Double Cross

Chapter 10

THAT NIGHT, a man and a woman in jogging outfits were hidden deep in the crowd gathered on Connecticut Avenue, across from the Riverwalk apartments. As police cars continued to arrive, they were there, admiring their handiwork.

The brilliant creation, Yousef Qasim, was no more. Poof-gone but not forgotten. The male had played Yousef brilliantly, and the audience had been held spellbound from the moment he stepped out on the terrace, his stage. Apparently, many of these onlookers were still in awe of the bravura performance, still talking about it in hushed whispers.

What a fitting encore this was. Hours and hours after the show, all these looky-loos remained outside the luxury apartment building. New admirers arrived every few minutes. The press was all over it-CNN, the other majors, newspapers, radio, video artists, bloggers.

The man nudged the woman with his elbow. “You see what I see?”

She craned her neck, looking left, then right. “Where? There’s so much to look at. Help me out, here.”

“Four o’clock. Now do you see? That’s Detective Bree Stone getting out of the car. And the other one-that’s Alex Cross. I’m certain it is. Cross has come, and it’s only our first show. We’re a hit!”