Joseph said, "What about we call this list something mysterious? Give it a name."
Karpankov suggested, "I have an idea. How about the October List?"
Gabriela nodded. "Good, I like it. But why that?"
"The wife and I went to the Hofbrau last night, Third Avenue. Thursday's Oktoberfest night. The best Wiener schnitzel and Sauerbraten in the city. Oktoberfest... October List. Just occurred to me."
"Perfect. It's mid-September; I'll drop clues that whatever's going to happen'll happen next month. Now, Joseph, you want this mysterious list. And some money too. Reardon stole four hundred thousand from Peter. But let's go for five--interest payment."
The Russian nodded.
"How will you get the cash from them?" Joseph asked.
She considered this for a moment. "Ah, Reardon'll come up with it for me to pay as the ransom. He'll hit one of his accounts and cough up the money. Of course, what he'll really use it for is to pay you--as an incentive to do business with them. Only you can tell them how to best use the October List. They'll need you for that."
Joseph too had a thought. "Let's start out with four hundred thousand, but to add believability maybe you could miss a deadline and I up the ante to five hundred thousand."
"Yes, I like that." Her eyes shone. "And when I miss that deadline, you send me something of my daughter's to show you mean business." She happened to glance down at her fingernails, which were dark red. "Maybe... I know, a bloody finger."
"What?" Karpankov blurted.
She gave a smile. "Just from a mannequin or a doll. Get some fake blood. Or buy a bloody steak."
Joseph nodded, as if this were the most logical idea in the world.
She continued to him, "We'll play it out till Sunday night. You pick a target zone--a safe house somewhere--and arrange to meet them. When they show up, you kill them."
Joseph considered this. "I've got a warehouse in SoHo I'm just about finished with. I'll use that. They think I've kidnapped your daughter, right? The place has a room in the back. I'll put on some kids' videos in there. When they go to check it out and open the door, I'll take care of them from behind." Then he frowned. "But what'll you tell your captain? If it's an undercover sting, won't they be expecting to get evidence, from a wire or something?"
It was a good point but she'd thought that through. "I'll tell them that you--my CI--went rogue, killed Reardon and the others and stole the money. Then vanished. Nobody trusts CIs anyway. It won't look too great--a failed operation--but the fact is, my captain won't be very pissed off. After Reardon's dead, we'll search his houses and office; we should be able to close a half-dozen cases he and his crew were behind. And they'll've saved the expense of trial."
"Brilliant, Gabriela," Karpankov said reverently.
Tap, tap.
Gabriela added a lengthy row to the shawl she was knitting. She had another thought. "You know, Peter, it would be helpful if it looked like there was someone else after me. It'll draw Reardon into the set more if he feels there's another player after the October List too. Make it seem that much more valuable. Any thoughts?"
Now Karpankov, sitting back, was the one scanning the ceiling with his gray-and-gray eyes. "Would it make sense if this person died?"
"Interesting idea," she replied. "It could work. Why?"
"I'm aware of something."
"Yes?"
"There's someone... this piss-ant from Brooklyn. Thinks he's the Godfather. Hal Dixon. Do you know him?"
"I think I've heard the name."
"He's been talking about moving into Manhattan and Jersey. I've been thinking about taking him out. This could be the chance."
Gabriela smoothed her skirt as she considered the additional player. She said to Karpankov, "You could meet with Dixon. Tell him you've heard that there's this October List and that I have it. Give him the job to get it. When he comes after me, I'll make sure nobody can see me and take him out. Afterward, I'll tell my captain it was Reardon who did it."
This brought up another thought, and the yarn ended up in her lap. "There's a personal situation I need to deal with too."
