“Thank you, thank you,” Kotov replied, and Dinara ushered him out of the partitioned office she’d installed to give her a little privacy.
“Elena will be in touch with our client-services agreement,” Dinara said, and Kotov nodded and headed for the exit.
Elena poked her head around the corner. “Lunch is ready, and there’s someone to see you.”
Dinara walked through the open-plan office. Almost all the desks were occupied by Feo’s people, who were either on the phone, doing paperwork or working on computers. Only one desk was empty: Leonid’s. There was a framed photo of the detective on the otherwise bare surface, a small tribute to a good man.
Dinara walked round the corner into the reception area and saw containers of solyanka soup lined up on Elena’s desk. Another small mark of respect. Each day, they had Leonid’s favorite lunch, and it was almost impossible not to think or talk about the man while eating the soup he’d loved.
Dinara was surprised when she looked across reception to see a familiar face in the waiting area.
“Hello, Dinara,” Anna Bolshova said. She wore a dark skirt and jacket, and had a green woolen coat slung over her arm.
Her work on the Bright Star case, and in bringing Erik Utkin and his Black Hundreds drugs gang to justice, had earned her a promotion, so Dinara was surprised to see her in civilian clothes on a weekday.
“Hello, Anna,” Dinara replied.
“So …” Anna hesitated. She smiled sheepishly. “I’ve always been ambitious, and I’ve always said I want to work where the action is. The politics of the police … well, let’s just say my recent experiences have left me a little jaded toward the official instruments of the state.”
Dinara broke into a broad smile, and Anna responded in kind.
“Anyway, to get to the point,” Anna said. “I understand you’re hiring.”
CHAPTER 119
“HOW ARE KEVIN and Victoria holding up?” Justine asked as we started our journey to the airport.
“It’s a lot to handle, but hopefully they’ll learn to forgive him,” I replied.
“What about you?” Justine asked.
“I’m getting there.”
“And the shoulder?”
It had taken three hours of surgery, and weeks of special rehabilitation exercises, but I was almost back to full mobility. “I hardly notice it,” I replied honestly.
“I …” Justine began, but she hesitated. “I don’t know what I would have done, Jack.”
I could sense her anguish at the thought of losing me, and felt my own emotions rise. “I know,” I replied.
I didn’t trust myself to say anything else, and our shared fears of what might have been hung over us.
“But we came through it,” I said at last, trying to lighten the mood.
“Yeah,” Justine agreed with a hesitant smile. “We did.”
We spent the journey from the Parkers’ Long Island home to John F. Kennedy Airport talking shop. Private had been exonerated and the handful of clients we’d lost had returned. Most offices were seeing an uptick in business thanks to the high-profile success of the Bright Star investigation. But with success came a different set of challenges: mundane issues such as hiring, budget approvals and hundreds of other operational decisions, many of which needed my attention. The distraction of the day-to-day kept us occupied until we reached the perimeter of JFK Airport, but when we turned onto the North Service Road, I sensed a change in mood. Justine was building up to something, and as we approached the perimeter airfield gate, she finally said, “I’ve been replaying the conversation we had in the bar before you went to Moscow, and I’ve been wondering whether we need some confusion in our lives. Maybe we’d make the same mistakes all over again, but what if we didn’t?”
I thought back to my unfinished highball at the Library bar in the Nomad Hotel and searched for a reply, but was distracted by the scene on the other side of the gate. A Gulfstream G550 waited at a stand, and there were four vehicles parked beside it: three town cars and another Nissan Rogue, this one in red.
“A powerful friend insisted we fly private,” Justine revealed.
A crowd of people stood near the airstairs, and I recognized some of the faces. Mo-bot and Sci were there, along with Jessie Fleming, the head of Private New York, and Rafael Lucas, our legal counsel. They were talking to Eli Carver, the Secretary of Defense. His Secret Service detail stood a few paces away, and kept a close eye on him and his surroundings.
The gate guard checked our credentials, and waved us through. When we pulled up by the aircraft, Secretary Carver came over to greet us.
“Jack Morgan,” he beamed. “I wanted to thank you in person.”
