“We’ll find him,” Lynch said softly. “We got closer today.”
“Not close enough.” She turned to face him. “All roads lead to Night Watch. It’s the one thing these three medical researchers had in common.”
Jessie nodded. “Agreed. I haven’t been able to find out much about the Night Watch Project. There was a fair amount written about it when you got your sight, both in scientific literature and the mainstream media. But here’s been almost nothing in the last few years.”
“We found that out,” Lynch said. “We have someone in England working on it.”
“Someone good?”
“The best.” Lynch checked his phone. “I’ll text him about what you’ve told us concerning Hayden Biers. If you can give me his cell-phone number and any other info Waldridge provided you about him, it may help.”
“It’s not much, but I’ll give you what I have.”
“Thank you. My contact information is now in your phone’s address book. Adam Lynch.”
“What do you mean?” she asked warily.
“Check your phone.”
Jessie fished her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through her contacts. “Cute. Now that’s a violation. This is what you’ve been doing with your phone since we’ve been here… Hacking into mine?”
“Hacking is a word with such unpleasant connotations. I was merely exchanging contact info. I have yours, and you have mine.”
“Uh-huh. My life is on this thing. What else did you grab?”
“Nothing else. I promise.”
She held down her phone’s power button. “I’m turning my phone off now. Our partnership is getting off to a rocky start.”
“A partnership?” Kendra repeated. “Is that what this is?”
Jessie shrugged. “Makes sense. We’re both working toward the same end. Waldridge is still my client. He paid me up front.”
“What happens when his retainer runs out?”
Jessie headed for the door. “We’ll see when that time comes. Until then, I’m on this case whether we work together or not.” She stopped and turned at the door. “It’s been… interesting.” She gazed at Kendra. “I think I can trust you, but you make me damn uneasy.” Her eyes shifted to Lynch. “And you’re definitely an unknown factor, but if we’re going to work together, I think I should be honest with you. I wasn’t telling the truth about being able to put you down this time. You were good. Very good. But now I’ve fought you, and I’ve learned you. Next time I’ll be able to take you down.”
She turned and left the studio.
After a long moment of silence, Kendra turned to Lynch. “What do you think?”
“Other than that she’s smart as a whip and fires on all cylinders? And the fact that I think there’s so much beneath that surface that it would take years to uncover it all?” He shrugged. “I’ll run a background check, but I’m inclined, in this case, to believe her.”
“So am I.” She smiled. “And there’s nothing wrong with hidden depths. Sometimes it shows character.”
“And sometime it hides land mines.” He smiled back at her. “You’re prejudiced because she saved your neck. That’s okay, I’m prejudiced, too. That neck has great value to me. I’ll just keep an eye out to make sure she doesn’t circle around and attack from the rear.”
Warmth. That damn charisma. It had come out of nowhere, and she was having trouble looking away from him.
But his smile was fading, and he was shaking his head. “Uh-uh, we’re doing too well.” He reached for his phone and started to punch in a number.
Relief. Disappointment. Frustration. Curiosity. “What are you doing?” Kendra asked.
“I’m sure it has a name and purpose other than the one that I’m cursing at the moment. Ah, yes, that’s it. I got a text from Rye while Jessie was here. He might have some news for us.”
10
London, England
Docklands
RYE STOOD IN THE EMPTY LOT, staring at the acres of paved crumbling concrete. The air was damp from the predawn mist, and the sky was beginning to lighten in the east.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He tapped his Bluetooth earpiece to answer.
“Lynch?”
“Yes. Sorry I couldn’t pick up before, Rye. I was talking to someone. You’re up awful late… or is it early?”
“I couldn’t sleep. Something was bothering me. The more I looked into Waldridge’s work history, the less it added up.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s given the same work address on at least three official documents in the past couple of years. Hyperion Laboratories, Limited.”
“Hyperion?”
“Yes. The late Mr. Shaw also listed it as his place of employment at an academic conference last year. It’s somehow related to the Night Watch Project.”
“Okay… So why doesn’t it add up?”
“I’m at the address right now… and it’s a vacant lot.”
“What?”
Rye stepped over a clump of weeds that had burst through a crack in the concrete. “There was a building here once, but it’s probably been twenty years or more. No one’s worked here for decades.”
“What does it mean?”
“Don’t know yet. I looked it up on Google Earth, and I thought it must be some kind of mistake. So I came down to see for myself. Not much to see.”
“I hate to repeat myself, but I don’t understand what the hell that means.”
“Me neither. I just thought it was curious, and you might want to be informed. I’ll talk to some more people and try to get it sorted out.”
“Good. While you’re at it, I have another name for you to check out. Hayden Biers. Yet another colleague of Waldridge’s. He also came here to California, and it seems as if all three men may have come here to hide out.”
“Hide from what?”
“As soon as you find out, let me know.”
“Pressure, again.” He sighed. “I’ll do my best. I’m not going to find it in this vacant lot, that’s for sure.”
“What’s your next move?”
Rye checked his watch. “A fine breakfast and a cup of tea. After that, Shaw’s widow lives in Covent Garden. If she hasn’t been notified already, she should get the news of her husband’s death in the next couple of hours. I’ll go over and talk to her around the time she should be getting up.”
“Seriously? Sure you don’t want to wait on that?”
“Positive. She’ll be numb. In shock. Not quite sure which way is up. In my experience, people can be very forthcoming when they’ve been knocked off-balance.”
“And people call me, the Puppetmaster. Go easy on her, Rye.”
“Worry not, my friend. I can be quite a comforting presence when the occasion demands it. I’ll let you know what I find out.” Rye cut the connection.
Lynch could be something of an enigma, he thought. Considering his background, he hadn’t expected him to caution him about hurting that woman. He usually displayed no emotion and just got the job done. It just went to show that it was a vast world filled with multifaceted people. Which, except for his books, made it the only thing bearable.
Together with the unique puzzles that occasionally were brought for him to solve. He must not forget that spur, and Lynch was adept at furnishing him with that particular stimulation.
He would have to be very clever and innovative and give Lynch something for his trouble…
“MAY I HELP YOU?”
The sixtyish woman stood in the front doorway of a charming flat on Monmouth Street. She was attractive, well dressed, and didn’t seem to have a care in the world aside from the stranger on her front stoop.
Rye studied her face. Her eyes weren’t red, and the mascara wasn’t running. This wasn’t right.
“Madeleine Shaw?”