The Book of Names

by Jill Gregory

  Staring at the tarot card, David studied the artistic rendering of the bridge’s architecture. The similarity to the Tower Bridge was striking, the same Victorian style, the combination of bascule and suspension, the masonry . . .

  It wasn’t a precise rendering, but still. . .

  London Bridge is falling down.

  The childhood refrain sang in his head. Even though he knew it referred to a different bridge, not the one near the Tower of London, the words kept spinning across his brain.

  London Bridge. Falling down. The figure falling in the card. . .

  The Tower card. The Tower Bridge?

  David felt chilled. Was the card a warning? Were the Gnoseos planning to launch some kind of attack on London? Ox from it?

  And why would someone want two thousand copies of the same card . . . warning or no?

  “Here’s a taxi—come on!” Yael called, as a cab screeched to the curb before her.

  David loped toward it as she ducked inside, his brain whirling in too many directions, all of them crisscrossing to form a roadmap he couldn’t yet follow.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  The familiar ring of his cell phone bleated as the cabbie blared his horn at a bus swinging into his lane. Finally!

  “Hey, pal,” Hutch’s voice boomed in his ear. “I’ve got someone here who’s been waiting to talk to you.”

  “Not as long as I’ve been waiting to talk to her.” David’s heart leapt and stayed airborne as he listened to Stacy’s small clear voice.

  “David, Mom said you tried to warn us that a man was going to hurt me. How did you know?”

  He closed his eyes, at a loss for words. How could he explain it to her, when he couldn’t explain it to himself?

  “David? Are you there?”

  “I’m here, Munchkin. I can’t tell you the whole story right now, but you need to do everything Hutch tells you. Stay inside, stay right by him. No wandering off.”

  “That man could come back?”

  “Him, or someone like him.” David grimaced as he heard Stacy start to cry.

  “I’m scared. Why can’t you come here with us?”

  Her plea tore him in two.

  “I wish I could, sweetheart. I’d give anything to be with you right now. But there’s some place else I need to go, some place far away. It’s very important—and it has to do with protecting you.”

  “How f-far? . . .” she began, her voice quivering. And then he heard Meredith demand the phone.

  “David, what the hell is going on? What did you get yourself mixed up in? Do you know someone nearly choked her to death in our own backyard and tried to throw her in the trunk of a car?”

  David opened his mouth to answer, but Meredith steamrolled on.

  “Do you know we are in fucking Arizona, holed up in the middle of nowhere with wildfires burning all around us? I can’t reach Len and we’re supposed to be going on our damned family honeymoon! What the hell have you gotten us into—”

  “Meredith, let me talk to Hutch.” David gritted his teeth.

  “Not until you tell me what you’ve done. You put my daughter in danger, and I have a right to know.”

  “Meredith, it’s the end of the world, ok? I’m trying to stop it. Now let me talk to Hutch.”

  There was a sharp intake of breath. He could just picture the fury—the disbelief—on her face. “It’s the end of the world. He wants you.” Her voice dripped sarcasm.

  “What’s the deal, pal? Your backup team hasn’t shown yet.”

  Hutch again. A voice of reason.

  “That’s because they’re dead. Someone blew them up over the Atlantic, but another team should be there any time now. Think you can hold the fort?”

  “Can a bear crap in the woods?”

  “Listen. I’m leaving the country as soon as I can book a flight out. Just for a few days. Your backup team is Israeli. Make sure they say a few prayers in Hebrew before you let them in the door.”

  “Like “Hava Nagila,” shalom and oy?”

  “Smart ass. Those aren’t prayers.” David closed his eyes as the cab made a hard right turn, narrowly missing a bicycle messenger. “I’m trusting you with everything, Hutch. You know that, right?”

  “Like I know my own blood type.”

  David shoved his cell back in his pocket.

  “She was crying,” he said.

  Yael’s hand touched his, resting lightly on his fingers. “David, I’m sorry. It’s awful.”

  Her touch was gentle as a feather, yet warmth flowed from her fingertips. It seemed to melt a little of the cold dread inside him.

  “With any luck, we’ll get onto a flight leaving JFK tonight,” she said.

  Luck. Was that all it came down to? Luck? Wishbones? Four leaf clovers?

  God only knows, he thought darkly as the Riverside Tower came into view.

  GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

  Tom McIntyre jumped from his chair, nearly toppling his coffee mug across the quizzes he’d been grading as two uniformed police officers charged into the office.

  “Are you David Shepherd?” The younger officer advanced toward his desk and waved a search warrant in his face.

  What a cocky SOB. Tom’s hackles rose instantly. With those pink cheeks, the regulation crew cut, and the show-off physique of a lifeguard. And the eyes, Tom noted. Pure cop.

  “No. Tom McIntyre,” he said, ignoring the search warrant. “What’s this all about?”

  “Do you know where David Shepherd is?”

  “Why do you want to know?” Tom met the cop eye to eye. He couldn’t imagine any scenario in which the police would come looking for his office mate, especially with a search warrant. David’s best friend was a priest, for God’s sake, and his father had been a U.S. senator. How much more of a straight arrow could he be?

