“No,” I said. “You go. I’m staying here. I’ll figure it out, myself.”
“If you must,” Varley said. “But be honest. This is about guilt for losing Tanya. Talking isn’t going to help you find her.”
“I won’t find her in D.C.,” I said.
“You won’t find her here, either,” Varley said. “Face it, David. It’s been too long.”
“I told her I was coming for her,” I said. “And that’s a promise I’m not about to break.”
“You’re one guy, on your own.” Varley said. “What will you do? Sit around and wait for them to call? Forget it, David. Come with us. Help us do some good.”
Waiting for them to call wasn’t part of my plan. And if it had been, I wouldn’t have got very far. I’d switched my phone to silent before setting off for the clinic. Old habits die hard. Varley’s comment reminded me. I pulled it out of my pocket. I was going to switch it back to normal when I saw an envelope symbol was bouncing around the screen. A new text had arrived. having fun playing with my boys? hope so. i’m having fun playing with your girl
I showed Lavine.
“Doesn’t sound good,” he said. “Who’s it from? Do you recognize the number?”
“No,” I said. “I’ve never seen it before.”
“Call it back,” Weston said. “See if anyone answers.”
I dialed, then hit the key to activate the phone’s tiny built-in speaker.
A recorded voice answered after one ring. It was Lesley’s.
“Please choose from the following three options,” it said. “If you’re David Trevellyan calling in a panic about your soon-to-be-late friend Tanya, press one. If you’re the FBI wanting to know the difference between your head and your ass, press two. Everyone else, please call back later. I’m having too much fun to come to the phone right now.”
I looked around the table and saw three shocked faces. Dr. Maher just looked confused.
“I don’t understand,” Lavine said. “I thought the Tungsten people had Tanya. If Lesley has her, why did she send David to the clinic to find Tungsten’s message?”
“The woman is obviously working with Tungsten,” Maher said. “Surely this clarifies things?”
“No, it doesn’t,” Weston said. “It does the opposite. Lesley and Tungsten are totally separate. Completely unrelated. We proved that.”
“The evidence suggests otherwise,” Maher said.
“Wait, back up,” Lavine said. “How can Lesley have her? She’s in jail. After her run-in with David on Tuesday night.”
“Enough,” Varley said, slamming his palm on the table. “Come on. We’ve got bombs to find. I don’t get this, either, but we’ll make some calls from the car. Now move it, all of you.”
Twelve chair legs scraped across the floor as Weston, Lavine, and Maher got to their feet. I stayed where I was, looking at the phone, trying to force all the pieces back into place in my head. I was still holding it three seconds later when another text arrived. It was from the same number. sorry i missed u. 2 busy 2 talk. u can have tanya back when i’m done with her. meantime have attached picture. promised before but 4got. am i bad?
I pressed the button and a blurry image slowly filled the screen. Dark thoughts started to form in my mind. I looked at the photograph for another moment, then handed the phone to Weston.
“Ignore her face,” I said. “Look at her right wrist.”
“A leather strap,” he said. “And a metal frame. Like that wheelie-cage thing. At Lesley’s house.”
“Or could it be that cellar place?” Lavine said. “That had white walls, too.”
“No,” Weston said. “I can see a window.”
“Give me some car keys,” I said.
“You’re going there?” Lavine said.
I didn’t answer.
“You can’t go on your own,” Weston said. “It’s the same deal as here. She’s a hostage. We need to send a team.”
“Forget it,” Varley said. “There’s no time. And we know who we’re dealing with, remember. If Lesley has her, we don’t need hostage rescue. We need a mop and a bucket.”
“I’ll still be needing those keys,” I said.
“Where is it?” Lavine said, sliding his Bart Simpson ring across the table. “Westchester, somewhere? I’ll call the local PD. Have them meet you there.”
“I’d rather you didn’t,” I said.
THIRTY-FOUR
No one ever lost anything during our navy training.
That wasn’t because we were particularly careful with our stuff. Or due to any fines or punishments we might have suffered. It was because of the quartermaster. He was the most practical person in the barracks by a country mile. Whenever part of anyone’s kit was missing he didn’t waste time getting angry. He wasn’t interested in where it had last been seen or if you’d sold it or who might have stolen it.
To him, there was only one reason you couldn’t find something.
You were looking in the wrong place.
The first time I was taken to Lesley’s house it took fifty minutes, in the trunk of her car. Driving myself that night in Lavine’s, it took thirty.
The Westchester County police were already there, waiting, when I arrived. I could see red and blue lights beckoning to me through the foliage as I took the final corner. They were coming from a squad car. It was parked sideways, blocking the entrance to her yard. I slid to a halt next to it and saw three more cars lined up nearer the house. I looked for the officers. I counted eight. They all had shotguns and flak jackets, but their body language seemed pretty relaxed. Almost bored. One was on his own, down by the garage entrance, leaning on the doorframe. Another was squatting on the ground outside the open front door. Five of them were hanging around in the space between the fence and their vehicles. And the final guy was ambling across the gravel, toward me. I jumped out of the car and moved around to intercept him.
“I’m Officer Rossi,” he said. “I’m in charge here. You the English Navy guy? Commander Trevor-Lyon?”
“Trevellyan,” I said, showing him my ID.
“Well, sir, looks like you’ve wasted your time. Nobody here but us.”
The knot in my stomach wound itself another notch tighter.
“You’ve checked inside?” I said.
“Every room, top to bottom,” he said. “Looks like no one’s been here since CSU cleared the place.”
“When was that?”
“Tuesday. Late p.m.”
“And after that? Have you kept the house secure?”
“No, sir. No one asked us to. We drove back out, just now, when the Bureau called.”
I set off toward the path.
“Are you going to take a look, anyway?” Rossi said.
“That’s why I came,” I said.
“Do you want me to show you around?”
“No, thanks. I know where I’m going.”
“OK. If you’re sure. One thing, though. I’ve got to ask you to take care if you go in the home office. First floor. End of the corridor. We’ve still got a situation going on in there.”
The officer at the front door looked over to Rossi, then shuffled aside to let me pass. I made my way straight through the hall, down the stairs, and into the basement. I figured that if Tanya had been brought to the house, they probably would have kept her in one of the dog cages, at least for a short while. She was intelligent, resourceful, and well trained. The way she’d chosen her words on the phone showed she was thinking on her feet. If there was a way to leave a note or sign, she would have found it. I was confident of that. But there was nothing down there for me. The basement had been completely stripped. Even the cages were gone.
