There was a barely perceptible bulge beneath his arm, marking him as armed and left-handed. Claudia stayed to his right so as not to interfere if the weapon should become necessary. He was taking in everything around them, whereas she seemed oblivious to her surroundings. Clearly, Claudia Gould had found a man she believed she could trust.
Sadly, the girl, Anna, was still missing. Caring for a child tended to cause people to drop their guard. Having said that, it was hard to complain. Over the course of the last few days, the situation had gone from unproductive boredom to rather promising. Claudia was within reach and the as-yet-unidentified servant seemed to work and run errands on a predictable schedule.
Cyrah smiled and turned the key in the ignition. Finally, something they could work with.
The gate was more or less functioning again and Rapp pushed a button on his key chain to start it grinding slowly open. Cleaning products were neatly lined up inside the wall, suggesting that Bebe was still hard at it. Sadie had remained in character the entire drive, expressing her relief that the Guatemalans were dealt with, throwing out ideas about the house renovations, and lamenting Anna’s absence.
As they pulled in, Bebe appeared on the front porch, her short gray hair hidden under a bandana and broom in hand. She leaned it carefully against the wall and walked across the recently mowed lawn to greet them.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Sadie said, smiling warmly and offering a hand. Her already amazing accent seemed to improve every time she opened her mouth. “Thank you so much for coming to help us. I know these aren’t ideal conditions but I’m certain we can get things back on track.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Claudia. And don’t worry. I like a challenge.”
Sadie put a hand on her back and began ushering her toward the house. “Why don’t you give me a tour of the damage and tell me a little more about yourself? Mitch has hardly said a word. You know how he can be. Or if you don’t, you will soon.”
He was about to return to the SUV for Sadie’s suitcase, when Bebe glanced back at him and mouthed, “Wow.”
Wow indeed.
CHAPTER 30
NORTH OF CAPE TOWN
SOUTH AFRICA
CYRAH Jafari glanced at the odometer and confirmed that she was now ten kilometers from the nearest paved road. The land around her was largely flat and covered with low, dusty foliage. Roughly two hundred meters to the east, a shallow canyon dropped to a river that provided enough water for tightly packed trees to replace the brush.
The rain against her windshield was light but starting to create a layer of mud on the dirt track. If she stayed out there too long, the nondescript hatchback might have problems getting her back to civilization. A good excuse to keep the conference quick and efficient.
Deeming the location sufficiently remote, she shut down the engine and stepped out into the mist. This time she limited herself to a range of no more than ten meters from her vehicle. What she didn’t need was to replicate the disastrous spectacle of her last staff meeting. While the mutilation of those two men had been immediately blamed on gang violence, involving herself in their deaths had been a careless mistake. And she wasn’t in the business of making mistakes—careless or otherwise.
With her communications application active and a wired headset inserted in her ear, she scanned the empty landscape and waited. Her two colleagues would be in similarly remote locations, but she had no idea where—not even what continent. With modern technology there was no need for the others to be physically present during an operation. That was her role, and hers alone.
A tone sounded and she was connected a few moments later.
“Everyone is well?”
Affirmatives all around in the precise wording they’d agreed upon. Any deviation would signal a problem and result in them going to ground until contact could be safely reestablished. Likely never.
“With our recent stroke of luck, can I assume you’ve made some progress?”
“Some,” Nasrin said. “But I can’t help wondering why they’ve returned.”
“Meaning what?”
“Meaning that Burhan had stabilized the house and looked to be preparing to move their things to a storage unit before he unexpectedly disappeared. Now, suddenly they’re not only back, but back with a servant.”
“It seems likely that Claudia decided she wanted to take a more hands-on role in repairing the place,” Cyrah said. “It’s perfectly livable—particularly the second floor. And with the Guatemalan threat neutralized, why not?”