A Dangerous Liaison - Part Three Page 3

  We knew it was Alec.

  The three of us shared a car back to the police department. No one spoke. We had plenty to think about. I was still trying to work out how I’d been duped so easily. Plus I wasn’t sure if Gabriel would ever trust me again. Every time I caught his eye he looked away. He’d backed me. He’d staked his reputation on me, time and time again. What I’d done must have felt like a betrayal of his trust.

  I sighed and looked out the window.

  And then there was Cooper.

  What the hell had he meant earlier? Just before Uzbeke interrupted us Cooper had made another dumb pass at me. I’d hoped he’d given up his stupid crush after Gabriel disturbed us in New York. But I guess he hadn’t. It seemed like he was happy to use anything to get his hands on me again. I hated to admit it, but the only thing keeping me out of cell right now was Cooper’s fixation. And the thought of what he’d want in return scared me.

  But something else had been off about Cooper. He’d been about to ask me something – something to do with Reader – then he’d changed his mind. He’d seemed anxious, which wasn’t like him. And he’d started smoking again. For some reason that scared me even more.

  When we got back to the office Cooper asked Sam to pull out everything we had on Reader. Then Cooper, Gabriel and I sat in front of a whiteboard covered with all we knew about Alec – which wasn’t a lot – and tried to work out where he might run to.

  After two hours and a pot of coffee each we had gotten exactly nowhere, and there’d been no word on Alec. His picture had been circulated to all police departments in the city. And there’d been a short piece on the main Rome news channel asking for witnesses to come forward. But we’d heard nothing. Alec had disappeared.

  “I need a break,” said Cooper getting up abruptly and heading off to the men’s room.

  I slumped in my chair staring at the whiteboard as if an answer would magically appear.

  Gabriel pulled his chair next to mine.

  “You okay?”

  I did a double take. I’d been expecting him to bawl me out again over Alec, but maybe Gabriel thought I’d already beaten myself up enough over what I did. If he did, he was right. I was pissed and, to be honest, ashamed that I’d fallen hook, line and sinker for Alec Reader’s lies. I’d known some bastards in my life but he trumped them all.

  I made an unsuccessful attempt at a grin. “I’ll survive.”

  Gabriel made a humph sound. The one he reserved for when I’d said something particularly stupid.

  “He must have been something special, huh?”

  I cocked an eyebrow. Gabriel had surprised me again. He was right. At the time I’d thought Alec was something special. That was what really bothered me. It wasn’t Alec. There were loads of bastards and liars out there. But I’d believed him because I’d been desperate to fill the gaping hole in my life. That was what hurt the most.

  I bit my lip.

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought at the time.”

  But it was worse than that. I hadn’t realized just how badly I’d wanted to find the man in my dreams. I knew it was important to me – but not important enough to invent a make-believe world where Alec was my knight in shining armor and we shared a secret world linked by a St. Christopher medal.

  I shook my head and felt my cheeks flush.

  I felt Gabriel’s eyes on me.

  “Are you okay, Petra?”

  My eyes stung.

  No, I wasn’t okay. Because looking back now, what I’d done, what I’d believed, seemed insane. I wanted to open up to Gabriel but I couldn’t.

  Gabriel reached over and squeezed my hand.

  There was no getting away from it. I’d made the whole damn thing up. I’d invented a fantasy world with Alec Reader as the hero, and me as the damsel in distress. Maybe I was really going nuts. Maybe I should see a psychiatrist. Maybe a few months pumped full of chlorpromazine would cure me.

  “Petra, I need to know you’re okay.”

  I sniffed and met Gabriel’s eyes for the first time we’d started talking.

  “I’m okay,” I said, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. Maybe I was a little crazy but Alec Reader had still taken advantage of my weakness. He’d seen the vulnerability in me and used it. He’d used me.

  My mind chose that moment to show me an image of Alec and me on the beach kissing. It was just as vivid as before, but instead of making me happy all it did now was to remind me of my utter stupidity. I felt the bile rise up and hit the back of my throat. I swallowed it back down.