He wore a silk scarf tucked into his shirt collar, no doubt to conceal the scar that encircled his throat.
“I appreciate it, Mr. Secretary,” I responded. “But you didn’t have to.”
“It was the least I could do, and please call me Eli,” he said. “I owe you my life. If that doesn’t put us on first-name terms, I don’t know what will.”
“You don’t owe me anything, sir,” I began, but I registered Carver’s raised eyebrow, “Eli, I mean,” I continued without skipping a beat, “I did what anyone in my situation would have done.”
“Well, let’s just agree to disagree about that,” Carver said with a smile. “If there’s ever anything you need, you call me.” He handed me a card. “My cell number and my private line.”
“I appreciate it, Eli,” I replied.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to Washington. We’re still dealing with the fallout from this thing,” he said, moving toward the convoy of town cars.
“You take care, Mr. Secretary … Eli,” I corrected myself.
I joined Mo-bot, Sci and the others as Secretary Carver and his detail got in their cars and drove away.
“Thanks for everything,” I said to Jessie and Rafael.
“Just doing our jobs,” the lawyer replied.
“We’ve got our weekly call next Wednesday,” Jessie reminded me.
I smiled, grateful for a return to the mundane. “I look forward to it,” I said.
“Have a safe trip,” Rafael responded.
He walked toward the red Nissan, and Jessie took the black one Justine and I had arrived in.
“Shall we?” Mo-bot asked, gesturing at the airstairs.
“After you,” I said, and she and Sci headed into the aircraft.
I took Justine’s arm, and gently pulled her toward me.
“I owe you an answer,” I said, when Mo-bot and Sci had climbed aboard. “I’m not a fan of confusion, but I am a fan of forgiveness. If I’ve treated you badly in the past, I apologize and I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“Jack,” she began, but I hadn’t finished.
“I hope we can start fresh.”
“I’d like that,” she replied.
She hesitated.
“We never got a chance to finish our drink,” she said.
“No, we didn’t,” I remarked as we walked toward the jet. “What are you doing tomorrow night?”
She replied with a smile that brightened my day, and we boarded the aircraft that would take us back to Los Angeles.
We were heading home.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We’d like to thank our editor, John Sugar, and the team at Cornerstone for their wonderful work on this book. We’d also like to thank you, the reader, for coming on this adventure. We hope you’ll join us for the next one.
Adam would like to thank his wife, Amy, and children Maya, Elliot and Thomas for their support, and his agent, Hannah Sheppard, for her sound advice.
Have you read them all?
PRIVATE
(with Maxine Paetro)
Jack Morgan is head of Private, the world’s largest investigation company with branches around the globe. When his best friend’s wife is murdered, he sets out to track down her killer. But be warned: Jack doesn’t play by the rules.
(with Mark Pearson)
Hannah Shapiro, a young American student, has fled her country, but can’t flee her past. Can Private save Hannah from the terror that has followed her to London?
PRIVATE GAMES
(with Mark Sullivan)
It’s July 2012 and excitement is sky high for the Olympic Games in London. But when one of the organisers is found brutally murdered, it soon becomes clear to Private London that everyone involved is under threat.
PRIVATE: NO. 1 SUSPECT
(with Maxine Paetro)
When Jack Morgan’s former lover is found murdered in his bed, Jack is instantly the number one suspect, and he quickly realises he is facing his toughest challenge yet.
PRIVATE BERLIN
(with Mark Sullivan)
Mattie Engel, one of Private Berlin’s rising stars, is horrified when her former fiancé Chris is murdered. Even more so when she realises that the killer is picking off Chris’s friends. Will Mattie be next?
PRIVATE DOWN UNDER
(with Michael White)
Private Sydney’s glamorous launch party is cut short by a shocking discovery – the murdered son of one of Australia’s richest men. Meanwhile, someone is killing the wealthy wives of the Eastern Suburbs, and the next victim could be someone close to Private.
PRIVATE L.A.
(with Mark Sullivan)
A killer is holding L.A. to ransom. On top of this, Hollywood’s golden couple have been kidnapped. Can Private prove themselves once again?
