Vanishing Point (Circle of Spies Novella) by Laura Pauling Read Free Book Online Page A

simply furnished apartment. A living room. A tiny kitchen. And a hallway that must lead to bedrooms. She picked her way through and felt a bit like Mary Poppins as she wiped a finger along the furniture. Simple. Yet clean.
    She checked out the bedrooms. One was completely empty. The other was more like an office but it had a futon couch that pulled out to a bed. It would be better than the floor. She plunked down her suitcase, the noise rattling through the small room. What should she do? Sightsee? Tour the Louvre? Her return ticket was for the next day so she was pretty sure there was no time for frivolous activities.  
    Waiting for instructions, she pulled out the Futon bed, arranged her clothes to ensure the black lace ensemble was hidden, and planned dinner for the evening.
    Then her phone rang. Damn.
    It had to be Will.
    “Hello?”  
    “Are you ready?”  
    Crap. How was she supposed to jump into action with absolutely no clue as to the mission?
    “You did read the folder on the table, right?”  
    “Why yes, of course.” How had she missed it? She moved into the kitchen and sure enough, there it was. Just like he said.
    “Marisa?”  
    She snorted into the phone and then realized how unlike Beatrice DeWilflower she sounded. How would an alluring woman of mystery sound? “Why yes,” she lowered her voice to sound sexy. “I read it.”
    “God, are you sick?”
    She cleared her throat and slowly backed out of the room. “No, no, just a little tickle.”  
    “Good. During our last mission, you proved you know how to live your cover of a washed-up, middle-aged mom. No one will suspect you. I promise.”
    Marisa gulped. Should she tell him the truth? That she was indeed some washed-up middle-aged mom and that the last mission had been a complete and utter fluke, a surge of motherly instinct that made her look like someone she wasn’t?
    “Tonight you’re on your own again,” he said.  
    Fear prickled at the base of her neck and snaked down her spine. She suddenly felt quite nauseous. “I might be sick after all. You know airplanes. Covered with germs.” She coughed into her hand to prove her point.
    “We have to move tonight. And it can’t be me. No one sees you so no one suspects you.”
    Great. Basically he was calling her a wallflower.
    His voice grew stern. “Just because you pulled it off last time, doesn’t mean I want to work with you. Good luck and don’t get caught. Leave your report in the file and make your plane tomorrow morning. I’ll be in touch.” Then he hung up without even saying goodbye or offering any extra tips or secret information about her mission.
    Marisa whispered, “Bye to you too!”  
    Then the silence swallowed her whole. She glanced every few seconds at the folder. What had she agreed to?

 
    Seven
    She was late. She knew it.  
    But the simple flips and twirls Janelle had accomplished with her hair seemed impossible. Every time Marisa twirled her hair into a clip, pieces fell or stuck out. Her Cover Girl make-up wasn’t quite creating the effect of an alluring goddess. And without the corset thing, the multiple rolls on her stomach were quite obvious and unflattering, even though in the past few months, she’d made several trips to J.C. Penney’s.
    Marisa fell onto the futon. She hated to admit that she wished Will were here. Someone to make decisions for her, tell her what looked good, or when too much make-up made her look like a clown.
    This mission wasn’t a black and white ball.  
    This one was supposedly simple.
    Just go in, as herself and slip the pill into a man’s drink.
    Easy. Right? How hard could it be? She’d been forcing Savvy to eat her veggies forever! Even if it took sneaking minced spinach into brownies. Yes. She’d done anything needed. And that was all she had to do this evening.
    No flirting. No contact. Be the wallflower. Then, when the man wasn’t looking. Plop. In would go the pill and he’d be none the wiser.
    For the next