She stopped about two feet away.
"Let's get something straight." I tried to make a joke of it."If this was the altar, we'd be looking for a refund on the reception right now."
"I'm sorry, Nick. I had to say good-bye. To Jarrod."
That certainly shut me up.
She shook her head contritely."Actually, I've been sitting in the terminal next to the Burger King for the last hour."
"Second thoughts?"
"I don't know, maybe. Probably. But not about this. I love you, Nick."
I stood there looking at her, her eyes glistening. I nodded, gently placing my hand against her cheek."That's what I was thinking here. That I love you, too. That I might not be able to board that plane without you."
"I knew that's what you were bumbling around trying to say the other night."
The PA interrupted us-the final boarding call. We stood there another second. The ticket agents were getting ready to close the doors.
"So what are we doing?" I shrugged, shifting, unsure on my feet.
Andie stepped up to me, her eyes moist and strong. She locked her fingers in mine.
"Boarding. We're taking a trip together, Nick. Isn't it exciting?"
Part Four. HAIFA
Chapter 93
IF I DIDN'T KNOW for sure that I was in love with Andie DeGrasse, the flight to Israel removed all doubt. For much of it we just sat there, our hands locked. I felt something steady and unwavering running from her to me. Andie slept, her head leaning against my shoulder. She bolstered me. She gave me the courage to do what I felt was right.
Our first night in Tel Aviv was spent eating dinner in a quiet café on Shenkin Street, and fighting jet lag. Back in the room we made love, trying to forget-for a night, anyway-why we were here. In the morning we would drive up the coast to Haifa.
It only took about an hour and a half. We passed beach towns on the way up the coastal highway. The city's physical beauty surprised me. Haifa rose dramatically on steep mountain terraces above the gem-blue sea. Lowest was the port and the Old Town, with its ancient stone walls built by crusaders. Farther up was the busy downtown, the scents of bakeries, bazaars, modern businesses. Then higher still, the bustling heights of Mount Carmel, overlooking the Mediterranean.
Up here there were modern hotels, residential streets jutting out over the sea with posh homes and incredible vistas, boulevards of trendy restaurants and stores.
Kolya Remlikov was up here, too.
I was certain that Remlikov wasn't his name here. The name he went by now didn't matter. We dropped off our bags at the Dan Panaroma Hotel. Our twenty-fifth-floor room had a stunning view of the sea.
"It's beautiful," Andie said, gazing out the window.
"It is." I nodded. I placed my hands on her shoulders."Just remember why we're here."
"It doesn't mean we can't find time to take a swim in the Mediterranean."
"Go ahead." I picked a few things out of my travel case: a set of binoculars, a map, my gun, which was licensed."I'll be back in a little while."
"Nick"-Andie turned, a worried look on her face-“don't do anything without me. Promise?"
"Relax." I smiled."I'm just going sightseeing. I promise."
I had our rented Ford parked in front of the hotel. I got behind the wheel, then folded back the map. I had marked out this route many times in advance. I almost felt as if I actually knew the way.
Yehudi Street. 225.
I drove higher up the mountain, on Yefe Nof, a little way past the hotel. Up here was Carmel Center -parks, museums, trendy cafés. Farther up, the road began to loop in ever-narrowing switchbacks overlooking the sea. I turned onto Hayem, then Vashar. Up here, there were expensive homes with dramatic views. I kept on climbing higher. The road clung to the clifflike sides of Mount Carmel. The brilliant blue Mediterranean was a thousand feet below.
Finally I found Yehudi. It was a quiet, residential street with a spectacular view. Number 225 was a few houses down. It was a white, flat-roofed contemporary, down a short stone drive. As I passed it, I felt my blood run cold a little. I drove on to the next switchback, then stopped at a point where I didn't think I could be detected. I got out of the car with the binoculars and looked back down at the house.
Through the lens I could see an expensive house. Murder was always a business that paid handsomely. I didn't see anyone. I didn't see any activity inside. There was a blue minivan parked in the driveway, a European model.
I squinted through the lens.
After a few minutes, I knew I'd better move on. Someone would drive by. The area was affluent, probably well patrolled. I could always say I was up here for the view, but I couldn't keep hanging around.
The garage door suddenly started to open.
A white Audi backed out. I focused closely. The glass was tinted, but the driver's window was rolled down. I could see.
It was him.Remlikov! He was wearing sunglasses, but I recognized him immediately. My heart jumped as if it had been jolted with an electric shock.
And someone else was in the car with him. I shifted the lens. It was a boy. In the passenger seat. He looked about ten, maybe younger. The Audi backed out and turned around in the driveway. I could clearly see Remlikov now.
I found you, Remlikov. I found you, you bastard!
The Audi pulled out onto Yehudi Street and drove away.
I remained there for a few minutes, making notes about the house. Today, I didn't want to follow. I had promised Andie. I got back in the car and drove away.
As I went by the house, I paused for a second in front of the mailbox. I pulled the latch. Quickly, I filtered through and grabbed the most innocuous-looking junk mail I could find. They had junk mail here, too, in Israel.
Back at the hotel, I opened the door to find Andie on the bed taking a nap. She stirred."What'd you find?"
"I found the house. It's nearby. I'll take you there tomorrow."
Andie sat up. She nodded, a little tentatively.
"Andthis, " I said, tossing the piece of junk mail, a solicitation from a local rug cleaner, on the bed."Souvenir. His name isn't Remlikov or Kollich.
"It's Richard Nordeshenko."
Chapter 94
"LOOK!" NICK POINTED toward the modern, glass-ringed house a hundred feet below."That's him! That's Remlikov."
Andie focused the binoculars. She spied the man-thin, dark, not so large, not so scary. A surge of anger tightened her chest.
She hadn't known how she would feel when she saw the man who killed her son. And now that it was happening, now that he was only a few yards away, she knew it wasn't what she wanted. It made her stomach cramp.
"I see him." Andie's fingers gripped the binoculars even more tightly. Behind her, Nick squeezed her arm.
"Does he look familiar?"
"No." She wished he did. She wanted to feel deep hatred for him. Revulsion.Something. So this was the killer? The man who took her whole world away? She shook her head again."No. I've never seen him before."
"He lives with his wife and son."
"He has aboy? " That, Andie hadn't expected. Did his family know? The terrible things he'd done? When they were sitting at their meals or kicking a ball between them or whatever the hell they did? How could someone with a child do these horrible things?
"He goes out every day around this time," Nick said, gazing through his own binoculars."At four, he drives his son."
"Nick." Andie put down the glasses and looked at him, teary-eyed."I don't think I can do this. I know I'm supposed to hate this man. Look what he did to me. I know what we need from him. I know what we have to do. It's just that…You sonovabitch, " she spat toward the house. She turned her eyes away.