PRIVATE INDIA
(with Ashwin Sanghi)
In Mumbai, someone is murdering seemingly unconnected women in a chilling ritual. As the Private team race to find the killer, an even greater threat emerges …
PRIVATE VEGAS
(with Maxine Paetro)
Jack Morgan’s client has just confessed to murdering his wife, and his best friend is being held on a trumped-up charge that could see him locked away for a very long time. With Jack pushed to the limit, all bets are off.
PRIVATE SYDNEY
(with Kathryn Fox)
Private Sydney are investigating the disappearance of the CEO of a high-profile research company. He shouldn’t be difficult to find, but why has every trace of evidence he ever existed vanished too?
PRIVATE PARIS
(with Mark Sullivan)
When several members of Paris’s cultural elite are found dead, the French police turn to the Private Paris team for help tackling one of the biggest threats the city has ever faced.
THE GAMES
(with Mark Sullivan)
The eyes of the world are on Rio for the Olympic Games, and Jack is in Brazil’s beautiful capital. But it’s not long before he uncovers terrifying evidence that the Games could be the setting for the worst atrocity the world has ever seen.
PRIVATE DELHI
(with Ashwin Sanghi)
Private have opened a new office in Delhi, and it’s not long before the agency takes on a case that could make or break them. Human remains have been found in the basement of a house in South Delhi. But this isn’t just any house, this property belongs to the state government.
PRIVATE PRINCESS
(with Rees Jones)
Jack Morgan has been invited to meet Princess Caroline, third in line to the British throne, who needs his skills (and discretion) to help find her missing friend. Jack knows there is more to this case than he is being told. What is the Princess hiding?
PRIVATE MOSCOW
(with Adam Hamdy)
Jack Morgan is investigating a murder at the New York Stock Exchange and identifies another killing in Moscow that appears to be linked. So he heads to Russia, and begins to uncover a conspiracy that could have global consequences.
Also by James Patterson
ALEX CROSS NOVELS
Along Came a Spider • Kiss the Girls • Jack and Jill • Cat and Mouse • Pop Goes the Weasel • Roses are Red • Violets are Blue • Four Blind Mice • The Big Bad Wolf • London Bridges • Mary, Mary • Cross • Double Cross • Cross Country • Alex Cross’s Trial (with Richard DiLallo) • I, Alex Cross • Cross Fire • Kill Alex Cross • Merry Christmas, Alex Cross • Alex Cross, Run • Cross My Heart • Hope to Die • Cross Justice • Cross the Line • The People vs. Alex Cross • Target: Alex Cross • Criss Cross
THE WOMEN’S MURDER CLUB SERIES
1st to Die • 2nd Chance (with Andrew Gross) • 3rd Degree (with Andrew Gross) • 4th of July (with Maxine Paetro) • The 5th Horseman (with Maxine Paetro) • The 6th Target (with Maxine Paetro) • 7th Heaven (with Maxine Paetro) • 8th Confession (with Maxine Paetro) • 9th Judgement (with Maxine Paetro) • 10th Anniversary (with Maxine Paetro) • 11th Hour (with Maxine Paetro) • 12th of Never (with Maxine Paetro) • Unlucky 13 (with Maxine Paetro) • 14th Deadly Sin (with Maxine Paetro) • 15th Affair (with Maxine Paetro) • 16th Seduction (with Maxine Paetro) • 17th Suspect (with Maxine Paetro) • 18th Abduction (with Maxine Paetro) • 19th Christmas (with Maxine Paetro) • 20th Victim (with Maxine Paetro) Andrew Gross) • 4th of July (with Maxine Paetro) • The 5th Horseman (with Maxine Paetro) • The 6th Target (with Maxine Paetro) • 7th Heaven (with Maxine Paetro) • 8th Confession (with Maxine Paetro) • 9th Judgement (with Maxine Paetro)
DETECTIVE MICHAEL BENNETT SERIES
