Contents ( 84)
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- EIGHTY
- EIGHTY-ONE
- EIGHTY-TWO
- EIGHTY-THREE
- Acknowledgements
‘Keep me updated on that,’ he finally said, a small catch in his voice.
Cunningham noted it. Knowles was trying to hide it but the loss of Eden Grace had hit him. Before the assignment Cunningham hadn’t been aware that the president knew the young Secret Service agent by name, let alone that he regarded her as ‘one of his’. And so it had been a surprise when he’d insisted she join Meyer’s team. Cunningham had been too focused to read too much into it. But now? With Knowles taking her death personally?
He made a mental note to find out what the link was between the two of them. But first he had to resolve this latest disaster.
‘Forget Eden Grace,’ he said. ‘She’ll turn up, one way or another. The priority is finding Dempsey. We need to put an end to this.’
Meyer and Knowles both turned to face him.
‘How?’ Meyer asked. ‘If Dempsey’s gone to ground – a man that good – how are we supposed to find him again?’
‘We bring in his boss. She must know his habits. Some idea of where he’s gone.’
‘Elizabeth Kirk?’ Knowles looked doubtful. ‘Won’t she want to know why we’re interested in her agent?’
‘I imagine she already does,’ Cunningham replied. ‘How do you think Dempsey came across Quilty in the first place?’
‘But Elizabeth never believed any of that,’ Knowles argued.
‘Well, clearly that’s changed,’ Cunningham snapped. ‘It can’t be a coincidence. And even if she didn’t put him up to all this, there’s every chance he’s reported back to her with whatever he’s found out. I told you three years ago to keep her close, back when she wouldn’t believe a bad word said about you. You threw away her loyalty.’
‘I know what I did.’ Knowles spoke slowly, irritation in his voice. ‘And I’ll own my own mistake. But what’s done is done, Kelvin. And now she’s a director of a UN agency. We can’t make her disappear as easily as the others.’
‘I don’t see that we have much choice any more. We can’t let this get any worse than it already is. Dempsey is going to need help. We have to make sure he doesn’t receive it.’
Cunningham had no intention of explaining himself any further. He turned from Knowles to Meyer.
‘Get yourself to New York, Jack. To the Manhattan office. Once you’re there, get Elizabeth Kirk in and find out what she knows. It’s time for that bitch to talk.’
FIFTY-FOUR
The Wyldecrest Inn looked like every airport motel in every movie Dempsey had ever seen. The two-storey complex stretched for perhaps one hundred yards from one end to the other, with fifteen basic rooms per floor. Each room faced outwards, with a door and a window that overlooked the motel parking lot, and beyond that the Borough of Queens.
Dempsey had waited in Ali’s car while Grace had booked the room. A single night, paid in cash from the leather envelope Dempsey had taken from home.