"I don't see why not," Jonquil says huffily: "It's not as if he's going to escape, is it?"

That's right, remind me I'm doomed, see if I care. Hey, isn't Brookwood where the Necropolitan line used to terminate? Oh, that figures. The cultists have built their fucking headquarters right on top of the power source for that ley line they trapped me with. And, let's face it, it's a nice neighborhood. There isn't much of a crime problem here, community policing keeps a low profile, it's dead quiet—

They wheel me out into what I'm pretty sure is a sublevel. A lift, in a mausoleum? Doesn't make sense. So this is probably a mortuary building, abandoned and re-purposed. I try to give no sign of the cold shudders that tingle up and down my spine as they roll me along a short passage, then stop.

"Greetings, Master," says Jonquil, an apprehensive quaver in her voice for the first time: "We have brought the desired one?"

I can feel a fourth presence, chilly and abstracted. I have a curious sense that I am being inspected—

"Good. The All-Highest will see you now." The voice is as cold as an unmarked grave.

I hear a door open, and they wheel me forward in silence. Abruptly, someone leans close to me and pulls the canvas bag up and away from my head. It's dark down here, the deep twilight of a cellar illuminated only by LED torches, but it's not so dark that I can't see the All-Highest.

And that's when I realize I'm in much worse trouble than I ever imagined.

MO LISTENS TO HER PHONE IN DISBELIEF. "THEY WHAT?" SHE demands.

"They left the paper clip attached to a book in Putney Library," says Angleton, with icy dignity. "A copy of Beasts, Men and Gods by Ferdinand Ossendowski."

"Then you've lost him."

"Unless you have any better ideas."

"Let me get back to you on that." She snaps her phone closed and glances across the table. An idea is taking hold.

"Who was that?" asks Panin. "If you do not mind ..."

"It was Angleton. The memorandum is still missing. The enemy identified his tracer and neutralized it."

"You have my sympathies."

"Hmm. Do you have a car? Because if so, I'd appreciate a lift home. If you don't mind."

Ten minutes later, the black BMW with diplomatic plates is slowly winding its way between traffic-calming measures. Mo leans back, holding her violin case, and closes her eyes. It's a big car, but it feels small, with the driver and a bodyguard up front, and Panin sitting beside her in the back.

"Do you have anything in mind?" Panin asks quietly.

"Yes." She doesn't open her eyes. "Angleton drew a blank, trying to trace the missing document. But that's not the only asset the cultists have got their hands on."

"Your husband." Panin's nostrils flare. "Do you have a tracer on him, by any chance?"