She squinted slightly as she explained, "I've been having some trouble with someone. It goes back a month or so. I'd finished a job and had taken care of the body, but the police were closer than I thought. I ducked into a movie theater and picked up this guy, so we could leave like a couple. It worked. But the problem is, he didn't go away. It cost me a couple of dates. He's turned into a bit of a stalker. He spies on me, shows up outside my apartment. He could eventually make the connection that I work for Peter. He's even taken pictures of me when he thinks I don't know." Her lips tugged into a grimace. "He's pretty sick--he's got a shoe thing. He starts salivating when he sees me in high heels. Takes pictures of me with his mobile, and always makes sure he gets my shoes in the frame. Damn pervert." She shrugged. "It would be helpful if he died too."
Joseph asked, "What's his name?"
"Frank Walsh." She described him and added, "Let's frame Reardon for his murder too." She resumed knitting. The men looked at the aluminum needles. She got the impression they'd be wondering if she'd ever killed anyone with them. She never had. "I know what would work. After Reardon and I find the list, I'll arrange to get it to Frank for safekeeping, maybe have it delivered to him. I'll make sure Reardon's prints are on the envelope or box or whatever I put it in. Peter, could you arrange for one of your men to be in the building we use for the set? Pretend to be a janitor. I'll have him deliver it to Frank."
"Sure. How about Rafael?"
"Yeah, he's good." Then she said to Joseph, "After the package is delivered--on Sunday--you go to Frank's, shoot him and get whatever evidence has Reardon's prints or DNA on it. So it'll be at the target zone when you take Reardon and his associates out. But get Frank's mobile and wipe his hard drive. He'll have pictures of me on it."
Joseph nodded. Then he said, "Your associates--the detectives, your captain--they'll want to run surveillance on you. That could be a problem."
She grimaced. "I know. Even after I tell them not to, they'll try to put some eyes on me. I'll just have to keep it in mind and make sure I lose any tails or electronic snooping."
Putting down the knitting, Gabriela sat forward. She was pleased with Joseph, liked that he was smart and that he looked back into her eyes so easily, without challenge or timidity or flirt. "Now, before we go any farther, I want to say something: Obviously you're familiar with movies. You know what method acting is?"
"I've heard about it. Don't really know exactly."
"It's when actors mentally and emotionally become the characters they're playing. For this to work, to fool Reardon and make sure both of us survive, I'm going to be the office manager and single mother I've created. Gabriela McKenzie. Gabriela McNamara will cease to exist."
She didn't share with Joseph or Karpankov that this would be an all-consuming transformation. She'd move into a different place entirely. She'd repeat the name of her fictional daughter over and over again--aloud and to herself--until the girl came alive. She'd come to believe that if she didn't deliver the October List and the cash, she'd never see her beloved Sarah again. She'd feel regret at the death of Hal Dixon. At Frank Walsh's too, even though he was in reality an irritating complication in her life. She'd feel genuine fear the police were after her. And she'd form a real attraction to Reardon, as if they'd mutually picked up each other in the bar, a spark igniting what might turn into a real relationship. She might even fuck him.
And after Joseph shot Reardon dead, she'd go through a period of mourning.
Gabriela was good at what she did precisely because she tricked herself as smoothly as she did her victims.
She looked levelly at Joseph. "You understand?"
"Yes."
"I need you to do the same thing."
"I get it." Joseph looked off for a moment. "You know, talking about acting. What do you think about this? I could be like that actor who died, the one in that Batman movie
a few years ago. Heath Ledger, the Joker. Taunting, unpredictable, eerie."
"I like that. And what was his philosophy?" she reflected, thinking back to the film. "The only good is what furthers his interest. That'll be your driving force."
Joseph cocked his head. "The only good is what furthers my interest. I'll remember that. I like it." Then he asked, "One question, at the kill zone? You'll be there too?"
She considered this. "No, they won't want me there. Reardon and one of the others will want to meet with you alone. They'll leave me with a babysitter, probably Sam--a safe house somewhere." A look at Karpankov. "Most likely the same place they took Carole, that apartment in Midtown, the one his company keeps." Then she said to Joseph, "I'll text you the exact location when I know."
"You'll have a weapon with you?" Joseph asked.
