The Hypnotist

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Marie Grimshaw’s jaw hurt where her captor had slapped her, and her hip throbbed where he’d kicked her. Her heart was beating so hard and so fast she didn’t think it could keep going for much longer. She watched as the FBI agent flicked his lighter and wasn’t sure she could tolerate the flood of tension that rose in her. When the blue-orange flame flared, Nina felt Veronica’s whole body spasm as if the fire had reached out and burned her.

“What is it, baby?” Nina asked, bending over, whispering in her granddaughter’s ear.

“What is taking them so long? Where are they?” Veronica groaned.

“Who, darling? Who?”

“Hosh. Our sons! The people from the shtetl?”

Nina shook her head in frustration and looked back at the FBI agent.

Beside them, Andre Jacobs hung on to Emeline’s arm and she struggled to support him and keep him upright. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” he muttered, a fool’s promise, a drunk’s ranting, even as his knees buckled for the third time.

Samimi’s panic was escalating as he watched the scene play out. Everything had been timed. He needed the men to move Hypnos out of there and get it down to the warehouse before Taghinia met them there. All of Samimi’s plans depended on that small window of time he’d built into the schedule, but they were fast using up every one of those extra seconds, and the way things were going he was going to lose his opportunity. There was nothing to do now but go take over, even though he was supposed to stay in the background. Samimi allowed himself a glance at Deborah. He didn’t want her to see this. Wished there was some way to avoid it. But he knew there wasn’t.

Her eyes met his. Her terror was so intense it pained him. But he had only minutes to spare. If everything went all right, it wouldn’t matter that he’d exposed himself, and if it didn’t…well, Taghinia would take it out on him anyway, and nothing he did now would make that punishment any more merciful.

“Where is the other sculpture?” Samimi shouted. “Get it down here immediately. As soon as we see it, we’ll remove the belts.”

Lucian shouted at Weil. “Do it. Now.”

Weil looked at Olshling and nodded.

“I can get it here in ten minutes,” Olshling said.

“You have three,” Samimi said. He nodded to two of his men. “Go with him.”

As soon as the men were gone he pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number. “Stand by,” Samimi said to the man on the other end of the phone. “We’ll be ready to move out in five to six minutes.”

Across the room he felt Deborah’s eyes still on him, but this time he didn’t look.