Temple of the Gods - Andy McDermott [77]
Nina sighed. ‘What is it about us? Why are we incapable of having a normal life that doesn’t include regular assassination attempts?’
‘Dunno. But I don’t remember breaking any mirrors, walking under ladders or not saluting magpies, so it must all be your fault.’ He managed a half-smile at her outraged look, then became serious again. ‘But as well as that, I was trying to find out what happened in Peru. I didn’t murder Kit, Nina. He was trying to kill me. What I did, it was self-defence . . . whatever you thought you saw me do.’
She said nothing for several seconds, causing an unexpected apprehension, even fear, to rise within him. But her reply made it vanish. ‘I believe you.’
His face lit up. ‘You do?’
‘Yes. I believe you’re innocent. But . . .’ The single word instantly crushed his elation. ‘I need to know you’re innocent. And so does everybody else – Interpol, the IHA, everyone. Otherwise, what? You go on the run again? Or you get caught and sent to prison – or worse? Eddie, I . . .’ She buried her face in her hands. ‘I can’t go on like this. Without you. It’s just . . . destroying me.’ A tear rolled down her cheek.
‘I’m not exactly keen on it either,’ he replied. But despite his attempt at forced levity, he too felt his eyes welling. ‘Oh, Christ, look at me. Getting all emotional.’
‘You do that a lot more than you like to pretend,’ Nina told him, wiping her face.
‘I’ve had a lot to get all emotional about lately,’ he admitted. ‘Losing Mac, losing Nan . . .’ Now it was his turn to rub his eyes. ‘Losing you.’
She shuffled around the booth to sit beside him. ‘You didn’t lose me, Eddie. I lost you. For a while. But I got you back.’
‘Thanks,’ he managed to say, almost overcome. He put his arm round her. ‘Thank you.’
‘I’m still completely furious with you, obviously,’ she said after a pause.
He half laughed. ‘So what else is new? You’re always furious about something. Bloody redheads.’
‘Yeah, we’re the best.’ They sat in silence for a while, simply enjoying being together again.
‘So what changed?’ Eddie eventually asked. ‘When I left you in Peru, you . . . well, you flat-out accused me of murder. Why do you believe me now?’
Nina straightened. ‘A few things. First, Kit lied to me about Interpol authorising him to negotiate with Stikes to get the statues back. So that made me start wondering if he’d lied about anything else. And the second thing is . . . well, you.’
‘Me?’
‘I know you, Eddie. I think pretty well by now. And the more I thought about it, the more it seemed . . . wrong. I know how angry you were that night – but kicking a helpless man to his death? I know the things you can do when you feel you have to, but that’s not one of them.’
‘I was actually trying to get Kit out of there,’ he said, thinking back to the chaos of the impending conflagration. ‘He was the only way I could prove what was going on. But he would have shot me if I hadn’t . . . well, you were there. Even if you didn’t see the gun.’
‘It wasn’t on the video either,’ she told him glumly. ‘The angle was wrong, and it was too dark. I watched it over and over, but I couldn’t see anything. Interpol didn’t either.’
‘There’s a video?’
‘Yeah, from a surveillance camera. Renée Beauchamp sent me a copy to see if I could tell her anything new.’
Eddie became thoughtful. ‘How long is it?’
‘Ten or twelve minutes, maybe. Nothing happens for a lot of it, though; you climb up on to the catwalk, then you’re out of shot until you and Kit are fighting.’
‘I’ll need a look at it. But there wasn’t anything showing Stikes or Sophia?’
‘Afraid not. Oh, oh!’ she added excitedly. The shock of the attack at the airport had pushed events in Italy to one side. ‘Sophia was in Rome!’
‘What?’
‘I don’t know what she was doing – I don’t even know how she’s still alive. But she was there, and she . . .’ Nina tailed off, still not quite able to accept what had happened.
‘What did she do?’ he demanded.
‘She, ah . . . You’re not going to believe this, but she saved my life.’
He stared at her. ‘You’re right, I don’t believe it. How?’
She explained what had happened