Devious Minds (23 page)

Gabriel studied me intently, thinking those same French words over and over.

“What does that mean anyway? You keep repeating it a lot.”

“Mon Dieu,” he said, closing his eyes and bowing his head. After a deep breath, he glanced at me. “I am sorry. I find it hard to believe, but it must be true.”

I nodded. “If this wasn’t a matter of life and death, believe me, I wouldn’t have told you. But I don’t know how to do this otherwise. Now that you know, you have to promise me you won’t tell another soul. My life would never be the same if people knew, especially the wrong sort of people.”

“Oui,” Gabriel nodded. “I understand. You have my word. Upon my honor as a Frenchman and a patriot, I will never tell another soul.”

“Thank you,” I said, letting out a breath. “That means you have to be the one listening to what I tell you. I can’t promise that my French will sound right, because I’ll just be repeating the sounds I hear in their minds. I hope that’s enough.”

He smiled. “I will do my best. Oh... and the phrase ‘‘ça me semble un peu fou’’ means, it seems a bit crazy.”

I chuckled. “You’ve got that right.”

“What kinds of questions should I ask them?”

“Whatever you want to know, but be specific. Things like, where are you planting the bomb, and how are you going to do it, stuff like that. Just make sure to wait between questions so I can hear the answers and repeat them to you.”

He nodded. “I will have my lieutenant ask the questions. You and I will stand over here where no one will hear us.”

“Okay. That should work.”

As soon as Gabriel left my side, Ramos came over, his brows drawn together with concern. “Babe, what’s going on?” His mind was quiet, but I still caught an inkling of suspicion that he wasn’t going to be happy with me.

“Ramos, I had to tell him the truth. If that bomb goes off, lots of people will die. He’s not going to tell anyone. He promised me, and I believe him... and... quit swearing.”

“Shelby,” he moaned, shaking his head. He was thinking that I sure knew how to make his job hard. Now he was going to have to kill Gabriel.

“No you’re not!” I gasped.

“I should. But... I won’t for now.”

“We’ve worked it out so no one will suspect a thing.”

“What about Suzette?” he asked, sending a glance her way. She had taken a seat in one of the folding chairs, and tried to look like she wasn’t paying attention to us. But she wondered what I’d told Gabriel, and was also trying to hear my conversation with Ramos. “Don’t you think she’ll want to know what’s going on?”

“Gabriel won’t tell her. And if she asks, we’ll keep to the premonitions explanation. It will work out.”

“Then you’d better wander around this room and act like you’re getting premonitions. You might even pull it off if you make sure she isn’t here when the actual questioning takes place.”

“Oh yeah,” I agreed. “That’s a good idea. I’m sure Gabriel will agree to that. What about you?”

“I’m staying,” he said, glowering at Gabriel. He was thinking that Gabriel needed to see that Ramos might not be so agreeable to our arrangement, and take the hint that keeping this secret also meant Gabriel would live another day.

My eyes widened. Wow, he was taking this pretty seriously. “Uh... isn’t Live Another Day like the title of a James Bond movie or something?”

“Shelby,” Ramos growled, turning his glower on me.

I shrugged and tried to look innocent. “Just wondering.”

Even though he didn’t like what was happening, a small smile creased his lips. “You are in so much trouble.”

“Yeah... tell me about it.”

He shook his head at me, then raised a brow, thinking that I’d better get busy getting premonitions or I was toast. I huffed out a breath, but did as he thought, and wandered over to the table. As I scanned the objects, I closed my eyes every once in a while just to make it look good, mostly since Suzette was watching me.

Gabriel came to my side. “We are ready to begin.”

“All right,” I said. “But there’s something I need to ask you first.” I motioned him back to our little corner before continuing. “Uh... do you think we can clear the room, just in case anyone’s watching? I’m thinking mostly of Suzette. I don’t want her to get any ideas.”

“That is a good point. She is very curious. I will ask everyone to leave except for you, me, and my lieutenant.” He turned to make the request, but I grabbed his arm. “Uh... just so you know, Ramos won’t leave, but it’s okay if he stays.”

As understanding dawned, Gabriel’s lips twisted. With a nod, he issued the order. “I need everyone out of the room except for Shelby and Lieutenant Gustave. Monsieur Ramos, if you would stand watch in the doorway, I would be grateful.”

