Die for Me by Karen Rose Page A

I come across have been dead several hundred years. But it’s not an excuse. I got a little . . . jazzed at the prospect of doing something interesting. I let myself get carried away. I apologize. It was insensitive of me.”
    He kept his gaze fixed ahead. “It’s all right.”
    No, it wasn’t, but she didn’t know what to say to make it right. She pulled off her gloves and began to braid her hair that still hung loose so it would be out of her way when she got to where the detective was taking her. She was almost done when he spoke, startling her.
    “So,” he said. “You speak French? I took it in high school, but . . .”
    His mouth turned up in a rueful smile and she smiled back. He’d thrown her a do-over. This time she would keep her feet out of her mouth. “But you only learned the swear words. Yes, I speak French and several other languages. It comes in handy translating old texts and conversing with the locals when I’m working.” She went back to braiding her hair. “I’ll teach you a few swear words in other languages if you want.”
    His lips twitched. “It’s a deal. Katherine said you were on sabbatical.”
    “Of sorts.” She secured the braid into a tight ball at her nape. “My grandmother had a stroke, so I came back to Philly to help my aunt take care of her.”
    “Is she recovering?”
    “Some days we think so. Other days . . .” She sighed. “Other days it’s not so good.”
    “I’m sorry.” He sounded very sincere.
    “Thank you.”
    “And where did you come back from?”
    “Southern France. We were excavating a thirteenth-century castle.”
    He looked impressed. “Like, with a dungeon?”
    She chuckled. “At one time, most likely. Now we’ll be lucky to find the outer walls and the foundation of the keep.
They’ll
be lucky,” she corrected. “Listen, Vito . . . I’m sorry I was out of line, but it really would help me to know a little more about what you need me to do before I begin.”
    He shrugged. “There’s really not much to tell. We found one body.”
    Back to square one. “But you think there are more.”
    “Maybe.”
    Keeping her feet well away from her mouth, she injected a note of lightness into her voice. “If I uncover something, I’ll know your secrets. I hope this isn’t one of those ‘now I’ll have to kill you’ things. That would ruin my day.”
    The corners of his mouth quirked. “Killing you would be illegal, Dr. Johannsen.”
    They were back to formalities. Too bad. She was still calling him Vito. “Well then, Vito, unless you plan to erase my memory, you’ll have to trust that I won’t blab. You don’t have one of those memory-zapping guns like they used in
Men in Black,
do you?”
    His lips twitched again. “I left it in my other suit.”
    “Forewarned is forearmed, they say. Which suit is it? I promise I won’t tell.”
    Abruptly he grinned, exposing a deep dimple in his right cheek.
Oh, my,
she thought.
Oh my, oh my.
A smile turned Vito Ciccotelli from merely magazine-handsome to movie-star-gorgeous. Aunt Freya’s heart would be going pitter-pat.
Just like yours is right now.
Then he spoke.
    “That information is classified,” he said and Sophie stiffened.
    “So much for establishing rapport.”
    His grin faded. “Dr. Johannsen, it’s not that I don’t trust you. You wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. Katherine vouches for you and that was enough for me.”
    “Then—”
    He shook his head. “I don’t want to give you any information that could bias your findings. Go in with a clean slate and tell us what you see. That’s all we want.”
    She considered. “I suppose that makes sense.”
    “Thank God,” he muttered and she chuckled.
    “Can you at least tell me how big this area is?”
    “One, two acres tops.”
    She winced. “Oh. That’ll take a while.”
    His black brows went up. “How long is a while?”
    “Four, five hours. Maybe more. Whitman’s ground-penetrating radar is a small unit. We use it for