The Silenced (19 page)

She shrugged. “Once.”

“And what did he say?”

“Nothing.”

“You mean he gave you the runaround?”

“No. I mean he said nothing. It was on the phone. He’d called to talk to Mom, but I happened to be home and had answered. So I decided I’d just ask him why he left. He was silent for a long time, and then he said, ‘Can I talk to Mom, please.’ That was it.”

“Maybe he had a good reason.”

“Yeah, well, if he did, I don’t care anymore.” She drained the rest of her wine, then picked up the bottle. “You want some more?” She looked at his glass. It was almost full. “I guess not, huh?”

“I’m fine.”

She started to tip the bottle over her own glass, but stopped before any liquid spilled out.

“Maybe it would be better if we just call it a night,” she said. “I’ve got class in the morning, and I’m sure you must be tired.”

“I’m doing okay,” Nate said. “But it’s up to you.”

She smiled, then started to stand, the bottle of wine still in her hand. When she straightened her knees, she swayed.

Nate jumped up and put out a hand to steady her.

“Thanks,” she said. “I think I just proved another glass would have been a bad idea.”

“Why don’t you give that to me?”

He took the bottle from her, then picked up the two glasses and carried them all into the kitchen. When he returned, Liz had moved the sheet, blanket, and pillow she’d set on the floor that afternoon onto the couch, and looked like she was about to make his bed.

“I can do that,” Nate said, rushing over.

She gave him a smirk. “I’m not completely helpless.”

She tucked the sheet around the cushions, put the pillow at one end, then spread the blanket out.

“Thanks,” he said.

“My pleasure.”

“What time’s your class in the morning?”

“Not until ten, thank God.”

“Mind if I come with you? Not to class, of course. But I’ve always wanted to see the Sorbonne.”

“Sure.” She leaned over and gave him a hug. “Thanks for being a good guy, Andrew.”

“Eh … thanks? I guess.”

She laughed into his chest, then, as she pulled away, he felt her hesitate, her cheek only an inch away from his. He could sense tension building between them, a tension he unexpectedly welcomed.

She’s Quinn’s sister
, a voice in his head said.

He closed his eyes and tried to regain control. Just as he was about to push her away, she pulled back.

“If we leave by nine-fifteen, we can pick up something to eat on the way,” she said.

“That sounds good.”

She walked over to the hallway, then looked back. “I’m glad you decided to stay.”

He smiled. “I’m glad you asked.”

She disappeared into her bedroom, but he continued to stare at the spot where she’d been. When he finally looked away, he pulled out his phone. As much as he hated thinking about work at the moment, there was one last text he had to send. He pulled up Julien’s number, then typed:

Leaving 9:15 a.m. L has class at 10,
have talked her into letting me come along.
Will check in when I get up.

After hitting Send, he put his phone in his bag. Hopefully, Julien would get the hint and not reply. Right now all Nate wanted to do was pretend he was Andrew Cain, on vacation in Europe, and staying for a few days with an intriguing American girl in Paris.

And for a few seconds, right before he fell asleep, he actually believed it.

QUINN ROSE EARLY THE NEXT MORNING. HE
took a quick shower, got dressed, then sat on the edge of the bed and checked his email.

One was from his mother, sent to a dummy address that forwarded the message through a series of sites before it showed up in Quinn’s inbox.

Jake,

Just wanted to let you know your friend Steven is all settled in. He pretty much stays out of the way, but has been kind enough to ride into town with me when I have to go. Claire, unfortunately, was only able to stay a few hours. But while she was here she not only helped me sort through some of my mail, she also made a wonderful spaghetti dinner. I like her a lot, Jake.

Quinn smiled. He’d have to show Orlando that one.

I know you’re busy, but I do hope you come again soon. This is your home, no matter how long you’ve been away.

I love you,
Mom

Quinn read the letter twice. He could feel the guilt of having stayed away so long pressing in on him again. The other important email was from Orlando. He checked the time/date stamp. It had been sent just before her text from the night before.

