Mikkel Birkegaard - The Library of Shadows

Had she come all this way to Alexandria in vain?

'Is there anything we can do?' she asked without turning round from the window. She noticed that tears had begun to spill down her cheeks.

Henning sighed deeply. 'That's hard to say. If the conflict between the two choices is big enough, at some point he'll suffer a relapse. I'd think the shock alone of seeing you today would make him reconsider what has happened.'

'Unless more lies are presented to him?'

'Correct,' replied Henning. 'The more arguments they give him for keeping his distance from you, the better.'

'For them, you mean.'

Mehmet stood up and went over to her, patting her shoulder. 'If he loves you, he'll come to his senses.'

Katherina nodded, fighting to hold back the sobs.

'At least we know he's here,' said Mehmet. 'And I think I located some of the others today.'

'Where?' asked Katherina.

Until now they'd been unable to find any of the individuals the Shadow Organization had sent to Alexandria. For days they had roamed around, studying the tourists in the city, the whole time trying to determine whether those sightseers were Lectors as they read their guidebooks or scanned the menus in restaurants. They had memorized the faces from the black-and-white school photos Mehmet had found, but most of them were taken some time ago, so they didn't expect to be able to recognize the students by appearance alone.

'There's a big group staying at the Hotel Seaview, closer to the harbour,' Mehmet explained. 'One of them might be our mole.'

'Pau?'

'Or Brian Hansen, as he's really called.'

The papers from the school had revealed Pau's real name as well as his RL value. It was listed as 0.7, a very low number compared to most of the other members, who on average had a value ten times higher. It didn't make them feel any better that someone with such a low ranking had been able to fool them for months.

'Couldn't we use him?' asked Katherina, turning to face Henning.

'As a hostage?' Henning shook his head. 'I don't think so. His job is done. After the neutralizing of Luca and Jon, he's no longer of any importance to them.'

'Maybe he could tell us what's going to happen,' Katherina suggested.

'You want to force him to do that?' said Mehmet with a crooked smile.

'We'd just be playing by their rules,' Katherina pointed out. 'Henning could read to him.'

She had no idea how strong of a Lector Henning might be. So far he hadn't been much help. On the very first day he'd taken to his bed feeling sick, and he hadn't been able to take part in the search. Maybe he wouldn't even be capable of reading.

'I'm sure I could get Nessim to find out Pau's room number,' said Mehmet.

'Nessim?'

'The desk clerk downstairs,' replied Mehmet. 'I have a feeling he has a good network here in the city. When he heard that we knew Luca, there were no limits to what he wanted to do for us.'

Before leaving Denmark, Mehmet had dug up as much information as possible on Luca's trip to Egypt just before he died, and one of things he found out was that Luca had stayed at this hotel where they had now taken rooms. Otherwise Luca had left behind very few clues. He'd used his credit card at a few places in town, including at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, but that was all.

'Was Nessim able to tell you anything about Luca?' asked Katherina.

'No. Nothing except that they talked about the weather, the library and various trivial matters. He described Luca as a friendly man who gave generous tips.' Mehmet went over to the door. 'I'm going to get him on the case right away.'

After he left the room, Katherina sank down onto the bed. She hadn't allowed herself to get much sleep since the night she spent at Clara's. It was only when she was about to collapse with exhaustion that she'd been forced to give in and take a nap for an hour or two. Even then she slept uneasily and usually awoke drenched in sweat without feeling rested, yet unable to go back to sleep. Her encounter with Jon hadn't made things any better. She sensed that if they didn't get to him soon, it would be too late.

She gave a start when the phone rang.

'It'll take a couple of hours before Nessim can get Pau's room number,' said Mehmet on the other end of the line. 'Try to get some sleep in the meantime. Henning too.'

Katherina reluctantly accepted Mehmet's suggestion and put down the receiver. Henning seemed relieved to return to his own room.

Katherina was extremely glad Mehmet had come with them. He had turned out to be the perfect guide; with lightning speed he'd made friends with the locals and developed a thorough knowledge of the city. It probably had to do with the colour of his skin, because she and Henning could hardly walk around unnoticed. Henning and Katherina had gone out to have a look at the library on the first day, before Henning got sick, but Katherina had been much too worried to enjoy exploring the impressive building.

Henning, on the other hand, had been overwhelmed at the sight of the enormous monument – even more so when they entered the huge reading room under the glass roof. They had exchanged glances at that moment. The energy presence was so massive that the hairs stood on end on the back of Katherina's neck. It was the same tingling feeling she'd had in the basement of Libri di Luca but ten times, even a hundred times stronger. Henning's eyes shone like a man who was newly in love.

Katherina stretched out on her bed and closed her eyes. Pau was their last chance, and there was nothing to do now but wait.

She must have fallen asleep after all, because when the hotel phone woke her, the sun had gone down.

'Mehmet here. We're waiting for you in the lobby.'

Still slightly groggy, Katherina got out of bed and went into the small bathroom. She washed her face and pulled her red hair into a knot at the nape of her neck. Then she left the room and went downstairs.

Henning was still as pale as a corpse, but even so he mustered a smile when he caught sight of Katherina. Mehmet, who was once again wearing the head-dress, led them through streets that were now almost deserted. Only when they were further down in the city, closer to the harbour, did they find tourist shops that were still open and much more life on the streets.

The buildings surrounding Hotel Seaview were all taller, so the hotel looked like it was shrivelling up in their shadow. The facade was in disrepair with the paint peeling off in big patches and the shutters faded. It might once have been possible to see the ocean from Hotel Seaview, but that was long ago. Only the lights on the hotel sign gave any indication that the building was still in use, along with a couple of double doors that were open, welcoming them inside.

The lobby floor was marble, while the walls had coverings ranging from wallpaper to wooden panelling to a heavy velvet tapestry that hung from the ceiling. The front desk was made of dark wood as shiny as a mirror; on top stood a highly polished brass bell. On the wall behind were mirrors in gold frames as well as pigeon holes containing keys to every room.

There was no one behind the counter, so all three of them walked silently through the lobby and up a red-carpeted staircase. Every inch of the walls was covered with paintings in ostentatious gold frames.

Not until they reached the third floor did they dare speak.

'Three-oh-five,' said Mehmet, pointing down the corridor, which on this floor had white walls and a pink marble floor.

'Are you sure he's there?' whispered Katherina.

'Nessim said Pau would be in his room now, for about an hour,' replied Mehmet in a low voice.

'How can he be so sure about that?'

'He knows the front-desk clerk here. Apparently they all know each other. At any rate, he was told that ten of the guests are due to be picked up by a minibus in an hour.'