The October List (28 page)
Authors: Jeffery Deaver
Joseph asked, ‘What’s his name?’
‘Frank Walsh.’ She described him and added, ‘Let’s frame Reardon for his murder too.’ She resumed knitting. The men looked at the aluminum needles. She got the impression they’d be wondering if she’d ever killed anyone with them. She never had. ‘I know what would work. After Reardon and I find the list, I’ll arrange to get it to Frank for safekeeping, maybe have it delivered to him. I’ll make sure Reardon’s prints are on the envelope or box or whatever I put it in. Peter, could you arrange for one of your men to be in the building we use for the set? Pretend to be a janitor. I’ll have him deliver it to Frank.’
‘Sure. How about Rafael?’
‘Yeah, he’s good.’ Then she said to Joseph, ‘After the package is delivered – on Sunday – you go to Frank’s, shoot him and get whatever evidence has Reardon’s prints or DNA on it. So it’ll be at the target zone when you take Reardon and his associates out. But get Frank’s mobile and wipe his hard drive. He’ll have pictures of me on it.’
Joseph nodded. Then he said, ‘Your associates – the detectives, your captain – they’ll want to run surveillance on you. That could be a problem.’
She grimaced. ‘I know. Even after I tell them not to, they’ll try to put some eyes on me. I’ll just have to keep it in mind and make sure I lose any tails or electronic snooping.’
Putting down the knitting, Gabriela sat forward. She was pleased with Joseph, liked that he was smart and that he looked back into her eyes so easily, without challenge or timidity or flirt. ‘Now, before we go any farther, I want to say something: Obviously you’re familiar with movies. You know what method acting is?’
‘I’ve heard about it. Don’t really know exactly.’
‘It’s when actors mentally and emotionally become the characters they’re playing. For this to work, to fool Reardon and make sure you and I both survive, I’m going to
be
the office manager and single mother I’ve created. Gabriela McKenzie. Gabriela
McNamara
will cease to exist.’
She didn’t share with Joseph or Karpankov that this would be an all-consuming transformation. She’d move into a different place entirely. She’d repeat the name of her fictional daughter over and over again – aloud and to herself – until the girl came alive. She’d come to believe that if she didn’t deliver the October List and the cash, she’d never see her beloved Sarah again. She’d feel regret at the death of Hal Dixon. At Frank Walsh’s too, even though he was in reality an irritating complication in her life. She’d feel genuine fear the police were after her. And she’d form a real attraction to Reardon, as if they’d mutually picked up each other in the bar, a spark igniting what might turn into a real relationship. She might even fuck him.
And after Joseph shot Reardon dead, she’d go through a period of mourning.
Gabriela was good at what she did precisely because she tricked herself as smoothly as she did her victims.
She looked levelly at Joseph. ‘You understand?’
‘Yes.’
‘I need you to do the same thing.’
‘I get it.’ Joseph looked off for a moment. ‘You know, talking about acting. What do you think about this? I could be like that actor who died, the one in that
Batman
movie a few years ago. Heath Ledger, the Joker. Taunting, unpredictable, eerie.’
‘I like that. And what was his philosophy?’ she reflected, thinking back to the film. ‘The only good is what furthers my interest. That’ll be your driving force.’
Joseph cocked his head. ‘“The only good is what furthers my interest.” I’ll remember that. I like it.’ Then he asked, ‘One question, at the kill zone? You’ll be there too?’
She considered this. ‘No, they won’t want me there. Reardon and one of the others will want to meet with you alone. They’ll leave me with a babysitter, probably Sam – a safe house somewhere.’ A look at Karpankov. ‘Most likely the same place they took Carole, that apartment in Midtown, the one his company keeps.’ Then she said to Joseph, ‘I’ll text you the exact location when I know.’
‘You’ll have a weapon with you?’ Joseph asked.
‘No. I can’t. But I’m sure Sam will.’ She thought back to Reardon’s pattern. ‘Reardon will probably be planning on coming back to the safe house after he cuts a deal with you – probably to finish me off himself. And, considering what he did to Carole, I imagine he and Sam may have other plans for me first. More rope and knots.
‘So after you kill Reardon and Andrew, get the key to the safe house and come over there. If there’s a chain or security bar on the door, I’ll take it off. You text me when you’re close and I’ll distract Sam or Andrew or whoever my babysitter is. I’ll tell him I’ve figured out the mystery of the October List, or something like that. You let yourself in. Whoever’s there probably will think it’s the other two returning and not be too suspicious.
‘But we should be careful. When I hear the door open I’ll say one of two things. If I say “Is my daughter all right?” that’ll mean Sam doesn’t have a weapon out. He doesn’t suspect anything. It’s safe to just walk in and shoot him. But if I say, “Daniel, what happened?” then that means he
is
suspicious and has his weapon. Get back into the hall. It’ll be a firefight. I’ll take cover and do what I can from inside.’
Joseph nodded. ‘“Is my daughter all right?” means I’m green-lighted to shoot. “Daniel, what happened?” means take cover.’
‘That’s right.’
‘Got it.’
‘Good.’ Gabriela slipped the yarn and the half-finished shawl back into her bag. She glanced affectionately at Gunther, who wagged his tail once more. She rose, shook Karpankov’s hand then Joseph’s. ‘So. Let’s get to work.’
