by Kate Breslin
Petit’s face lifted to Jo and her father. “She is buried at Père Lachaise in Paris.”
Jo’s throat grew tight as she listened to Petit speak about her sister’s death. Poor Jewel had been so close to freedom, yet she hadn’t lived to taste it.
She glanced at Colin and saw how Petit’s words affected him, too. He’d cared very much for her sister, and Jo understood how it grieved him to know Jewel had met with such a sad fate.
“And this ring?” Her father resumed his stance beside her, thrusting the silver chain he’d ripped from around Jo’s neck moments ago toward Petit. “You thought to trick me by having Johanna wear it?”
“Not exactly.” Petit glanced at Colin, then at Jo before he wet his lips. “We were desperate to get the Black Book and knew that if we told you about your daughter’s . . . passing, you might abandon the exchange.”
Jo watched her papa’s features harden as Petit explained Odette’s purpose in the ruse and how the Americans planned to fool him into an exchange of some Black Book.
“Do you think I am blind?” Snarling, her father took a step toward Petit. “How did you imagine you would get the book from me with this game of yours?”
Petit explained G-2’s plan to grab the book when her papa brought it out of hiding—before revealing the truth about her sister.
“You would still have received your amnesty, of course.” Petit grimaced. “But you are one wily raccoon to try to tree.”
“So you went searching for my other daughter, hoping to pacify me into an exchange?”
“Actually, she found us.” Petit glanced at her. “Seems she was looking for you, so we just helped her along.”
Her papa turned to her, his brow creased. “Where is Moira?”
“She died, Papa . . . two years ago.” Jo hesitated. “She told me to come to France. To find you.”
Regret filled his gaze. “And you have been alone all of this time?”
When she nodded, he laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and turned to Captain Weatherford. “Did you know about this when we first met in Barcelona?”
“Not until I arrived in Toulouse.” The captain reached to rub the back of his neck. “I did not lie to you, Zero, but I am guilty of omission.”
“I trusted you.”
The captain straightened and scowled. “I know you did, and while I am very sorry about your daughter, there is nothing we can do to bring her back, and this book is important. Removing it from the kaiser’s grasp could mean saving the lives of countless others on both sides of the war.”
He took a step toward her father. “You, my friend, still have a chance to do the right thing, and you have a daughter who loves you and needs you.” The captain darted a glance at Petit. “G-2 is still willing to offer you amnesty. Are you willing to turn over the Black Book?”
“Papa?”
Jo eyed him anxiously, knowing only that this book meant freedom for her father. He gazed at her, his features sad as he reached to trail the back of his hand along her cheek. “I wish I could, Marcus.” He turned to the captain. “But I don’t have the book.”
The captain’s eyes narrowed. “Now who’s playing tricks, Zero?”
“No trick.” He sighed. “You see, I wanted my daughter Jewel out of Havrincourt, and before I left for the war, I gave her a book. A diary. I asked her to record her life during the war while I was gone so that she could someday read me her words.”
“What does that have to do with the Black Book?” Petit spoke up, his voice impatient.
Her papa ignored Petit and glanced at the captain. “Marcus, do you remember the sign of a good spy?”
“Hiding in plain sight.” Dawning struck the captain’s features. “You mean to say . . .”
“Jewel had the Black Book all along. I never doubted that when the Americans brought her to me, she would have the diary with her.” Fresh grief etched lines in his face. “But now she is gone, and I have no idea where the book could be.”
Jo’s eyes widened as she stared at her father. “I have it, Papa. I have her diary.”
He looked incredulous. “Where . . . did you find it?”
“Havrincourt. I went to your village after the German army retreated. I hoped to find a photograph of you, or your pipe, or some other . . . reminder, besides the ring.”
She bent her head. “But with so much destruction, there was nothing salvageable. Then I saw a boy standing inside the burnt-out shell of a barn. He tried to lift a door out of the ground.”
“The cellar.” Her papa’s expression took on a look of wonder.
