Dangerous to Know Read Online Free PDF Page A

mesh halter.
    â€œDid you get that outfit here?” she asked.
    â€œThe shorts and top? Yes, earlier this morning. This is my second foray into the shops.”
    â€œI wonder if they have another one, in a size eight. My name’s Paige, by the way. Paige Lawrence.”
    â€œI’m Meredith,” the other woman replied. “And if they don’t have this in your size, they’ll have something just as sinful.”
    The saleswoman produced the red hot pants and jacket in a perfect size eight. Clutching the bandeau, Paige followed her to a small curtained fitting room that smelled of lavender potpourri and money.
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    For the next half hour, Maggie pushed her simmering tension to one corner of her mind and indulged in the serious pleasure of shopping.
    When Paige Lawrence first walked into this shop, she’d wondered if the younger woman could possibly be the contact she’d been waiting for since she’d arrived in Cannes early this morning. A few moments of idle conversation with the youngerwoman had killed that idea. If Paige had any connection with the ring of high-class hookers that Meredith Ames was a member of, Maggie would eat the pink satin bustier she’d purchased just two shops ago.
    Still, she had to give the slender young woman credit. She’d gulped once or twice, but she’d soon got into the spirit of things. One by one, she’d shed her layers of worsted wool and cable knit. What had emerged was a delicate beauty, less dramatic than Maggie herself, in her carefully orchestrated role, but similar enough to make Maggie feel like a mother hen with a newly hatched chick.
    When they’d finished outfitting her in the jaunty red two-piece outfit and matching three-inch-high platform shoes, Paige struggled with the effort to convert the bill from francs to dollars.
    â€œCan I help?” Maggie asked.
    â€œWould you? I don’t do well with numbers,” she confessed.
    Maggie did a quick conversation, skillfully negotiated the saleslady down to a less outrageous commission, and computed the amount of the TVA so that Paige could complete the necessary forms.
    The younger woman managed not to flinch at the total, although she did turn a little pale and her fingers fumbled with the pen as she signed the traveler’s checks.
    â€œShall I have your packages sent to your hotels, ladies?” the attendant asked.
    â€œYes,” Maggie replied. “I have more shopping to do yet.”
    The real Meredith Ames had indicated that she’d been instructed to stroll the shops that lined Cannes’s world-famous boulevard, the Croisette, until the nameless, faceless individual who’d arranged shipment of the stolen technology made contact. Maggie had followed the same routine, secretly delighting in the fact that she’d been forced to purchase an item or two to keep up her cover. Still, she’d be glad when she finally made contact and got this mission under way.
    â€œSend my things to the Carlton, suite 16,” she told the attendant.
    â€œI’ll take mine with me,” Paige murmured as she stuffed hertraveler’s checks into her purse. Gathering up her various bundles, she tugged self-consciously at the back hem of her shorts to make sure the red material covered both cheeks. It did. Barely.
    â€œI haven’t found a hotel room yet,” she said with a hesitant smile. “When I do, can I give you a call? Maybe I could buy you lunch sometime, to thank you for all your help.”
    â€œMaybe,” Maggie returned easily, although she had no intention of responding if Paige called. She wasn’t about to draw anyone else into the games she’d be playing once the operation swung into high gear.
    The tension she’d kept at bay during the interlude in the boutique flickered along her nerves. She should’ve met her target by now. She’d been in Cannes for six hours, and she’d been strolling the shops off