David Morrell - The Spy Who Came for Christmas

“ And now, a month later… ” Kagan said, letting his voice trail off.

“ New location. Same old problems. I guess there’s no such thing as a fresh start.” After an awkward pause, Meredith changed the topic. “The baby’s asleep.” She set the glass on the kitchen table and carried the child through the dark archway next to the refrigerator-freezer.

Kagan heard her groping around back there and wondered what she was doing. Something scraped on the floor. Meredith’s shadow reappeared. He saw her backing into the kitchen, dragging a wicker hamper.

“ This was in the laundry room. I put towels inside it,” she said. “It’s almost as good as a crib.” She set the baby in the hamper and covered him with one of the towels.

“ In the laundry room, is there space in a corner behind the washer and dryer?” Kagan asked. “With room enough for you to crouch?”

“ Yes.” Meredith sounded puzzled.

“ If something happens, take the baby and hide there. The metal on the appliances might protect you.”

“ Protect me from…?”

Kagan turned toward the archway to the living room.

“ Cole, are you listening?”

“ Yes.”

“ Protect me from bullets?” Meredith asked.

“ It’s a bad idea for everyone to stay together,” Kagan said. “That makes you all one target. Cole, if something happens, is there a place where you can hide?”

The boy was silent while he thought about it.

“ There’s a big television cabinet in here. I think I can squeeze into the space behind it.” His voice was unsteady.

“ If you’re forced to do that, lie on the floor. You need to visualize what I want you to do. If you see it in your mind, if you rehearse it in your imagination and understand what you need to do, you won’t be confused when the time comes. If something happens-”

“ I’m not afraid.”

“ Good.”

“ I was scared when my dad hit my mom, but now…”

“ Yes? Now?”

“ I feel numb.”

From his vantage point behind the fir tree, Andrei watched the man plod through the falling snow. His shoulders were hunched. His head was down.

Within moments, the man was close enough for Andrei to conclude that his first impression had been correct-he looked weary, as if the weight of the world were on him. He glanced up only once, just enough to get his bearings and angle left toward the fence and the gate.

“ Sir.”

Andrei stepped from the shadows and intercepted the man before the two of them could be seen from the house. “I’m a police officer.”

“ Police?” The man looked startled. He was thin, about six feet tall. His hands were crammed into his coat pockets. The faint light reflecting off the snow made it difficult for Andrei to gauge the man’s age any closer than mid-thirties. He had a mustache, an oval face, and a haggard expression. His breath smelled of whiskey, but not strongly. Any drinking he’d done had been a couple of hours earlier.

“ What are the police doing here?” The man came out of his gloomy mood, straightening with concern.

“ Do you live in that residence?” Andrei pointed.

“ Yes, but-”

“ What’s your name, sir?”

“ Brody. Ted Brody. What’s this all about? What’s going on?”

“ There’s been an incident in the neighborhood.”

“ Incident?”

“ Do you know how many people are in your house, Mr. Brody?”

“ My wife and son. Why do you… My God, has something happened to them?”

“ Mr. Brody, please just answer my questions. How old is your son?”

“ Twelve, but-”

“ Describe the house for me. Draw a diagram in the snow.”

“ Diagram? I don’t understand.”

“ The rooms. The windows. The outside doors. That’s very important. Show me the location of every outside door.”

“ Jesus, are you telling me someone broke in?” Brody pushed past, heading for the gate.

Andrei clamped a strong hand on his shoulder and tugged him back down the lane.

“ Stop that… I need to…” Brody struggled. “That hurts. Get your hand off me.”

“ Keep your voice down,” Andrei warned. “You don’t want to let him know we’re out here.”

“ Him?”

Andrei hauled Brody farther back. “Don’t raise your voice. We were chasing a fugitive. He entered your house before we could stop him.”

“ Then I need to get in there. I need to-”

Andrei stepped in front of him and grabbed both his shoulders. He spoke forcefully but at a low register, his face close to Brody’s.

“ Pay attention, Mr. Brody. If you go inside, you’ll only give the fugitive another hostage. Don’t put your family at greater risk.”

“ But-”

Andrei cut him off. “The best thing you can do is help us. Do you have a cell phone? If not, I’ll lend you mine.”

“ Cell phone? Why?”

“ There’s a chance the fugitive doesn’t know we followed him. I want you to call your wife and try to learn what’s happening in there, what room she and your son are in, any details that might help the SWAT team when it gets here.” Even though Andrei knew the phone line wasn’t working, he needed to find out if there was a cell phone in the house.

“ SWAT team?” Brody moaned. “Why did I let this happen? What have I done? I should never have left my family.”

“ Calm down, Mr. Brody. I’ll rehearse the phone conversation with you. We need to assume that the fugitive will be listening when your wife talks on the phone. I’ll teach you to ask questions in a way that won’t alarm him. We’ve got to know where he is in the-”

“ Wait a second.” Brody stared past Andrei.

“ What’s wrong?”

“ Those men over there. Who are they?” Brody pointed toward the fir tree.

“ The other officers on the team. Detectives Hardy and Grant.”

Mikhail and Yakov each held up an arm in greeting, doing their best to look like they belonged there.

“ About the call you’re going to make, it’s very important that you seem natural, that you don’t let your voice indicate how worried you are,” Andrei explained. “The best thing to do is-”

“ Don’t bother. It’s useless.”

“ Pardon me?”

“ There’s no point in calling.”

“ No point in-? But why?”

“ The phones aren’t working,” Brody said.

Andrei felt his muscles tense. Did he notice the telephone wire I shot down? He prompted Brody for more information. “They’re not working? What do you mean?”

“ They’re broken.”

“ You mean the snow broke the telephone lines?”

“ No, I mean the phones.” Brody seemed annoyed that Andrei couldn’t grasp some obvious concept.

“ Every phone in the house? How could they all be broken?”

Brody wiped snow off his mustache but didn’t answer, avoiding the question.

“ Sir, we can’t afford a delay,” Andrei said. “The safety of your wife and son depends on you. How did the phones get broken?”

“ I did it.”

“ What are you talking about?”

“ I smashed the phones with a hammer.” Brody sounded exasperated.

Andrei couldn’t help expressing surprise. Just when he thought he’d heard everything, someone came up with something he could never have imagined. “Why on earth would you smash the phones?”

“ So my wife couldn’t call you.”

“ Call me?” Andrei shook his head in bafflement.

“ You. The police.” Brody stared down at his boots. “I lost my temper.” The last word was tinged with despair. “My wife and I had an argument. I can’t remember what it was about, probably my drinking. I

…”

“ But why were you afraid she’d call the police?”

“ Because I hit her.” Brody kept his gaze down. His shame made him whisper.