Shadow Ritual by Eric Giacometti, Jacques Ravenne Read Free Book Online

on a position in Washington because an initiate had skillfully worked his connections. She hated this kind of old-boys network, although Masons were not the only ones with power in French diplomatic circles. In fact, they weren’t as powerful as Catholics and aristocrats, but still...
    Sophie had stopped in Rome while en route to Jerusalem. She had seemed tense, saying she was on an assignment for the Grand Orient. She was supposed to be giving some documents to an Israeli researcher. She kept glancing around during their breakfast together, as if she suspected someone was watching her. She had asked Jade to keep a briefcase with the documents in the embassy safe. Jade joked about her paranoia, but agreed to keep them anyway. Then they talked about their relationships, an endless topic. Sophie mentioned an older man—a rich American customer who came through Paris occasionally—and some special women friends.
    Sophie had laughed and flirted with her friend. But Jade had always made it clear that she only had eyes for men.
    Now Sophie would never laugh again.
    On the way up the stairs, Jade decided to keep quiet about Sophie’s documents. She had a hunch that they had something to do with her friend’s death. She pushed the thought out of her head when she spotted the two men bent over the body.
    “You’ve got no fucking business being here,” she yelled. “Get away. Now, damn it!”
    ~ ~ ~
    Marcas started. Her voice carried authority, and she was obviously used to giving orders. He looked up and saw an athletically built woman with short blonde hair. She was wearing loose dark-colored pants and a suit jacket—fitted to give her access to her service weapon.
    When he stood up, she was right in his face, staring at him with a clear look of disdain.
    “Hold up,” Jaigu intervened. “I asked him to come. He’s a homicide detective with the Criminal Investigation Division in Paris. I thought he could help us.”
    Jade shot Jaigu a look. “Since when does a man like you think? If you really wanted to use your brains, you would have kept him away from the crime scene. Until further notice, I’m head of security for the embassy. So at the risk of repeating myself, I’ll try to appeal to your inherent intelligence: get the fuck out of here, and take this dude with you!”
    Before Jaigu could respond, Marcas spoke up. “You owe him more respect than you’ve shown. But I understand your point of view. I’ll leave you to your investigation. Everyone has a job to do. Alexis, come on. I’ve seen enough.”
    What a harpy, Marcas thought as he walked away with Jaigu. She would have ripped him a new one if she’d gotten the chance. Whatever. With any luck, he’d find his movie producer and cap the evening with a little seduction.
    Jaigu interrupted his fantasy. “So what are your impressions?”
    “About what, that shrew of yours?”
    “No, the body.”
    “I don’t know. There’s no clear logic in the blows she received. She probably died from blunt-force trauma to the forehead, but I don’t understand why she was hit on the shoulder, unless it was to make her suffer. A broken clavicle can be quite painful. For the rest, you’ll have to trust your Amazon and the Italian police.”
    “I doubt that. There’s no way any Romans cops will set foot in the embassy. Officially, the woman’s death will be listed as accidental.”
    Marcas looked at his friend for a long time. “You’re not really going to cover up a murder, are you? That’s illegal.”
    “Don’t worry. We won’t keep anything from the French authorities. But the Italians have way too many mob-related murders to worry about. A French woman suffering a fatal head injury from a fall will go by the boards. So put all this behind you and have some Champagne on the republic’s dime. I have to go see our friend the ambassador.”

9
    Jade Zewinski stared at her friend’s bloody body. Two hours earlier, they had been joking at the reception, challenging