“I helped him to open the door, and we both went down inside. He collected food from your stores while I searched around and . . . well, I found Jewel’s diary.”
She shook her head. “But I don’t understand this Black Book you speak about, Papa. I didn’t see anything suspicious. It’s only her words and songs.”
Hope lit his face. “You wouldn’t see anything, Johanna, because I used a film process to reduce the intelligence. It is concealed inside the book; your sister had no knowledge it was even there. Is it here with you?”
Jo nodded and turned to Colin, who seemed watchful as he gazed at Petit, then at her father and the captain, and finally back at her. His smile was tight.
She wondered at his look as she held out her hand. “May I?”
He stepped forward then, and Jo reached for the kit bag.
The blow that struck her knocked her sideways, and the bag was snatched from her grasp. Jo heard Colin shout before she stared up at Petit, who clutched the bag in his left hand while his right aimed a revolver at her face. “No one moves, or Zero loses another daughter. Up you go, Miss Reyer.”
He waved the gun, indicating she should stand. When Jo scrambled to her feet, he shoved the bag into her grasp, then grabbed her from behind and walked her backward toward the series of three narrow cave openings. “We’re taking the one on the right.”
He held the revolver to the back of her head. “If any of you follow, I will shoot.”
———
For several heartbeats, Colin and the other two men stood frozen as Petit pulled Johanna with him through the narrow opening, his revolver trained on her.
Once they disappeared from view, Colin withdrew his Colt and started to follow.
“Wait, Lieutenant. What will you do? He said he would kill her.”
Zero was staring at him, his weathered features ashen.
“I intend to get her back.” Colin met his gaze, fury and fear for Johanna outweighing all else. He’d once told Lacourt he would protect her with his life. He would keep his word.
“I’m going with you.”
Colin turned his attention to Marcus, and the rage in the captain’s face gave him pause.
“Zero, you remain here, in the event Petit invited friends we don’t know about,” Marcus said. “We’ll get your daughter back and bring her here. No doubt she will need you.”
The wiry man nodded, his eyes filled with a strange light as he withdrew a revolver from beneath his coat. “Get her back, Marcus.” He glanced at Colin. “Both of you.”
Colin switched on his flashlight and took the lead, stepping through the narrow opening Petit and Johanna had taken. Marcus followed behind him with his own light.
Keeping his Colt at the ready, Colin navigated the uneven path deeper into the cavern. The blackness engulfed him as the stifling air once again filled his nostrils with a musty, fecal odor. Adrenaline pumped in his veins, making his heart pound in his chest, and he prayed Petit wouldn’t get desperate and hurt Johanna.
A light flickered ahead, bouncing off a cluster of stalactites, the limestone teeth plunging downward like daggers.
“Surrender now, Petit, and save yourself. There’s no way out!”
Marcus had shouted the words from behind him, and his voice echoed through the cave.
A cacophony of screeching followed, and suddenly the flapping wings of a thousand bats swooped down from the cavern
’s ceiling and headed directly at Colin’s beam of light.
He dropped down to avoid them, narrowly clearing a bullet whizzing past his head.
A groaned curse sounded directly behind him, and Colin turned. “Captain, are you hurt?”
“He got my leg.” In the beam of Colin’s light, Marcus leaned against the wall, his features knotted in pain while blood oozed from the middle of his right thigh.
Another shot sounded, and Colin threw himself against the captain, knocking them both to the ground. Where Marcus had been standing, the limestone shattered into tiny shards of rock that rained down on them.
Once the dust settled, Colin rolled off the captain’s crumpled form. He tried to help him up, but Marcus grunted in pain. “You have to go after them on your own.”
He spoke through bared teeth, his breathing harsh. “I know you care about her, Lieutenant. But the mission . . . comes first. Get that book at all costs.”
Colin crouched and freed up his hand to remove his own necktie before handing it to Marcus. “For your leg, sir.”
