The Spy Who Came for Christmas (17 page)

^{"Sorry," she said, averting her gaze.}

^{"Humor's always welcome. It's good for morale." Again, Ka- gan peered down at the baby. "Weird how the mind plays tricks."}

^"Tricks?"

^{"On Canyon Road, when I was running from the men outside, the baby kicked me from time to time. I was light-headed enough that I almost had the sense he was guiding me, telling me which way to go, like he wanted me to come here."}

^{"As you said, you were light-headed."}

^{In the background, Rosemary Clooney sang, "I'll Be Home for Christmas."}

^{Kagan drew a breath.}

^{"Guess I'd better get to work." He shoved his gun under his belt, stooped, and crept into the living room.}

^{The fireplace was on the left, its Southwestern design similar to one in the lobby of Kagan's hotel. The hearth was a foot off the floor. The firebox had an oval opening and curved sides. The flames in it had dwindled to embers, making it less likely that he'd be seen. His gun digging into his right side, he glanced to the right. In the middle of the shadowy room, a large leather chair faced the window.}

^{"How are you managing, Cole?"}

^{"It's hard staring at something this long." The boy's voice came from the other side of the chair's back. "I still can't get anything on the radio."}

^{"You're doing a great job. I'll take your place soon."}

^{The Christmas tree stood against the far wall. Staying low, Kagan went over and unplugged the lights.}

^{It's late enough,
he decided.
Turning off the tree won't seem unusual.}

^{The front door was to the right of the window. He crept over and made sure it was locked. Then he set the other two aerosol cans next to it.}

^{He turned toward the rear of the living room. The Rosemary Clooney song came from an open door to the right of the fireplace. Inside an office, he found three computer monitors and keyboards on a table in front of him. Matching computer towers were under it. Despite the darkness, he had the impression of many shelves filled with electronics.}

^{"Meredith, why is there so much equipment?"}

^{"Ted designs websites for corporations. Sometimes he has three different layouts showing simultaneously."}

^{Kagan felt a spark of hope.}

^{"Then we can access the Internet. We can send e-mails to get help."}

^{"No. Ted put an electronic lock on the Internet access. I don't have the password."}

^{Kagan's excitement turned cold. "Ted thinks of everything."}

^{He saw an iPod connected to a docking station and a set of speakers. That was the source of the music. Now Rosemary Clooney was singing that she might only be able to
dream
about going home for Christmas. When he turned off the speakers, the house became silent, except for the crackle of embers in the fireplace and the faint noise of the television in Cole's bedroom down the hallway.}

^{At the back of the office, Kagan confirmed that the outside door was locked. The curtains were shut, concealing him as he shoved a table against the window. The table extended partway against the door and provided a barricade. His wounded arm aching, he picked up a chair and set it next to the monitors on the table. Intruders could break the window and get past the obstacles, but not quickly, not without making noise, and not without the risk of injuring themselves.}

^{As Kagan worked, he couldn't keep from worrying that if Meredith still distrusted him, she might use this opportunity to take Cole and run from the house. At this moment, she and the boy might be opening the side door. He leaned from the office and glanced to the right, toward the kitchen, but Meredith's silhouette remained in view. She was looking down at the baby in the hamper.}

^{Maybe she'll do it in a little while,
he thought.
If I'm out of sight long enough, she might find the nerve to take the boy and run. And the baby--she'll probably take the baby.}

^{He could only pray that she wouldn't surrender to her fears and get all of them killed.}

^{* * *}

^{I COULD
do it now,
Meredith thought.}

^{In the darkness of the kitchen, the only light came from the flame on the stove and the clock on the microwave oven. She thought of how the stranger had angled the microwave toward the side door, how he'd put two pieces of crumpled tin foil in there along with the tube of quick-drying glue. She still had a vivid mental image of the grotesque, long-barreled gun he'd shoved under his belt.}

^{It made her shiver.}

^{Table legs scraped in Ted's office. For some reason, the stranger was moving the furniture.
Blocking the window?
she wondered.
While he's busy, I can do this. I can get Cole. I can grab the baby. We can run. I don't know anything about this man. Maybe he stole the baby from its parents. Maybe the men looking for him are the police. Maybe whoever shot him was a policeman.}