  “When did you last see him?”

  Tom hesitated a second, trying to gather his thoughts.

  “Uh, several days, I guess. Monday or Tuesday of last week . . . I can’t really remember.”

  “This is his office, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. And mine. Look, why don’t you tell me what this is all about?”

  “Murder.” The second cop finally opened his mouth.

  Tom hoped his shock didn’t register on his face.

  “David Shepherd’s housekeeper was found murdered in his home, Professor McIntyre,” the second officer continued, his voice as gritty as his appearance, with his square jaw and aggressive stance. “We need to ascertain that Professor Shepherd is all right.”

  Officer Cocky took over. “We can’t get an answer on his cell phone. Would you know if this is the correct number?” He pushed a slip of paper under Tom’s nose.

  It was David’s number all right.

  “That’s it.” Shaken, and trying not to look it, Tom moistened his lips, his mouth suddenly dry. “He went to New York for a few days—on personal business. As you know, the power’s been down there, the phones, everything. That’s probably why you didn’t get an answer.”

  The young officer studied him evenly. “Probably.”

  The second cop had already begun riffling through David’s desk drawers. He yanked up the framed picture of Stacy and showed it to his partner, who nodded in recognition.

  “Do you know who she is?” the second cop demanded.

  “Yeah. That’s his stepdaughter.”

  Tom gave them Stacy’s name and Meredith’s. His stomach rose into his chest as the police asked where they lived.

  “Listen, I’ve got to tell you, David Shepherd would never kill anybody. I mean, he plays a mean game of squash, but that’s as ferocious as the guy gets.” Against his instincts, Tom sank back down into his chair.

  “Professor,” Officer Cocky began, condescension dripping from his tongue, “we aren’t accusing your roommate of murdering anyone. We just want to talk to him, okay? Make sure he’s not a victim of foul play himself. So if you know where he is, it would be in his best interests, and yours, t
o share that with us.”

  “All I know is he went to New York.” Tom hated the fact that David could regularly beat him at squash and could outclimb him. Granted, there were times he secretly itched to see David take a fall. But he didn’t wish this on him. Officer Cocky looked like he was champing to earn his stripes. Or to put David in some.

  For the better part of an hour, they tore through David’s desk, files, bookshelves, even the test papers in the top drawer.

  When they were done they handed Tom a card with a case number and their contact information. The cocky one left Tom with the strong “suggestion” that he call them immediately if he heard from David.

  He waited until he was sure they’d started down the stairs before he closed the door and went for his phone.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Officer Scott Conrad typed the date on the APB in between bites of a ham and cheese sandwich he’d grabbed from the University deli on the way back to the station.

  His partner, Lou Minelli, had returned to the victim’s house to interview her adult daughter once again. Conrad wished him luck. They’d gone together to fill out the initial report and he’d had to stifle his impatience as the daughter sobbed so hard she was almost incoherent.

  By her account, Eva Smolensky had left a stew simmering in the Crock-Pot before she left for Shepherd’s house. The daughter’s dinner. The bereaved was a thirty-year-old CVS photo clerk. Mother had called daughter at work, letting her know she was going to clean Shepherd’s home and not to wait dinner for her. That was the last time the cleaning woman’s daughter heard her mother’s voice.

  Conrad liked this case. He liked it a lot. He’d like it even better when Dr. Shepherd was sitting across the interrogation table from him.

  Eyes narrowed, his fingers drummed the keyboard.

  Attention all police departments and agencies. Be on the look-out for subject wanted in the questioning of a homicide at 233 D Street NE, Washington, D.C.

  Looking for Professor David Shepherd, white male, thirty-three years old, six foot two, 188 lbs., brown hair, hazel eyes, no distinguishing characteristics. DOB: August 15, 1973. Residing at 233 D Street NE, Washington, DC.

  Conrad slugged back a swallow of Dr Pepper and wiped his mouth with a flimsy paper napkin. He scanned the computer screen for typos, then continued.

  Subject said to be in New York City. May be traveling by plane, train, or rented vehicle. Please detain and immediately contact the Washington, D.C., Police Department.

  Officer Conrad hit the SEND key, dispatching the All Points Bulletin to the New York City Police Department and to the Transportation Safety Board for immediate distribution to all New York and New Jersey airports.

  Once the communication centers there circulated the APB, Conrad told himself, it would simply be a matter of time.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  “David—” Yael’s voice was sharp with apprehension as she looked at his stunned expression. “Who was that? What did they say?”

  He shook his head in disbelief, his mouth opening and closing in sync with the clenching of his jaw.

  “Tell me what’s wrong,” she demanded, jumping up from the chair where she’d been watching CNN coverage of one disaster after the next. She stopped before him, wondering what had turned his complexion to ash.

  “Eva’s dead.”

  “Who’s Eva?”

  “My housekeeper. Someone murdered her—in my house.”

  He closed his eyes a moment and saw the baggy-lidded eyes and tired smile of the diligent woman who’d scoured his house once a week for the past seven years.

