Chapter 13 #4
“Hmm …” Frederick adjusted himself in the seat, his frown deepening.
“Later, when all this is past, I should very much like to hear about your journey to this occupation and why you’ve chosen to keep it hidden from me all this time.
” Frederick nodded. “But you had no hand in bringing this danger to my home, correct?”
“Can you doubt it?”
Stillness lay between the two cousins. Best of friends. A tense thread where the fidelity of their bond teetered toward fraying, before Frederick answered, “No, I don’t.”
Blake’s shoulders relaxed a fraction. “In order to protect you, we cannot share more information. The less you know, the safer you will be. In fact, I’ve already shared more than I prefer.”
“Are you close to catching them?” Frederick asked.
“Very close,” Blake replied. “We believe they’ll make a move soon—within days, possibly hours.”
“Which makes things all the more dangerous, because our suspect will respond in one of two ways,” Evie added. “With arrogance or fear.”
“Neither of which likely would lead to a positive response from a traitor,” Frederick noted, his jaw tense.
His sleuthing mind was returning, Grace could tell. A very good sign for his turn away from possible madness.
“What can we do to help?” Grace asked. Although after watching Evie and Blake fight, she felt fairly certain her detective skills were nowhere near such a level. She’d never once tried to kick as high as Evie could.
“We believe the informant may be aware of being watched, which means she may plan to make her escape very soon.”
“She?” Grace’s eyes widened. “The traitor is a woman?”
“It’s a perfect choice for gleaning information.” Frederick looked up, his head tipped toward Blake. “Fewer people look for women to take such risks, and what better place for one to hide than in a hospital?”
“Children are good at hiding too, if you need help, Mr. Blake.”
Everyone in the room froze.
Zahra stepped from behind the heavy curtain in front of the window where Evie had been standing. Her gray-green eyes scanned the room as if she hadn’t just shocked everyone into utter silence.
“The matron at the orphanage in Cairo would often send the children to gather information at nearby hotels and restaurants,” Zahra continued. “We were very good at it.”
Blake was first to recover with a chuckle. “Well, I’ve thought this before, but now I’m certain.” He looked over at Grace and Frederick. “Zahra is definitely the perfect daughter for you two.”
Frederick rubbed his forehead again. Grace stepped forward, both surprised and, to be honest, impressed. Zahra had outfoxed two British Intelligence agents! “Have you been there the entire time?”
Zahra didn’t move, but her silence answered eloquently enough.
It was quite possible Zahra had the makings of a spy. Grace frowned. Or a very good thief.
Evie kept looking from one person in the room to the other as if she wasn’t entirely certain what to do next. It was fortunate she knew everyone in the room was on the right side, because Grace had the strangest feeling the woman might have been tempted to do something rather drastic otherwise.
“I am very good at being quiet.” Zahra’s chin lifted slightly. “I hear many people talk in the house without them seeing me.”
Blake suddenly looked over at Evie, who’d moved a step forward. “Have you heard anything that seemed dangerous, Zahra?”
“I know a patient who does not walk during the day but walks easily at night.” She looked directly at him. “And he meets a nurse to talk in the shadows.”
Blake and Frederick both slowly stood.
“Zahra, that is incredibly dangerous,” Frederick said, his voice tinged with concern.
“But possibly helpful,” Blake countered, waving Frederick’s words away … even though Grace’s husband couldn’t see the gesture. “Did you hear them speak of anything important?”
“The nurse has talked with me before.” Zahra nodded.
“The young one with brown hair who smiles too much. She asked me many questions about Papa and where he was in France.” Zahra’s eyes narrowed.
“But she has serpent eyes. I could see her soul was not good, even when she smiled. Like the matron in Cairo, who would be very pleasant before she tried to beat me.”
Frederick flinched. Grace barely covered her gasp with her hand. The more they learned about Zahra’s life, the more amazed they were that she’d turned out to be as wonderful as she was.
“But she spoke about the ruins to the man. She mentioned someone with a strange name.” Zahra frowned, tilting her head in thought. “Rook?”
Again, Blake and Evie locked gazes. They knew that name. How, Grace wasn’t certain, but it didn’t feel like a good reason.
“Thank you, Zahra.” Blake stepped toward her and lowered to one knee, taking the girl by the shoulders. “I need you not to mention this information to anyone except your parents, me, or Miss Montgomery. Do you understand?”
She nodded, her expression as somber as ever.
Blake touched her head gently. “That’s a good girl.” He stood and turned back to them. “I’m only sharing this information with you so you understand the gravity of the situation, but it does not leave this room.”
Grace’s attention flitted from Blake to Evie and back, the tension in her stomach tightening all over again.
Blake steadied a hand on the back of the chair and looked from Frederick to Grace. “If Rook is part of this messy business, then everything has become more dangerous.”
“He’s one of the most lethal controllers within Abteilung IIIb,” Evie added. “Supervising hundreds of successful missions for Germany.”
“With nearly as much bloodshed left behind,” Blake whispered, turning to look out the window, his expression more intense than Grace had ever seen it.
“We need to act carefully,” Evie said to him, as if the rest of them weren’t in the room anymore.
Blake looked down at her. “And swiftly.”
“What do we need to do?” Grace asked, stepping toward Blake. “Surely there is something we can do to help?”
Some way to protect her family. Her staff. These soldiers.
Blake paused, his jaw tensing for a moment before he met her gaze.
“Continue on as if nothing’s changed. These spies will notice if there’s a difference in behavior.
We need them to be oblivious to such things.
” He stepped closer, his attention shifting to Frederick.
“And stay alert. The next twenty-four hours will prove the most dangerous for all of us.”