"No. I can't. But I'm sure Sam will." She thought back to Reardon's pattern. "Reardon will probably be planning on coming back to the safe house after he cuts a deal with you--probably to finish me off himself. And, considering what he did to Carole, I imagine he and Sam may have other plans for me first. More rope and knots.
"So after you kill Reardon and Andrew, get the key to the safe house and come over there. If there's a chain or security bar on the door, I'll take it off. You text me when you're close and I'll distract Sam or Andrew or whoever my babysitter is. I'll tell him I've figured out the mystery of the October List, or something like that. You let yourself in. Whoever's there probably will think it's the other two returning and not be too suspicious.
"But we should be careful. When I hear the door open I'll say one of two things. If I say 'Is my daughter all right?' that'll mean Sam doesn't have a weapon out. He doesn't suspect anything. It's safe to just walk in and shoot him. But if I say, 'Daniel, what happened?' then that means he is suspicious and has his weapon. Get back into the hall. It'll be a firefight. I'll take cover and do what I can from inside."
Joseph nodded. " 'Is my daughter all right' means I'm green-lighted to shoot. 'Daniel, what happened?' means take cover."
"That's right."
"Got it."
"Good." Gabriela slipped the yarn and the half-finished shawl back into her bag. She glanced affectionately at Gunther, who wagged his tail once more. She rose, shook Karpankov's hand then Joseph's. "So. Let's get to work."
I
FOREWORD
We have Stephen Sondheim to thank for this book. Several years ago I was listening to a National Public Radio interview by the inimitable Terry Gross, on her Fresh Air program, with Sondheim, one of my favorite musical theater composers and lyricists. One of the plays he discussed was Merrily We Roll Along, which happened to be perhaps the only play of his I had not seen. I was fascinated by the fact that it began in the present and moved back in time. Of particular interest was his comment about a song that meant one thing in the present, and meant something different when first (well, later) introduced.
I happen to love the concept of a fractured time line. Look at Stanley Kubrick's second best film, The Killing (Strangelove--not 2001--is my number one), or Pulp Fiction, Memento, Back to the Future. And, of course, the classic Seinfeld episode "The Betrayal," which was an homage to Harold Pinter's own reverse-chronology play, Betrayal.
I began wondering if it was possible for a thriller writer to pull off a backward-told story that was filled with the cliffhangers, surprises and twists and turns that are, to me, the epitome of good crime fiction. The task, of course, is to present the twist (the "reveal" as they say in Hollywoodspeak) before giving the facts that led up to it and still make the surprise thrilling. It's like telling a joke's punch line first, then giving the setup itself--yet making the audience laugh just as hard as if they'd heard the gag in proper order. It can be done:
The bartender says, "We don't serve time travelers in here."
A time traveler walks into a bar.
Many, many Post-it notes later I plotted out and wrote The October List--a novel that begins with the last chapter and then moves backward in time, over the course of about two days, to the first chapter. Though it's a bit shorter than most of my novels, I can say that it was more challenging, byte for byte, than anything I've previously written.
Because of my heroine's passion for photography, I thought I would include images throughout the book, at the beginning of each chapter. Some are merely illustrative. But some are clues as to mysteries the book holds, and some are twists in themselves. As Gabriela has said, "There's something seductive about taking reality and controlling it. Sometimes I make a literal image, sometimes I start there and manipulate it. Sometimes the end result is obscure, abstract; only I know the truth."
I couldn't agree more.
Rather than give the titles to the pictures where they appear in the book, I thought it was best to include them in the table of contents. That surprise thing, again.
--J.D., Chapel Hill, NC
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A former journalist, folksinger and attorney, Jeffery Deaver is an international number-one bestselling author. His novels have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including the New York Times, the Times of London, Italy's Corriere della Sera, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Los Angeles Times. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into twenty-five languages.