Ramos sent a respectful nod to Gabriel, pleasantly surprised that his message got through, and Gabriel seemed more than willing to cooperate. It sure did my heart good to see that. Suzette wasn’t happy about it. But there was no reason for her to stay, so she left, thinking she’d stand as close to Ramos as possible and hope to see or hear what was going on.

Lieutenant Gustave stood in front of the terrorists, and Gabriel came back to my side.

Now came the moment of truth, and my stomach clenched with worry. For all of my bravado, I wasn’t sure I could pick up everything they were thinking, especially if they were both thinking different things at the same time. I mean... most of the French I’d heard was so fast, I didn’t know if I could hear it straight, let alone repeat it. I swallowed. What had I gotten myself into now?

“Uh... just a minute.” I whispered to Gabriel. “Can you question them one at a time? I’m afraid if I hear both their thoughts at the same time I’ll get confused.” He took a breath and nodded his agreement. I continued, “Sorry I didn’t think of that before.”

“C’est bien,” he said. “Do not worry. How far away does he need to be?”

“Just out of the room is fine.”

Gabriel called two of his men back in and asked them to take one of the captives into the hall. Once they were done, I let out my breath, and the knot in my stomach loosened. At least now I had a better chance to pull this off.

I nodded at Gabriel, and he gave the command. “Commencez.”

Chapter 12

“Où avez-vous planté la bombe?” the lieutenant asked.

I listened closely and repeated the terrorist’s thoughts to Gabriel. “Eh-mare eh-vous pass ah-vuoh.” I knew I’d totally killed the accent but hoped Gabriel got it anyway. He shook his head with what sounded like swearing coming from his mind. “What did he say?”

“Une minute, s'il vous plait.” Gabriel said this to the lieutenant, then turned to me. “He said, wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Oh... that’s not good. Um... if you want me to know something, just think it in English, and I’ll nod or answer, okay? It might help things go better.”

“Oui.” He took a deep breath and told the lieutenant to continue.

This time the terrorist thought something else, and I did my best to say everything right. The lieutenant kept at it for the next fifteen minutes, asking the same questions over and over again. I repeated what I could to Gabriel, then he called a halt, and asked them to switch to the other prisoner.

This guy’s thoughts were much more expressive. From Gabriel’s scowl, I’m sure I repeated some pretty bad language as well as some nasty remarks toward the police. But there was a point where I picked up a view of a metro station with the words and a door to the ventilation system there. I knew Gabriel got it from what I told him too, because he perked up. Right after that, he ended the interrogation and told the lieutenant to take the prisoners to a holding cell.

After they were gone, he turned to me. “It worked. I know the station and ventilation system where they plan to plant the bomb, and also how they plan to get inside. It is ingenious, really. They found a passageway through the tunnels that opens into this particular metro station. I will need to work backwards from the station to find the tunnel, but with help from my cataphile I can do it. This is just the break we need.”

“That’s great,” I said.

“Oui, and it is all thanks to you. For this, I promise your secret will go with me to my grave.” He took my hand and kissed my knuckles. “Once this is over, I will thank you properly, but now I must find the tunnel and the bomb.”

“Yes, of course. Once you do, will you please let me know? I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that we’re missing something.”

“I hope that is not the case. But of course I will let you know at once.”

“Thanks,” I said. Gabriel led the way out of the room. Ramos waited for us to pass and walked behind me until we were out of the tunnel and back outside under the bridge. It wasn’t as dark up here now that the sun was about to rise. I was a little disappointed that I hadn’t seen much of the catacombs with their famous bones, but not enough to want to go back down there, or to visit the actual museum.

Gabriel spoke to Suzette for a moment, and then gathered his forces. We left him to it and got into the Mercedes. Suzette could hardly wait to pepper me with questions and began right after we pulled onto the street.

“Gabriel said you got a premonition about the metro station where they’re planting the bomb. Is that right?”

“Yeah, but not just the station; they’re using the tunnels to get to it. I think that’s where the rest of the terrorists went when the police raided this place, so if Gabriel can get to the station and backtrack, he and his men should stop them.”

“Yes, that should work,” she agreed. “Did you ever figure out the building you had the premonition about?”

“No. I kind of fell asleep last night before I could. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to look again.” That building had to be important, or Cypher wouldn’t have thought about it. So why hadn’t the terrorists thought about it too? Their whole focus was on the metro system. Did that mean they didn’t know? What if Cypher had never told them about his plan B?

