“Yes, it is.”
“Then the man didn’t choose me at random. He knew who I was.”
“Apparently.”
Ellie made a sound in her throat and Clay settled an arm around her shoulders.
“We’d better go show Jake.” Grabbing her hand, Clay led her downstairs, out to the parking lot. Jake stood next to the Mercedes, watching someone near the building down the street. He glanced away as they approached.
Clay handed him the torn scrap of paper.
“Where did you get this?” Jake’s expression went dark.
“The man who attacked Ellie left his jacket in her room. We found this in the pocket.”
A slow breath whispered out, but Jake didn’t speak.
“It looks to me like there’s a link between what happened on the plane and what happened to Ellie,” Clay said.
Jake just nodded.
“I think we’d better notify the authorities.”
Something shifted in Jake’s expression. “I already have.”
“You have?”
“After you left my room, I called the authorities in New York. They said they’d bring in some undercover security people. You probably won’t be able to spot them, but they’ll be around.”
“That’s a relief,” Clay said.
“They want this whole thing kept quiet. I’d appreciate it if you’d keep it between the three of us.”
“Four, but I’ll tell Flex not to say anything.”
Jake just nodded. “Thanks.”
The first shrill ring of the telephone sliced through the silence in the room. Sitting only inches away in his big, overstuffed chair, Nikolai Popov lifted the receiver and held it against his ear. The slick black plastic felt cold and unfriendly. The voice on the other end of the line pronounced his name in a way Popov didn’t like.
“I have been waiting for your call,” Nikolai said to the man on the other end of the line. “I do not like to be kept waiting.”
“I wanted to be certain things went as planned.”
“And did they?”
“More or less.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning one of the riders interrupted me before I finished. We fought. He is a strong one.”
“Go on.”
“It didn’t really matter. I accomplished what you wanted.”
“And the jacket?”
“Left in the closet, as you asked. She has probably found it by now. If she has not, she will discover it when she packs.”