Foreword
We have Stephen Sondheim to thank for this book. Several years ago I was listening to a National Public Radio interview by the inimitable Terry Gross, on her
Fresh Air
program, with Sondheim, one of my favorite musical theater composers and lyricists. One of the plays he discussed was
Merrily We Roll Along
, which happened to be perhaps the only play of his I had not seen. I was fascinated by the fact that it began in the present and moved back in time. Of particular interest was his comment about a song that meant one thing in the present and meant something different when first (well, later) introduced.
I happen to love the concept of a fractured time line. Look at Stanley Kubrick’s second best film,
The Killing
(
Strangelove
– not
2001
– is my number one), or
Pulp Fiction
,
Memento
,
Back to the Future
. And, of course, the classic
Seinfeld
episode ‘The Betrayal,’ which was an homage to Harold Pinter’s own reverse-chronology play,
Betrayal
.
I began wondering if it was possible for a thriller writer to pull off a backward-told story that was filled with the cliffhangers, surprises and twists and turns that are, to me, the epitome of good crime fiction. The task, of course, is to present the twist (the ‘reveal’ as they say in Hollywoodspeak)
before
giving the facts that led up to it and still make the surprise thrilling. It’s like telling a joke’s punch line first, then giving the set-up itself – and yet still making the audience laugh just as hard as if they’d heard the gag in proper order. It
can
be done:
The bartender says, ‘We don’t serve time travelers in here.’
A time traveler walks into a bar
.
Many, many Post-it notes later I plotted out and wrote
The October List
– a novel that begins with the last chapter and then moves backward in time, over the course of about two days, to the first chapter. Though it’s a bit shorter than most of my novels, I can say that it was more challenging, byte for byte, than anything I’ve previously written.
Because of my heroine’s passion for photography, I thought I would include images throughout the book, at the beginning of each chapter. Some are merely illustrative. But some are clues as to mysteries the book holds, and some are twists in themselves. As Gabriela has said, ‘There’s something seductive about taking reality and controlling it. Sometimes I make a literal image, sometimes I start there and manipulate it. Sometimes the end result is obscure, abstract; only I know the truth.’
I couldn’t agree more.
Rather than give the titles to the pictures where they appear in the book, I thought it was best to include them in the table of contents. That surprise thing, again.
– J.D., Chapel Hill, NC
Acknowledgments
With special thanks for taking a chance on this one (and helping me get as backward as was humanly possible) to Mitch Hoffman and Carolyn Mays. Thanks too to Jamie Hodder-Williams, Michael Pietsch, Jamie Raab, Lindsey Rose, Katy Rouse and David Young. And I really appreciate all the juggling my regular crew did to keep this book on track and me more or less sane: Madelyn Warcholik, Julie Deaver, Deborah Schneider, Cathy Gleason, Vivienne Schuster, Betsy Robbins, Sophie Baker, Jane Davis, Will and Tina Anderson and Hazel Orme.
About the Author
A former journalist, folksinger and attorney, Jeffery Deaver is an international number-one bestselling author. His novels have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including the
New York Times
, the
Times
of London, Italy’s
Corriere della Sera
, the
Sydney Morning Herald
and the
Los Angeles Times
. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into twenty-five languages.
The author of thirty-one novels, two collections of short stories and a nonfiction law book, he’s received or been shortlisted for a number of awards around the world. His
The Bodies Left Behind
was named Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers Association, and his Lincoln Rhyme thriller
The Broken Window
and a stand-alone,
Edge
, were also nominated for that prize. He has been awarded the Steel Dagger and the Short Story Dagger from the British Crime Writers’ Association and the Nero Wolfe Award, and he is a three-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Readers Award for Best Short Story of the Year and a winner of the British Thumping Good Read Award.
The Cold Moon
was recently named the Book of the Year by the Mystery Writers Association of Japan, as well as by
Kono Mystery Wa Sugoi
magazine. In addition, the Japanese Adventure Fiction Association awarded
The Cold Moon
and
Carte Blanche
their annual Grand Prix award.
He contributed to the anthology
Books To Die For
, which won the Agatha Award this year.
His most recent novels are
The Kill Room
, featuring Lincoln Rhyme,
XO
, a Kathryn Dance thriller, for which he wrote an album of country-western songs, available on iTunes and as a CD, and before that,
Carte Blanche
, the latest James Bond continuation novel, a number-one international bestseller.
Deaver has been nominated for seven Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, an Anthony Award and a Gumshoe Award. He was recently shortlisted for the ITV3 Crime Thriller Award for Best International Author.
His book
A Maiden’s Grave
was made into an HBO movie starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin, and his novel
The Bone Collector
was a feature release from Universal Pictures, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. And, yes, the rumors are true; he did appear as a corrupt reporter on his favorite soap opera,
As the World Turns.
He was born outside Chicago and has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a law degree from Fordham University.
Readers can visit his website at
www.jefferydeaver.com
.
Contents
And Titles of Photographs
Chapter 35. Daniel’s Mausoleum
Chapter 31. Gabriela’s Wednesdays
Chapter 28. Frank’s Second Present
Chapter 24. Morning After, No. 2
Chapter 14. Daniel’s First Job, circa 1998
Chapter 8. Morning After, No. 1
Chapter 7. Witness to the Seduction
Chapter 5. Where Her Victims Lie