but with less than
twenty-four hours to go on my dare I managed to restrain myself and demurely
sip a mineral water instead. I secretly hoped I wouldn t actually end up
playing tennis at noon, but if I did I wanted to be able to demonstrate to
Peter that my relative level of hydration had no impact whatsoever on my
athletic ability I was useless either way.
Regardless, I d never thought I d look forward with such anticipation to a
tennis game, especially one in which I personally was expected to play. This
anticipation had little to do with my hope that the game might not take place
and even less to do with the chance that this would be the day when Peter
would see Caro and realize he d preferred life with her. Instead, it was
almost entirely due to how much I was looking forward to ensnaring Alex
Cutler.
While Iggie s story about purposely ditching Hilary hadn t done much to
improve anyone s opinion of him, it had passed Abigail s mental polygraph
test. But she d told us in the car she was equally confident he was lying
about not knowing the driver of the other Lamborghini. Which, along with the
ACVLLC phone number and vanity plate, further validated our working hypothesis
that the driver and thus Hilary s abductor had been Alex Cutler. At least,
this was the working hypothesis of everyone but Peter, who remained
unenthusiastic about casting blame in Alex s direction.
 Why else would Hilary have gotten into the second Lamborghini, then? I
asked, reaching my fork over to sneak a bite of Luisa s pancakes. A couple of
hours ago this would have been a perilous maneuver, but now that the nicotine
gum had worked its magic, she was tamer than Spot and even pushed her plate
closer so I could better help myself.  Hil might not have noticed it wasn t
Iggie at the wheel until she was in the car, but once inside she never would
have stayed unless she already knew the driver. She s too street-smart for
that. And you introduced her to Alex yourself.
 I know, I know, he said.  But it seems premature to jump to conclusions
based on some similar initials, a couple of descriptions of a  preppie guy,
and the fact that Alex invested in Igobe. We still don t even know for sure
what kind of car he drives.
 I know what kind of car he drives, I said confidently.  I ll bet you
anything he pulls up to the tennis club in a Lamborghini.
 I don t want to bet, he replied.
 Are you sure? Betting is fun. Especially when I win.
 Rachel, it would be bad enough to find out Alex has done something to Hilary.
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It would be even worse to find that out and then owe you whatever random thing
you d insisted on betting me for.
 Why do you think I d bet something random?
 Maybe because the last time I lost a bet to you I ended up having to
personally prepare every available recipe for pigs in a blanket so you could
conduct a scientific taste test?
 First of all, it was a small price to pay for the advancement of haute
cuisine, and second of all, there s a strong argument to be made that losing
that particular bet was a lot like winning.
 What argument is that? he asked.
 Now we know for a fact how to make the best possible pigs in a blanket. We
never again have to lie awake nights worrying that we re making inferior pigs
in a blanket.
 By we you mean me, right? Because I don t recall you doing any of the
cooking.
 It s simple division of labor, I said.  You re better at cooking and I m
better at taste-testing. My palate is more refined. It worked out perfectly.
 As you would say, how exactly are you defining perfectly?
 Well, this is a fascinating discussion the two of you are having, but there
may be a way to solve the Lamborghini question before you see Alex,
interjected Luisa.
 What s that? asked Abigail, who also seemed happy for discussion of the
pigs-in-a-blanket bet to draw to a close.
 Perhaps Ben has heard from the guy he asked for a list of Lamborghini owners
in the area. It s already early afternoon on the East Coast, and his contact
should have had time to check by now, said Luisa.
Ben s offer of the previous night had completely slipped my mind it was hard
to keep much in there given all the space Alex Cutler, Che Guevara, Petite
Fleur and the Rice-a-Roni jingle were hogging up.  That s a good idea, I
said,  Let s call him again. I turned to Peter.  But are you absolutely sure
you don t want to bet Alex isn t on that list before I make the call? There
must be other cocktail-hour finger foods we need to perfect.
 I ll pass, thanks.
I pulled my BlackBerry from my bag and dialed Ben s number, but it went right
into voice mail without even ringing.  He must have turned his phone off, I
reported, waiting as his recorded voice told me to leave a message at the
tone. I did as instructed, quickly summarizing our talk with Iggie and asking
about the Lamborghini owners and Hilary s receipts.
My message complete, I disconnected and left the BlackBerry on the table,
which I generally considered a grave lapse in cell-phone etiquette, but most
of the venture-capital guys were doing it and I wanted to have it handy should
Ben call back right away.
 What if Alex does drive up in a Lamborghini? said Abigail.  What happens
then?
 When Alex drives up in a Lamborghini, I corrected her.  I guess we start
talking about Hilary and how she s missing, and then we see how he reacts.
It s probably too much to hope that he ll confess, but he might give himself
away somehow. And assuming he doesn t confess, we follow him once he leaves
the club. If all goes well, he ll lead us to Hilary.
After some debate, we agreed that Peter and I would drop Luisa and Abigail at
a nearby car-rental agency so that they could pick up a separate car.  Call us
or text us before you leave the club, said Luisa.  Then we can trail Alex, as
well, just in case you lose him or he realizes what s happening and tries to
lose you.
This seemed to be as good a plan as we were going to come up with, and it was [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]