  Yes, I thought. I’d be okay, because I wanted to make Alec pay for making me trust him. The problem was that part of me didn’t agree with any of this: a quiet but persistent voice in my mind which, no matter how much I tried to ignore it, wouldn’t go away.

  Alec isn’t lying, it said – over and over.

  I was ashamed of it. Ashamed that part of me was still crazy enough to trust Alec. And that no matter how much I tried to drown out that quiet but insistent voice with my brash, bitter anger it wouldn’t go away.

  Gabriel was still waiting.

  “Are you okay, Petra?”

  It was more than a simple question. He wanted to be sure I was fit to carry on with the case. He probably couldn’t work out why Cooper hadn’t sent me back home already. But for my own sanity I had to stay on the case.

  I squeezed his hand back. “I’m fine.”

  A few minutes later Sam ran into the office. She’d done it again. She’d found a report on a young woman who’d been admitted to a secure psychiatric facility north of Rome. The woman had been found running crazy in a nearby forest. She couldn’t remember her name and had no ID on her. The only thing she had was a piece of paper with the name Alec Reader scrawled on it.

  Chapter 7

  Petra

  I pulled my badge off my belt and waved it at the matron.

  “If you don’t let me see her I’ll ring your supervisor and have you fired.”

  I was at the Giovanni Institute for the mentally ill, at the reception desk to the secure unit. After Sam had told us about the lead, we’d headed straight here. Gabriel and Cooper were waiting in the car. I’d managed to persuade them a woman’s touch might work, and gotten them to promise me a few minutes alone with her. I don’t know why I wanted to speak to her alone. Maybe I just needed to prove to myself, and to Gabriel, that I wasn’t a total wash-up. That I could do my job.

  The matron, a big burly woman, was sitting behind her desk glaring at me. Behind her, securely locked, were the set of double doors that led to the ward and to the woman I had to speak to.

  The matron crossed her formidable arms and drew her lips into a narrow line.

  “You can’t go in without a court order.” She was used to dealing with crazed psychotics, and didn’t look like she was going to take any shit from me. But I was in no mood to mess around either. I leaned closer – and spoke in a quiet hard voice.

  “If you don’t let me through I’ll get on the phone now. Don’t think I won’t.”

  A few minutes later she was leading me down the whitewashed corridor, resentment in every muscle of her tense shoulders.

  We walked through a set of double doors into a six-bed ward. She stopped and turned to me.

  “Here she is,” she said defiantly.

  She gestured to a woman sitting on the top of a narrow single bed. The other beds were all unoccupied. The woman’s knees were pulled tight up to her chest. Her head was down so low her chin dug into her knees. Her long dark hair covered her face. She was rocking back and forth and muttering to herself.

  “She was picked up a few weeks ago in the middle of the woods just north of Rome,” said the matron. “She was half-starved, dressed in rags and delusional. She had no ID on her. Just a piece of paper with some guy’s name on it. And no one’s been able to identify her.”

  As I stared at the woman on the bed my heart sank. She was too far gone to give me any useful information. Jesus – what did Alec
do to her? Was this another life he’d ruined?

  I sat down next to her, carefully, afraid I’d frighten her. But she didn’t seem to notice me. She didn’t even change the pace of her rocking or stop mumbling. She was saying something. It sounded like a word or a phrase repeated over and over but I couldn’t quite make it out.

  Holding my breath, I leaned forward and listened.

  She was speaking so softly I could barely make out the words. I leaned in closer still, close enough to smell the antiseptic on her skin. Then I heard it.

  “Alec Reader, Alec Reader.”

  Suddenly I was filled with a hot fury. I grabbed the woman’s shoulders, shook her and shouted.

  “Where is he? Tell me, where the hell is Alec Reader?”

  I don’t know whether it was the shock of my shouting in her ear or the desperation in my voice but she stopped rocking and turned to me.

  “Goddamnit,” said the matron.

