The Silenced (22 page)

Orlando looked at him, the brow over her left eye arched.

“We both know that’s not true,” the caller said. “You have five seconds to tell me who you are, or I’m hanging up.”

Nothing for three seconds, then, “Have you read
A Burnt-Out Case
lately?”

Quinn said nothing. He also didn’t hang up.

Some organizations created code phrases for when the legitimacy of a third party needed to be established.
A Burnt-Out Case
was the one given to Quinn by Wills when they first started working together.

“Do I have your attention now?” the man asked.

“Who are you?” Quinn said.

“You can call me Mr. Smith. The job you are doing for David Wills is actually for me. I’m his client.”

“Hang on for a moment,” Quinn said. He punched the Hold key and looked at Orlando. “It’s the client. The one with the body in the wall.”

“You’re kidding.”

“He knows Wills’s code phrase.”

“What does he want?”

“Wondering the same thing myself.” Quinn took the call off hold. “Mr. Smith. You may be David’s client, but you’re not mine. He’s the one who hired me, so he’s the one I work for.”

“I see no distinction between the fact that David hired you and I hired him.”

“I do.”

“Please, Mr. Quinn,” the caller said, his tone now conciliatory. “I’m not trying to go around David’s back. You see, certain circumstances have arisen that have made it necessary for me to contact you directly.”

“What circumstances?”

“I’m sorry to say David is dead,” Mr. Smith said.

“Dead?” Quinn said, acting surprised.

“Apparently he was shot.”

“When?”

“This morning.”

“By whom?”

“I don’t know, Mr. Quinn. Do you?”

“I have no idea,” Quinn said. Could this guy really have found out about Wills’s death already? It was plausible. Mercer, if he was indeed working for Wills, would have informed Wills’s organization, and then they might have begun notifying clients to assure them that current operations were not compromised. Plausible, but the timeline was tight.

“I thought as much, but it is good to hear. The reason I’m calling you is to make sure you’re planning on completing the job. You’ve already been paid, and nicely, I might add. I only ask that once you have the package in your possession, you consider calling me. I would like to dispose of it myself. But if you are not comfortable with that, I understand. Fair?”

“Yeah, see, that’s not the way it works. First I verify what you’re telling me about Wills is true. If it is, then I immediately remove myself, putting as much distance between me and anyone connected with Wills as possible.

Including you. So if your information’s good, you’ll have to find someone else. I’m done.”

Dead air for a moment, then, “What?”

“Done,” Quinn said. “No longer on the job.”

“You’ve been hired for the task. I expect you to carry it out. Mr. Quinn, maybe we should meet in person. We can discuss this—”

“There’s nothing to discuss. Per my standard agreement, in the case that my client is killed, I can terminate my involvement at my discretion. You can be sure I’ll be exercising that clause.”

“Mr. Quinn, that is not an opt—”

Quinn disconnected the call.

“Are you sure that was such a good idea?” Orlando asked.

Quinn’s phone began to vibrate again.
BLOCKED
on the display.

He pushed the button rejecting the call.

“We have more important things to worry about than a body in a wall,” Quinn said. “We’re off.”

A VIBRATION.

Without even opening his eyes, Nate reached out and grabbed his bag off the floor. Back in college the vibration of a phone wouldn’t have even caused him to stir in his sleep. But now, no matter how deep he was under, it immediately woke him.

The room was still dark, the only illumination seeping in coming from the streetlights outside. Nate activated his phone, then squinted at the sudden brightness of the screen. Once his pupils adjusted, he could see he’d received a text message from Julien.

All quiet out front. Let me know when you’re up.

Nate looked at the clock at the top corner of the display. 5:07 a.m. He tapped out a reply:

Up now, thanks to you.

Julien texted back:

You’re welcome.

There was no use trying to go back to sleep. Nate knew from experience it wouldn’t come. His mind was already alert. He turned off the no-longer-needed alarm he’d set for 6 a.m., then put his phone down and swung his legs off the couch.

He listened for any other noise in the apartment, but all was quiet. Liz apparently didn’t have friends who texted her at five in the morning. Making as little noise as possible, he crossed the living room to the entry.

After Liz had gone to bed, he had braced one of her dining room chairs under the handle of the front door for added security. The last thing he wanted was for her to see it there, so he picked it up and carried it back to where he’d found it.

