揂long with the United Nations??the older women asked.
揑t would seem so.?
Apparently, he抎 been checked out too.
He stepped aside and motioned for them to go.
They passed without a word.
揙h, by the way.?
They stopped and turned around.
揌ere抯 my cell phone number.?
And he rattled it off. One of the younger nuns produced a phone and entered the digits. His phone buzzed in his pocket.
揟hat抯 mine,?she said.
He nodded. 揅all me when you抮e ready to talk. I might be able to help contain those images.?
They started to leave.
揕adies,?he said. 揙ne more thing. That laptop is being tracked. It抯 how I found you. Leave it there. Let the police find it.?
The younger nun nodded and the other woman laid it on one of the steps.
And they left.
He headed up to the third floor and exited the stairwell just as the elevator dinged and the car door opened. Zeekers and two of the uniforms marched off. He hoped the other two were stationed in the lobby and not watching the stairs or garage.
揗onsieur Lee,?Zeekers said. 揝ister Deal alerted us to your presence. The nuns are on this floor. Which you seem to already know.?
揑 followed them here but wasn抰 able to see which room they entered. I was trying to not be detected, until you arrived.?
He was acting like he was in on the call to the police.
Zeekers nodded. 揝ister Deal explained about the laptop and what you did. Let抯 see what these nuns have to say today.?
The inspector led the way to a door marked ?07?and used a key card to gain access. Inside was a spacious room with laminated furniture, a queen-sized bed, and a large bathroom. Views of Saint Bavos could be seen through the windows. But no people. No clothes or possessions.
揑 don抰 understand,?Zeekers said. 揟he hotel says this is their room. They checked in late last night.?Zeekers motioned and one of the uniforms found a radio and asked what was happening at their location. 揂ll clear,?was the response. Nick caught the annoyance on the inspector抯 face.
Zeekers found his cell phone and tapped the screen. 揝ister Deal, are you still tracking the computer??He listened a moment, then ended the call. 揝he says it抯 still at this location.?
揑t抯 a big hotel,?he pointed out.
Thankfully, the inspector wasn抰 pressing him on what happened, thinking him an ally. After all, he and Kelsey had led him here.
揝eal this floor,?Zeekers said to the uniforms, 搕hen search all the rooms.?
The two men nodded and hurried off.
揟his is all quite strange,?Zeekers said to him.
揑 agree,?Nick answered.
In more ways than one.
Chapter 31
Bernat completed the arduous climb to the mount at Monts間ur. He抎 come early to make the trek. A pilgrimage of sorts. One he抎 made many times before.
The loose soil and pebbles along the way presented their usual challenge. The steep rocky path wound up the cliff face through stands of cypress and pine, fragrant in the spring air. The wind had steadily increased, blowing with more gusto the higher he went. Stops had been created at points along the way and he抎 lingered at one that offered a panoramic view of the forests below. He抎 studied the car park and spotted Andre, discreetly placed to keep a watchful eye out for their visitor, who was expected to arrive in an hour or so.
The castle ruin loomed above him, ferocious and unwelcoming. Almost threatening. As if warning him not to come closer. The mountain抯 sheer power and height had surely once proved the citadel抯 best defense. Bringing a fully equipped army up here for an attack would have been nearly impossible. No wonder a siege mentality had prevailed.
The fortress itself was simple in design. A single postern, a massive keep, walls reinforced by limestone rock surrounding a long central courtyard. Once it had been home to several hundred. Now it seemed icy cold, nearly corpselike. Tour guides loved to link the fortress with the Cathars. And there was a connection, just not with this ruin. It was not the original stronghold. Instead, it was a seventeenth-century French border post destroyed during a war. The original castle had been razed in 1244, just after the Cathars surrendered the site.
He trudged toward an opening in the crumbling wall. A north wind whipped with no mercy, rushing across him as if angry. Scattered clouds overhead cast shadows. Once he was inside, the walls blocked the wind, offering a feeling of protection, but also one of isolation as nothing could be seen past the stone. A few other visitors had braved the climb and were enjoying the reverent ambience.
He exited the enclosed space through a doorway in the wall, finding a precipice, staring across an emerald-green valley that stretched for as far as he could see, ending at high peaks on the horizon. Patches of light swept across the hillsides. Above, a hawk rode the warm currents. The breeze whipped his hair. He wanted to stretch out his arms and ride the wind too. Where the other side of the pog from which he抎 come was climbable, this part dropped in a sheer fall of over twelve hundred meters. As no barriers blocked any approach to the edge, it would be an easy matter to leap right off. The height and grand vista energized him.