Step on a Crack (with Michael Ledwidge) • Run for Your Life (with Michael Ledwidge) • Worst Case (with Michael Ledwidge) • Tick Tock (with Michael Ledwidge) • I, Michael Bennett (with Michael Ledwidge) • Gone (with Michael Ledwidge) • Burn (with Michael Ledwidge) • Alert (with Michael Ledwidge) • Bullseye (with Michael Ledwidge) • Haunted (with James O. Born) • Ambush (with James O. Born) • Blindside (with James O. Born)
NYPD RED SERIES
NYPD Red (with Marshall Karp) • NYPD Red 2 (with Marshall Karp) • NYPD Red 3 (with Marshall Karp) • NYPD Red 4 (with Marshall Karp) • NYPD Red 5 (with Marshall Karp)
DETECTIVE HARRIET BLUE SERIES
Never Never (with Candice Fox) • Fifty Fifty (with Candice Fox) • Liar Liar (with Candice Fox) • Hush Hush (with Candice Fox)
INSTINCT SERIES
Instinct (with Howard Roughan, previously published as Murder Games) • Killer Instinct (with Howard Roughan)
STAND-ALONE THRILLERS
The Thomas Berryman Number • Hide and Seek • Black Market • The Midnight Club • Sail (with Howard Roughan) • Swimsuit (with Maxine Paetro) • Don’t Blink (with Howard Roughan) • Postcard Killers (with Liza Marklund) • Toys (with Me If You Can (with Marshall Karp) • Guilty Wives (with David Ellis) • Zoo (with Michael Ledwidge) • Second Honeymoon (with Howard Roughan) • Mistress (with David Ellis) • Invisible (with David Ellis) • Truth or Die (with Howard Roughan) • Murder House (with David Ellis) • The Black Book (with David Ellis) • The Store (with Richard DiLallo) • Texas Ranger (with Andrew Bourelle) • The President is Missing (with Bill Clinton) • Revenge (with Andrew Holmes) • Juror No. 3 (with Nancy Allen) • The First Lady (with Brendan DuBois) • The Chef (with Max DiLallo) • Out of Sight (with Brendan DuBois) • Unsolved (with David Ellis) • The Inn (with Candice Fox) • Lost (with David Ellis) • Truth or Die (with Howard Roughan) • Murder House (with David Ellis) • The Black Book (with David Ellis) • The Store (with Richard DiLallo) • The President is Missing (with Bill Clinton) • Revenge (with Andrew Holmes) • Juror No. 3 (with Nancy Allen) • The First Lady (with Brendan DuBois) • The Chef (with Max DiLallo) • Out of Sight (with Brendan DuBois) • Unsolved (with David Ellis) • The Inn (with Candice Fox) • Lost (with James O. Born) James O. Born) • Texas Outlaw (with Andrew Bourelle) • The Summer House (with Brendan DuBois) • 1st Case (with Chris Tebbetts)
NON-FICTION
Torn Apart (with Hal and Cory Friedman) • The Murder of King Tut (with Martin Dugard) • All-American Murder (with Alex Abramovich and Mike Harvkey) • The Kennedy Curse (with Cynthia Fagen)
MURDER IS FOREVER TRUE CRIME
&nbs
p; Murder, Interrupted (with Alex Abramovich and Christopher Charles) • Home Sweet Murder (with Andrew Bourelle and Scott Slaven) • Murder Beyond the Grave (with Andrew Bourelle and Christopher Charles)
COLLECTIONS
Triple Threat (with Max DiLallo and Andrew Bourelle) • Kill or Be Killed (with Maxine Paetro, Rees Jones, Shan Serafin and Emily Raymond) • The Moores are Missing (with Loren D. Estleman, Sam Hawken and Ed Chatterton) • The Family Lawyer (with Robert Rotstein, Christopher Charles and Rachel Howzell Hall) • Murder in Paradise (with Doug Allyn, Connor Hyde and Duane Swierczynski) • The House Next Door (with Susan DiLallo, Max DiLallo and Brendan DuBois) • 13-Minute Murder (with Shan Serafin, Christopher Farnsworth and Scott Slaven) • The River Murders (with James O. Born)
For more information about James Patterson’s novels, visit www.penguin.co.uk
THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING
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