13. Cara #2
Yuri opens a recovered set of fragments. “We pulled what we could from Patrick’s side and from an old cloud backup tied to Mercer’s phone. It’s messy, but it gives us enough.”
A deleted calendar invite appears first.
Coffee, 4:30, North End.
A Wi-Fi login follows, pulled from a Boston coffee shop I know Patrick used. Then a payment app nickname.
E.Merc. Thanks for helping K relax.
My nails dig into my palm.
Yuri opens the last recovered fragment, and Patrick’s words sit on the screen in a broken line. The timestamp is from the morning after I vanished.
Ask her about the emergency phrase without making it weird.
I stare at it.
Patrick had been using Evan to collect pieces of my life. Evan didn’t need training, threats, or a gun. He only needed to feel included.
Patrick would buy coffee, ask about Kathryn, laugh at the right time, and make Evan feel useful. Evan would ask one casual question in Kathryn’s kitchen, carry the answer back, and never understand that he had handed Patrick something I built to keep Mikhail safe.
Dmitri leans closer. “What emergency phrase?”
I look at the screen, then at him. “Ask Patrick.”
“Cara.”
I turn my face toward him. “You already know enough to scare me. Don’t get greedy.”
His jaw sets. “Holding back gets people killed.”
“People I love are already in danger because Patrick collects family details, and men like you know how to use frightened people.”
Dmitri doesn’t answer at once. Around us, the room keeps moving. Keyboards click. A printer starts, then stops. Abramov’s deputies keep their eyes on their screens and pretend they’re not listening.
Dmitri looks at the recovered fragments. “Why go through Evan?”
Yuri’s fingers pause. “Because he was close to Kathryn.”
“No,” Dmitri says. “Patrick could find that part easily. Evan had access Kathryn didn’t know she was giving him.”
I look at the screen again.
I should tell them. Patrick wasn’t only asking about Kathryn after she had Mikhail. The ‘blue lunchbox’ was the only way I could move my son from half a world away. And now Patrick has the code.
Petrov steps in before Dmitri can start again. “Mercer works in finance operations for Halden Rowe Compliance Services.”
I know that name because Kathryn said it once while complaining about Evan’s hours. At the time, it meant nothing. A boring job, a boring company, a boyfriend who answered work calls during dinner.
Now it sits on the screen beside Patrick’s name.
Petrov taps the line on the page. “Halden Rowe processed vendor reviews for several Boston accounts Patrick used last month. Low-level access. Invoice checks, payment holds, beneficiary confirmations.”
“So Evan wasn’t only Kathryn’s boyfriend,” Dmitri says.
“No,” Abramov answers. “He was useful twice.”
I stare at the screen. Evan had Kathryn’s trust at home, and he worked close enough to Patrick’s money to overhear things he probably didn’t understand. Patrick wouldn’t need him clever. He’d only need him flattered.
Dmitri looks at me. “You know the company.”
“I know the type of company.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Then enjoy the mental short circuit.”
Abramov places another sheet on the table. “Mercer may have leaked workplace details without knowing where they went. Vendor names, review dates, payment holds, staff schedules.”
“Evan gave him small details,” Dmitri says. “Patrick used those details to move money more safely.”
My stomach turns.
Small things. Casual things. Evan asking questions while Kathryn made pasta. Kathryn answered because he was her boyfriend, and Mikhail sat at the table with his crayons while Evan listened.
“I need to call Kathryn,” I say.
Dmitri answers first. “No.”
I turn to him. “She needs a new code, a new place to go, and instructions now.”
“The line may be watched.”
“Then watch it with me. Script the call. Put three men under the table if it makes you feel better.”
My chair scrapes back. Dmitri’s hand catches the edge before it can tip.
“Don’t make me fight you on this,” I say, and my voice shakes, which makes me angrier. “Kathryn doesn’t know what is near her.”
Abramov says, “If Mercer is compromised, a call tells Patrick what frightened you.”
Maksim’s voice comes from the doorway. “Set up the call.”
Everyone looks toward the door. Elena is beside Maksim, and her attention is on me.
Dmitri gets to his feet. “Maksim.”
Maksim points to Abramov. “Use a controlled line. She doesn’t say names or locations, and she doesn’t scare the woman unless she has to. If anyone touches the call, I want to know who.”
Abramov nods and heads for the secure desk.
Elena steps past Maksim and stops beside my table. “Dmitri, she’s right.” Then she turns to me and says, “Get her moving, Cara. Don’t give her enough to freeze.”
Yuri connects the call through a boxed device and slides the handset toward me. Abramov watches the trace screen, Petrov shuts the door, and Dmitri stays close enough that his hand brushes the back of my chair.
The line rings once. Twice.
Kathryn answers, breathless. “Cara?”
I say the first thing I built to keep my son safe. “Blue lunchbox.”
Kathryn goes silent.
In the background, Evan says, “Patrick told me you’d say that.”