up. I didn’t know what else to do, so I went back to Houston, to my home there. Steven showed up the next morning. I told him everything and then played the tape. It was his idea to get out of the country. We were on a flight for Europe within hours.”
“Then why was Markoff in Singapore?”
“He wanted to get more proof. Something to go along with the tape. He thought he could find it here.” She looked at Quinn. “Maybe he did find it, only like you told me, his signal didn’t last long enough for you to locate it.”
Quinn nodded. Markoff had done exactly the same thing Quinn would have done: get Jenny as far away as possible, then try to find another way to prove what was going on so that Jenny’s life would no longer be in jeopardy. He did it all because he loved her. Even in his last moments of life, when he knew they would never be together again, he had pointed toward a clue that could possibly set her free.
It was time for Quinn to go.
“If you see anything or hear anything you think I might need to know about, just start talking,” Quinn said. “Otherwise, unless we ask you a direct question, it would be best for you to just listen.”
“Okay,” she said.
Quinn got out of the car.
Quinn purchased a pork bao and a soft drink from one of the vendors nearest the edge of the hawker center, then found a seat in front of the Zhen Zhen Porridge booth.
Unless you were with a large group, there was no such thing as getting your own table. At Quinn’s table there was an older couple, each with a bowl of porridge. They smiled at Quinn as he sat down, then returned to their meal.
“Check,” Quinn said, voice low.
“Check,” Orlando said. “I’m on the northwest side. Nothing here.”
“Nate?” Quinn asked.
“Check,” Nate said. “Center aisle. But nothing out of the ordinary here, either.”
The old couple gave Quinn an odd look, so he took a bite of the bao and smiled.
“Quinn. Quinn!” It was Jenny.
He stood up and began walking toward the street. “What’s wrong?”
“A woman just walked by,” Jenny said. “I’ve seen her before. She was with the congressman’s wife once back in D.C. She’s not alone. She’s with some of the men I’ve seen protecting Congressman Guerrero. My God, do you think she’s the killer?”
“Where is she?” Quinn asked. He was moving quickly through the crowd toward the street.
“She got out of a car about half a block away from me. She’s walking across the street now.”
Quinn dodged past a group of teenagers and craned his head, looking in the direction Jenny had indicated. There was a group of five coming across the street. All but one of them were male. One of the four men was a guy Quinn had seen in Houston and again in D.C. He was sure of it.
He checked his watch: 12:30. They’d arrived early so they could be in position by the time the congressman got there.
As Quinn looked back at the group, the men began moving off in different directions. For the first time, Quinn was able to get a look at the woman.
Even though he’d already prepared himself for it, he still stopped in his tracks. He could feel anger beginning to swell inside him again, only instead of clouding his judgment, it focused him.
“Tasha,” he said.
“God, I was hoping you were wrong,” Nate said.
“Me, too,” Quinn said, teeth clenched.
He stared at Tasha for a moment longer, then tore himself away.
“Orlando, two of them are heading in your direction. They’re not going to be hard to miss. White guys in suits. Tall, short hair. Nate, move to the south. See if you can keep tabs on the other two.”
“Check,” Nate said.
“Be careful,” Orlando said. “She’s a lot more dangerous than you thought she was.”
Quinn grunted a response. No matter how dangerous she was now, he was pissed and she was going to pay.
He moved to his right, keeping a layer of people between himself and the road as he got closer to Tasha’s position. She had none of the helpless look he’d seen in her before. She was all business, her face hard and determined.
As she scanned the food center, Quinn knelt down as if he’d dropped something. From the lower angle, he could see her continuing her examination. Her gaze passed right by his position, not even noticing him.
“We’ve got another problem,” Orlando said over the radio.
“We don’t need another problem.”
“Well, tell that to the congressman. His car just pulled up.”
