The Silenced

“Of course not,” Nate said, his tone a little pissed off. “We wouldn’t be here if they did.”

Quinn grimaced. That was basic training stuff. A dumb question to ask, but his objectivity was a little blurred at the moment. “How’s Liz?”

There was a pause, then when Nate spoke again his voice was lower. “She’s a little freaked out. But that’s understandable. I’m actually surprised she’s still functioning at all.… She has been asking a lot of questions.”

“What kind of questions?”

“About you. About what you do … what I do.”

“What have you told her?”

“I said that she needs to ask you.”

That was something else he was going to have to deal with, Quinn realized. Liz was going to want to know what was going on. His mother, too, for that matter. “You did the right thing,” he said as he started for the door.

“What if she keeps pushing?”

“Tell her what you already told her.”

“I’m not sure if that’s going to be enough.”

Quinn stepped outside. Orlando was no longer in sight. He started down the sidewalk in the direction he had seen her go. “Is she giving you trouble?”

“Not yet,” Nate said. “But I can see it coming. Don’t forget, she is your sister. She’s not stupid.”

No, she wasn’t stupid. “Then use your best judgment. Tell her what you need to tell her, but nothing more.”

“I’m not going to lie to her. I need her to cooperate with me, and she won’t if she thinks I’m just handing her another line.”

“Okay. No lies,” he said.

“Thanks.”

Quinn stopped as he neared the end of the block. There was no way to know which direction Orlando and Annabel had gone. He was going to have to use the tracker on his phone. “I want you to get her out of Paris,” Quinn said.

“I thought you might. Where do you want us to go?”

Good question. What Quinn really wanted was for her to be close, but London might be just as dangerous for her as Paris. Still …

“Bring her to England. Don’t take the Chunnel. Get a car and drive to Belgium. You can get a ferry in Ostend. We’ll get some rush docs for her. I think Orlando knows someone there who can probably do them for you tonight. I’ll have her let you know where and when to pick them up. Then I want you out of Paris by morning.”

“I’ll make sure we’re up early and moving.”

“And Nate …”

“I know. Take care of Liz.”

Quinn hesitated. “Yes. But also yourself.”

* * *

After almost losing them in the Underground, Quinn caught up to Orlando not far from Russell Square Station.

“She went in there,” Orlando said, nodding down the street at a tan, three-story brick structure that had been designed to look like a series of row houses.

“Apartments?” Quinn asked.

“Yes. The index next to the front door lists twenty-four residents.”

“Must go back a little ways. Doesn’t look like that many from here.”

“Unfortunately, yes. I was hoping I’d see a light go on in one of the rooms when she went in.” She shook her head. “Nothing.”

“What about her name? Isn’t she listed?”

“There’s no Taplin.”

“Do you think she might have spotted you, and used this place to throw you off?”

“I wondered about that,” Orlando said. “But I don’t think so. She was exhausted, even fell asleep for a few minutes on the train. I don’t think she noticed much of anything.”

“Could have been faking it,” Quinn suggested.

“She wasn’t.”

Quinn looked back down the street. “Well, we can’t go door-to-door.”

“Yeah. Bad idea.”

“And if she was that tired, she’s probably in for the evening.”

“I’d agree with that, too.”

Quinn turned to her, his eyes narrowed. “Then, what do you think we should do?”

She took another look at the building, then said, “Nothing’s going to happen tonight. Let’s come back early tomorrow and pick her up when she leaves for work.”

Quinn frowned.

“You could use some sleep yourself,” she said.

“I’m fine.”

“No. You’re not.”

He stared at the building a moment longer, knowing she was right but wishing there was more he could do. He rubbed a hand across his eyes. The weight of it all seemed to be increasing every second.

“You’re not alone,” Orlando said softly as she put an arm around him. “This is our family in trouble, not just yours. And if we want to help them, we need to be sharp.”

He opened his eyes and looked at her, saying nothing.

“Okay?” she asked.

He said nothing for a moment, then he nodded once. “Okay.”

Chapter 34

“I know,” Nate said. “Take care of Liz.”

Quinn hesitated. “Yes. But also yourself.”

Then the line went dead.

Nate stared at his cell. His boss didn’t sound quite like the Quinn he knew. But, of course, Quinn had never been in a situation like this before. Nate had no idea how he would handle it if it was happening to him.

“What’s wrong?”

Liz was standing in the doorway to the tiny bathroom. She wore a baggy T-shirt they’d purchased that afternoon and was drying her hair with one of the thin hotel towels.

Nate slipped his cell into this pocket. “Everything’s fine.”

“Were you on the phone?”

He hesitated. No lies. “Yes. I was talking to Quinn.”

“I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to that name.”

“I could try to call him Jake if that helps.”

“That would be just as odd for you. Call him Quinn.” She let out a humorless laugh, then said “Quinn” again as if she was trying it out.

She shook her head, and rubbed the towel across her hair one last time before tossing it on the floor in the corner.

The room was barely big enough for the full-size bed that dominated it. There was no dresser, no desk, no table, no chairs. Just the bed. But the clerk downstairs had taken cash and had asked no questions, so the room