Jude bit down on his back teeth. He’d been highly motivated to get Gemma involved in this at the start. Now he wanted hernowherenear this. So much so, he hated hearing Cedric say her name. On top of that, he had to keep his wits about him and the mention of her had the potential to shatter his focus. “Gemma and I are having fun. For now, I think we both enjoy our long-distance relationship. It gives us each our own space.”
“Possibly for the best. Like me, she doesn't seem to take her relationships seriously.”
“Yeah, that's kind of the stage of life I'm in, too.” A lie. Jude was going to do everything in his power to ensure that Gemma took him very, very seriously.
Near the northern end of Central Park, Vincent pulled up to a hotel and left the Mercedes with a valet. Cedric thrust one arm through the strap of a leather backpack. No doubt this held the physical documents Jude was buying.
The three of them took the crosswalk to the park. Cedric led them down one pathway after another as if he knew exactly where he was headed. They entered the forty-acre North Woods. The deeper they went into nature, the fewer people they saw. Central Park had a fair number of police cameras. But Jude spotted none in this area.
Cedric turned off the wider trail onto a thin trail mostly hidden by vegetation. It ended inside a circular grouping of trees that sheltered a stone bench covered in pollen and leaves. From here Jude had a partial view of the ravine on one side, an obstructed view of the trail on the other side.
Cedric pulled a handkerchief from his suit jacket and used it to clear the bench of debris. “Shall we sit?”
Jude and Cedric sat. Vincent remained standing in the lookout position. Mostly concealed by foliage, he peered in the direction from which they'd come.
“I have my banking information ready,” Cedric said.
“May I first have a look at what I'm purchasing?”
“A brief look, yes.” From his backpack, Cedric extracted a dark green folder and handed it to Jude.
Jude took a few minutes to page through the contents. It contained the precise recipe for Rhapsodie, as well as the specialized steps involved in the process of making the herbalist's centuries-old perfume. Jude closed the folder and set it on the bench between them.
“I trust that's satisfactory?” Cedric asked.
“Yes.”
“Ready for my banking information?”
“One moment.” Jude brought out his phone and logged on to the app that would allow him to transfer funds. “Ready.”
A man and woman jogged by their alcove. Likely agents.
Cedric handed him a piece of paper that listed his bank account details. Jude plugged them into his app. Double-checked that he'd gotten everything right. Then hit the button to transfer the funds from Jude's client's bank to Cedric's. The cell signal was weak here. A spinning circle appeared.
Go through, Jude demanded silently.Go through.
After what felt like five minutes but had probably only been five seconds, a green checkmark appeared. The transaction had been completed. He showed his screen to Cedric.
Wordless, Cedric opened his account on his own device and refreshed it a couple of times. When he saw the money arrive there and that the balance of his account now equaled their agreed-upon price, he tucked away his phone and smiled. “Excellent.”
Jude slid the folder into his messenger bag and looped the strap across his body to secure the evidence.
“It was nice to do business with you,” Cedric said.
“Likewise.”
“Do you expect your buyer will create their own version of this perfume?”
“I do—”
Vincent made an angry, whistling sound through his teeth.
Cedric looked up alertly with a frown.
Vincent spoke French in a low undertone. Jude rapidly translated in his head.“The man who is about to pass by was driving the car that pulled onto the street behind us when we left Henry House.”Vincent pulled free a Glock with a suppressor attached.
Cedric and Jude rushed to their feet. They all watched a man in his fifties walk by at a leisurely pace, hands clasped behind his back. He disappeared from view.