  I grabbed the woman’s wrists.

  “Where is Alec Reader?”

  The woman’s eyes were wild and distant for a moment, then they fixed on me.

  “He’s with Statton,” she said. “John Statton.”

  Then she turned away and started rocking again.

  Chapter 8

  Alec

  I turned off the highway onto a narrow mud track which cut into the forest. It was lined with giant pines which towered tens of meters over the tiny Fiat. After thirty seconds, the trees blocked out the light. I flicked on the headlights and peered ahead, negotiating the Fiat over one bump after another, and trying to ignore the low-lying branches banging against the roof.

  Statton had always preferred to keep himself to himself. It wasn’t that he couldn’t deal with people. He was an inspirational leader, and could be a mentor and a friend when he had to. But he enjoyed solitude.

  I followed the track into the forest for five minutes, as it twisted left and right, before I saw a thin gray plume of smoke coming from a log cabin dead ahead.

  The trees had been cut away around the cabin to make a small glade. Sunlight streamed onto the cabin’s roof. But a few steps further out, the forest’s gloom took over. The cabin was made from pine trunks. It was the size of a large family house. A new Jeep was parked outside, next to a pile of freshly chopped wood. The smoke was coming from a chimney on top of the cabin. I parked the Fiat in front of a gnarled oak tree, gazed at the cabin and smiled. Statton had found the solitude he craved. Until now, that was.

  I let out a long slow breath, feeling the tense muscles in my shoulders unwind a little. The events of the last few months had taken their toll on me. I was exhausted and had no idea what to do next. I needed Statton’s advice more than I ever had in the SAS.

  I jumped out of the car, strode over to the cabin’s front door and raised my hand to knock.

  The door opened before my hand got halfway.

  “You always did move like an elephant,” grinned a broad-shouldered man in his sixties, with a mop of blond-gray hair. “You never were any good in the jungle. The enemy heard you coming a mile off.” He laughed, opening the door wider.

  He was wearing a Led Zeppelin tee shirt, and a pair of scruffy jeans. Time had been good to him. His arms were still strong and his cheeks ruddy – but his eyes had dark shadows under them.

  He moved forward, surprisingly fast for a man of his age, and gave me a bear hug. “How are you, my old friend?”

  “Can’t grumble, sir,” I said, hugging back after I’d gotten my breath.

  He stepped back, still holding my upper arms – still smiling.

  “I think you can drop the sir, Alec. I’m retired and so are you.” I nodded, feeling uncomfortable.

  “Sure.”

  He nodded back, and grabbed my shoulder.

  “Well, come in,” he said, pulling me in. “Let’s take a good look at you.”

  He took me into a large wood-paneled hallway, switched on the light and stared at me. Judging by way his eyes flickered with concern, I must have looked pretty bad.

  “You look like you need a malt, Alec,” he said finally.

  “That would be great, sir – I mean, John.”

  I felt absurdly uncomfortable using his first name. Even though we’d been friends, he was still my senior officer. To be honest, I didn’t really care about hierarchy, but I suppose it had been drilled into me.

  Fifteen minutes later I was sitting in an old leather armchair beside a roaring fire nursing a half-empty glass of whiskey in my hand. Statton was sitting opposite me, already on his second. He put his glass down on a small table next to his chair, then looked at me.

  “Well, Alec, I think it’s time you told me what brought you here.”

  I downed the whiskey, swilling the dregs around in the bottom of the glass before I did – then stared at the empty glass for a long moment before looking up at Statton.

  “I’m in trouble – big trouble.”

  He chuckled.

  “I guessed that, my boy.”

  I shook my head.

  “This is something even you wouldn’t have seen coming, sir.”

  I just couldn’t get used to calling him John. But he didn’t pick up on it.

  “Try me.”

  I opened my mouth and shut it again. How would I explain the visions, the compulsions, Petra, the people I’d saved and hadn’t saved without sounding like a madman?

  “To be honest, sir, I’m not sure where to start.”

