He gave the driver two twenty-dollar bills and told him to keep the change. He glanced left and right before slowly heading toward the departure gate. Police officers and security guards were posted everywhere he looked. Some people looked him squarely in his face as he walked past.
He had been explicit with his instructions to Annabel over the phone but still had some doubts. After the things he had seen in the last few days, he couldn’t completely trust anyone. The airport was packed with businessmen and families. He ran his hand across his clean-shaven head, which Erwin had helped him with the night before he left. Now he looked every bit the Frederick Wilson his passport said he was.
Just then an announcement came over the PA: “Could Robert Grayson please report to the customer information desk? That’s Robert Grayson to the customer information desk.”
Tobias edged into a currency exchange to his immediate right and watched the customer information desk intently. Many people hovered around it, but Annabel wasn’t among them. Where is she? He suddenly felt someone brush against his left shoulder, pushing him forward. He swallowed and wondered if he would turn to face the barrel of a gun. Instead, he was met with a fat man in a gray suit. Sweat poured from the man’s armpits, and a hot dog was lodged in his mouth. He dropped his briefcase and removed the food. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there.”
Tobias waved his apology away and gestured for the man to come closer.
***
Tobias found a comfortable seat in a busy café—about ten yards from the bureau—where he sipped on his cappuccino. The chunky man walked into view and looked back at him, his hands shaking. Tobias nodded twice and took another sip of his coffee. The man headed toward the customer information desk, occasionally bumping into people and looking toward Tobias each time. Fuck. He’s going to let everyone know where I am. Maybe I should have given him more than a hundred. Tobias gulped his coffee and stood up, leaving the half-full mug on the table. He moved to the corner of the café and sat behind a table occupied by two women and a man.
The man reached the front desk a few seconds later and spoke to a receptionist, who then picked up a telephone. Seconds later, a woman in a handsome suit appeared. Her hair was long and blond, exactly what Tobias had expected. It was Annabel. She embraced the fat man as if she knew him, much to the man’s surprise. The man then spoke to her, Annabel nodding all the while.
Tobias quickly got to his feet when he saw the man writing something on a piece of paper. The man had followed his instructions implicitly, and Tobias rushed out of the airport and toward the taxi lines. The lines were steadily growing, which was good for what Tobias had planned. He hid behind a large group of people a few yards away from the main line, moving left and right when they did. After a few moments, he saw Annabel walking toward the line, with no sign of people following or even watching her. But he had to be sure.
Annabel stopped a few feet from the front of the line and looked around. Tobias followed her eyes but saw no one, no burly men, no likely assassins, nobody with hands in bulging pockets concealing who knew what—nothing at all. He started toward her but stopped after a single step. Wait. Not yet. Annabel remained in the same position before squeezing between a man and a woman at the front of the line. Tobias edged closer and closer but remained hidden behind passersby. The woman Annabel had cut in front of stared at her for a second, as if trying to comprehend what had happened.
“Excuse me,” the woman shouted, and Annabel ignored her. The woman put her hand on Annabel’s shoulder. “There’s a line here, you know.”
A man who had been standing at least three people back approached them. “Is there a problem here?”
Annabel glared at him. “Mind your own business.”
“Lady,” the man said, “we’ve been standing here and waiting like normal people. I think you should get to the back of the line.” He was now standing right in front of Annabel.
“Fuck you,” Annabel said before turning away from him. The woman behind her gasped.
“Fuck me?” the man said. He grabbed Annabel’s wrist, but she grabbed his other wrist and twisted it. The man shouted in pain before Annabel kicked him to the ground. He fell against a thick-set man, and a cascade effect knocked more people to the ground. At that moment, a full-blown fracas broke out, with people lashing out at each other.
Women screamed and ran as the chaos continued. Guards rushed toward the scene, but Tobias didn’t see them or anyone else paying attention to Annabel. They were just trying to end the fracas. He picked up his bag up, bolted toward her and grabbed her by the wrist.
She instinctively clenched her fists before doing a double take.
“We’ve got to go,” Tobias said. “Now!”
She nodded and fled with him. He stopped her a few yards away from the departure gate as more guards ran toward the commotion. She took a deep breath and glared at him. “Really, Tobias? You thought I’d bring people? What happened to trusting each other? You made me start a fight for no reason.”
“I’m sorry. I had to be sure. I don’t know anything anymore.”
She threw herself into her arms. “I was so scared. I thought something had happened to you.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry. I had to figure some stuff out.”
She pulled away, a scowl on her face. “So what, you leave me a fucking note?” She hit him in the chest. “You don’t fucking do that to someone you’re meant to trust. Anything could’ve happened to you. You could’ve been killed.”
“But what good is there in running when you don’t know who’s after you. We think we do, but do we really? Do we even know the real agenda behind all this? Murray was killed for a reason, and so was my grandfather. That means that Penélope was also killed for a reason. I just had to find the connection between all those deaths. If we find it, we know who wants us dead.”
“And?”
I can’t tell her. Not yet. “Nothing. Everything just leads to brick walls. We need to get that money. We can continue investigating once we’re safe.”