He thumbed through some of Liz’s magazines, then perused the books on her shelves, before deeming it late enough to take a shower. By 6:20, he was dressed and ready for the day. He began to make bets with himself on when he would hear Liz get up. The winning time turned out to be 7:37 a.m. But it was almost an hour later before she joined him in the living room.

She was wearing dark jeans, a white sweater, a pair of brown boots, and had wrapped a multicolored scarf around her neck. After what had happened the previous night, Nate had been anxious about the moment they would see each other again. As she looked at him, he thought,
Here it comes
. The I’ve-been-thinking-it-might-be-better-if-you-stay-in-a-hostel speech. Or the listen-last-night-I-drank-a-little-too-much-so-if-I-led-you-to-think-anything-I’m-sorry line followed by the hostel speech.

“Good morning,” she said, a hint of a smile.

“Bonjour,”
Nate said.

“Aha. Nice. You work on that all night?”

“As a matter of fact I did. Didn’t sleep at all.”

“Well, it sounds like it paid off.” She stared through him.
Now, for sure
, he thought.
I’m so kicked out
. “I’ve been thinking.…”

He suppressed a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Nothing. Sorry.”

Her eyes narrowed as if she was assessing him anew, but then she smiled. “I’ve been thinking that I really don’t want to go to class this morning. So, why don’t we grab some breakfast, then visit one of those places we just looked at from the outside yesterday. Maybe the Louvre? Take in the
Mona Lisa?
How’s that sound?”

He was stunned into momentary silence. That was definitely not the hostel speech.

“No?” she said.

“Ah, no. I mean, yes,” he said. “That sounds great. But I don’t want to mess you up at school.”

“If I thought it was going to mess me up, I wouldn’t do it.”

“Okay. Sure. I’d love it.” He stood up and met her at the entrance hall.

“Besides,” she said as she pulled her jacket out of the closet, “I’d have probably taken the day off whether you were here or not.”

“I feel so special.”

“Thought you’d like that.”

“Hold on,” he said. “I should hit the bathroom first.”

“Make it quick. I’m hungry.”

In the bathroom, he took a moment to refocus, then texted the new plan to Julien. Before he left, he looked at himself in the mirror.

“She’s Quinn’s sister,” he said. “Don’t screw this up.”

The only problem was, he wasn’t sure if the Nate who was looking back at him was listening.

They spent over an hour and a half at a café a few blocks away. Then followed that up by browsing through a couple of bookstores in the neighborhood, looking for a book Liz wanted for her dissertation. It wasn’t until they visited their fourth bookstore that they found it.

“Thanks for letting me take care of this,” she said as they exited the store. “You mind if we drop it off at my place before we head out?”

“Are you kidding? I’d be furious.” He smiled and held up his hands. “You’re in charge today. I’m just happily along for the ride. I mean, I’m in Paris for God’s sake.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I’m in charge?”

“Within reason.”

“Hmmm.”

A light rain began to fall. They raced down the sidewalk and ducked under the cover of the entryway. While she unlocked the door, Nate glanced back just in time to see Julien slip under the awning of the café. He was talking tensely into his phone.

“After you,” Liz said, holding the door open.

They ducked inside, then rode the elevator up to Liz’s floor.

“Maybe we should just stay in,” Nate said once they were back in the apartment.

She gave him an odd look. “You’re not going to let a little rain stop you, are you?”

“It’s not just rain. It’s cold rain.”

“We won’t be outside that much. Besides, it’s a perfect day for the museum.”

While Liz was in her room, Nate went into the bathroom, once again using the time to text Julien.

Everything ok?

There was no immediate response.

As he was washing up, he heard a noise from down the hall. A double bang, like someone slamming pots down on a counter.

He dried his hands, then stepped out of the bathroom.

There were voices coming from near the entrance. Liz’s and a man’s.

He ran toward the entryway.

“I already told you. There is no Nate here.” Liz’s voice. She was speaking in French.

“I’m sorry, not Nate,” the other voice said, also in French. “Em … Andrew. I need to talk to Andrew.”

“Andrew?”

As Nate turned into the foyer, he saw Liz standing next to the partially open doorway. On the other side was Julien.

The second Julien saw him, the Frenchman pushed the door all the way open and stepped across the threshold. In English, he said, “I need to talk to you now!”

“You can’t come in here! Get out! Now!”

“What’s going on?” Nate asked Julien.

“Do you know this guy?” Liz asked.

