James Carol: The Quiet Man

‘But if he had done that, it would have been him who ended up in prison.’

‘Exactly. What matters is that Gifford is dead. The fact that he didn’t kill him is something he’ll learn to live with.’

‘Pathologically pragmatic,’ Anderton said.

‘Got it in one.’

They fell into another brief silence. The static being beamed down from outer space sounded louder than before. This time it was Winter who broke it.

‘Sobek’s gone for good. You realise that, don’t you? The only way he’s going to get caught is if he breaks cover, and why would he do that?’

Anderton sighed. ‘Yeah, I know. Killing Gifford was always his end goal, wasn’t it? He used me, Winter.’

‘Only as much as you used him. You’d made it your mission to catch Gifford, and he enabled you to do it. Don’t forget that.’

‘But my intention wasn’t that he should die. That’s the difference. I wanted to see him brought to justice.’

‘And therein lies the problem. Justice means different things to different people. If you ask Sobek, he’ll tell you that justice has now been served.’

‘No, Winter, what Sobek got was revenge, pure and simple.’

‘Is there any real difference?’

There was a long sigh on the other end of the line. ‘Look, I’ve got to go. Take care of yourself.’

‘You too. And keep me in the loop. If you hear anything from Sobek, I want to know.’

‘Sure. Same goes for you.’

Winter killed the call and scrolled through his contact list. Sobek’s cell number went straight through to a recorded voice informing him that it hadn’t been possible to connect the call. Maybe he was out of range. More likely he’d dumped the phone. Not that Winter had expected anything different. There was a good chance that he would never hear from him again. There was every chance that nobody would ever hear from him again.

On the way back to the bar, he kept seeing Sobek in the faces of the people he passed. Heading through Atlanta made sense, though. A quarter of a million passengers a day, and a thousand flights to all four corners of the globe. If you were looking to disappear, it was as good a launch pad as any.

A loved-up couple was sitting at his table. The overpriced whisky was long gone. He ordered another, found a new table and spent the next couple of hours watching the planes. His gate was finally called and thirty minutes later he was getting settled into his seat in business class. Within five minutes of the meal plates being cleared away he had his eyes closed, his seat fully reclined, and the whisky was working its magic. His sleep was as deep and dreamless as the ocean crashing darkly thirty-five thousand feet below.

As always, family comes first. Karen, Niamh and Finn, you guys are the best. I couldn’t do this without you.

Camilla Wray is both an agent and a friend. Her support and gentle encouragement through the years has been unwavering, and for that I am truly grateful.

Nick Tubby . . . a good friend is one who stands by you when things get tough, but the best friends are the ones who help you to keep standing. Thanks for everything, buddy. I appreciate it.

Huge thanks to Dan Bailey for answering all my questions regarding Vancouver and flying. Your help and insights were invaluable.

Kate O’Hearn once again helped me to keep my Americanisms straight. If you’ve got kids, check out her books – they’re awesome.

Winter’s theory about the Lindbergh kidnapping was adapted from John Douglas’s book The Cases That Haunt Us . If you want to know how the real-life profilers do it, his books have got to be your start point.

James Carol is the creator of Jefferson Winter, a former FBI profiler who travels the world hunting serial criminals. The Jefferson Winter series includes Broken Dolls , Prey and Watch Me , which was shortlisted for the ITV Specsavers Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read. He has also written three ebook novellas set during Winter’s FBI days: Presumed Guilty , Hush Little Baby and Open Your Eyes. James lives in Hertfordshire with his wife and two children.

For more information please

visit www.james-carol.com

Broken Dolls

Watch Me

Prey

In the Jefferson Winter Chronicles:

Presumed Guilty

Hush Little Baby

Open Your Eyes

Copyright

First published in 2017

by Faber & Faber Ltd

Bloomsbury House

74–77 Great Russell Street

London WC1B 3DA

This ebook edition first published in 2017

All rights reserved

© James Carol, 2017

Cover images © Alexey Fursov; nomadFrav; Ensuper; all Shutterstock

The right of James Carol to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly

ISBN 978–0–571–32229–9