[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
promise to her father to get these guys.
Grant s phone rang again. She picked it up and read the signature line. Todd.
Grant! she shouted as she took it in to him.
He stepped out, grabbing a towel and the phone. Here I am. Yeah? Tell me.
Coco left him to his conversation, but from the grunts he made as she walked away,
she knew whatever he was hearing was not good news.
Sitting on the chaise, she waited for him. But when he came back in, one look at his
glazed eyes and she knew whatever he d learned was disastrous.
What s wrong? She stood.
Grant stepped closer, grasping her upper arms. I won t sugarcoat this, babe. The
Paris police found Ahmed Suleiman the day before yesterday. In his apartment. Grant
brushed hair back from her cheeks. He s dead, Coco. Murdered.
Oh, Grant, no! He hated violence.
He didn t deserve this then. He was tortured.
Tears burned her eyes. How? she rasped.
His tongue was cut out and left on the table by his body. Beneath his tongue was a
note.
Claiming responsibility?
And giving a warning.
To whom? What did it say?
Beware to all women at the meeting of the Stars of the Desert .
It s true then! Hakim is hunting me! She swallowed hard.
Grant tipped up her chin. His jaw set. His look fierce. We ll get some caffeine so
we ll both be firing on all cylinders. He gave her lips a light kiss and hugged her close.
64
Carried Away
We ll sit and talk. Make a list of everything you know about Hakim and his buddies.
What he said, what they did, how they all looked. We ll figure this out. Find a way to
end this. Keep you safe. For all time. Do you hear me?
I do.
He examined her. What are you thinking?
She stepped backward and ran her hands through her hair. I have to find Hakim
before he finds me.
We do, Grant corrected her.
She gave him a small smile. Yes. We do. But how? She folded her arms as Grant
sat in the chair to watch her.
Which of the two radicals remaining was Hakim? Langley had pictures of suspects
and she d been over and over them. None had struck her as the two still at large. Had
she made any mistakes in recollecting the attendees at that meeting? She d been so
certain about identifying the first two and then the third man in Madrid. Since Maria s
attack, she d been over and over the memory a thousand times. Discussed it as many
times with her control, others at headquarters. She d seen mug shots, action pix. So
many, so often. Was her famous photographic memory failing her?
Another thought occurred to her. And she reached for her cell. Powered it up.
Called the relay number to her control. She walked the floor, sat at the desk, paced
again. Her phone rang.
Hi, Coco said, then gave her code. She heard a click and a voice on the other end
greeted her in a thick New Jersey accent.
There is a problem in Paris, Coco told her control. Have you heard about it?
Only this morning.
Anything I need to know? And why the hell didn t you tell me?
We have a report but it is very brief. Perhaps you might visit?
65
Cerise DeLand
You read Grant s mind. Coco had to hold herself back from yelling her next thought.
Who would you suggest? Hook me up for once in your life! Earn your salary!
You have friends, colleagues in Paris.
My friends. My colleagues. Coco winced. And what about our friends in
Jerusalem? Israeli international intelligence, the Mossad. Those guys seem to know
everyone, good, bad or worse. They must be interested in the event in Paris. Do they have
any ideas?
I ll check and let you know.
You do that. Thanks.
I understand things worked out with the contract there in Venice.
With the security firm, yes. Grant s on board. More help than you, that s for sure.
Sheik Nasar is pleased then. Bravo.
Thanks. I did it for me, not you. I told you after Maria s attack I m leaving the Company.
I m not cut out for it. Anything else I should know?
Not that I ve heard.
Terrific. Nothing about the theft from Sheik Nasar?
I can t help you there. That s your private business. Although I will say the Italian
Guardia are not happy with Mr. Warwick s nosing into the theft.
Coco could hear the irritation in her control s voice, too. What s that to you?
We try to keep Nasar happy and he s not that your boyfriend is investigating.
Really? Since Nasar hired him for security, don t you think that is rather odd?
Control sighed. I m just saying&
Saying what? Coco persisted.
Watch your step. Find Hakim. Get this over with and then you can go back to
photography.
And you? You can go back to incompetence with other agents. Until next time, then.
66
Carried Away
Coco flipped her phone closed. As ever, she felt as if she d been flicked off big-time
by her contact in Langley. Must be nice to sit in a cozy office with buddies tucked safely
into cubby holes making calls out to the world.
Well, she was definitely not in a secure little office. She had to work hard out here
in the cruel world. In a few sentences, she told Grant what her control had said how no
support was coming their way on the stolen artifact.
We don t need their help, Grant assured her. But I will check out the Guardia s
displeasure with me. I did them a favor last year that they ought to repay. Meanwhile,
what s your call on our next step?
How do you feel about going to Paris?
Without blinking, he said, I ll call my pilot and tell him to file a new flight plan.
And I ll call Jamal Husseini, too, and tell him we ll postpone our arrival in Dubai
tomorrow.
He won t be happy.
I had Todd get our forensics boys on one of our planes yesterday. I can t do
anything anyway until I know what the facts of the theft are. And I have to learn what I
can about Ahmed s death.
Agreed.
But that was not the end of the line for her. She knew it. Felt it. She had to retrace
her steps, her conclusions. That meant doing the one thing everyone said had been
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]