‘Warn us? What do you mean?’
‘P-Pandora … it … was me …’
Pandora? Liam looked at Sal. Back at the man. ‘You left that note? In San Francisco? That was you?’
‘Y-yes … I … my name … J-Joseph …’ The man’s eyes started to glaze, to roll. He was going into shock.
‘What is Pandora?’ asked Sal.
His mouth gushed blood. His hand began to spasm, flexing and squeezing hers.
‘Pandora! What is it? Please!’
His gaze focused back on her. ‘… W-Waldstein … the … end … he knows …’ His voice was little more than a rustling whisper.
Sal leaned in closer till she could feel the tickle of his dying breath against her cheek. ‘You’ll be OK,’ she whispered to him pointlessly, squeezing his hand again, as if that was going to help. ‘You’re going to be fine.’
‘You! … S-Sal … Saleena …’
She looked at him, their faces inches apart, intimately close. ‘You know me?’ she whispered.
‘You … y-you are …’ His hand began to spasm again, gripping hers tightly, painfully. ‘… are … n-not … who you th-think … y-you … are …’
His eyes rolled until only the whites were showing, his hand crushing her. Then suddenly he released her hand with a lurch. Out of his nose came a fine spray of blood.
‘I … know … a-about … the … th-the …’ His mouth gushed blood on to his chin. And he sighed. Not so much a death rattle, just a simple and protracted sigh of relief at escaping the agony.
But it came with words, two very faint words. She could have sworn that’s what she heard him mutter as the poor man died — it wasn’t her mis-hearing him. It wasn’t a random contortion of mouth and tongue. She was almost certain she’d heard two distinct words. A message for her alone.
The bear.
