But there was no time to worry about that. He was nearly certain he was already too late.

Pulling up in front of the house in Chelsea where Meredith Channing lived, he sat for five minutes in the motorcar, searching for some sign of life. Proof that this hadn’t been a wild-goose chase.

And then he got out, feeling the cramps in his muscles, determined to know.

He had knocked at the door before he realized how early it was, how foolishly early.

But to his surprise, Meredith Channing opened the door herself. He only had time to notice that she was dressed for travel before she said, “Ian. What’s wrong?”

He could think of nothing to say. And then, “I’ve just returned from a case in the north,” he managed finally.

“I must finish my packing,” she said, looking up at him, her eyes filled with an emotion he was too tired to read. “My train leaves in an hour.”

“Don’t go,” was all he said then.

She shut the door without answering him.

As he walked back to the motorcar, he could feel her gaze on him from the window of her parlor.

He didn’t turn.

He had said what he’d come to say.

The decision must be hers.

a cognizant v5 release september 05 2010

ALSO BY CHARLES TODD

ALSO BY CHARLES TODD

THE IAN RUTLEDGE MYSTERIES

A Test of Wills

Wings of Fire

Search the Dark

Watchers of Time

Legacy of the Dead

A Fearsome Doubt

A Cold Treachery

A Long Shadow

A False Mirror

A Pale Horse

A Matter of Justice

THE BESS CRAWFORD MYSTERIES

A Duty to the Dead

OTHER FICTION

The Murder Stone

Copyright

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

THE RED DOOR. Copyright © 2010 by Charles Todd. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

FIRST EDITION

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
    Todd, Charles.
        The red door / Charles Todd. — 1st ed.
            p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-06-172616-3 (hardcover)
        1. Rutledge, Ian (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Police—England—Fiction. 3. World War, 1914–1918—England—Fiction. I. Title.
        PS3570.O37R43        2010
        813'.54—dc22

2009024160

ISBN 978-0-06-196979-9 (international edition)
EPub Edition © 2009 ISBN: 9780061963520
10  11  12  13  14    OV/RRD    10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1

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