Private Beijing

Chapter 107

A week later, Justine and I were standing in the garden of Jessie Fleming’s parents’ home with some of the Private New York team. Sam and Ellen Fleming looked small and fragile, diminished by the trauma of the past couple of weeks and the near loss of their daughter. There were some members of her extended family there too, and school and college friends. We were all waiting to welcome her home. She had come out of her coma the day after I’d returned to New York but was only being discharged today.

Justine and I stood apart from the main group and sipped cold lemonade on the warm August afternoon, enjoying the sounds and smells of rural upstate New York. The Flemings clearly spent a great deal of time on their garden, and everything from the magnificent pine trees to the tiny delicate wildflowers looked well cared for.

Justine glanced at me and smiled. We hadn’t been able to get enough of each other since my return from Moscow. I’d visited Jessie every day, grateful to see her strength returning, and Justine had insisted on coming with me. When she had needed to attend to paperwork, I’d sit in the same room and catch up on my own admin. We were happiest being around each other.

I smiled back at her, expressing the warmth and contentment I felt. Maybe one day she would get me to make that promise to stay by her side and let others rush into danger. The draw of being with her was strong enough.

My phone rang and alerted me to a Beijing number I didn’t recognize. My heart skipped a beat. I half expected bad news when I answered.

“Hello?” I said tentatively.

“Jack, it’s Shang Li,” my business partner said, much to my relief.

Across the garden, I saw a community ambulance pull up beyond the gate. The driver jumped out and ran to the back.

“And Zhang Daiyu,” she said. “You’re on speaker.”

“Save this number,” said Li. “This is the new Private Beijing office line. We just wanted to let you know.”

“That’s great,” I replied. “How are things over there?”

“Fortune smiles on us,” Shang Li replied. “David Zhou was released from prison. I don’t know if he spoke to his allies about us, but we’ve been approved for government contracts. We can expand the scope of our work considerably. And my wife says I must thank you again.”

“Thank Zhang Daiyu,” I replied. “I couldn’t have done it without her.”

“Of course,” he said.

I looked across the garden and saw Jessie being pushed toward us in a wheelchair by a nurse.

“Listen, Li, I need to go. Let’s catch up properly at our next monthly Zoom meeting,” I said.

“Look forward to it,” he said.

“Talk soon, Jack,” Zhang Daiyu added.

“Count on it,” I replied, before hanging up.

A crowd had formed around Jessie, with her parents at the heart of it. There were tears in their eyes as they greeted their daughter and welcomed her back to her childhood home. She looked gaunt and exhausted, but her doctors said she’d make a full recovery.

Justine and I edged our way toward her. She looked up at me and smiled.

“Good to see you, Jessie,” I said.

“You too, Jack,” she replied, her eyes brimming over.

Justine took her hand. “We missed you.”

Jessie nodded and we backed away to give others a chance to talk to her.

“Do you think she’ll be okay?” Justine asked when we were some distance from the group.

I knew the toll these things took, often felt most profoundly in the mind. We had been to Lewis Williams’s funeral a few days prior, and I’d seen unending grief in his parents’ eyes. They would never recover from the loss of their son. Jessie at least had a chance.

“With time,” I replied. “With time.”

Justine took my hand and we walked beneath the high trees for a while.

Fifteen minutes later, I saw Sci and Mo-bot enter the garden and greet Jessie. She was so overwhelmed she was crying now. They left her after a minute or so and came to join us.

“Good to see her out,” Mo-bot remarked.

Justine and I nodded.

“The DA is still figuring out how to prosecute Rafael,” Sci said. “It looks likely he’ll face conspiracy to murder.”

I shook my head. Rafael’s role in all this was one of my greatest disappointments. He could have come to any of us. Instead, his life and those of so many others had been ruined. My thoughts turned red every time I thought about his betrayal of Private, but there was sadness for him too. He’d been taken advantage of by an evil man. I would never forgive Rafael, but I would probably never stop pitying him either.

“You think West will take you up on your offer?” Mo-bot asked.

“I hope so. Carver arranged for him to have two weeks stateside to visit family and then he’s going back to Moscow.”

“For now,” Sci remarked.

“For now,” I agreed.

“So, are you ready?” Mo-bot asked. “We’ve got a plane to catch.”

“I think so,” I replied, looking at Justine.

“Perfectly ready,” she said. “Let’s go.”

She took my hand and we started our journey home.