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Authors: James Patterson
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wanted to soften the blow.’
Her pale lips break into a brave smile, and for a moment I can feel her pain.
‘So you’ve been everywhere because . . .?’
‘Because I’m checking up on my teammates. Are they happy? Are they stressed? I flutter between them to find out. I’m a butterfly.’
She flutters her eyelashes and even Paz smiles. It strikes me that she’s young, and she’s worked hard, and she’s had a hell of a dream taken away from her.
‘We think Tim Gilmore, Lucas Meyer, Oliver Witt and Zou Jaihui might have been experiencing side-effects from a performance-enhancing drug. Did you hear anything about that?’
Orlov doesn’t look too keen to help.
‘Three of them are dead,’ I push. ‘One of them is never going to be the same again. If you know something, you should say.’
‘I don’t know anything.’
‘You didn’t hear anything?’
She shakes her head.
‘I didn’t hear anything.’
‘See anything?’
‘Nope.’
Suddenly she’s standing square-on to me, her arms folded and her guard up.
Paz steps between us.
‘Can I check your bag?’
Orlov’s brow lowers again.
‘Do I have a choice?’
‘Have you got something to hide?’
The blonde athlete misses a beat, as if what she really wants to say is Fuck you , but after a moment she looks from Paz to me and shrugs.
‘I don’t have anything to hide,’ she says. ‘But, also, this isn’t a police state. So no, you cannot check my bag.’
She cocks her head slightly to one side, waiting to see what will happen next. Like it’s a game. I sigh, long and hard.
‘Let me explain to you what’s going to happen next—’
She rolls her eyes and cuts me off.
‘I know what’s going to happen. You’ll get a warrant, you’ll seize my bag and you’ll break down my door in the night. I know this stuff. It doesn’t scare me, Detective Carvalho.’
‘No,’ I say wearily. ‘That’s not what’s going to happen. What’s going to happen is that you’ll make our lives difficult, because you think that’s what we’re doing to you. I’m guessing your parents lived through the worst years of the KGB, so you probably don’t like cops much. You’ll go home tonight and smile, because you’ll think you gave two officious cops the runaround and stood up to authority, right?’
Her eyes narrow.
‘But athletes are dying, Galina. Maybe because of a new drug. A drug that might be hidden away in your bag while you’re butterflying between venues, for all I know.’
She looks down at her bag and back up at me.
‘The truth is that you can open your bag and prove you’re innocent right now, or you can yank my chain and I can go away and investigate you. The choice is yours. However, while you’re giving me the runaround, another athlete could be dying. And I will not kick your door down in the middle of the night, but I swear to God that I will knock courteously in the morning with an envelope full of pictures of the next person who dies while you’re jerking us around.’
She says nothing.
‘That’s a promise.’
I wait in silence for her to make a decision. Eventually she blows out a long breath and opens her bag. She pulls out her lipgloss and applies it, while holding the bag for Paz to examine. I understand that it’s humiliating and, when it’s done, I apologise.
‘I hope you will forgive us,’ I tell her. ‘And when you’re back in Russia thinking about us, remember that we were doing what we could to keep your teammates safe.’
Galina Orlov replaces the top of her lipgloss in silence and closes the bag, her pretty face suddenly Slavic and inscrutable.
‘Can I go?’
I tell her she can. Once she is gone, Paz thrusts her hands into her pockets and blows out in exasperation.
‘There goes our only lead,’ she says. ‘Now what?’
CHAPTER 18
NEXT MORNING, JULIANA wakes me long after dawn with hot coffee and a message from work.
‘Paz called. She’s running late. She’s dropping Felipe at school
Her pale lips break into a brave smile, and for a moment I can feel her pain.
‘So you’ve been everywhere because . . .?’
‘Because I’m checking up on my teammates. Are they happy? Are they stressed? I flutter between them to find out. I’m a butterfly.’
She flutters her eyelashes and even Paz smiles. It strikes me that she’s young, and she’s worked hard, and she’s had a hell of a dream taken away from her.
‘We think Tim Gilmore, Lucas Meyer, Oliver Witt and Zou Jaihui might have been experiencing side-effects from a performance-enhancing drug. Did you hear anything about that?’
Orlov doesn’t look too keen to help.
‘Three of them are dead,’ I push. ‘One of them is never going to be the same again. If you know something, you should say.’
‘I don’t know anything.’
‘You didn’t hear anything?’
She shakes her head.
‘I didn’t hear anything.’
‘See anything?’
‘Nope.’
Suddenly she’s standing square-on to me, her arms folded and her guard up.
Paz steps between us.
‘Can I check your bag?’
Orlov’s brow lowers again.
‘Do I have a choice?’
‘Have you got something to hide?’
The blonde athlete misses a beat, as if what she really wants to say is Fuck you , but after a moment she looks from Paz to me and shrugs.
‘I don’t have anything to hide,’ she says. ‘But, also, this isn’t a police state. So no, you cannot check my bag.’
She cocks her head slightly to one side, waiting to see what will happen next. Like it’s a game. I sigh, long and hard.
‘Let me explain to you what’s going to happen next—’
She rolls her eyes and cuts me off.
‘I know what’s going to happen. You’ll get a warrant, you’ll seize my bag and you’ll break down my door in the night. I know this stuff. It doesn’t scare me, Detective Carvalho.’
‘No,’ I say wearily. ‘That’s not what’s going to happen. What’s going to happen is that you’ll make our lives difficult, because you think that’s what we’re doing to you. I’m guessing your parents lived through the worst years of the KGB, so you probably don’t like cops much. You’ll go home tonight and smile, because you’ll think you gave two officious cops the runaround and stood up to authority, right?’
Her eyes narrow.
‘But athletes are dying, Galina. Maybe because of a new drug. A drug that might be hidden away in your bag while you’re butterflying between venues, for all I know.’
She looks down at her bag and back up at me.
‘The truth is that you can open your bag and prove you’re innocent right now, or you can yank my chain and I can go away and investigate you. The choice is yours. However, while you’re giving me the runaround, another athlete could be dying. And I will not kick your door down in the middle of the night, but I swear to God that I will knock courteously in the morning with an envelope full of pictures of the next person who dies while you’re jerking us around.’
She says nothing.
‘That’s a promise.’
I wait in silence for her to make a decision. Eventually she blows out a long breath and opens her bag. She pulls out her lipgloss and applies it, while holding the bag for Paz to examine. I understand that it’s humiliating and, when it’s done, I apologise.
‘I hope you will forgive us,’ I tell her. ‘And when you’re back in Russia thinking about us, remember that we were doing what we could to keep your teammates safe.’
Galina Orlov replaces the top of her lipgloss in silence and closes the bag, her pretty face suddenly Slavic and inscrutable.
‘Can I go?’
I tell her she can. Once she is gone, Paz thrusts her hands into her pockets and blows out in exasperation.
‘There goes our only lead,’ she says. ‘Now what?’
CHAPTER 18
NEXT MORNING, JULIANA wakes me long after dawn with hot coffee and a message from work.
‘Paz called. She’s running late. She’s dropping Felipe at school
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