‘I’m not happy about it either. But nothing has been finalised. I’m on my way to meet . . . his representative, to see what his terms are. If Interpol accepts them, he’ll give us the statues.’
Nina was torn by the prospect. ‘As much as I want them back, I don’t like the idea of that son of a bitch getting an amnesty. But . . . ’
‘If there is a chance we can recover the statues, I think we should take it. At least that way, the people who died trying to find them won’t have given their lives for nothing.’
‘People like Mac,’ she said unhappily. ‘Is that why you don’t want to mention this to Eddie?’
‘Yes. I was talking to him a few minutes ago, and he got angry just at the mention of Stikes’s name. If he found out we were negotiating with him, I think his reaction would be a lot stronger.’
‘I don’t doubt it.’ She looked down the hall. ‘Is he in the lounge?’ Kit nodded. ‘Let me know what happens. And good luck.’
‘Thank you.’ Kit departed, and Nina headed for the lounge.
She found Eddie still in the same chair where she had left him, contemplating the sunset. ‘Hey,’ she said, perching on the chair’s arm and gently resting her hand on his chest. ‘You okay?’
This time, at least he didn’t pull away from her touch, but neither did he respond to it. ‘I know what you’re feeling right now,’ she continued. ‘I’ve been there; I’ve lost people who were close to me. I just want you to know that I’m here for you, and I always will be. Whatever you need, just ask me.’
He stirred, jaw muscles tightening. ‘I didn’t lose Mac,’ he said in a low voice. ‘He was taken.’
‘I know. And I know what that’s like too. It happened to Rowan, remember?’
‘It’s not the same. It’s—’ He stumbled, struggling to put his thoughts into words. ‘Mac was different. You don’t know what it was like, what he meant to me.’
‘He was my friend too, Eddie. I’m going to miss him just as much.’
Now there was a distinct edge to his voice. ‘No, you won’t. Mac wasn’t just a friend. I would’ve—’ He choked off, taking a sharp breath. ‘I would have died for him. That’s what he meant to me. And he would’ve done the same for me. You wouldn’t understand.’
Nina tried to suppress a flare of anger. ‘I do understand. And I do know what it feels like. My parents were murdered, remember?’ She experienced a sudden resurgence of loss, rising on the back of her current feelings. ‘I know. Believe me, I know.’
They both fell silent. For a couple of minutes, the only sound was their breathing. Then: ‘Excuse, please?’
Nina looked round to see the maid. ‘Yes?’
‘Telephone, from IHA.’ Nina held out a hand, but the maid shook her head. ‘For Mr Chase.’
Slightly surprised, Nina passed the phone to Eddie. ‘Hello?’ he said. ‘Lola, hi. What is it?’
He listened to Lola. ‘But it’s the middle of the night over there,’ he objected. Nina could faintly hear her assistant’s voice as she replied; even at this level, she detected a worried urgency. ‘Okay, thanks,’ Eddie said, disconnecting, and punching in a new number.
‘What’s wrong?’ Nina asked.
‘Lizzie’s been trying to get hold of me. Lola said it’s urgent.’
‘Nan?’
Eddie’s look said as much as any words. He stood and put the phone to his ear, anxiously awaiting an answer. ‘Lizzie, it’s me,’ he finally said. ‘I just got your message. What is it?’
He paced back and forth before the windows as he listened to his sister. Nina watched with growing concern as his expression became increasingly stony, his interjections more terse – a sign that he was putting up his shields as a reaction to bad news. Finally he stopped, and with a simple ‘Okay. Right,’ ended the call.
Nina almost didn’t want to ask the obvious question, because she was sure she already knew the answer. But she had to. ‘What did Elizabeth say?’
‘She said . . .’ Eddie began, before his voice shrank to a dry croak. He swallowed, then spoke again. ‘She said that Nan died today.’
Even though it was expected, the news was still a painful shock. ‘Oh, God,’ said Nina. ‘Eddie, I’m sorry.’
‘It wasn’t her lungs,’ he went on quietly. ‘They thought she was responding well to the oxygen therapy. But apparently there’s some side effect of emphysema, something about blood building up in the liver –