After talking to me the first time, he thought someone in his organization was a traitor. Knowing that, he might not tell them anything about his second plan, and the only reason I knew about it was because of our meeting at Mason’s apartment.

Something settled inside me, and I knew that was the part we were missing.

We got back to Suzette’s mansion, and I went right to the library. Ramos came with me, and Suzette left to tell her cook to fix us some breakfast. She also wanted to check on Blake and update him on the latest news. Alone in the library, I told Ramos my theory, and he agreed that it had some merit.

“It must be a place with a lot of people, so we should look at public buildings, like museums or a cathedral, or even the opera house,” I told him.

“That makes sense,” he answered, and he stacked the books I’d looked through the night before on the table, along with a few others I couldn’t reach.

“I know it wasn’t Notre-Dame or Sacré-Coeur, since I would have recognized them, but there are so many other famous buildings in the city. To make this work, I’d have to see it just the way Cypher did in his mind, and that might not show up in a picture.”

“I know what to do,” Ramos said, his eyes sparkling. “Suzette told me I could take the bike out, remember? Why don’t we do a little sight-seeing? You can look at the buildings from all angles and get a clearer picture. That way something might stand out, and you’ll recognize it.”

“I like the way you think,” I agreed. “In fact, that’s the best thing I’ve heard since coming to Paris.”

Just then, Suzette came into the library. “How’s Blake doing?” I asked, feeling a little guilty that I hadn’t gone to see him yet.

“Doing better. I think he’s out of the woods.”

“Good. I’d like to see him.”

“I’m sure he’d like that. But first, breakfast is ready.” We followed her into the dining room, finding the table set for three and the cook setting a platter of eggs, bacon, and hash browns on the table. The toast was already on a plate, along with fresh fruit, and a couple of containers of yogurt.

“Wow, this looks amazing,” I said. “This is really great of you. I hope we’re not putting you out too much.”

“Oh posh,” she said. “I was getting bored, so I’m grateful for the company. I have to admit that this is quite the adventure for a retired spy like me.” She was thinking it wasn’t exactly true that she was retired, but we didn’t need to know that.

“So were you MI6? Like James Bond?” I asked.

She chuckled. “You might say that. I started out with MI5, that’s Internal British Intelligence, but with my marriage and subsequent move to Paris, I moved into MI6. I must say, it isn’t as romantic as the movies make it out to be. But I’ve had my share of intrigue, and met both Blake and Gabriel in the process. It’s good to be retired though, at least for now.”

She took a sip of coffee before continuing. “Blake told me a bit about you, Shelby, but nothing about Ramos, now why is that?”

“Uh...” I glanced at Ramos.

“I’m a bodyguard,” he answered with a shrug, thinking that it was best to keep it simple for now. “Not much more to that.”

“Uh-huh,” she said. “Well... from what I’ve seen, you’ve certainly earned your pay on this trip.”

This time he smiled. “Always the way when I’m with Shelby. But there are a few perks, like your offer to take the Vincent Black Shadow for a spin. We were talking about the building Shelby needs to find, and I thought it might be helpful to see them for real. The right perspective could make all the difference. What do you think?”

“That’s brilliant,” she said, thinking Ramos was one smooth operator. “Seeing them as opposed to looking at them in a picture makes a lot of sense. You still think there’s something to that?”

“Yes,” I answered. “I’d like to follow up, just in case.”

“Then it’s settled.”

***

An hour later, I sat behind Ramos on the smoothest motorcycle ride I’d ever had. This bike purred, and Ramos was in biker’s heaven. Lucky for us, the temperature outside wasn’t too cold. The sun warming our backs took off the chill.

Besides wearing our leather motorcycle jackets, Suzette had found a couple of helmets and leather gloves. She even gave me a scarf for my neck and chin in case I got cold. I picked up that she was a little jealous of me, but hoped she could get a ride from Ramos later.

Ramos had glanced at a map to get the gist of where we needed to go, but left it behind, thinking that this was one of those times when it was okay to get lost. That was music to my ears, and excitement sent chills down my spine. I was in Paris! On a motorcycle behind Ramos! Could it get any better?