  His tone hardened.

  “At the beginning, Alec. Come on, man, spit it out.”

  So I did. I told him everything. Then I sat back, poured myself another whiskey, and waited for him to tell me I was nuts. But he didn’t. He’d stopped smiling now. He face was slack, making him look much older, and his eyes flicked from left to right. I was confused at first. I’d never seen this expression on Statton’s face before, so I didn’t recognize it. He recovered quickly, and pushed his mouth up into a smile. But not before I realized what I’d seen on his face. It was fear.

  “Let’s break this down, Alec,” said Statton, briskly. “You need to stay out of harms way long enough to find the killer…”

  We talked for three hours without making any solid progress, by which time I could barely keep my eyes open. Statton got up and slapped me on the back.

  “You’re bushed, Alec. Why don’t you take that whiskey and run a bath? Then go to bed. We’ll get back to this after you’ve had a good night’s sleep.”

  I wanted to carry on – but I knew he was right. For now at least I was burned out. I nodded, grateful.

  “Thanks, John.”

  Statton showed me where the bathroom was and left me to run a bath. I was about to get undressed when I realized I’d left my whiskey back in the living room. I wanted to enjoy that malt while I soaked – it would make sure I had the good night’s sleep I needed. So I headed back. As I reached the living room I heard Statton.

  “Do you really need to do this?” I hardly recognized him. His voice had a strange pleading tone. I stopped dead behind the door – holding my breath

  “There’s got to be some other way.”

  Statton drummed his fingers on the wall then:

  “No, please don’t. Yes, I know you’re serious. I’ll do what you say.”

  Another pause, then.

  “Yes, he’s here now.”

  Another pause, then Statton spoke again:

  “Okay, okay, I’ll make sure he stays here. He’s in the bath now, and he’s got half a bottle of scotch inside him – you won’t have any problems.”

  The receiver clicked.

  My blood ran cold. I felt like I’d been hit by the mother of all sucker punches.

  I heard Statton move. After a long moment I walked into the living room.

  Statton was sitting in one of the armchairs with a fresh glass of whiskey in his hand, the bottle on a small table within arm’s reach, staring at the fire. He had his back to me. I walked up behind him, then before he could react g
rabbed his chin with one hand, and his forehead with the other.

  Statton’s shoulders clenched, and he took in a sharp breath. Before he could speak I leaned forward and hissed in his ear.

  “Statton, you better tell me who you were talking to or I’ll break your fucking neck, you treacherous son of a bitch.”

  His shoulders slumped but when he spoke his voice had some of the old calm authority I was used to hearing from him.

  “I can’t do that, Alec.”

  I squeezed his head between my hands.

  “Who were you talking to?”

  He gasped. “I can’t…”

  I dragged Statton up from the chair then spun him around to face me, and grabbed him by the throat.

  “Who!”

  “I can’t tell you,” he said flatly. “I’m sorry, Alec, I really am. You’re like a son to me. I never wanted this to happen.”

  I couldn’t listen to the bastard for a second longer.

  “Shut up!” I screamed, tightening my grip on his throat. “If the next word out of your mouth isn’t the answer to my question – so help me God, I’ll break your neck.”

  There was a long pause. Then he sighed.

  “It doesn’t matter now anyway. I was talking to Will Cooper, head of the FBI detachment in Rome. Alec, they’ll be here in a few minutes.”

  I felt light-headed.

  Statton had betrayed me to Cooper? Jesus – what the hell had happened to him? I had to know. I dug my fingers into the soft flesh of his throat.

  “Why?”

  I’d trusted him. In this crazy world he was pretty much the only person I had trusted.

  Statton’s eyes were red. “I’m sorry, Alec. It’s Jenna.”

  I was fazed for a moment, then I remembered Statton had a daughter, married and with kids of her own. He doted on her.

  He was crying now. “They said they’d kill her. What else could I do?”

  Suddenly the room was lit bright white and a bullhorn rang out.

  “Alec Reader, come out with your hands up.”