It took some time to exchange stories, long enough for the barman to cast annoyed looks in their direction, compelling Eddie to buy some drinks to justify their stay. But eventually they had all the pieces.
Not that they made much sense.
“Okay,” said Nina, still turning over what she had learned in her mind, “so this … this Group has some plan in mind that requires the statues—and me—in order to work. Harald Glas was a member of the Group, turned against them, and is now trying to sabotage their plan.”
“By killing you,” said Eddie.
She smiled thinly. “Again, thanks for that. But Takashi was a member of the Group, Stikes gave them the statues, and Sophia … I honestly have no idea how she fits in. You said that in Peru she seemed to be working for the Group—so why was she with a guy who tried to kill me? And then she killed him. So is she with them, against them, or just taking a murder vacation in Italy?”
“Buggered if I know,” he said. “I suppose if we knew what this plan was, it’d help.”
“Takashi said it was about bringing peace and stability to the world, whatever that means. But I don’t know how the statues would accomplish that.”
“You said something weird happened to you when you put them together,” Eddie reminded her. “Like what?”
“It’s hard to describe. Just that I felt … connected to the world somehow. And that I knew where to find something important. But it’s gone now—it’s hard to remember.”
“The Group probably wants this important thing, then.”
“And Glas and Dalton want to stop them.”
“Which makes them the bad guys, I guess.”
“Stikes is working for the Group,” she reminded him. “And based on past experience, when billionaires start making plans for the entire world I get a bit nervous.” She gazed into her drink. “They knew what would happen when I brought the statues together. Part of that they got from the Brotherhood … but what about the other part? Where did that come from? Popadopoulos said that some governments have their own secret archives, and you said Dalton told you that the Group has influence over governments …” She looked up at her husband. “Maybe that’s how they got the rest of their information.”
“Dalton might know,” Eddie suggested. “I could have another little chat.”
Nina shook her head. “It’s too risky. Hell, you’re taking a huge risk just coming back to New York—back to the States, even. All it takes is one cop to recognize you from a watch list …” She sat up, determination entering her voice. “We’ve got to clear your name—prove that you were acting in self-defense when you killed Kit. Otherwise you’ll be spending the rest of your life running. And I’m not going to let that happen.”
“I like the thought, love,” Eddie said gloomily, “but fuck knows how we’ll do it. We’ve got a video that doesn’t show the important bit, those numbers I found in Kit’s flat in Delhi that don’t mean anything without solving some puzzle …”
“What did it say again?”
“Something like and the best of the greatest. Alderley thinks that if you add the answer to the original number, you’ll get whatever Kit was trying to hide.”
“So all we have to do is figure out what Kit thought was the greatest. Or who.”
“He was a Hindu,” suggested Eddie. “Who’s the greatest Hindu god?”
“Shiva, I think. Although actually he’s considered to be one of a triumvirate—Brahma and Vishnu are equally powerful. But …” Another shake of her head. “It’ll probably be something more personal, something only Kit would know. The clue isn’t a riddle—it’s more like an aide-mémoire. The answer must be something he would immediately know, a significant number. A date, a time, an address …”
“A score,” said Eddie quietly.
Nina could tell that he thought he was on to something. “What kind of score?”
“A cricket score. Kit was mad keen on cricket, remember? Him and Mac were always banging on about it.” The thought of Kit’s murderous betrayal of the Scot caused a flare of anger inside him, but he suppressed it. “They were once arguing about who was the greatest player of all time—Kit thought it was an Indian guy. Can’t remember his name, though.”
Nina took out her iPhone. “Well, that’s why we have the Internet. Let’s have a look …”
A brief search produced an answer. “Sachin Tendulkar,” Eddie read. “Best score in