Hell's Corner

CHAPTER 61

^“Anything interesting?” Chapman asked as she watched Stone gazing over the message board. His eyes focused on one piece of paper set about two inches from where he’d put his message the night before. He read over it, quickly translating the coded response.

“Yes. Let’s go.”

The trip was short and they soon arrived at the apartment located over a dry cleaner’s. Adelphia answered their knock and motioned them in. They sat down. Stone slowly looked around. “I didn’t know you had moved back in here.”

“I haven’t,” said Adelphia. She had on a long skirt, a white tunic and a string of green beads. Her black-and-silver hair was pulled together at the nape of her neck. “This is just temporary.” She paused. “I was surprised to see your note.”

“I’m glad to see that the little code we came up with is still effective.”

“What can I do for you?” she prompted.

“How is Fuat Turkekul?”

“Is that why you came here? To get information about him?”

“Is that a problem?”

“I know you are having him followed. That could be very dangerous for Fuat.”

“The shots in the park came from a government office building. How dangerous do you think that is?”

Adelphia sat back, her features inscrutable to a stranger like Chapman. But Stone could tell she was both intrigued and concerned.

“You have confirmed this?”

“To my satisfaction, yes.”

“And why tell me? I am not part of the investigation. My mission has to do with Fuat, nothing more.”

“What if one is connected to the other?”

“I do not think that likely.”

Chapman, who had been sitting there silently, blurted out, “But can you just dismiss it like that? You have to account for the possibility. Otherwise you’re not doing your bloody job.”

Adelphia didn’t bother to look at her. “I didn’t expect you to partner with such a nervous person, Oliver.”

“Do you discount the possibility?” he asked. “To such a degree that you won’t prepare for it?”

Adelphia hunched forward. “Fuat is prepared for anything.”

“He eats, he teaches classes, he reads. I suppose somewhere in there he works on finding bin Laden, even if he is seven thousand miles away.”

“As you were told, the plans are in the preliminary stage.”

“Very preliminary. Ever since my colleague has been following him he’s done very little prepping.”

“It is not always obvious.”

“It is somewhat obvious, Adelphia. To the trained eye.”

“What exactly are you saying?”

“That what I was told about Fuat may not be true.”

“In what way?”

“That he’s not actually going after Osama bin Laden.”

Adelphia sat back. Stone noted that the fingers of her left hand twitched a bit.

He continued, “It’s logical, isn’t it? To throw me off stride you tell me Fuat is going after the most sought-after terrorist since Hitler. You probably counted on the fact that the name alone would preclude the need for further explanation.”

Chapman said, “You mean he’s not going after bin Laden?”

Stone kept his gaze on Adelphia. “Well?”

She rose and strode over to the window and looked out.

“There’s no one out there,” he said. “At least no one connected to me. But maybe that’s not what you’re concerned about.”

She turned back to him. “This is not something you want to become involved in, Oliver. It really isn’t. I say this to you as an old friend.”

“I’m already involved.” He rose. “And I have one more question for you.”

“I promise no answer.”

“Turkekul wasn’t at the park to meet with you that night. So who was he really there to see?”