Page 119 of A Touch of Treachery
Henrika could have leaked the info and tried to take down General Percy herself, but no one would have believed someone on Section 47’s most-wanted list.No, the info had to come from someone else, someone who could follow elaborate electronic and paper trails, someone who could put all the puzzle pieces together, and maybe, most important of all, someone who wouldn’t back down from Jethro Percy no matter what.
Me, Charlotte Locke, analyst extraordinaire.
A bitter laugh burst out of my lips.I’d known Henrika was smart, but the way she’d set all this up was nothing short ofspectacular.
My mind whirred again as I considered the biggest question of all: What was I going to do with the information?
I scooped my phone up off the floor.First things first.I had to tell Desmond what I’d found ...or did I?
My finger hovered over the call button, then wilted down to my side.Ever since the Winterfest mission, Desmond and his father had been getting along better.Oh, they weren’t best friends by any stretch of the imagination, but Desmond didn’t tense every time the General stepped into a room, and Percy didn’t always take a superiorI-know-what’s-best-for-youtone with his son.The General had even been, well, not polite, but less hostile to me.
I didn’t want to ruin Desmond’s thawing relationship with his father.And more selfishly, I didn’t want to drive a wedge between Desmond and myself by blowing the whistle about General Percy’s past sins.
Could I do this?Could I really keep quiet about Percy’s old partnership with Henrika?Could I really forget I’d finally figured out where the ransom money had gone?Money that had taken years for Grandma Jane and me to pay back to Gabriel and his father?
Those questions and a dozen others swirled through my mind.I reached out with my magic, trying to find a solution, the way I had so many times before, but my synesthesia was deathly quiet.This was one danger, one hazard, one minefield I would have to navigate on my own.
My gaze drifted over to the blue recliner by the windows.The chair had been an early Christmas present to myself as I slowly refurnished the apartment, although I’d been so busy working that I hadn’t sat in it more than a dozen times.
But in my mind’s eye, it was Grandma Jane’s favorite recliner, and she was firmly ensconced in the seat, while I perched on the left arm.Grandma Jane was clutching a crystal mockingbird figurine and slowly rocking the two of us back and forth as we waited for news about my father and whether he was coming home from Mexico—or not.
For a moment, I could hear the soft, steadycreak-creak-creakof the recliner, see the crystal glimmering in my grandmother’s wrinkled hands, even smell the faintest whiff of her rose perfume.
I blinked.The image, the memory, faded away, but my heart wrenched in my chest.
I knew what I had to do, no matter what it might cost me.
I drew in a deep breath, then let it out and set my phone aside.And then I leaned forward and started typing again, working on a brand-new report about Henrika Hyde—and General Jethro Percy.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CHARLOTTE
Ateighto’clockthenext morning, I walked into Section 47 headquarters just as I had so many times before.
I stopped in the lobby and turned around in a slow circle, looking at the shops and restaurants in the pedestrian mall, the Section 47 cafeteria off to the side, and everything in between.This might be the last time I was ever in this building, and I wanted to remember it.
Evelyn was sitting at her desk, although she got to her feet and scooped up some folders at my approach.
“Ready for the meeting?”I asked.
She nodded.“Yep.Care to tell me what it’s about since you’re the one who requested it?”
“You’ll find out along with everyone else.”
Evelyn’s dark eyebrows lifted, but she didn’t question me as we went through the turnstile and stepped into the elevator.I got off on level three, while Evelyn headed down to level five.I went to my cubicle, but it looked the same as always—a sterile functional space with only one personal touch.
I didn’t know if I would be coming back here after the meeting, so I plucked the crystal mockingbird figurine off my desk and slipped it into my pocket.Then I grabbed all the files and folders I needed, along with a flash drive, and went down to the fifth level.
A few cleaners and liaisons were typing on their laptops or murmuring into their phones.I went past them and stopped at Joan’s desk.
“Where’s Desmond?”I asked, eyeing his empty chair.
She shrugged.“I think he went up to level four looking for General Percy.”
My stomach clenched.Even though I’d prepared myself for this moment, it was going to be even more difficult than I’d imagined.
Joan’s forehead crinkled.“Are you okay?You look sick to your stomach.”
