“Try again.”
Then she knew what it was. “The dolphin charm you said your niece gave you. The one you always have on your key chain.”
“It’s only a loan. I get it back after I prove myself to you.”
“Is it supposed to be lucky?”
“No, we make our own luck. But at the time when she gave it to me, I was having a rough time developing this process and was pretty discouraged. But Elswyth was only three, and she was facing years of therapy for cerebral palsy. She smiled up at me, and I knew that she would never surrender, never give up.” He squeezed her hand, and said softly, “So I couldn’t either. Never surrender. Never give up.”
She could feel the tears sting her eyes. “How is she?”
“Still fighting. Still splendid.” He took a step closer. “Now, let’s begin.” His voice was very gentle. “I understand you brought an iPod loaded with music you’d like to listen to while we work.”
“Only if it’s okay with you,” she said quickly. “You’re the one doing the work here. If you want to listen to your classical music or whatever, I’m cool with that.”
“Why does everyone think I prefer classical? Is it because I’m English?”
“English and highly educated. Sorry for pigeonholing you. What’s your pleasure?”
He paused. “Well, I do have London Symphony Orchestra season tickets at the Barbican.”
“Ha! I knew it.”
“But pick any music you like. Your iPod’s warmed up and waiting on the dock. Once I start work, I’ll tune it out anyway.”
It was going to start. Together, they were going to begin the adventure of her lifetime. Her hand tightened on the dolphin. Never surrender. Never give up.
She tried to concentrate on what they’d been talking about. Music. She thought for a moment. “How about The Clash? London Calling…”
KENDRA WOKE UP TO the sounds of The Clash in her ears though she hadn’t set her music alarm. It was a memory echo of an album she hadn’t played in years, but it came to her with astonishing clarity.
Then she remembered.
Waldridge.
Damn.
She checked her phone-7:17 A.M. One text from her mother, but nothing from the cops or the FBI. Probably a good thing. Any message from them at this early hour would most likely be bad news.
Nothing from Lynch yet, either. It had been almost 3 A.M. by the time he’d dropped her off at her condo, but she was sure he was already mapping out their day.
She opened the text from her mother. It read:
WAITING WITH BREAKFAST AND A POT OF COFFEE ACROSS THE STREET. COME OVER WHEN YOU WAKE UP.
What?
Kendra checked the time stamp. The text had come less than twenty minutes before.
Well, it was one way to start the day.
She threw off her covers and stepped into a pair of flip-flops. She splashed water in her face, ran a comb through her hair, and did a rudimentary teeth brushing. Then she left her condo, rode the elevator down, and ran across the busy street to Thompson’s, a neighborhood restaurant that did a booming breakfast business, but was practically deserted every other hour of the day. Kendra knew just where to look. Her mother was at her usual table in the corner, surrounded by platters of Danish, bagels, waffles, and sausages. The food was competing for space with a tall coffeepot and two newspapers.
Kendra walked toward her. “Jeez, Mom. How many people are you expecting?”
“Just you. I wasn’t sure what you would want, so I thought I’d give you a choice.” She looked disapprovingly at Kendra’s sweatpants and T-shirt. “You look like you just rolled out of bed.”
“I did just roll out of bed. I knew you were waiting. You could have given me some warning, you know. If you wanted to meet for breakfast, I would have been happy to-”
“I didn’t know until this morning. And you never get enough sleep, so I thought it would be best if I did it this way so you could join me whenever you woke up.” She cleared a space for Kendra. “Sit down. Eat something.”
Kendra took a seat and grabbed a Danish. “Don’t you have class today?”
Her mother shook her head. “Finals week.” Dr. Dianne Michaels was a history professor at UC San Diego and her skill as a lecturer was matched only by her impatience with students who didn’t take her classes seriously. Kendra had no doubt that the kids were frantically preparing themselves for her mother’s notoriously challenging final exam.
“So what brings you downtown on a weekday?”
Dianne folded the newspaper in her hands and placed it on the table. The headline read. BRITISH RESEARCHER MISSING, along with a photo of Waldridge.
Kendra stiffened in her seat. Not good. Her mother had been an integral part of both her operation and her relationship with Waldridge. She had a right to know what was going on. Kendra had just hoped to delay it until she had a more concrete idea herself.
“I can see from your expression that this isn’t news to you.”
“No, it’s all I’ve been thinking about for the past twenty-four hours or so. I saw him the night before last.”
“And you didn’t tell me? I would have loved to be able to see him and-”
“He surprised me. He just showed up at my Malibu lecture. We had dinner afterward. I could tell something was wrong. He was… different.”
“What do you mean?”
Kendra brought her mother up to speed on Waldridge, his disappearance, and her visit to Big Bear.
Dianne shook her head. “I should have known you’d be in the middle of this.”
“You think I should just sit back and wait for the police to give me progress reports?”
“Believe it or not, that’s the way it usually works.”
“Not with me. Not when it concerns Waldridge. And you should be happy that I’m not going it alone.”
“Maybe I should take some comfort in that.” She grimaced. “But there’s something about Mr. Lynch that frightens me.”
“I can see that. He can be intimidating. Lucky for me, I’m on his good side.”
Dianne looked away for a moment. “I know that. It’s obvious he cares for you. He’s very protective of you.”
“So what’s the problem?”
Dianne paused to put her thoughts into words. “I guess the problem is that I’m protective of you, too. Kendra… He’s a dangerous man. Just in your experience with him, you know that. He wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone he thinks might be a threat.”
“He wouldn’t be alive otherwise. I might not be either.”
“But don’t you think he helps create the dangerous situations he finds himself in? The man comes on strong like a Mack truck. That kind of force practically demands a forceful response. I just don’t want you standing next to him when that response comes.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“That’s exactly the attitude that makes me worry so much about you.”
“Hey, I’m your daughter.” She smiled gently. “You taught me to take care of myself. Mostly by example.”
“Well, now it’s come back to bite me. The man has to live in an armored fortress. That should tell you something about him.”
“It tells me that he knows how to take care of himself.”
Dianne placed her hands on Kendra’s. “Let’s get the hell out of town. I’m done for the semester. My teaching assistant can administer the final exams. I was supposed to attend a seminar in Denver in a few days, but I’ll cancel. Let’s go someplace nice. Hawaii. I know what Dr. Waldridge means to you, and you’ve made sure he’s on everyone’s radar. Now it’s time to let them do their jobs.”