  He opened his eyes and looked straight at Yael. “The police are looking for me.”

  “Oh my God.” Her face tightened. “When did they find her?”

  “I have no idea. That was Tom McIntyre—we share an office at Georgetown. They came with a search warrant and tore apart my desk. They know I’m in New York.” Nausea churned in his stomach.

  “This means we can’t wait for morning—we have to get to the airport right now and get you through security before your picture is plastered all over JFK.”

  David stared at her blankly, still too overcome with shock to think clearly. “First I have to check in with the police—”

  “No” Yael pushed him into the chair. “Think about it, David. Whoever killed Eva might have been there looking for you. If you contact the police, they won’t let you leave the country until they make an arrest.”

  He knew she was right. Still, he wavered.

  Yael was already gathering up her toiletries, her movements swift and sure. “We’re going to have to spend the night at the airport. I’m taking a quick shower while you pack.”

  When the bathroom door had shut behind her, David paced the room, his thoughts racing.

  It’s my fault for asking Eva to meet Dillon there, he thought. But Dillon had said she was gone before he got there. And the vacuum cleaner hadn’t been put away. . . .

  Because she was dead already, David realized. He stopped pacing, staring blindly out the window.

  So why didn’t Dillon find her body?

  Sweat dripped from his armpits. Dillon and the killer had probably been there within moments of each other. Dillon’s the one who might be able to help the police. . . .

  But Dillon’s out of the country, he remembered.

  His stomach dropped. Dillon was his best friend. He could have been killed along with Eva. Because they were after me?

  He strode to his duffel and tossed it on the bed, then rolled up the shirt he’d worn yesterday and stuffed it in. As the flickering image on the television caught his eyes, he grabbed the remote and canceled the “mute” command.

  “The wind has shifted here in Arizona,” a long-haired female correspondent reported. “A hundred thousand acres have already burned and now the fire has changed direction, advancing on Flagstaff, heading away from the backfires intentionally set behind it. This is a tremendous blow to the efforts of firefighters who have battled around the clock for the past thirty-six hours. The sheriff’s department is advising residents to be prepared to evacuate should that become necessary. This is Dana Landau, reporting live from Flagstaff.”

  Terror slammed him. Meredith had shouted something about wildfires, but he’d paid scant attention.

  Hutch will have to move them, and David knew what that meant. Hutch had taught him years ago, while guarding his family, that being on the move upped the danger quotient.

  Suddenly, he needed to hear Stacy’s voice again. One more time before his plane left the runway tomorrow morning.

  There was something he hadn’t told her. Meredith had grabbed the phone away before he’d had the chance.

  One more time, before he left the country, before the world ended, he needed to make sure Stacy knew how much he loved her.

  Yael turned on the shower full blast and thought about David being wanted by the police. His brand-new passport is worthless.

  As she waited for the water temperature to stabilize, she leaned against the counter and considered their options. She’d known Avi for fifteen years and for fifteen years she’d listened to him boast about his unlimited ingenuity.

  It was time to call him on it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Staring down from the hotel window at the freighters on the Hudson, tension seared across David’s shoulders. It was déjà vu all over again. Hutch, Meredith, and Stacy weren’t answering their cells.

  He’d muted the sound again on the TV, but still the images of raging wildfire and black smoke blazed across the screen.

  The backfires weren’t helping. Nothing was. He could only hope that Hutch could dodge the path of the fire.

  He heard Yael switch off the bathroom faucet, but another part of his brain heard Stacy screaming his name in terror.

  No. He switched off that nightmare tape and reminded himself that Karl Hutchinson was the best at what he did—no one could get by Hutch to hurt Stacy and Meredith, no
t even a Dark Angel.

  “None of them are picking up,” he called to Yael. “I’ve got a bad feeling about it.” He turned from the window and stopped cold.

  Yael stood at the foot of her unmade bed. Her terry cloth hotel robe hung half-open, her green eyes looked translucent with fear. Beside her, the blond monolith pressed a four-inch hunting knife to her throat.

  I never heard a thing.

  Up close, David realized the guy was just a kid—a massive kid. Broad as a football player with a face like a gung-ho ROTC cadet. There was something off with his eyes. They were pale blue, almost colorless, and as empty of emotion as a pair of Ping-Pong balls. He looks like a cross between a college linebacker and a contract killer.

  “Let her go,” David said. He licked his lips. The two gemstones in his pocket suddenly burned like hot coals, scalding against his thigh. He stared at the vein in Yael’s throat pulsing mere millimeters from where the blade pressed against her skin.

  How do you reason with a Dark Angel?

  “I’m sure the two of us can reach some sort of agreement if you don’t hurt her,” he began, taking a slow step forward. “First of all, you have to let her go.”

  “I’ll think about it—after you give me your little red book.”

  He knows about my journal. David was stunned. We thought he was after the gemstones, or the rabbi’s satchel.

  Drawing a breath, David sized up the hulk. Take your time. Get your footing. He’s no older than one of your students. And from the way he’s sweating, just as insecure.