“During World War Two, British intelligence dropped a body dressed as a British officer into the Mediterranean Sea,” Kartal says. “On this body, they placed the plans for an invasion of Greece. The thing was, Greece was a decoy; they were actually planning to invade Sicily. The Spanish found the body and bought the ruse, believing that the invasion would occur in Greece. What made the entire thing work, though, is that while the Spanish gave the documents to the Germans, they never handed over the body. Spain was chosen as the target of this plot because of their particular aversion to autopsies. Had the Germans discovered the body, they would have conducted an autopsy and would have potentially figured out that the person hadn’t died from drowning and that it was all a fake.” She looks around the room. “The entire plan relied on the fact that the people finding the body wouldn’t do the inspection they needed to.”

The questions Kartal is raising make my head spin, especially if there’s a chance that she’s referring to the way in which Stefano was found and by whom. Blackwood did say that her investigative methods would be unusual and unpredictable. So part of me can’t help but wonder if some of the staff are simply trying to stir the pot and get us to question what we think we know—exactly like I’m doing right now.

Chapter Seventeen

“WHY DID WE leave the parlor? Aarya’s still in there,” I whisper to Ash in the middle of an empty hallway lit by a single torch.

Ash pulls me into the shadows and talks so quietly that I can barely hear him, and I’m right next to him. “Because I saw Felix tell her in sign language that he would meet her.”

“Meet her where?” I ask, a pit forming in my stomach. Ash’s nearness isn’t helping with my nerves. I’m sure if anyone came through the hallway they would think we were having a romantic moment. But the last thing I need is more marks. I’m probably going to be scrubbing toilets with a toothbrush as it is.

“I’m assuming her room,” he says.

I pull back slightly to get a look at him. “What are you saying right now?”

“I’m saying I want to hear that conversation,” he whispers, and I can tell by his tone that he’s serious.

My eyes widen as I realize what he’s implying. “No. Forget it. That is so not what I signed up for, Ash. I’m not breaking into…I’m not doing that.”