The author of thirty novels, two collections of short stories and a nonfiction law book, he's received or been shortlisted for a number of awards around the world. His The Bodies Left Behind was named Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers association, and his Lincoln Rhyme thriller The Broken Window and a stand-alone, Edge, were also nominated for that prize. He has been awarded the Steel Dagger and the Short Story Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association and the Nero Wolfe Award, and he is a three-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Readers Award for Best Short Story of the Year and a winner of the British Thumping Good Read Award. The Cold Moon was recently named the Book of the Year by the Mystery Writers Association of Japan, as well as by Kono Mystery Wa Sugoi magazine. In addition, the Japanese Adventure Fiction Association awarded The Cold Moon and Carte Blanche their annual Grand Prix award.
He contributed to the anthology Books to Die For, which won the Agatha Award.
His most recent novels are The Kill Room, featuring Lincoln Rhyme; XO, a Kathryn Dance thriller, for which he wrote an album of country-western songs, available on iTunes and as a CD, and before that, Carte Blanche, the latest James Bond continuation novel, a number-one international bestseller.
Deaver has been nominated for seven Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, an Anthony Award and a Gumshoe Award. He was recently shortlisted for the ITV3 Crime Thriller Award for Best International Author.
His book A Maiden's Grave was made into an HBO movie starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin, and his novel The Bone Collector was a feature release from Universal Pictures, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. And, yes, the rumors are true; he did appear as a corrupt reporter on his favorite soap opera, As the World Turns. He was born outside Chicago and has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a law degree from Fordham University.
Readers can visit his website at www.jefferydeaver.com.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
With special thanks for taking a chance on this one (and helping me get as backward as was humanly possible) to Mitch Hoffman and Carolyn Mays. Thanks too to Jamie Hodder-Williams, Michael Pietsch, Jamie Raab, Lindsey Rose, Katy Rouse and David Young. And I really appreciate all the juggling my regular crew did to keep this book on track and me more or less sane: Madelyn Warcholik, Julie Deaver, Deborah Schneider, Cathy Gleason, Vivienne Schuster, Betsy Robbins, Sophie Baker, Jane Davis, Will and Tina Anderson and Hazel Orme.
For Frank, Maureen and Caitlyn Jewett.
CONTENTS
AND TITLES OF PHOTOGRAPHS
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
The shocking end is only the beginn
ing...
Epigraph
Foreword
I: Friday
Chapter 1. Plotting
Chapter 2. Gabriela
Chapter 3. Fetish
Chapter 4. Fender Bender
Chapter 5. Where Her Victims Lie
Chapter 6. Rope, Sweat, Pain
Chapter 7. Witness to the Seduction
II: Saturday
Chapter 8. Morning After, No. 1
Chapter 9. Sarah
Chapter 10. Central Park
Chapter 11. Doll
Chapter 12. Childless
Chapter 13. Intimate
Chapter 14. Daniel's First Job, Circa 1998
Chapter 15. Crime Scene I
Chapter 16. Escape
Chapter 17. The Victim
Chapter 18. Scavenger Hunt
Chapter 19. Sweet Dreams
Chapter 20. A Good Judge
III: Sunday
Chapter 21. The Warrior
Chapter 22. Waking Alone
Chapter 23. Fashionista
Chapter 24. Morning After, No. 2
Chapter 25. Rorschach
Chapter 26. Deacon Hal
Chapter 27. No Good Deed
Chapter 28. Frank's Second Present
Chapter 29. Crime Scene II
Chapter 30. Out of Sight
Chapter 31. Gabriela's Wednesdays
Chapter 32. Scent Memory
Chapter 33. Misfire
Chapter 34. The Judas Pour
Chapter 35. Daniel's Mausoleum
Chapter 36. Sam's Last Drink
Acknowledgments
Dedication
About the Author
Also by Jeffery Deaver
Newsletters
Copyright
ALSO BY JEFFERY DEAVER
The Kill Room*
A Textbook Case (An original Lincoln Rhyme story) Triple Threat (Original stories) XO**/*
XO: The Album (Music CD of original songs) Carte Blanche, a James Bond Novel Edge
The Burning Wire*