Thoughts of what I’d put my poor husband through threatened to dampen my spirit, but right now, he was sound asleep, so I might as well enjoy myself. Plus, if Chris came, I was sure we’d have a great time too, especially without all the worry about a bomb going off.

We rode down several streets until I was thoroughly turned around, but enjoying every minute of it. Then we turned onto Winston Churchill Avenue and rode past two beautiful buildings, the Petit-Palais, and the Grand-Palais. Neither were the building I was looking for, but I admired them just the same.

We continued down that avenue and across the Pont Alexander III Bridge again. The large building at the end of this lane had a beautiful, golden dome with lots of cannons around the grounds. From there, we turned toward the Eiffel Tower and the buildings at the end of the Champ De Mars.

Nothing popped out at me, so we rode past the Louvre and the Tuileries Gardens, then over to the Paris Opera house and around in that area. Then we continued on, crossing over a bridge to Ile de la Cite and Notre-Dame. From there we rode to Ile St Louis, then along the Quai until coming to the Latin Quarter of the city.

So far, we had spent over an hour on the bike, and had only scratched the surface of sights in this amazing city. I realized it was probably a little crazy to think I’d actually find the building I was looking for.

“The Luxembourg Gardens aren’t too far from here,” Ramos said at a stoplight. “We could take a break and walk through them if you’d like.”

“I’d like that,” I agreed, knowing my leg muscles needed to stretch out after sitting for so long.

We drove for at least ten minutes, and I was beginning to think that Ramos didn’t know what he was talking about. Then we found a little side street called Rue de Vaugirard, set with cobbled stones and tall buildings on either side.

Continuing along the road, I spotted an arched driveway with several French flags. Just beyond this point, the street widened. The larger opening revealed the street entrance to the Luxembourg Palace, with a columned arch and large, wooden double doors with ornate molding at the top and French flags on either side.

My breath caught. This was it. I’d forgotten about the flags, but seeing them brought it all back. As we continued down the street, the building ended, and a large iron fence took its place, showing trees and lawn with wide open spaces on the other side. Now it made sense. I never would have guessed the building I’d just seen was part of the Luxembourg Palace. Not from that view.

I was just about to tell Ramos to stop when he pulled over into a parking area just for motorcycles and vespa-type scooters. “That’s it,” I told him, as we got off the bike. “That entrance we just passed back there was the building we’ve been looking for.”

“You’re sure?” he asked. “Do we need to go back?”

“Yeah, I’d like that, but... if the building is part of the Luxembourg Palace, then that’s the target.”

Ramos nodded. “And that’s why you didn’t recognize it.”

“Exactly. So what do we do now?”

“We’re here. Why don’t we go inside the grounds and take a look around.”

“Okay,” I agreed. “Um... are you sure it’s safe to leave this bike here? I mean, it’s pretty valuable, right?”

“It’ll be fine,” Ramos said, his brows drawn together. “It locks, and I have the key. No one’s going to steal it.”

“Oh, okay, good.”

He smiled, then shook his head and put the keys in his pocket. “Let’s go.”

We crossed the road to an entrance in the gate and onto the grounds. Within a few steps, the view opened up to reveal acres of lawn, flowers, trees, statuary and an oval-shaped pond. The Luxembourg Palace stood on one end, with the beautiful grounds stretching out before it.

At the pond, children played with little sailboats which they prodded along with special sticks. People sat in chairs watching, and the sunshine brought a festive air to the park. It was a beautiful place, and thoughts of a bomb going off here made me a little sick to my stomach.

“I’m going to call Gabriel and see if they found it,” I told Ramos. I put the call through, and it rang several times before he finally picked up.

“Oui?” he said.

“Gabriel, it’s Shelby. Did you find it?”

“It was not here. We did find the tunnel, and there were signs to indicate that they were there, but I believe we must have alerted them, and they fled back into the catacombs. I have many men searching the tunnels, but we have lost them for now.”

I heaved a sigh. “That’s not good. Do you remember what I told you about Cypher and his plan B?”

“Oui,” he said.

“Well, I think I know where he’s going to put the bomb. I recognized the building in his mind as the street entrance to the Luxembourg Palace. Does that make any sense to you?”

He inhaled sharply. “It makes perfect sense. Tonight, there’s a reception for all of the United Nations delegates and the representatives for the Council on Climate Change. It’s being held at the Luxembourg Palace.”