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Chapters (117)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. The Cast of Characters
  6. CHAPTER ONE
  7. The Recruits
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. The Missions
  24. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  25. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  26. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  36. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  46. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  56. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  61. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  62. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
  63. CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
  64. CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
  65. CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
  66. The Game
  67. CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
  68. CHAPTER SIXTY
  69. CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
  70. CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
  71. CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
  72. CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
  73. CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
  74. CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
  75. CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
  76. CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
  77. CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
  78. CHAPTER SEVENTY
  79. CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
  80. CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
  81. CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
  82. CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
  83. CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE
  84. CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX
  85. CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN
  86. CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT
  87. CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE
  88. CHAPTER EIGHTY
  89. CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE
  90. CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO
  91. CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE
  92. CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR
  93. HOME
  94. CHAPTER EIGHTY-FIVE
  95. CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX
  96. CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN
  97. CHAPTER EIGHTY-EIGHT
  98. CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE
  99. CHAPTER NINETY
  100. CHAPTER NINETY-ONE
  101. CHAPTER NINETY-TWO
  102. CHAPTER NINETY-THREE
  103. CHAPTER NINETY-FOUR
  104. CHAPTER NINETY-FIVE
  105. CHAPTER NINETY-SIX
  106. CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN
  107. CHAPTER NINETY-EIGHT
  108. CHAPTER NINETY-NINE
  109. CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED
  110. CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED ONE
  111. Acknowledgments
  112. Discover More
  113. About the Author
  114. Reading Group Guide
  115. Discussion Questions
  116. A Conversation with Leila Meacham
  117. ALSO BY LEILA MEACHAM

The street offered no protected site for street surveillance, but up ahead was a bell tower that looked older than his great-grandfather’s hay barn and as much in need of repair. The minute Stephane disappeared into the bookshop, Dirk hurried to it and found a joke of a rusted lock on the door. He picked it easily and creaked the door open on a small entryway. A flight of narrow stairs led to the belfry, which looked too rickety to hold his weight. Several loopholes were strategically placed around the chamber that allowed in air and afforded an outside view. Birds had built nests in them. Dirk cleared the one that gave him an unobstructed view of the street and shop across the way. If he could endure the cold and rat droppings under his feet and the squeaks and scurry of little feet in the belfry overhead, the opening offered an ideal lookout point.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Nothing seemed to have changed in the last weeks. The dim light and smell of old books, stale tea leaves, and acrid cigarette smoke were the same but for the deeper damp and cold, and a sputter of heat emanating from a floor heater. The same proprietor swiped a towel over the counter in the book room, the same patron sat reading and smoking at the corner table by the window of the tea shop. No one else was present. Bucky took a seat at the same table in the same chair he’d occupied before, his apprehension growing. He was early, but he’d expected at least Labrador to be here ahead of him—that is, if she were still alive and this meeting was not a trap. As a precaution for a quick exit and an inducement for the Frenchman to leave, Bucky got up and approached his table. The stub ends of half a dozen Gauloises filled the ashtray of his chair arm.

“Pardon, monsieur,” Bucky said. “Do you mind if I open the door?”

The Frenchman took a deep drag of his cigarette and did not look up from his reading. “Non,” he said.

As Bucky opened the door to the outside court, a clatter of voices filtered into the room, dear and familiar, and he turned to see Labrador entering, the others behind her, all accounted for. They fanned around him, and after the joyful embraces and handshakes, Bucky asked Bridgette in French, keeping his voice low for the sake of the customer in the corner, “What is this all about?”

“I don’t have a clue,” Bridgette answered. “All I know is that the major told me to summon you.”