Read Online Greene's Calling: Seventeen Book Three (A Supernatural Action Adventure Thriller Series 3) by AD Starrling - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: AD Starrling
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an encoded sheet, maps, and photographs. One of the pictures was of you, dressed in what I assume are your work clothes. From your current job description, the other shots must be of your colleagues in the Secret Service.’
A lull followed his words. ‘That’s a great story,’ Laura said coolly. ‘How did you get this number?’
The guy with the iPad started to watch a TV show on the tablet. Conrad glanced around as music blared from its speakers. He turned away and tucked the phone closer to his ear.
‘Anatole gave it to Gordian, who passed it on to me.’ Conrad sighed and rubbed his forehead. ‘Can you think of a single good reason why I would suddenly call you out of the blue and tell you such an elaborate story, after all this time?’
‘I need to have a word with that bastard about who he gives my number to,’ Laura muttered. ‘And no, I can’t,’ she added after a thoughtful silence. ‘Since you know it’s over between us, I seriously cannot imagine what you think you’ll gain by making up something so ludicrous.’
A centuries-old pain stabbed through Conrad’s heart at her words. He swallowed the painful lump in his throat.
‘Where are you?’ Laura demanded.
‘Around the corner from your building,’ he replied, struggling to keep his tone casual. He heard her breath catch.
‘You’re outside the office of the US Secret Service?’ she said, incredulous.
‘Yes,’ said Conrad. ‘I’m sitting within three hundred feet of it.’ He thought he heard her swear under her breath. ‘I’ve got the envelope with me. I thought you should see it.’
Someone called Laura’s name in the background. ‘Yeah, I’m coming,’ she responded tersely. ‘Look, I can’t talk right now,’ she continued in a low voice. ‘I’m in the middle of something.’
Conrad tried to ignore the heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach. ‘When can we meet?’
‘By the end of today, maybe,’ Laura replied distractedly.
Conrad looked to the booth where the two students now sat watching a local news channel. An anchorwoman spoke enthusiastically in the background while shots of the weekend celebrations flashed across the screen.
‘Is there someone in your local office you would rather I show this to?’
Although he was loath to make the offer, Conrad felt he had to ask the question. He could almost see her frowning in the silence that followed.
‘No. All my team are out here,’ she said. ‘I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later to fix up a meet.’
The disconnect tone echoed in Conrad’s ears. He ended the call and looked down at his hands. He was amazed they weren’t shaking. He listened distractedly as a short musical tune from the young man’s iPad heralded the weather section of the news bulletin. He tucked the cell phone inside his pocket, rose from the window seat with the rucksack on his shoulder, and was strolling past the college students’ booth when he heard something that stopped him in his tracks.
‘—so all in all, it’s going to be a very warm and pleasant day for us, folks,’ the reporter was saying in a lively voice. ‘Elsewhere, there are fears that the system of low pressure in the Pacific Northwest might lead to a tropical cyclone in the next twelve hours. Forecasters are predicting that it won’t be anywhere on the same scale as the Columbus Day storm of 1962—’
Conrad stiffened. A distant memory surfaced at the back of his mind; something about a storm. The feeling that he had just missed an important clue niggled at his subconscious. He stared blindly into space as he mentally went through the events of the last forty-eight hours.
An image of the encoded sheet flashed in front of his eyes. His breath froze in his lungs. Conrad twisted on his heels and stepped toward the booth.
‘Excuse me, can I ask you guys to look something up?’ He masked the urgency in his voice behind a smile.
The student with the iPad raised his head, looked at him from head to toe, and
A lull followed his words. ‘That’s a great story,’ Laura said coolly. ‘How did you get this number?’
The guy with the iPad started to watch a TV show on the tablet. Conrad glanced around as music blared from its speakers. He turned away and tucked the phone closer to his ear.
‘Anatole gave it to Gordian, who passed it on to me.’ Conrad sighed and rubbed his forehead. ‘Can you think of a single good reason why I would suddenly call you out of the blue and tell you such an elaborate story, after all this time?’
‘I need to have a word with that bastard about who he gives my number to,’ Laura muttered. ‘And no, I can’t,’ she added after a thoughtful silence. ‘Since you know it’s over between us, I seriously cannot imagine what you think you’ll gain by making up something so ludicrous.’
A centuries-old pain stabbed through Conrad’s heart at her words. He swallowed the painful lump in his throat.
‘Where are you?’ Laura demanded.
‘Around the corner from your building,’ he replied, struggling to keep his tone casual. He heard her breath catch.
‘You’re outside the office of the US Secret Service?’ she said, incredulous.
‘Yes,’ said Conrad. ‘I’m sitting within three hundred feet of it.’ He thought he heard her swear under her breath. ‘I’ve got the envelope with me. I thought you should see it.’
Someone called Laura’s name in the background. ‘Yeah, I’m coming,’ she responded tersely. ‘Look, I can’t talk right now,’ she continued in a low voice. ‘I’m in the middle of something.’
Conrad tried to ignore the heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach. ‘When can we meet?’
‘By the end of today, maybe,’ Laura replied distractedly.
Conrad looked to the booth where the two students now sat watching a local news channel. An anchorwoman spoke enthusiastically in the background while shots of the weekend celebrations flashed across the screen.
‘Is there someone in your local office you would rather I show this to?’
Although he was loath to make the offer, Conrad felt he had to ask the question. He could almost see her frowning in the silence that followed.
‘No. All my team are out here,’ she said. ‘I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later to fix up a meet.’
The disconnect tone echoed in Conrad’s ears. He ended the call and looked down at his hands. He was amazed they weren’t shaking. He listened distractedly as a short musical tune from the young man’s iPad heralded the weather section of the news bulletin. He tucked the cell phone inside his pocket, rose from the window seat with the rucksack on his shoulder, and was strolling past the college students’ booth when he heard something that stopped him in his tracks.
‘—so all in all, it’s going to be a very warm and pleasant day for us, folks,’ the reporter was saying in a lively voice. ‘Elsewhere, there are fears that the system of low pressure in the Pacific Northwest might lead to a tropical cyclone in the next twelve hours. Forecasters are predicting that it won’t be anywhere on the same scale as the Columbus Day storm of 1962—’
Conrad stiffened. A distant memory surfaced at the back of his mind; something about a storm. The feeling that he had just missed an important clue niggled at his subconscious. He stared blindly into space as he mentally went through the events of the last forty-eight hours.
An image of the encoded sheet flashed in front of his eyes. His breath froze in his lungs. Conrad twisted on his heels and stepped toward the booth.
‘Excuse me, can I ask you guys to look something up?’ He masked the urgency in his voice behind a smile.
The student with the iPad raised his head, looked at him from head to toe, and
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