Again he picked up his Colt and rose to continue along the path. More darkness greeted him, and his shoulders brushed against rock as the walls narrowed with each step. Sweat began trickling down his face, but he forged on, fighting the panic already waging war in his chest.
Reaching a large fissure in the rock, he searched with the light for an alternate means to continue. There was nothing but limestone walls and impenetrable stalagmites. He wiped more sweat from his eyes, his breathing harsh. Johanna . . .
Gritting his teeth, Colin pressed his body sideways through the opening. Halfway through, he began to hyperventilate and stopped moving.
He was stuck.
Colin’s nightmare became real as he began to struggle against the rock. Terror lay at the edges of his mind, and he closed his eyes, trying to focus on the psalm he’d memorized while in the tunnel. When I was brought low, he saved me. . . .
His lodged cry bullied its way out as he blindly reached forward with the hook. Oh, God, please help me.
The curved steel snagged against a rock on the other side. Using all of his strength, Colin pulled himself through the opening.
Gasping for air, he leaned against the wall and tried to catch his breath. Moments later, he straightened and realized he’d entered another chamber. Wending his way through, he glimpsed a flash of light bouncing off the wall ahead.
A second light illuminated the wall, and relief washed through him. Johanna!
“Petit, let her go—you don’t need her anymore!”
“Colin!”
He stilled at the sound of Johanna’s cry. Was she hurt? “Leave her out of this, Petit!” Colin shouted again. “Then it’s just you and me and the book!”
The lights ahead paused.
“Fair enough.” Petit’s voice called from some distance away. “Take her to her father!”
As one light beam began moving again, Colin rushed forward, navigating a wider passage that ascended upward inside the mountain. Turning a corner, he saw Johanna’s silhouette come into view, and his heart wedged in his throat. “Johanna, over here!”
She half ran and half stumbled down the path toward him. As they reached one another, she threw her arms around his neck. “Oh, Colin, when he fired the gun, I thought you were dead!”
She gasped the words, her head buried against his shoulder. He hugged her to him, reassured by her warm presence. “I’m all right, sweetheart, but Marcus took a bullet in the leg.”
He pulled back so that he could see her in the beam of light. “Can you get back to your father, or did you get trapped in that rock fissure?”
“No, I slipped through all right.”
Colin stared at her heavy skirts and wondered at his own difficulty. “There are no other outlets, so you shouldn’t get lost.”
“I will take her.”
Both of them turned to find Johanna’s father holding a flashlight. “I heard the shots. I wasn’t about to stay behind while my daughter was wounded or worse.”
“Papa!”
Johanna went to him and he held her. “Are you hurt, child?”
“No, I’m fine, truly.”
“You two should go.” Colin eyed them both. “I’ve got to get that book.”
“No, you must come with us.” Johanna turned, squinting against the light.
“I have to do this, Johanna. You know that.”
She gazed at him a moment longer before she returned to his side. “I do know. Godspeed, Colin Mabry.” She reached to touch the side of his face, then rose up and kissed him lightly. “Please be safe.”
As she and her father headed back, Johanna glanced at Colin one last time before disappearing from view.
He resumed his hunt for Petit. Walking a few yards, he spotted the light up ahead. “You might as well surrender, Petit. There’s no escape.”
Again the light paused. “I thought I was rid of you, Lieutenant!”
“You cannot get out!”
“There’s always a way out, boy.”
Colin recalled his agonizing days in the tunnel at Passchendaele. “Sometimes it takes a miracle.”
“Who needs a miracle? I told you, I was here yesterday to put up the sign. I also did a little reconnaissance. Growing up around San Antonio, I saw my share of caves.”
“This isn’t Texas, Petit. Surrender now, while you still have the chance.”
“Or what? You’ll shoot me?”
“Don’t tempt me.” Colin growled the words as he followed the moving glow of Petit’s light. On the cavern floor ahead, between the stalagmites, he noticed telltale droppings. He aimed his beam upward and gave a shudder at the clusters of tiny, dark shapes hugging the ceiling of the cave. More bats.
