to pick up our rental car,” she said.
“And then we’ll go check into the hotel?” Laird asked.
“I want to swing by Lindström’s place first,” Francesca said.
“Do we know where he lives?”
“His last known address is in the file,” Francesca said. You would know that if you had bothered to read it. But she opted not to call Laird out. He was being kind to her, trying to keep her calm during the plane’s landing. She didn’t want to choose this time to get on his case.
“Maybe we should go back to the hotel first,” Laird said, frowning. “We should check in with Voles before we do anything, shouldn’t we? And besides, I could really go for something to eat.”
“I’d like to at least get a look at Lindström’s place,” Francesca said. “Why don’t I drop you at the hotel. You can check in, then make a report to Voles like he requested. Meanwhile, I’ll drive by Lindström’s and see if it looks like anyone is currently living there. If he’s already moved on, we won’t have to waste time investigating that location.”
“You want to split up already?” Laird asked, raising his eyebrows. “Do you think that’s safe?”
“It’s not like I’m suggesting chasing him down a dark alley by myself,” Francesca said. “I’m going to drive by his house in broad daylight. I’m sure it’s perfectly safe.”
“I don’t know,” Laird said.
Francesca sighed. “Matt, would you be worrying about this if I was a guy?”
“Probably not,” he admitted. “But you aren’t a guy.”
“But I am an FBI agent,” she pointed out. “I’m armed. I’m trained. I can take care of myself.”
Laird grinned. “You’re right,” he said. “I don’t mean to underestimate you. I’m sorry.”
There was a jolt as the plane’s wheels struck the tarmac, and Francesca felt the sudden sensation of being on land again. She gritted her teeth until the plane had slowed and begun to taxi gently toward its stopping point.
Laird was smiling at her. “We made it,” he said.
Francesca smiled back.
A few minutes later, the captain emerged from the cockpit and disengaged the door locks. Francesca and Laird stood up and made their way to the front of the plane, suitcases in hand.
As soon as she stepped out onto the stairs, Francesca was struck by an icy blast of wind. She staggered back for a moment, taken utterly by surprise.
Behind her, she could hear Laird laughing. “Guess it’s a little colder than we anticipated!”
That was an understatement. Francesca had never felt such cold in her life. New York certainly never had temperatures like these. It felt like an assault on her skin. As if her bones were about to splinter and crack.
The captain pointed to the terminal, a short distance away. “Your rental car agent will be waiting for you in there,” he said. “Good luck.”
Francesca and Laird set off jogging toward the terminal. Francesca was deeply grateful, now, that her suitcase had wheels. If she had had to carry it in her arms, her pace would have been significantly slowed, and she would have been stuck out in this frozen atmosphere for an even longer stretch of time.
As it was, she felt like she’d been turned into an icicle by the time she made it inside. Standing beside the rental car counter, she stamped her feet and blew on her fingers, trying to warm herself up.
The rental agent emerged from the office, and Francesca read off the confirmation code from her itinerary. The agent handed over the keys, and then they had another jog through the freezing cold weather to the dark blue car parked at the far end of the lot.
They loaded their bags into the trunk and got in, Francesca behind the wheel and Laird in the passenger seat. He immediately switched on the heat and held his hands in front of the vent to thaw his fingers.
“This place is insane,” he muttered.
“You were laughing about it on the plane,” Francesca said with a chuckle.
“Well, I’m over that,” Laird said. “I can’t imagine how anyone could possibly live full-time in a place like this.”
“I’m sure it’s better in the summer,” Francesca said. “It would have to be, right?”
He looked over at her. “Frannie, did you pack anything appropriate for weather like this? Because right now, you look like you’re going for a walk in Central Park in November.”
“I have a jacket,” she protested. But as she thought of the suede jacket she had packed, chosen because it would fit into her suitcase without taking up too