Annabel nodded and picked up her bag. “We need to check in now then. Our flight leaves soon.”
“One more thing.”
Annabel turned back toward him.
“If we’re doing this, we do it my way. I call the shots. No more private phone calls. No more meeting people without me. I want to meet all of your contacts or there’s no us. Deal?”
Annabel nodded.
“Then let’s go.” Tobias walked past her toward the check-in desk. The guards had started returning to their posts. We’ve got to get out of here before they see Annabel on the security cameras.
***
The line at the check-in gate wasn’t especially long. Tobias tried to avoid making direct eye contact with anyone, but when he did, he looked squarely into the other’s eyes. He noticed Annabel looking at him strangely from time to time. “What?”
“I don’t know. There’s something different about you.”
Tobias smiled. “I just want my life back. I won’t be scared of these people anymore.”
“You look good. I told you that you looked handsome with no hair,” she said, drawing a chuckle from him.
When they reached the front of the line, he stepped aside, allowing Annabel to take the lead. The woman at the desk looked back and forth between Annabel and the passport a few times before nodding. “Any luggage?”
“Just my husband’s.”
Tobias placed their luggage on the conveyor and put his passport on the table. The woman looked at the picture and then at him. He looked straight into the woman’s eyes and smiled. The woman returned the smile and handed his passport back. “Have a good trip, Mr. Wilson.”
Annabel kissed him on the lips and put her arm through his, and they headed toward the terminal.
***
They arrived at Düsseldorf International Airport a little less than seven hours after takeoff. Tobias’ confidence had grown over the course of the trip
. The stewardesses had obviously not recognized either of them; some had spent several minutes chatting and laughing with them.
Walking through to the arrival gates, Tobias was surrounded by people speaking his mother tongue. He heard people who were obviously family members conversing, some expressing their delight in returning home. Annabel occasionally glared at him, frustrated at her inability to understand a single word of German. She occasionally asked what he found so funny, but he always just chuckled like a schoolboy.
The line at the international gate was split into two, one for German natives and one for all other nationalities. He remained in front of Annabel as they lined up in the non-German line, looking into the eyes of each guard scouring the area, but never for too long.
The woman at the desk, now just two people away, didn’t look as if she especially liked her job. She had long blond hair—almost white—and expressionless blue eyes. She looked bored and uninterested, and Tobias hoped this would work in their favor. When it was his turn, the woman looked at the passport for a second before staring at him. “Business or pleasure, Mr. Wilson?”
“Business,” he said firmly.
The woman flipped through the pages of the passport, stamped it and handed it back. He picked it up and took a deep breath. Then Annabel walked to the desk and smiled broadly as she placed her passport in front of the woman. The woman stamped it almost immediately and flashed a narrow smile at both of them before shouting, “Next!”
Tobias held on tightly to Annabel as they approached the baggage carousel. After picking up their luggage and clearing customs, he squeezed her hand and gave her a look of relief. He also admitted to himself that they probably made a very handsome couple and figured that was why they were drawing so many stares.
Annabel flipped the hair from her blond wig out of her eyes and pulled out the printed sheet of paper with their hotel-reservation details. She stuttered as she tried to read the address.
“Immermannstraße,” Tobias said.
She looked at him curiously.
“What you’re trying to say. It’s pronounced immermannstraße.”
She rolled her eyes, seemingly annoyed by the satisfaction in his voice. Although it was colder than in New York, the sun shone brightly as they approached the taxi line. It was warm enough that Tobias undid the buttons of his jacket, but he immediately felt exposed, knowing that neither he nor Annabel had a weapon.
They got into a taxi almost immediately, refusing the driver’s offer to put their luggage in the trunk. Annabel put her sunglasses on and held Tobias’ hand, and he smiled at her. He was very pleasantly surprised—she didn’t have to put on appearances in the cab, but she was showing him affection anyway.
They arrived at the Hotel Nikko ten minutes later. Tobias studied the exterior. It had a retro look, like a Vegas casino filled with blue light. Long streams of white light filled the entrance, and soft classical music played in the background.
They walked through the sliding doors. White marble floors with black stripes greeted them, along with beautifully crafted curved staircases. He caught a glimpse of the bar and a sign for the swimming pool as they approached the front desk, and he was reminded that this trip was far from a holiday even though it felt like one sometimes.
Check-in proved painless, and they entered the elevator almost immediately after leaving a credit-card imprint using one of Annabel’s fake cards. Their fourth-floor suite was spacious and comfortable, with gray carpets and white curtains. A forty-inch TV sat on a table across from the king-size bed, and in the other room a reclining love seat was positioned against the wall.
“Not bad,” Annabel said as she took her blazer and wig off. She opened the window and lit a cigarette.
“I don’t think you can smoke in here,” Tobias said.
“What are they gonna do, arrest us?”
He shook his head and stood beside her, where he stared out at his hometown. A steady stream of taxis pulled up to the hotel’s entrance. He looked at the tall white buildings, which would have been dwarfed by New York’s tallest. The feeling of being back home was indescribable. He just wished it were under less complicated circumstances.
