glanced at his watch: 6:50 P.M.
“She and Albert are inside the chapel.”
“Take me to her.”
They entered the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist. Limestone walls and a tunnel-vaulted nave cast a Norman feel. Eleanor and Albert stood near the altar, among a few rows of empty wooden chairs. No one else was inside. William introduced Malone.
“What is an American agent doing here?” Eleanor asked.
The princess was an extraordinarily beautiful woman. But he reminded himself that she was also devious and dangerous.
“I’m here to stop you and your father-in-law.”
“From what?”
He caught the suggested incredulousness as she played her part.
“It’s over,” he told her.
And he displayed the homer, which he dropped to the floor and crushed with the heel of his shoe.
“Of course, it doesn’t matter. The missile was stopped at its launch point. There’ll be no attempt on Albert’s life.”
“My life?”
“It’s a complicated tale,” William said. “Your grandmother would like to explain it all to you. And she will, as soon as you are done here.”
A uniformed officer rushed inside. “Sir, we just received word that a missile has been spotted in the sky. Less than three minutes away and coming in this direction.”
William faced him. “How can that be?”
Malone’s mind raced.
Mathews had sent him here to expose Eleanor. Supposedly, MI6 could not be directly involved. Since the palace involved you, they trust you. That had been Mathews’ justification. The missile has been disarmed. No danger exists to Albert.
And the homer lay in pieces on the floor.
So—
Then it hit him.
Son of a bitch.
He lunged toward Eleanor and grabbed her by the throat. “Where is it?”
Her eyes went wide as she struggled against him.
Albert moved to help her, but William stopped him.
He tightened his grip. “We could stay here and wait for the thing to arrive. Weren’t you supposed to be gone by now?”
He saw the observation registered.
“My … purse.”
She carried no purse, and none was inside the chapel.
“Where?”
“Outside … my secretary has it.”
He released his hold and rushed from the chapel.
Malone scanned the Tower Green, William standing beside him. Two security men kept Eleanor and Albert inside the chapel, behind heavy stone walls. Albert had demanded an explanation, but there was no time. The man who’d provided the first warning stood with them, an ear fob linking him with security command.
“Missile is still inbound,” the young man said. “Two minutes to arrival. Give or take.”
“What is happening?” William asked.
“Eleanor brought a second homer. The real one.”
“There she is,” William said pointing. “Eleanor’s secretary. Her name is Audrey.”
He spotted the older woman, dressed in a dark business ensemble, standing off to the side, holding two purses. They sprinted for her and William ordered her to hand over Eleanor’s purse. She didn’t argue. Malone released its clasp and found another homer inside. Smashing it would certainly prevent the missile from landing at the Tower. But where would the warhead, with no guidance, finally strike the ground? It would fly until its fuel was depleted, then drop onto whatever lay below. Which could still be inside London. He had to make sure that nobody was hurt. His gaze locked on the gate that led from the Tower to the Thames, maybe 200 yards away.
“One minute,” the younger man said. “Still on course. Headed here.”
Malone grabbed the purse and bolted for the gate. His feet pounded the pavement as he kept on a straight line for the river. Inside his head he ticked off the time.
45 seconds.
40 seconds.
He crossed a broad walk and stopped at the bank.
30 seconds.
Or at least he hoped.
Nobody occupied any of the benches. The walkways were likewise deserted, as was the river in either direction for more than a mile. Surely all of those areas had been secured for the royal visit.
20 seconds.
He kept running and dropped the homer into the purse, then, using his momentum, hurled the bundle as far as he could out into the water. It splashed fifty-plus feet out, lingered a moment, then disappeared beneath the surface.
He heard the whine of the missile as it overflew the Tower and sought its target. He fled the bank and dove behind one of the concrete benches.
The missile arrived, dropping from the sky, splashing into the Thames.
Then exploded.
Yourstone sat in his study, his ears ready to register a low rumble as, across town, the missile slammed into the Tower Green. The resulting fireball should kill not only Albert and the Archbishop of Canterbury, but an assortment of lesser members of the royal family, too. A terrorist, bent on revenge against