^{I can do it,
she repeated to herself.
I can do it now.}

^{Peering down at the baby, she imagined how she could go into the living room and put her finger over her lips to warn Cole to be quiet. She could motion for Cole to follow her. In a rush, she could pick up the baby, open the door, and run with Cole into the night.}

^{There wouldn't be a chance to get coats. In the falling snow, she could hold the baby against her, using the blanket to shield him. She wouldn't be able to risk stopping to ask a neighbor for help. That might give the stranger time to catch them. She and Cole would need to run all the way to the crowd on Canyon Road.}

^{We'd be safe there,
she thought.
Can Cole run that far? Maybe we won't be able to move quickly enough.}

^{She wondered if the stranger would shoot. The thought made her flinch as she imagined the agony of a bullet slamming into her back. Or maybe she wouldn't feel anything. Maybe the bullet would kill her.}

^{No,
she decided. The one thing she knew for certain was that the baby was important to this man. The way he talked about it. The way he looked at it. He wouldn't do anything to put it in danger.}

^{Did it seem logical, then, to think he was a kidnapper?}

^{She heard him making other noises in Ted's office, cutting at something. But what? As the cutting sounds persisted, she thought,
Now's my chance.}

^{She took a step toward the living room, preparing to cross to where Cole watched the window, but then she remembered the way the man had looked at her and said,
"1 promise Ted won't hit you again."
There'd been something about the steadiness of his eyes, the reassuring tone of his voice, the firmness of his expression--they'd convinced Meredith that he meant what he said.}

^{"Don't you like surprise presents?"
the man had asked.
"Help the baby, and 1 promise Ted won't hit you again"}

^{He hadn't said,
"Help
me." He'd said,
"Help the baby."
No, the man would never do anything to injure the baby, Meredith decided.
We can run without fearing he'll shoot.}

^{In Ted's office, the cutting sounds were now almost sawing sounds.}

^{This is our chance!
Meredith thought.}

^{But what if he's telling the truth? What if there really are men outside who'll do anything to get the baby? If Cole and I leave the house, we might run into them,. I can't risk it. I can't put Cole's life in danger "I promise Ted won't hit you again"}

^{As much as she was certain that the stranger meant to keep that promise, she was certain about something else. Because of Cole's short right leg, adults sometimes treated her son as if he wasn't smart or as if he wasn't even in the room with them. But the stranger had looked Cole directly in the eyes and had spoken to him as if he were much older than twelve. He'd trusted Cole to watch the window. He'd trusted him to listen for voices on the two-way radio. The respectful way he treated Cole left Meredith with no doubt that he would do everything in his power to make sure no one hurt her son.}

^{* * *}

^{KAGAN'S PISTOL
wasn't the only weapon he carried.}

^{On the outside of his right pants pocket, a black metal clip was hardly noticeable against the black fabric. The clip was attached to an Emerson folding knife concealed inside his pocket, an arrangement that made it easy for him to grip the knife without fumbling. When he pulled it out, a hook on the back of the blade was designed to catch on the edge of the pocket and swing the knife open. As he'd learned too well, there were numerous occasions when the ability to open a knife with only one hand could save his life.}

^{He went over to a lamp on the office table, unplugged it, and pressed the blade against the electrical cord. He had no trouble slicing the rubber sheath, but the copper wires resisted, and he needed to press down hard, sawing more than cutting. He ignored the pain in his wounded arm from the effort of holding the wire against the table.}

^{After he freed the cord, he tied it to the leg of a chair and stretched it calf-high across the office, securing it around a heavy box on the bottom of a shelf. Fortunately, the cord was dark. If an intruder broke through the window and shoved past the obstacles on the table, he'd be so fixated on the open door to the living room that he might not notice the trip cord in the shadows.}

^{"Meredith, you said there was a back garden?"}

^{When Kagan heard her voice in the kitchen, he was relieved to know that she'd remained in the house.}