The Whole Truth

CHAPTER 51

ON THE DRIVE over to Anna’s former office, Shaw pulled out the business card he’d been given and called MI5 agent Edward Royce. The man answered on the second ring and Shaw explained that he was in London and had reconsidered helping Royce on the Red Menace investigation.

When Royce asked about his change of heart, Shaw said, “Long story not worth going into, but I’ve got a favor to ask. I’ve already cleared it with Frank.”

“He called me.”

“Really, and said what?”

“To help you any way I could. He told me of your… personal connection to the murders in London.”

“Can you get me access to the building?”

“Well, we might be able to kill two birds with one stone, actually. How does that plan work for you?”

“What are you talking about?” Shaw said curiously.

“You’ll see when you get here.”

“Here? Where?”

“At The Phoenix Group building.”

Shaw’s mouth sagged. “What are you doing there?”

“I’ll see you when you get here,” Royce said tersely.

Shaw put his phone away and leaned back, rubbing his injured arm.

What the hell is going on?

After he’d gotten to Katie’s cell phone and found out about Anna’s death, the next two days in the hospital had been worse than any mission he’d ever done, worse than any nightmare his subconscious had ever conjured. He did remember being sedated again and again after busting up his hospital room and actually throwing someone against a wall. This outlet for his grief, his fury, hadn’t helped. It just kept building until his mind and body had been unable to endure any more. And he had just collapsed. He actually thought he’d died. And a real big chunk of him wished he had.

For twenty-four hours he didn’t move or speak. He just stared at the white wall of the hospital, much as he had done as a little boy at the orphanage, trying to fashion a different reality from the abject collapse of his life. Yet when he’d finally risen from his bed, Anna was still dead. She would always be dead.

The only thing keeping him going now was the thought of finding and killing whoever had done it. It was the one goal that could possibly keep him from simply disintegrating. He hadn’t lapsed into melodrama when he’d told Katie that his life was over. It was over.

All he had to do now was finish it right, by avenging Anna.

He grabbed a cab and headed to the place where her life had ended. What he really wanted to do was run the other way.