Left To Die

Robert paused, thought, then nodded. “I’m confident he does. I don’t think it’s a wig. But I think you shouldn’t underestimate this man. He’s confident and has been leading the chase for a while now. He won’t go down easy. And if he can, he’s going to take bodies with him.”

Adele pursed her lips. “I think you’re right. See you in a few days, hopefully.”

Robert gave a small rolling finger wave, but he was no longer smiling as he watched her exit the door and hurry after John, racing down the hall to catch up with his long strides.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

So many flights in so few days. Adele could feel the exhaustion weighing on her like sandbags strapped to her limbs. Still, as she settled in the limousine, with Agent Renee against the other window, she glanced toward the young woman seated across from them.

Their German attaché couldn’t have been older than twenty. She had a nervous, excited energy about her as she surveyed the two agents settling in the back seat of the limousine. If the age of their BKA connection didn’t suggest the German authorities were sending a message, then the provided vehicle certainly did. Adele had never been picked up by a limousine in her life.

A twenty-year-old tour guide in a gauche limousine—the BKA were having a go and Adele wasn’t amused.

Through the window, Adele spotted passengers streaming through sliding glass doors toward waiting vehicles or toward the taxis lining the gates. She heard the sound of jet engines rumbling the sky above and could smell gasoline and stale smoke on the air, settling in the still cabin.

Adele moved her right hand between her leg and the door, so the others couldn’t see, and she pinched herself, trying to propel the pain through her system to jolt herself awake. She needed caffeine. They’d served coffee on the plane, though, and it had done little to revive her.

“You’re the BKA correspondent?” said John, eyeing the young attaché.

The German shifted uncomfortably and adjusted in her seat. “Yes,” she answered in nearly flawless English. “My name is Beatrice Marshall. You may call me Agent Marshall.” She inhaled and then, in a rehearsed fashion, declared, “The BKA is happy to work with the FBI and the DGSI, but where you go, I’m required to go—understand?”

Adele smiled at the young woman, remembering her first year working for the DGSI fresh out of college.

Agent Marshall tapped politely on the window divider between them and the driver. “Please take us to Lion Pharmaceutical now,” she said.

“That’s it?” Adele asked, frowning. “We don’t need to shake hands with some supervisors or make nice with your boss?”

Agent Marshall shook her head primly, crossing her legs and then adjusting her position to face Adele with an uncomfortable sort of pivot. John was watching her, a small smile curling his lips, like a lion who’d spotted a gazelle.

Adele glanced at her partner and rolled her eyes. “We’re heading directly to the pharmaceutical company?”

“Is that a problem?” replied the young agent.

“No, of course not.”

Inwardly, Adele had hoped she would’ve had time to at least get some sleep. She’d managed to snatch about a half hour of rest on the plane, but scrunched up in business class next to John, with worries and fears cycling through her mind, had made true slumber an impossibility.

Adele settled into the back of the car, listening to the chugging engine and the spinning wheels as the limousine left the airport.

Germany. It wasn’t as jarring to travel from France to Germany. It was only a couple hour flight at best. The transition from US to Europe was a far different kettle of fish as most of the travel was over an open ocean. Now, though, Adele felt a strange sense of nostalgia descending on her. Germany had been her home until she’d turned twelve. Her father still lived here… perhaps a visit was in order.

She thought of Robert back in France, of his offer for her to reclaim her old room. It would be nice, at least, to swim in the indoor pool after her run. Her trip to France was taking unexpected turns.

Perhaps none more unexpected than the latest twist. It seemed like the start to a joke. A BKA officer, a DGSI operative, and an FBI agent all walk into a bar…

Then what? Whatever the punchline was, Adele desperately hoped it involved a red-haired killer.

The limousine carried them through the city, slicing through traffic. They exited the city on a gray highway not long after, pulling out into the suburbs, then eventually a series of fields on the outskirts of Hamburg.

Lion Pharmaceutical wasn’t too far from the airport, but it would still take some time.

John was going over the manila folder as they traveled, and every so often, making eyes toward their young German babysitter. Though the young agent mostly fixed her gaze ahead, facing the backseat from the middle, every so often, she would look up to meet Renee’s gaze and smile. Her legs were still crossed at least.