Hi Jakey,

Your mom’s all set. I’m on a flight from Chicago to New York, and then New York to London. Should be landing at Heathrow around 9 a.m. Coming in on Kuwaiti Air. Let me know what you want me to do once I get in. I’ve found a flat in Soho that I’ve sublet for two weeks. My sense is we won’t even need a week, but I didn’t want to have any problems.

Got a potential hit on that photo. Russian. Former KGB. Name: Nikolai Palavin. The information I found lists him as presumed dead. Maybe it’s him, maybe not. Still have no idea why his picture would have been in the folder.

I’ll call you once I land.

Love,
O

It was apparent Orlando had been talking a little too much about him with his mother. Jakey was a name he hadn’t been called since he’d left home, and he’d had no intention of ever being called by it again.

At the moment, though, what troubled him more was the ID of the man in the photo. Russian, like the woman who’d been showing up everywhere Quinn had been working. Maybe there was no connection, but he would be a fool to ignore the possibility.

He turned off his computer and stuck it in his bag. Since he’d be staying with Orlando that evening, he would take everything with him. But he wasn’t going to check out. London was a big city, and it was always good to have an alternate safe haven.

Once he was ready, he donned his backpack and headed out for his meeting with Wills.

Petra and Mikhail were up and out of the apartment by 6 a.m. Thirty-seven minutes later, Petra was in position outside the building where David Wills supposedly worked. At 7:43, a man approached the front door. Unconsciously, Petra leaned forward as if those couple of inches would make the difference over the half a block that separated them. Based on the description Nova had given her, this guy was too short and too young to be Wills.

The man didn’t knock at the door. Instead he pulled out a key and let himself in.

Petra kept her gaze glued on the entrance in case the man came back out.

Twenty-five minutes later, he did. Only he wasn’t alone.

And there was no mistaking his companion.

David Wills.

•   •   •

As soon as Petra realized Wills and the other man were going to take a taxi, she moved to the curb to flag down one of her own. She didn’t even let it stop before she pulled open the back door and jumped in.

“I’m with them,” she said, pointing at Wills’s taxi in the distance. “We need to keep up, I don’t have the directions.”

The driver gave her a quick, knowing look, then took off in pursuit.

Maybe he thought she was a wife following her husband. That was fine by Petra. Whatever got him moving.

They drove for ten minutes, fighting traffic all the way. But her driver was a good one and never fell more than three cars behind Wills.

“Looks like they’re getting out,” the cabbie said. “Is here all right?”

Petra looked through the front window. They were nearing a busy corner.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“Oxford Circus, ma’am.”

Wills’s cab was at the curb, the other man leaning in, paying the driver, while Wills waited on the sidewalk.

“This is fine here,” she said.

The cabbie pulled over. Petra threw some cash into the front seat, then scrambled out of the car.

It took her a moment to spot Wills again. His cab was gone, and he and the other man were walking down the sidewalk away from her. She increased her pace and closed the gap to within thirty feet. It was then that she saw a sign for the entrance to the Oxford Circus Underground station, and had a strong hunch that’s where they were headed.

Using the crowd as cover, Petra moved around and in front of Wills, then descended the stairs to the station, praying she was right.

At the bottom, she made a beeline for the automatic ticket kiosk. Since she had no idea where they might be headed, she bought a ticket that would allow her to travel to any of the different zones, then looked back just in time to see Wills pass through a ticket gate.

She followed, once again using the crowd as her shield. She quickly realized that the man with Wills was the one to worry about. At random intervals he would look around like he was making sure they were going in the right direction, but in reality was no doubt checking for tails. Looking, in essence, for her.

She fell back as far as she could, a couple of times even letting them move out of sight for a moment. And so far, it had worked.

When it became apparent they were headed to the Bakerloo southbound platform, she fell back even more. Luck was with her. There were two women about her age heading in the same direction. Petra slipped in behind them, keeping the distance that separated them close enough so that it appeared they were all traveling together.

As she entered the platform it was all she could do not to look for Wills. It wasn’t until the train arrived and she was moving forward with the crowd that she allowed herself to check. Wills was still there, entering the train one car down.

At Piccadilly Circus, then again at Charing Cross, she positioned herself at the doorway so she could see if the other two had gotten off. But they had stayed on until they reached the third stop. Embankment.