His path soon emptied out into another small cave. Broken shards of pottery and a deteriorated straw mat indicated the remains of a hermitage.
A patch of bright blue sky caught his attention. Colin stared in amazement at a hole in the side of the rock to his right, open to the outside air. The space was framed in wood and had frayed leather hinges, suggesting it held a door at one time.
Relieved at the sight, he crouched to pass through the opening, keeping his Colt raised as he reached the other side. Once through, he quickly rose to his full height and scanned for Petit—then teetered backward with a sharp intake of breath.
The narrow ledge he stood on overlooked the valley floor hundreds of feet below.
“I have to say, Lieutenant, you’re as tenacious as a tick on a dog.”
Colin swung his gaze toward Petit, who stood a few feet away, poised on a game trail leading down the mountain. His right hand aimed the gun at Colin while his other gripped Johanna’s bag.
“I also admire your nerve, getting through that cave.” One side of Petit’s mouth lifted.
“What now, Petit? Are you going to shoot me?”
“If I have to.” His fingers flexed on the revolver’s grips. “Toss the Colt over the side, nice and slow.”
Colin straightened and held his Colt pointed downward. His eyes fixed on the kit bag with the diary. “I can’t do that, Petit. I need the book.”
Petit cocked the hammer back. “You know, despite what you think, I’ve come to like you. I really don’t want to have to pull the trigger.”
“If drugging me is your way of cementing a friendship, then please count me out.”
Petit chuckled. “I told you, that was all part of the job.” His humor faded. “Now drop it.”
Colin’s teeth clenched as he tossed his Colt over the side of the mountain.
“See, that wasn’t so hard.” Petit squinted against the sun. “Where is Captain Weatherford?”
“Lying wounded where you shot him.”
“That’s too bad.” He pointed the gun to the sky. “This is where we part ways, amigo.”
Petit started to descend the path.
“Wait!” Colin held up his hand. “At least tell me why you’re doing this, Petit
. You know the Black Book can help to end the war. What happened to your patriotism?”
Petit seemed to consider his question and took a few steps back toward Colin. “Well now, I figure G-2’s been planning for months to steal the book from Zero, so what’s the difference if I steal it first?” He shrugged. “As for patriotism, that’s all well and good, but when we’re talking about something worth more than its weight in gold, it gets a man to thinking. With the kind of cash I can bring in from any one of the names in that book, I’ll be set up for life with my little French firecracker. Maybe in South America.”
“French firecracker . . .” Colin stared at him. “The actress? Odette Tremblay is in on this with you?”
“Right now, she’s keeping Kepler pinned down back at the hotel.” His smile widened. “She can tie a knot better than most Texans.”
“So no flu.” Colin’s mouth curled with scorn. “More like bad coffee?”
“Enough chatter. If you follow me, as much as I hate the idea, I will shoot you.”
Petit pointed the gun at him as he backed away toward the narrow path. The uneven trail hugged the side of the mountain.
Colin remained in front of the hermitage opening, his hand fisted as he watched Petit’s retreat. How could he stop him without getting himself killed?
He looked down and suddenly glimpsed a pair of shoes in the small cave opening near his feet. A moment later, a gunshot erupted from inside.
“Get down!” Marcus hissed as he dropped to the cave floor. Colin didn’t hesitate as he too dropped down onto the ledge.
Thousands of cave bats exploded through the opening. Screeching and flapping their wings past Colin’s head, they veered like a thick black cloud down the side of the mountain.
Assaulted by the flying rodents, Petit cried out as he lost his footing on the path and began sliding over the edge.
Colin scrambled the short distance and made a lunge for him, grabbing the kit bag’s leather handle. “Hang on!”
He lay on his belly, his grip on the handle alongside Petit’s. The American dropped his revolver and clutched the bag with both hands as he dangled hundreds of feet from the ground.