“So you gonna call your guy?” Annabel said.
Tobias looked at her but didn’t speak. She went through her jacket and pulled out a touch-screen cell and handed it to him. Tobias stared at it. “He already knows what we need to do,” he said.
“But I don’t.”
He held out the phone to her. “And you’ll find everything out in time.” He put the phone in Annabel’s hand. “I told you, we do this my way or not at all.”
She put the phone on the windowsill. “I’m not the enemy, Tobias. How many more tests must I go through before you start trusting me?”
Tobias held her gaze for a few seconds and walked to the bathroom and shut the door. The shower spit water out ferociously and thoroughly soothed his body. The gel provided by the hotel smelled of apricot and honey and made him feel relaxed. He dried himself off while humming Purple Rain, by Prince. He realized that everything was silent outside the bathroom.
“Annabel, you should really try this shower,” he said. “It’s amazing.” No response. He wrapped the towel around him and opened the door. “Annabel—”
The barrel of a shotgun was waiting for him as he stepped out. He looked up to see a stocky man with an eye patch pointing it at him. “Come, Tobias,” the man said. “Come out and join us.”
Tobias took small steps out, noticing two more men standing beside the bed. One was tall and had thinning dark hair, and the other was a narrow-faced middle-aged man. He was afraid they had killed Annabel. Judging by the slight accent he detected in the one-eyed man’s voice, he guessed they were part of the Dominguez crew but couldn’t be sure whether they were Antonio’s or Juan’s men. The more immediate question in his mind was how they had found them.
“Who are you guys?” Tobias asked.
The middle-aged man stepped toward him. “Come on now, Tobias. You must know who we are. You’ve been watching recordings of us.”
Tobias swallowed with a dry throat and moved slowly toward the bathroom. The man holding the shotgun stood and extended it. “Uh-uh. That’s not a good idea, unless you want your brains all over the carpet.”
Tobias stopped in his tracks and glanced toward the main door. “What have you done with Annabel?”
She emerged from the other room, guided by the hand of another middle-aged man, this one with a gray ponytail. Juan.
“Hi, Tobias,” Juan said. “So we finally meet.” He looked him up and down. “I’m not sure I approve of the haircut.” He laughed. “I see you recognize me, though, which is a good thing, because you know just what I’ll do to you if you lie to me.” He walked toward Tobias and extended his right hand. Tobias stared at it without moving.
“Come on now, Toby. It is okay to call you Toby, right?”
Tobias was filled with rage. He thought only of the fact that the man who had probably sanctioned his grandfather’s murder stood right in front of him. He looked the gobernador squarely in the face.
“You do know it’s rude not to shake a guest’s hand,” Juan said. “It shows disrespect, and where I come from, I have only one way to deal with disrespect.”
Yeah, I know everything, you fucking piece of shit. Tobias shook Juan’s hand and looked at Annabel. “You okay?”
She nodded, probably too enthusiastically, he thought.
“What do you want?” he asked Juan.
Juan looked at the man with the shotgun and the other two men before bursting out in a fit of laughter, the rest quickly joining in. “He wants to know what we want,” the gobernador said. He abruptly stopped laughing and pulled out a Smith & Wesson and pressed the barrel against Tobias’ temple. “How about I just kill you right now, huh? What the fuck do you mean, ‘What do I want?’ You’ve got something that doesn’t belong to you and I want it back.”
Tobias swallowed and glanced at Anna
bel, who remained quiet as the narrow-faced man pointed a nine-millimeter at her.
“Don’t look at her,” Juan said. “She can’t get you out of this. You have only two options: give me the recording or die in this hotel room. Personally, I’d rather go on a beach, probably on my ninetieth birthday, listening to Julio Iglesias. But I don’t know about you.”
You’ll kill me anyway, you bastard, just like you killed my grandfather. “I ... I don’t have it,” Tobias said.
Juan pressed the gun deeper into his temple and cocked it. “You better speak again, but this time talk carefully.”
Tobias trembled, and Annabel looked at him without showing any emotion. “I swear I don’t have it,” he said, “but it’s somewhere safe.”
Juan half-laughed, uncocked his gun and put it into his pocket. “Let me guess. It’s linked to some special program that will automatically detect when your pulse stops and then send it to the FBI or the police.”
Tobias wiped sweat from his forehead. “Don’t you think that if I wanted to give it to the police, they’d have it already?”
Juan looked at the man who held a gun to Annabel, and he nodded. The gobernador turned back to Tobias and took a step back. “Okay, I’ll give you that. You could have gone to the police by now, but you obviously haven’t. Why? Did my nephew put you up to this to blackmail me?”
What?! He thinks Antonio made the recording? What the fuck is going on? Tobias looked at Annabel again, almost looking for a steer on how to answer the barrage of questions. “I don’t ... I... I’ve never met Antonio before.”
Juan stood right in front of Tobias. “But you’ve got a recording of me?”
Tobias nodded.
“What’s on it?”
“You know.”
“But I want you to tell me. What exactly did you see on it?”
“It ... It shows you shooting someone.”
The Kiss after Midnight (The Midnight Trilogy) Page 24
