by the table were his attach6 case and travel bag, positioned-neatly-beside each other the way a steward or a bellboy might position them. And foldedneatly--over the travel bag was his dark blue raincoat. A guest was prepared for departure.
Two visitors had already departed. Antonia was gone, Taleniekov gone.
The bedroom door was open, the bed fully made up, the bedside table devoid of the water pitcher and the ashtray which an hour ago had been filled with half-smoked cigarettes-testimony to an anxious, pain-stricken night and day.
Silence. Nothing.
His eyes were suddenly drawn to the one thing--again on the floor-that was not in keeping with the neatness of the room, and he felt sick. On the rug by the left side of the table was a circle of blood-a jagged circle, still moist, still glistening. And then he looked up. A small pane of glass had been blown out of the window.
"Toni!" The scream was his; it broke the silence, but he could not help himself. He could not think, he could not move.
The glass shattered; a second window pane blew out of its wooden frame and he heard the whine of a bullet as it imbedded itself in the wall behind him. He dropped to the floor.
The telephone rang, its jangling bell somehow proof of insanity! He crawled to the desk below the sightline of the window.
"Toni?... Toni!" He was screaming, crying, yet he had not reached the desk, had not touched the phone.
He raised his hand and pulled the instrument to the floor beside him. He picked up the receiver and held it to his ear.
"We can always find you, Beowulf," said the precise English voice on the other end of the fine. "I told you that when we spoke before." "What have you done with her?" shouted Bray. "Where is she?" "Yes, we thought that might be your reaction. Rather strange coming from you, isn't it? You don't even inquire about the Serpent." "Stop it! Tell mel" "I intend to. Incidentally, you had a grave lapse of judgment-again strange for one so experienced. We merely had to follow your friend Symonds from Belgravia. A quick perusal of the hotel registry-as well as the time and the method of registering-gave us your room." "What have you done with her?... Them?" "The Russian's wounded, but he may survive. At least sufficiently long for our purposes." "The girl!" "She's on her way to an airfield, as is the Serpent." "Where are you taking her?" "We think you know. It was the last thing you wrote down before you named the Corsican. A city in the state of Massachusetts." "Oh, God.... Symonds?" "Dead, Beowulf. We have the notebook. It was in his car. For all intents and purposes, Roger Symonds, MI-Six, has disappeared. In light of his schedule, he may even be tied in with the terrorists who massacred the Foreign Secretary of England and his family." "You... bastards." "No. Merely professionals. I'd think you'd appreciate that. If you want the girl back you'll follow'us. You see, there's someone who wants to meet with you." "Who?" "Don't be a fool," said the faceless messenger curtly.
"In Boston?" "I'm afraid we can't help you get there, but we have every confidence in you. Register at the Ritz Carlton Hotel under the name of... Vickery.
Yes, that's a good name, such a benign sound." "Boston," said Bray, exhausted.
Again there was the sudden shattering of glass; a third window pane blew out of its frame.
"That shot," said the voice on the phone, "is a symbol of our good faith.
We could have killed you with the first."
He reached the coast of France, the same way he had left it four days ago; by motor launch at night. The trip to Paris took longer than anticipated; the drone he had expected to use wanted no part of him. The word was out, the price for his dead body too high, the punishment for helping Beowulf Agate too severe. The man owed Bray; he preferred to walk away.
Scofield found an off-duty gendarme in a bar in Boulogne-sur-Mer; the negotiations were swift. He needed a, fast ride to Paris, to Orly Airport. To the gendarme, the payment was staggering; Bray reached Orly by daybreak. By 9:00 A.m., a Mr. Edmonton was on the first Air Canada flight to Montreal. The plane left the ground and he turned his thoughts to Antonia.
They would use her to trap him, but there was no way they would permit her to stay alive once the trap had