‘Does that mean I’ll be in it?’
‘Do you want to be?’
‘Um, let me think… yes! Duh.’
‘Good. You deserve to have people know what you did. And in more detail than this.’ She held up the magazine, then tried to return it to its owner.
‘No, no, that one’s for you,’ Macy told her. ‘I’ve got plenty more copies. Keep it.’
‘Ah… thanks.’ Nina put it on the seat. ‘But yeah, if nothing else, the book will be a kind of legacy.’ She turned to her husband. ‘And it’ll mean I can take care of you even after I’m gone.’
‘You’re talking about it like you’re already dead,’ said Eddie with grim irritation. An awkward silence followed.
Macy broke it, covering her discomfort with an excess of enthusiasm. ‘So, uh… hey, look, we’re in Beverly Hills!’ She gestured at a street sign informing those driving along Santa Monica Boulevard that they had just crossed the boundary of the exclusive city-within-a-city. ‘I definitely want to go to the Chanel shop.’ She hurriedly drained her glass.
‘Drinking and shopping?’ said Nina, also keen to change the subject. ‘Are you sure that’s wise?’
‘Probably not, but it’s more fun than doing it on Amazon.’ She indicated Nina’s map. ‘I mean, they’ve got Ferragamo, Fendi, Gucci and Prada all right next to each other. It’s like I’ve died and gone to heav— like I’ve, uh… found my Mecca?’
‘Good catch,’ Eddie said, with some humour returning.
Macy winced. ‘Sorry. The whole death thing, probably not what you want to hear right now.’
‘It’s okay,’ Nina assured her. She polished off her own drink. ‘How about a refill?’
Eddie reached for the champagne bottle, glancing through the rear window as he did. ‘Ay up.’
‘What?’
‘Look who’s back.’ He gestured, and Nina turned to see a yellow Jeep in the neighbouring lane not far behind them.
‘Oh come on, Eddie,’ she said dismissively. ‘We’re in California — there must be hundreds of Jeeps like that.’
‘No, it’s the same one, I’m sure of it.’ He regarded the 4x4 with deep suspicion, then looked ahead. The traffic was slowing, flashing orange emergency lights visible a few blocks distant. ‘Hey, Hector, I want to take a detour — can you go up one of these side streets?’
‘Only houses up there, nothing to see,’ said the chauffeur.
‘Just take the next right, will you?’
‘For God’s sake,’ said Nina as Hector slowed. ‘You really think we’re being followed?’
‘We’ll know in a minute.’ Eddie turned to watch the cars behind as the Hummer swung off the boulevard. The Wrangler cut clumsily across the lanes, arousing an angry honk from another vehicle, and followed. ‘Told you.’
‘Maybe he lives down here,’ Macy offered, though with little conviction.
‘Hector, go left,’ Eddie ordered, seeing an intersection ahead.
Their driver wasn’t happy. ‘That’s not a proper street, it’s just a back alley.’
‘Take it anyway.’
The limo turned again, brushing a hedge before it straightened out and continued down the narrow lane. The three passengers stared through the rear window. Nothing happened for several seconds… then the Jeep reappeared and rounded the corner after them.
‘Okay, so he’s definitely following us,’ said Nina, now worried. ‘What do we do about it?’
‘Ask him why,’ Eddie decided. ‘Hector, when we get to the end of the alley, go right and park when you can. I want to have words with this arsehole.’
‘You sure that’s a good idea?’ Nina asked.
‘Well normally I’d just shoot him and be done with it, but you wouldn’t let me bring my gun.’
The Hummer reached the next street and made another laborious turn before pulling over in front of a house. A sign at the lawn’s edge stated that the property was PROTECTED BY STERNHAMMER RAPID ARMED RESPONSE; an elderly man looked up from inspecting some minor blemish on his immaculate grass to glare at the ostentatious vehicle.
Eddie opened the offside door and got out as the Jeep emerged from the alley and, as expected, turned towards him. He held up a hand as it approached.
It stopped behind the H2. A man jumped out. Eddie had been right: it was the same person he had briefly seen earlier. He appeared even younger than Macy, and was quite striking, with angular cheekbones and intense blue eyes.
It was his expression that immediately put the Englishman on alert, though. The youth was agitated, even desperate. He reached back into the Jeep to snatch up a leather satchel, then hurried towards the limo. ‘Please!’ he called. ‘I must speak to Dr Wilde at once!’ His accent was strongly German.
At the sound of her name, Nina moved to the open door to look out, while her husband stepped forward to intercept the new arrival. ‘All right, mate,’ Eddie said. ‘What’s going on? Why were you following us?’
The young man saw Nina. ‘Dr Wilde!’ he cried. ‘Dr Wilde, I must give you this. They must not be allowed to raid Alexander’s tomb!’
He tried to slip past Eddie, who blocked him — but his words had already drawn Nina out of the limousine. ‘What about the tomb?’ she said. ‘Who’s “they”?’
The man fumbled open the satchel, taking out several sheets of paper. ‘These are their plans — they are going to break into the tomb and steal the statue of Bucephalus. You have to stop them!’ He thrust the pages at her.
‘I think you need to calm down, mate,’ Eddie said, making the threat in his voice clear. The youth quailed, but held his ground.
Nina reluctantly took the documents. The handwritten text was in German, a language of which she had only limited understanding, but there was an annotated illustration that she immediately recognised. ‘How did you get this?’
‘What is it?’ Macy asked, exiting the Hummer on to the sidewalk.
‘It’s a plan of Alexander the Great’s tomb, in Egypt — and the only places it could have come from are either the Ministry of Antiquities… or the IHA.’ She looked back at the blond man. ‘What’s going on? Who’s going to raid the tomb? Eddie, let him past.’
Eddie reluctantly stepped aside. ‘The Oberkommando,’ said the youth, moving to Nina. ‘They need the statue to lead them to the Spring of Immortality. They are—’
A shrill of brakes made everyone whirl. A black Cadillac Escalade EXT pickup truck skidded past the Jeep to stop beside the limo. Its front windows were down, revealing a scowling, shaven-headed man with a prominent scar across his right cheek.
He raised his arm—
A flash of steel in the newcomer’s hand. ‘Gun!’ Eddie yelled. He lunged, shielding Nina as he threw her bodily back into the limo. Macy shrieked and dived over the garden fence.
The automatic boomed three times, the bullets hitting the young man in the chest. Blood splattered over the Hummer’s flank from ragged exit wounds. He crumpled to the asphalt.
The attacker hadn’t finished, though. The gun came up again, locking on to Nina — and firing.
3
Eddie dived at the Cadillac and seized the assassin’s arm, shoving the weapon off target. The Hummer’s side window exploded, bullets whapping into the limo’s seats and shattering bottles.
The Englishman tried to rip the pistol from the attacker’s grip. The scar-faced man kept firing, a stray round hitting the Jeep and exploding its front tyre — then the Escalade’s engine roared and the pickup surged away up the street. Eddie was dragged along for several yards before self-preservation forced him to let go. He landed heavily, the EXT’s rear wheels missing his head by inches as he rolled. The pickup sped away.
Nina ran to him. ‘Eddie! Jesus, are you okay?’
He sat up, wincing. ‘I’m fine. What about you?’