The Lady Vanishes Read Online Free Page A

a bad feeling about it.
    Mentally shrugging, she turned her back on the living room to locate a vase.
    “So, where are you taking my sister?” she heard Celeste ask.
    He gave the name of a restaurant that Regina had never heard of, but that wasn’t really a surprise. When she wasn’t at the hospital, she ate at home.
    “Oh, you don’t want to go there tonight. I heard their head chef was fired for banging the owner’s wife on the prep counter.”
    Regina closed her eyes as she reached for the vase she wanted. Awesome. She didn’t doubt the story was true, but Celeste didn’t need to provide that much detail.
    “Celeste, I’m sure wherever we decide to go will be fine,” Regina said hastily, putting the vase in the sink and filling it with water.
    “That’s because you eat tacos out of a truck,” Celeste cut back.
    Since this was true and not really an insult, Regina just muttered, “Those tacos are good.” She cut the plastic wrap from the bouquet, which was a mix of red and white roses and carnations. Not her favorite, but it was a nice gesture.
    Suddenly the memory of the magician, holding the paper flower out to her, flashed in her mind. She touched her chest absently, as if she expected the flower to still be there.
    “You’ve made a good decision,” Regina heard Celeste say, and she quickly stuffed the flowers in the vase, banishing thoughts of the magician.
    “What decision?” Regina asked them warily. Corbin looked a little shell-shocked but amused, his gaze occasionally falling to where Celeste gripped his elbow.
    “Ah,” he said, clearing his throat, “Celeste convinced me that the restaurant in the hotel where she works is excellent, and she was able to get us a table.”
    So that’s what she’d been doing on her phone. Why? Regina wondered.
    “Is that right?” She gave Celeste a narrow-eyed glare, sister-code for What the fuck are you up to?
    “That’s right,” Celeste said sweetly. “Now you two run along and have a nice time.”
    Regina still didn’t trust her, but she went to get her good coat out of her room. When she returned, Corbin was standing at the door eyeing Celeste, who stood two inches taller than him barefoot.
    Regina shrugged into her coat as she walked toward them, flipping her hair out from under the collar and removing the gloves from her pockets.
    “Ready when you are,” she told Corbin, raising an eyebrow at the two of them.
    “Great.” Clearing his throat again, he asked Celeste, “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Regina nearly chortled. Celeste appeared to have made another conquest.
    Her sister looked astonished, flushing a little—which served her right—but she recovered with a smile.
    “I’m sure. I already have plans, but you two have a nice time.”
    Regina shook her head. This evening was already turning into a farce; whatever plot her sister was hatching probably couldn’t make it any worse.
    “Stay out of trouble, Celeste,” she told her sister as she walked out the door but without much confidence. Some women seemed born to get into trouble, while she seemed born to try and fix it.
    With a resigned smile, Regina turned to the very nice man who now seemed to have something of a crush on her sister. He offered her his elbow and she accepted graciously as they made their way down the steps. She was so hungry she’d go out with a damn moose at this point, even if the moose had taken a liking to her sister.

MILTON STEPPED OUT from the limo onto the sidewalk outside the red-canopied entrance to the restaurant at Hotel Commonwealth. Pedestrians strolled along the wide sidewalks, most of them couples, and laughter floated from the covered patio.
    Turning, Milton leaned back in the door to speak to Shane. “I don’t think we’re talking a late night here. I guess I could have driven myself.”
    Shane, his head tattooed with a book on one side and a raven on the other, cracked his knuckles and then reached for something on the