Suspects(26)
The guest room had an impersonal feeling to it, which suited her now. It was where she slept for a few hours and then got up at night and went back to her office, which was where she felt most comfortable. There were photographs of Axel on her desk and the bookcase, a few of her with Matthieu, but the cleanest memories she had now were of her son. The longing she had for him was pure, without resentment or regrets. It was an easier love than what remained of what she’d felt for Matthieu. Once she knew about the young actress in Moscow, they had unfinished business that would never be resolved, and she would have to bury it with him in time. But she had fewer illusions about how much he’d loved her. He had done what he wanted, to the end.
* * *
—
The morning after Theo left, Mike made a decision, in line with the promise he’d made himself, to try and inspire the DGSE in Paris to put some life back in the Pasquier investigation again. He firmly believed that Theo would never be safe until they found the kidnappers, tried them, and put them in prison. He called Guy Thomas, who was surprised to hear from him again so soon.
“I have business in Paris,” Mike told him, “and I’d like to come and meet you while I’m there, if you can spare the time. Maybe we can come up with some new ideas together. MI6 has more agents on the ground in Russia than we do, but maybe we can lend some technology to the operation that might make things easier for you.” He tried to be as pleasant and uncritical as he could.
“I’d like that very much,” Guy said enthusiastically. “We send a lot of our investigations to Microsoft for them to do the digital work for us. We don’t have the equipment you do. I have some other cases you might be interested in.” He clearly liked the idea of collaborating with the CIA, but the only case Mike was interested in was Theo’s, and what he could do to move it along and get the agents involved interested in it again. They clearly needed a push in that direction. The case had hit a wall months before, and gone nowhere since.
They made an appointment for Friday morning, and after they hung up, Mike made a reservation at a small hotel he knew near the CIA office they had in France. It was as discreetly tucked away as their buildings in New York and faded into the urban landscape so as to blend in and disappear. There was a small CIA staff at the embassy as well, although Mike didn’t currently know anyone there. It was a cushy job, but not one that had ever appealed to him. Other agents would have killed to work in Paris, but he wasn’t one of them. He liked the hardcore problems they dealt with in New York, even if less glamorous than working at the embassy in Paris. But he was more interested in seeing the French authorities than the CIA while he was there.
He had five days off coming to him and had decided to use them for Theo’s benefit. It was the best gift he could give her, instead of flirting with her, or putting her at risk in some way, or giving in to the feelings he had for her that he was sure wouldn’t be welcome anyway. They had shared a fun evening, but it could never be more than that. After a long, sleepless night thinking about her, in ways that seemed wrong to him now, and were surely presumptuous and overreaching on his part, given who she was. He had no intention of telling her how he felt about her. He had gone crazy for a minute, and he knew that now. It was a heady feeling just looking at her, with her huge blue eyes and vulnerability. He wanted to protect her, not add to her problems. She’d had more than enough pain for one lifetime.
Mike made a decision not to tell Theo he was coming to Paris, until he was there. He would see Guy Thomas, which was the main purpose of his trip, and if she was free and willing to see him, he’d see Theo, and if not, he’d either enjoy the beauty of Paris, one of his favorite cities, or take the Eurostar to London to see Robert Richmond at MI6 if he wasn’t too busy to meet up with him. He was flying Thursday night, arriving in Paris in the early morning, and planned to fly back on Monday, to use two weekdays off. Most of the time, he never took time off, and cashed it in instead, but this time he intended to put the days to good use for her. It was his way of thanking her for having dinner with him, even if she never knew about it. It was an angel mission on his part.
* * *
—
Theo was in her office early on her first morning back. She woke up at six, dressed, and left with her bodyguard for their offices near the Place Vend?me in the first arrondissement. It was near the Louvre and the Ritz, where she met people for lunch or drinks. She loved the location. Matthieu had a large building on the Avenue George V in the eighth arrondissement, which was a great location too, and where many of his luxury brands were on the Avenue Montaigne.
She stayed in the office and worked late that night, and the bodyguards switched when their shifts ended before she left work, which happened often now that she was back in the office and had been for a month. She didn’t bother to eat dinner. She often existed only on black coffee and whatever she found in the office kitchen. Usually a yogurt or a piece of fruit, which was enough to get by on until she got home. It contributed to her slim figure. Matthieu had always complained that she didn’t eat enough, but it didn’t interest her a great deal. They had a cook more for him and Axel than for her, and she had let him go after the kidnapping, making do with small haphazard meals ever since. She was thinner than ever as a result, but it looked good on her.
* * *
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