Embankment Station was much smaller than Oxford Circus, and soon they were all at ground level, exiting into the cold morning air. Wills and the other man stopped just outside, next to a flower shop, leaning close in conversation. Petra passed by as near as she could, but could hear nothing.

Ahead of her was a cobblestone street that had more pedestrians on it than cars, and on the corner opposite her was a Starbucks. She walked over and entered the coffee shop. Once the door was closed behind her, she looked back.

The other man was still there, but Wills was gone. She scanned the area and couldn’t find him on the street, either. Had he gone back in to take the subway somewhere else?

No, there he is
. He was just disappearing to the left of the flower shop, along a sidewalk that led between some bushes and trees. The small patch of wilderness stretched along the street from the station for dozens of yards.

The other man was still at the flower stall, but most of his attention was on the station. Petra pushed the door open and crossed the street to a path that led in the direction Wills had gone down. Within seconds the man at the flower stall was no longer in view.

On the other side of the bushes and trees, the path led into a grassy park. Wills was walking slowly down one of the sidewalks, away from her.

Petra walked into the park and took the path parallel to the one Wills was on.

Ahead, he reached the point where the two paths intersected. Petra quickly glanced around. There were several benches lining the walkway. Most were empty, but the one nearest was occupied by a bundled-up woman reading a book. Petra hurried over to the next bench and sat just before Wills turned down the path in her direction. She could hardly believe her luck. She was never going to have a better opportunity to get him alone so they could talk than this.

She angled her head so she could see him in her peripheral vision, and watched as he continued forward for another twenty feet, then stopped.

Come on. Come on
.

He checked his watch, so Petra did the same. It was ten minutes to nine. When she looked up again, Wills had resumed walking. Slowly though, like he was killing time.

As he drew near, she chanced a look out of the corner of her eye. He didn’t appear to have noticed her at all.

Perfect
.

    Quinn made his way through the controlled chaos that was Victoria Station to the Underground entrance at the north end. He used a prepaid Oyster card to get through the gate, then, instead of heading to the platform for the eastbound District and Circle lines—either of which would have taken him to Embankment Station two stops away—he headed to the Victoria Line northbound. This way he would arrive early via an indirect route. It was his standard-operating procedure.

The morning crowds were huge. It didn’t matter which direction you were going, you couldn’t help getting swallowed up in the mass of men and women making their way to work.

That suited Quinn just fine. More people meant he would be harder to follow. Still, he checked several times to make sure no one was behind him giving it a try.

A second train line later, he was exiting at Charing Cross, one stop shy of Embankment Station. From there he strolled down the cobbled street that led toward the park.

By Quinn’s watch, there were fifteen minutes left before his meeting with Wills. Given what had happened at the last two job sites, and at the aborted meeting location in New York, Quinn expected Wills to have watchers already in place securing the site and keeping an eye out for trouble.

Straight ahead, at the far end of the street, Quinn could see the entrance to Embankment Station. On the left side, against the outer wall and near one of the paths into the park, was an outdoor flower shop. That’s where Quinn spotted the first watcher.

It was the same man who’d been sitting in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt. He was wearing a suit that helped him blend in with the rest of the morning crowd, and was browsing the flowers with a watchful eye on the station exit.

Keeping a group of three businessmen between himself and Wills’s man, Quinn approached the park, then ducked in through the northern entrance unseen.

The path led through a wide strip of bushes and trees that separated the park from the street. Quinn found a spot where he was out of view, but could still see into the park through the foliage.

He looked at his watch, then settled back against the concrete half-wall that separated the sidewalk from the bushes, content to wait until nine. But not thirty seconds after he’d adjusted his position, a man walking along the sidewalk at the far end of the park caught his attention.

Quinn pulled out his phone and switched on the zoom of his camera, training it on the man. It was Wills.

Early
.

He watched as Wills continued down the path, killing time. Quinn was just about to go out and meet him when he noticed a woman sitting on one of the benches. She was trying very hard not to look at Wills. Just as the Englishman passed her, she did glance up. Quinn could see her face.

She had a look that seemed almost … 
predatory
.