Berry, Steve: the Third Secret

He knew what was happening.

The liquid penetrated the towel and flowed unrestricted into her mouth and nose. At first a few gulps of air could be stolen—the throat constricted, inhaling little of the water—but that could be maintained only for a few seconds. Then the body’s natural gag reflex would kick in and all control would be lost. The head was angled downward so gravity could prolong the agony. It was like drowning without ever being submerged.

The man stopped pouring.

The woman continued to struggle with her restraints.

The technique dated back to the Inquisition. Highly favored since it left no marks, its main drawback was harshness—so intense that the victim would immediately admit to anything. Malone had actually experienced it once, years ago, while training to become a Magellan Billet agent. All recruits had to take their turn as part of survival school. His agony had been amplified by his dislike of confinement. The bondage, combined with the soaked towel, had created an unbearable claustrophobia. He recalled the public debate a few years ago as to whether waterboarding was torture.

Damn right it was.

“Here’s the purpose of my contact,” the voice said.

The camera zoomed tight on the towel wrapping the woman’s face. A hand entered the frame and wrenched the soaked cloth away, revealing Cassiopeia Vitt.

“Oh, no,” Malone muttered.

Darts of fear pierced his skin. A light-headedness overtook him.

This can’t be happening .

No .

She blinked water from her eyes, spit more from her mouth, and gained her breath. “Don’t give them a damn thing, Cotton. Nothing.”

The soaked towel was slapped back across her face.

“That would not be smart,” the computerized voice said. “Certainly not for her.”

“Can you hear me?” he said into the laptop’s microphone.

“Of course.”

“Is this necessary?”

“For you? I believe so. You’re a man to be respected. Former Justice Department agent. Highly trained.”

“I’m a bookseller.”

The voice chuckled. “Don’t insult my intelligence, or risk her life any further. I want you to clearly understand what’s at stake.”

“And you need to understand that I can kill you.”

“By then, Ms. Vitt will be dead. So let’s stop with the bravado. I want what she gave you.”

He saw Cassiopeia renew her struggle against the restraints, her head whipping from side to side beneath the towel.

“Give him nothing, Cotton. I mean it. I gave that to you for safekeeping. Don’t give it up.”

More water was poured. Her protests stopped as she fought to breathe.

“Bring the item to Tivoli Gardens, at two pm, just outside the Chinese pagoda. You’ll be contacted. If you don’t show—” The voice paused. “—I think you can imagine the consequences.”

The connection was severed.

He sat back in the chair.

He hadn’t seen Cassiopeia in more than a month. Hadn’t spoken to her for two weeks. She’d said that she was headed out on a trip but, characteristically, offered no details. Their relationship was hardly one at all. Just an attraction that they both tacitly acknowledged. Strangely, Henrik Thorvaldsen’s death had drawn them closer, and they’d spent a lot of time together in the weeks after their friend’s funeral.

She was tough, smart, and gutsy.

But waterboarding?

He doubted if she’d ever experienced anything like that.

Seeing her on the screen tore at his gut. He suddenly realized that if anything happened to this woman his life would never be the same.

He had to find her.

But there was a problem.

She’d obviously been forced to do whatever was necessary in order to survive. This time, however, she may have bitten off more than she could ever chew.

She’d left nothing with him for safekeeping.

He had no clue what she, or her captor, was talking about.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

STEVE BERRY is the New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor’s Tomb, The Paris Vendetta, The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Venetian Betrayal, The Alexandria Link, The Templar Legacy, The Third Secret, The Romanov Prophecy, The Amber Room , and the short story “The Balkan Escape.” His books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and sold in fifty countries. He lives in the historic city of St. Augustine, Florida, and is at work on his next novel. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have founded History Matters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving our heritage. To learn more about Steve Berry and the foundation, visit www.steveberry.org.

CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF COTTON MALONE?

Read all the Steve Berry novels in the Cotton Malone series:

THE TEMPLAR LEGACY

THE ALEXANDRIA LINK

THE VENETIAN BETRAYAL

THE CHARLEMAGNE PURSUIT

THE PARIS VENDETTA

THE EMPEROR’S TOMB

And don’t miss Steve Berry’s other novels of suspense:

THE AMBER ROOM

THE ROMANOV PROPHECY

THE THIRD SECRET

Visit Steve Berry’s official website

to sign up for his mailing list. You’ll receive

updates on his books and tour schedule, get

exclusive material, and much more!

www.SteveBerry.org

Check out the free Steve Berry iPhone App.

You can download it straight from iTunes.

And be sure to look for Steve Berry

on Facebook!

ALSO BY STEVE BERRY

The Amber Room

The Romanov Prophecy

The Third Secret is a work of fiction. Though some characters, incidents, and dialogues are based on the historical record, the work as a whole is a product of the author’s imagination.

Copyright © 2005 by Steve Berry

Map copyright © 2005 by David Lindroth

Excerpt from The Emperor’s Tomb copyright 2010 by Steve Berry.

All rights reserved.