“Yeah.” Nate instantly switched out of backpacking-college-student mode and into that of highly trained operative. “He’s a friend. Do you mind if he comes in for a minute?”

Liz eyed the massive Julien, then looked back to Nate. “You can talk to him in the hallway. I don’t feel comfortable with him in my apartment.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Julien said. He took a step further into the apartment, then shut the front door.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Liz yelled. “Get out!”

But the Frenchman had turned his attention to Nate. “We have to get her out of here. Now.”

“I’m calling the police.” Liz started for the living room, but Nate grabbed her waist and stopped her. “What are you doing?” she shrieked. “Let me go!”

“No police,” Nate said.

A look of terror crossed her face. “Oh, God. You’ve been fooling me, haven’t you? You’ve just been waiting for your friend to get here, and now what? Are you going to rape me, is that it?”

“Relax. We’re not going to hurt you.”

Liz wrenched herself free from Nate’s grasp and pushed herself against the wall. Since she wasn’t going for the phone, he let her be for the moment.

To Julien, Nate said, “What happened?”

“I just received a call from my client. He has three men in the city on their way over here right now. They said they checked with her school and know that she’s in the city. I couldn’t hide her from them any longer. I had to tell them she just got back. As soon as the others arrive, we are to take her to someplace quiet.”

Liz’s eyes grew wide.

“Nate, we have no more than fifteen minutes.”

Nate grimaced, then turned and took a step toward Quinn’s sister. “You need to listen to me. We’re here to help you, not hurt you.”

She stared at him for a moment, then pushed herself off the wall and tried to run into the living room. Nate grabbed her again, lifting her off her feet, then all but carried her to the couch and set her down.

“Leave me alone! Leave me alone!” she said, striking at him wildly with her hands.

“Liz, please. Stop.” He was able to finally grab her wrists, and pushed them down into her lap.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Your life’s in danger. Do you understand? Some people who want to harm you are on their way here right now.”

“No. No. You’re lying,” she said, shaking her head. “You’re just saying that to get me out of the building, then you’ll … you’ll …”

Nate needed to calm her down, and fast. “I think you should talk to your—” He looked at Julien. The Frenchman already thought he knew the truth, but as far as Nate knew, Quinn had never confirmed it.
To hell with it
, he thought. Quinn could be pissed at him later. “Your brother.”

She stopped struggling, confused. “My brother?”

“I work for him.” Nate said.

“You
work
for Jake?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you said you’d only met him once before.”

Nate took a deep breath. “I lied.”

Her eyes flicked to Julien, then back to Nate. “Who’s Nate?”

Nate took a deep breath. “I am.”

“But … what about … you said your name was Andrew.”

“Liz, we need to get you out of here.”

“Why would my brother want you here?”

“To protect you.”

“Protect me?”

“He knew you were in danger.”

“I don’t believe that for a second.” She started pushing against him again.

“Julien. Get Quinn on the phone.”

“Who the hell is Quinn?” Liz asked.

He looked at her. “Your brother.”

Nate knew it was all coming at her too fast. He could almost see her mind overloading.

Dammit
, he thought. This was not the way this should have gone.

“Quinn? It’s Julien. We have a problem.” Nate listened as the Frenchman described their situation to Quinn.

When he was finished, Nate said, “It would be great if he would talk to her.”

Julien relayed the request, then walked over to the couch and tried to hold the phone up to Liz’s ear. But she moved her head away, twisting it and turning it so Julien couldn’t get the phone in place.

“It’s just a trick,” she said. “It’s not him.”

“Use the speaker,” Nate said.

Julien touched the screen of his phone, then said, “Quinn?”

“I’m here.”

Liz froze.

“Quinn,” Nate said, “we need to get Liz out, but she’s not cooperating. We’ve got five minutes tops before we run into a potential overlap. Could you please convince her we’re not here to hurt her?”

“Liz,” Quinn said, “you need to listen to them. They have to get you out of there now.”

“I don’t know who you are, but you’re not my brother,” she said.

Quinn took a moment before responding. “When we were out on the lake after we flipped, and I grabbed ahold of you, remember?”

“Shut up!” she yelled. “Shut up!”

“I whispered something in your ear.”

“Please stop,” she said, only this time some of the fight was missing from her voice.

“I said it over and over. Do you remember? I said, ‘I’ll never let anything hurt you.’ ”