Wills’s people?
It would make sense. If he were Wills, Quinn would have had people scouting the meet by now. Only with everything that had been going down, Quinn couldn’t dismiss the possibility that one or both of them might be with the people who’d shown up at the Moody operation.
He pulled out his phone and brought up the text he’d received from Wills. He selected Reply, then wrote:
U send advance team to Hyatt? If yes, how many?
He touched Send, then glanced toward the far end of the lobby. He expected to see Nate, but there was no sign of his apprentice. As Quinn scanned the large room, his phone vibrated. He thought it would be a reply from Wills, but the text was from Nate.
Look up
Quinn glanced up at the atrium that ringed the lobby, and spotted Nate a second later standing a few feet back from the railing that stretched between the columns.
It was a good position. Great, considering that Quinn was stationed at the opposite corner, one floor down. Together they had the whole lobby covered.
Quinn texted Nate back:
Anything?
Nate’s reply came twenty seconds later.
Man sitting near elevators w/paper. Woman at stairs south of you.
Nate had seen them, too. Good.
Quinn’s phone buzzed again. Wills this time.
Leaving airport now. One person at hotel.
Quinn replied:
M/F?
Wills’s answer came only a few seconds later:
M
The man reading the newspaper, then. So that meant the woman was an unknown.
Quinn strolled over to one of the empty seats, putting a little more distance between himself and the woman. As he sat he called Nate.
“Hey,” Nate said.
“The man is with our friend.”
“And the woman?”
“Unknown. Perhaps not even interested in us.” Quinn paused for a moment. “Stay on the line. I’m going to walk back to the bar. Let’s see what she does.”
Quinn stood up, his phone still held against his ear. He smiled as if the person on the other end had said something amusing.
“Perhaps next time I’m in town,” he said, his voice loud enough for the woman to hear.
“I don’t have to play this game, too, do I?” Nate asked. “She can’t hear me.”
Quinn began walking across the carpet. “It’d be a big help to me,” he said.
“I’m sure it would.… Wait, she just looked at you.”
“I appreciate that. For how long do you think?”
“Long enough for me to see that she’s interested in you.”
Quinn left the carpet and stepped onto the marble tile. He held his position for a moment, pretending to listen.
“And now?” he asked.
Nate said, “She just sneaked a second peek … now she’s looking toward reception.”
“Glad to hear it.”
Quinn turned to his right and quickly moved up a short set of steps and into a hallway that cut along the eastern edge of the elevators and back to the bar where he was supposed to meet Wills. Within seconds, the lobby was out of sight.
“What’s she doing?” Quinn asked, all pretense gone.
“She’s still looking at the … hold on … She glanced back at where you were.… Okay, she’s looking around. Not hiding the fact, either.”
Quinn had a choice at the end of the hallway: either continue straight and enter the bar, or go left along another hallway directly behind the elevators. Along this new hallway were a set of public restrooms and several shops. Quinn turned left, heading for the men’s room.
“She’s on the move,” Nate said.
“Heading my way?”
“She doesn’t seem quite sure where she wants to go. She started toward reception, then stopped.… Walking toward the elevators now.”
Quinn stepped into the bathroom. It was a large facility with several stalls. A quick check revealed he was the only one present.
“If she comes anywhere near you, snap a photo,” Quinn said.
“Already got two, but profile only. If I can get something better, I will.”
“Position?”
“She’s stopped at the bottom of the steps.… Interesting. Our friend with the paper is also keeping tabs on her.”
Wills’s man had probably spotted her before Quinn and Nate had arrived. He would no doubt be curious why the woman was interested in the guy his boss was supposed to meet.
“What’s he doing?” Quinn asked.
“Just watching … Okay, the woman’s coming your way … up the steps … and … there … she … goes. I can’t see her anymore.”
“All right. Find a room we can use, then text me the number.”
“What’s the plan?”
“Stow and go,” Quinn said.
Chapter 14
Quinn donned a pair of thin, transparent gloves, then silently counted down from twenty. When he hit zero, he stepped out of the restroom.
The woman was ten feet away, heading toward the shops, her back to him. He walked up behind her, not hiding the sound of his steps. When she turned, her eyes went wide.
There was no question now. She’d definitely been looking for him.
“Hi,” he said.
She turned her head and started walking away.
Quinn reached out and grabbed her shoulder. “Hold on.”
“Please, leave me alone,” she said, not even looking back. Her accent was British.
“Sorry. Not an option.”
“I’ll scream.”
“And I’ll kill you where you’re standing.”
He could feel her tense under his palm. “What do you want?” she asked.
He turned her around to face him. “I believe you’re the one looking for me. So what do you want?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I need to—”
She tried to push past him, but he stopped her.
“I wouldn’t do that.” He let his hand hover near the opening of his jacket. Sometimes the threat of a gun was all it took.
For several seconds she didn’t move, then a barely perceptible nod.
“Great. We shouldn’t have any problems.”
Quinn’s phone vibrated in his pocket. With his other hand he retrieved it from his pocket, and glanced at the screen.
2467
Putting a hand on her arm, he said, “Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“Some place we can have a chat.”
“We can have a chat right here.”
“If we do, it’ll be over very quickly, and you won’t like the results.”
Her eyes moved side to side. “Okay,” she whispered.
Quinn led the woman back to the elevators. While they waited for one to open, he said, “If you cooperate, you’ll be fine.”
“I won’t give you any problems.”
Quinn smiled. “Perfect.”
Over her shoulder, he could see Wills’s man, still sitting in his chair, but now openly looking at him. Quinn gave him a quick nod, and the man returned the gesture.
One of the elevator doors opened, and Quinn ushered the woman inside, then pushed the button for 24.
As soon as the doors closed, he said, “Give me your phone.”
She hesitated, then pulled a phone out of her suit pocket and handed it to him. It was a cheap pay-as-you-go model.
“Thank you,” he said, slipping it into his pocket. “Now the briefcase.”
“I need this for work,” she said.
“Don’t make me ask twice.”
She handed it to him.
“Do you have ID?” he asked.
“It’s in the briefcase.”