where Kennedy was waiting.
“How’s it going?” Kennedy asked the question even though she knew they hadn’t learned a thing.
“Horseshit.”
Kennedy digested his coarse answer with a nod, then looked at the surveillance monitors. “So we’ve learned nothing of value.”
“That about sums it up,” Schneeman said.
“Erase everything.”
“Excuse me?”
“Erase everything you have of Gould. I don’t want a shred of proof 18 0 Vince FLy nn that he was here.” When she noticed that they were hesitating, she said, “It’s of no value. Erase all the recordings and then turn off all the equipment.” “What’s your plan?” Nash asked.
“I’m going to go in there and he’s going to tell me what I want to know.”
“Really,” Nash flashed a crooked grin. “You’re just going to ask him.”
“That’s right,” she said without undue confidence. “Now, if you’d please open the door for me I’d like to talk to him.”
Kennedy followed Nash back to the interrogation room, where he punched in the four-digit code on the cipher lock. Nash held the door open for his boss and then tried to follow her in.
Kennedy held up a hand. “I’ve got this.” Leaving a stunned Nash in the hallway she closed the door and turned to face Louie Gould. Kennedy took a seat and studied the face of a man she had spent more time thinking of than even she realized. He had a nice face. Nothing too sharp, and his mouth had an almost perpetual soft smile. He was an interesting contrast to Rapp, whose face was composed of sharp lines. Rapp knew how to blend in and hide the fact that he was a killer, but he had to put some effort into it. Gould was a natural. His soft eyes had a sadness in them that she was sure he’d used to get past more than a few bodyguards.
“You know who I am?” Kennedy asked.
Gould shook his head.
“You sure?” Kennedy said as she offered him a faint smile.
“Sorry.”
“Mr. Gould, I know more about you than you could possibly imagine.”
“I need to speak to Mr. Rapp.”
“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen.”
“Why?”
“Because if I let him in here I’m pretty sure he’ll kill you.”
Gould let out a deep sigh and let his sad eyes drop to the tabletop. “I want to try to help him. I know I owe him.”
“Then why don’t you stop lying?”
“I am not lying.” Gould looked exasperated. “Why won’t anyone believe me?”
“You can’t be serious?” Kennedy asked more amused than upset. “I ask you a simple question… do you know who I am, and you can’t even answer that?”
“I did. I told you I didn’t know who you were.”
“And you are lying. You see, Mr. Gould, I know everything there is to know about you. Where you grew up, the units you served in when you were with the French Foreign Legion, and a good number of the people you have killed over the last fifteen-odd years.”
Gould shrugged. “I’m not impressed.”
Kennedy flashed one of those confident smiles that only a person who is holding all the cards can carry off. “I’m not trying to impress you, Mr. Gould. I’m simply trying to speed along this process and get you to drop your charade.”
Showing a hint of anger, Gould leaned forward and said, “If it wasn’t for me, Rapp and the rest of your men would be dead. Is there anyone around here who knows how to show some gratitude?”
“And if you don’t know who I am, how is it that you know they are my men?”
Gould shook off her question. “It was a lucky guess.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Kennedy said with absolute confidence. “We both know that you know who I am. What I’m trying to figure out is why you think denying that you know me will somehow help your cause.”
“This is a waste of time. Get Rapp in here. Until you do that, I’m not saying a word. I have done nothing wrong. I’ve helped you guys,” Gould said while poking himself in the chest.
“Maybe we could get your wife on the phone and you could try to explain to her what you were doing in Kabul?”
“Nice try.” 182 Vince FLy nn
“Claudia and I spoke yesterday.”
“You’re full of shit. You think because you have a name you can scare me into thinking you’ve got something on me.”
Kennedy paused. She wasn’t sure if she admired the way he was sticking to his story or thought him a fool. She would discover her answer in the next few minutes.
Chapter 27
Rapp awoke from another slumber to find a new woman sitting at his bedside. There was a similar feeling of recognition, as if they had a common past, a collection of faint memories that he couldn’t access but nonetheless were there, just beyond his grasp. There was also something different. With Kennedy the sentiment had been one of safety and familiarity, almost as if they were relatives. With this woman there was an emotion that told him their history was very different from that of being siblings.
Rapp tried to come up with her name. She was in her early to mid thirties, with raven-black hair pulled back in a low, loose ponytail. She had beautiful dark almond-shaped eyes set atop high cheekbones and a strong jawline. She was all the more stunning because she wasn’t wearing any makeup. If Rapp was in love with her or lusted for her it was easy to see why.
His memory had been coming back in chunks, and even though he could not place this woman, he was confident that she meant something more to him than just a casual friend. He feigned familiarity, smiled and asked, “How are you?” 18 4 Vince FLy nn
Sydney Hayek returned the smile and said, “I’m fine. You’re the one we’re all worried about.”
Rapp played it off like it was no big deal. “I’m a little sore, that’s all.”
“I heard you have some memory issues.”
Rapp didn’t notice an accent. Her diction was flat, like all the TV anchors. She was probably from the Midwest but she looked as if she’d been born in Amman or Beirut. Michigan popped into his head, giving him the first clue to her identity. “That’s what they tell me.”
“Well?” she asked in a nonprodding manner.
“Well, what?”
“How’s your memory?”
Rapp held up his hand and let it wobble back and forth. “It’s a little iffy.”
Hayek gave him a suspicious look. “What’s my name?”
Rapp smiled. “I know you’re from Michigan.”
“That’s correct.”
For reasons that he didn’t know at the time and couldn’t explain later, he reached out and grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry. I feel like you’re important to me. That we’ve shared something that could be important.”
It wasn’t easy to see Hayek blush with her smooth olive skin, but she was. Her lips formed a smile that was one part shock and the other part sheer flattery. “We work with each other.”
“And I get the feeling there’s a little something more to our relationship than just work.”
Hayek cleared her throat and laughed. She had sensed the tension between them but her history of work relationships was so bad that she had ignored it to the best of her ability. That didn’t mean, however, that she
