“You didn’t leave me much choice.”
“I know he’s your sister’s boy.”
Neither of them moved.
“When Natalya was killed,” Natasha said, “I tried to go. I took Alexei and got us onto a ship to Manila.” She stared at the ground by his feet. “For a few moments I felt . . . I believed in the impossible: that by acting swiftly I had got him out of this terrible place.” A look of inconsolable misery crossed her face. “But I turned around,” she said, “and he was gone.” She put her hand to her cheek, then let it fall. “A man came up to me to say that Alexei had been taken to an orphanage. Once a week, I go to Lu’s house and one of his men takes me in a car somewhere—not always the same place—and I am allowed to go to a room where I can look through a window and see Alexei playing. I cannot speak to him or contact him, but I can watch him for just a few moments, and then they take me away. If I ever fail to do what they say, then I know what will happen.”
Field waited for her to continue, but she stood before him, almost in a trance. He became aware that the silence was being broken by the sound of cars behind them on Avenue Joffre, as the day gathered pace. He took a step toward her. “I cannot force you to trust me, but I believe I can get us out of here. You, the boy, all of us.”
Natasha did not lift her eyes. She shook her head.
“And if we do nothing, then we will all be dead. All of us. Macleod has given me until noon.”
“Why you?”
“They killed my partner. Last night. And they tried to kill me.” Field cleared his throat. “Even if you do not believe me, what kind of life do you think awaits Alexei in the orphanage and afterwards?”
She did not answer.
“Do you know what Lu likes to do with young boys from the orphanages?”
Suddenly, she lunged for him, her head thumping against his chest, long, bony fingers digging into his shoulder blades, the smell of her skin flooding his senses, her hair in his mouth and eyes.
He held her to him, then tried to release her, but she would not yield.
He took hold of her shoulders and prized her away. He looked into her eyes, which spoke of her confusion and her relief and her uncertainty. “You must do exactly as I say.”
“I’m not a child.”
“We have only one chance. Where is Alexei?”
She shook her head.
“You must have some idea.”
Natasha stared at him, and seeing only fear in her eyes, he tried to conceal what lurked behind his own.
Fifty-one
Field drove them straight to the orphanage. It was light now, the streets bustling with life as the city geared up for a new day.
He killed the engine, and for a few moments Natasha stared at the white building in silence. She did not move until Field went around to open her door.
Inside, the sound of the children having breakfast drifted down from the far end of the cavernous hallway. Natasha was moving slowly and he took hold of her arm.
There was no one behind the glass window, but a doorman appeared from a room to the side. He looked at Field and Natasha and then disappeared without a word. He returned a few minutes later with Sister Margaret.
She was not pleased to see him. Today there was no sunshine in the hallway and her hair seemed darker. “How can I help you, Mr. Field?”
“This is Natasha Medvedev. She is Alexei’s aunt.”
Sister Margaret’s face hardened. “Alexei has been very lucky. Mr. Lu’s men came around only half an hour ago to say that they had found a home for him.”
Field stared at Sister Margaret and saw that he had misjudged her a moment ago. The hardness in her face was an attempt to stop herself from cracking. “Who came?” he asked more gently.
“They were Mr. Lu’s men.”
“There is no home for any of these boys, Sister.”
She lowered her eyes, deep creases across her forehead.
“They are abused and then disposed of.”
“Mr. Field, if you have come here to make accusations—”
“If we don’t get to him immediately, that is what will happen to Alexei.”
“Mr. Field, I’m afraid you will have to go.”
“Is it worth it, Sister?”
Sister Margaret stared at the floor in silence.
“Please, Sister,” Natasha said quietly. Field watched the muscles twitching in the nun’s cheeks.
