She actually stopped and started over a dozen times before just writing:
Dad,
It’s Alex. Are you there?
As much as she wanted to check every ten minutes after that for a reply, she knew she shouldn’t use any of her own devices, so she limited herself to finding other random computer locations every four or five hours.
It was almost a full day before she received a reply. She was surprised when she saw it in her inbox, and stared at it for what seemed like an eternity before finally clicking it open.
Weary Horseman Pub. London.
4 p.m. tomorrow.
While there was no greeting or signature, there was also no question whether she would go.
But now it appeared she’d come all this way for nothing.
The waiter approached her table. “Another pint, miss?”
“No,” Alex said. “No, I think just the check.”
She paid with cash she’d exchanged at the airport, then stood up, took a quick look around, and pulled on her jacket.
As she dropped her arms to her side, her wrist brushed against something sticking out of one of the pockets.
She looked down, confused, and saw it was a white envelope. She started to pull it out, but stopped when she spotted her name on the outside, written in a handwriting she could never forget.
She scanned the other patrons sitting on the patio. Had one of them delivered it? No one was paying her any attention. Then again, she had been here for a while, so it could have been any of two or three dozen people who had slipped it into her pocket.
Feeling suddenly exposed, she went inside the pub and walked back to the WC. She entered one of the stalls and closed the door. Alone now, she removed the envelope and tore the top open.
There were three items inside: a piece of paper, and two field-box tickets for the Baltimore Orioles game the next day.
She unfolded the piece of paper. The handwriting was the same as that on the envelope.
One for you, and one for the little lieutenant. Wish I could go with you.
Enjoy the game.
The little lieutenant. The nickname her dad had given Danny.
* * *
Raven watched from the backseat of his hired car as his daughter left the pub and flagged down a taxi.
She looked good. So grown-up.
And so very much like her mother.
He had hoped he would have actually been able to met with her, to tell her in person how sorry he was that he had left. But, as he’d feared, she’d been followed, and sitting down at the table with her was out of the question.
Raven looked down at his hand. In it was the third ticket to the ballgame.
He wouldn’t go, of course. It would have to be enough for now to know that he could.
One day, he thought. One day.
He leaned toward his driver and said, “Victoria Station.”
__________
About the Authors
BRETT BATTLES
is the author of over a dozen novels and several short stories. His novel THE DECEIVED (part of his Jonathan Quinn series) won the Barry Award for Best Thriller. He is one of the founding members of Killer Year, and is a member of Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. He lives and writes in Los Angeles. More info available at brettbattles.com.
ROBERT GREGORY BROWNE
is an AMPAS Nicholl award-winning, ITW Thriller Award nominated novelist, author of the bestselling legal thriller, TRIAL JUNKIES. He is a member of International Thriller Writers and makes his home in Southern California. More info available at robertgregorybrowne.com
* * *
ALSO BY BRETT BATTLES
THE JONATHAN QUINN THRILLERS
Novels
BECOMING QUINN
THE CLEANER
THE DECEIVED
SHADOW OF BETRAYAL (U.S.)/_/ THE UNWANTED (U.K.)
THE SILENCED
THE DESTROYED
THE COLLECTED
THE ENRAGED
THE DISCARDED
“Just Another Job”—A Jonathan Quinn Story
“Off the Clock”—A Jonathan Quinn Story”
“The Assignment”—An Orlando Story
“Lesson Plan”—A Jonathan Quinn Story
“Quick Study”—An Orlando Story
THE LOGAN HARPER THRILLERS
LITTLE GIRL GONE
EVERY PRECIOUS THING
THE PROJECT EDEN THRILLERS
SICK
EXIT NINE
PALE HORSE
ASHES
EDEN RISING
DREAM SKY
THE ALEXANDRA POE THRILLERS
CO-WRITTEN WITH ROBERT GREGORY BROWNE
POE
TAKEDOWN
STANDALONES
Novels
THE PULL OF GRAVITY
NO RETURN
Short Stories
FOR YOUNGER READERS
THE TROUBLE FAMILY CHRONICLES
HERE COMES MR. TROUBLE
* * *
ALSO BY ROBERT GREGORY BROWNE
THE TRIAL JUNKIES THRILLERS
Novels
TRIAL JUNKIES
TRIAL JUNKIES 2: NEGLIGENCE
STANDALONES
Novels
KISS HER GOODBYE
WHISPER IN THE DARK
KILL HER AGAIN
DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN
THE PARADISE PROPHECY
Short Stories
“Bottom Deal”
“Nothing but the Cold Wind”