Blow Fly

82

AT TEN P.M., SCARPETTA climbs out of a taxi in front of Jaime Berger's building.

Still unable to reach her niece, Scarpetta is pricked by anxiety that has worsened with each call she has made. Lucy doesn't answer her apartment or her cell phone. One of her associates at her office said he doesn't know where she is. Scarpetta begins to think about her reckless, fire-breathing niece and contemplates the worst. Her ambivalence about Lucy's new career has not abated. Hers is an unregimented, dangerous and highly secretive life that may suit her personality, but it frustrates Scarpetta and frightens her. She can be impossible to get hold of, and Scarpetta rarely knows what Lucy is doing.

Inside Jaime Berger's luxurious high-rise, a doorman greets Scarpetta.

"May I help you, ma'am?"

"Jaime Berger," Scarpetta replies. "The penthouse."