Chapter Twenty-One
Having lived freely in the Cotswolds for the past eight months, Kiyomi had explored the area and been to Bourton-on-the-Water many times. Visiting this place was like stepping into an English postcard.
The picturesque village was nestled along the banks of the Windrush River, and made of pretty golden-stoned cottages and shops. Five low-arched stone footbridges spanning the shallow water had earned it the nickname of Venice of the Cotswolds, and as it was the height of summer, it was already packed with tourists at nine-thirty in the morning.
Yet as pretty as it was, Kiyomi barely noticed the scenery or ambiance.
Tucked up a narrow pedestrian lane off the walkway by the river with Marcus, she surveyed the stream of people walking past, heading east up the near side of the channeled river, pausing along the row of shops and bakeries in the center of town.
She had tried to convince him to stay home and rest his leg, but of course, he’d shot that down hard. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight until the person behind the messages had been caught, and the threat was over.
The rest of the team was here as well, including Trinity and Briar, having returned from London late last night. All of them wore various disguises while they watched for any sign of the person who had sent the message yesterday.
There was no sense of overt danger at the moment, only a sense of building anticipation and frustration. With this many people around, the chances that their mystery contact would try and take a shot at any of them were minimal. Still, Kiyomi couldn’t shake the sense of unease.
They still weren’t certain whether they were looking for a man or a woman, since the culprit might not be the same person from the video. Or whether the person would actually show.
Maybe this was just another ruse to see if they reacted to the message. Looking for a weakness. Maybe to follow them from here, and attack them when their guards were lowered.
Marcus shifted on his crutches, standing on her left side to protect her from anyone bumping into her sore arm. Sticking out of the end of the sling, her fingers were still swollen, numb, and difficult to move. She hoped things would improve drastically once the swelling dissipated. If they didn’t, she wasn’t going to be able to use her left hand for much of anything.
“See anyone?” he asked quietly.
She shook her head and kept watching. “You?”
“No. Only quarter to, though. They might show yet.”
How was she supposed to recognize the person? Whoever had sent that message was either manipulating them once again, or had something far more nefarious in mind. It was unsettling as hell to know their source could identify each of them visually, while Kiyomi and her team had no idea who they were looking for, or how many others were involved.
It put them at a distinct disadvantage. There could be an entire team here right now, scoping them out in plain sight, looking for an opportunity to strike. And the message had expressly named her as the one to be here.
Ten o’clock came and went. She scanned each face that passed by them, kept checking behind them every so often.
Quarter past. Still nothing. She covertly tapped her earpiece to activate her mic. “Anything?” she murmured.
“Nothing here,” Trinity answered, and the other couples replied with the same answer.
Impatience seized her. She felt restless and twitchy, instinct telling her to move. Heading out into the open for a bit should be okay as long as they stayed near other people along the walkway.
“Let’s take a little walk,” she said to Marcus.
They turned onto the walkway hugging the south side of the river and headed east, walking slowly in deference to Marcus, and the growing throng around them. A line had formed out the door of the most popular bakery in town, the mouthwatering scents of coffee and cinnamon carrying on the air.
Kiyomi visually checked every single person they passed, watching for any hint of interest or recognition in their faces. It felt so strange to be on high alert, looking for a potential enemy amongst these people, all of them oblivious to the potential threat that could be hidden out of view—or in plain sight.
She and Marcus walked to the last footbridge and stopped. Standing on the bridge itself was too much exposure, but they had now walked the entire length of the main waterfront area and Marcus should rest. If someone was here watching for them, there was no way he or she could have missed them.
She studied the people on the opposite bank, some sitting on the grass, and others perusing the shops and cafés on the north side of the river. There was no one staring at them. No one quickly looked or turned away when she made visual contact. Yet a faint tingle prickled the back of her neck, as though someone had eyes on her right now.
Watching her, though she couldn’t see them.
“Let’s go,” she murmured, not wanting to stay in such a visible spot any longer.
Had the person she’d sensed been on the far side of the road across the river? There were so many little walkways running into the main road. Someone could be hidden out of view in any one of them.
They retraced their steps back to the west side of the busy area and turned up a different walkway, stopping in the shadows of the stone building there. “I thought I felt something earlier,” she said to Marcus.
He looked at her sharply. “Where?”
“By the last footbridge. Didn’t see anyone suspicious though, and then it disappeared.”
She scanned the buildings and cottages on the opposite side of the road beyond the river. Was someone watching through binos or a scope from a window in one of the buildings?
There was no telltale glint of light, no twitch of a curtain or blind. If someone had been watching her, they had chosen their hiding place well.
She checked in with the others again. It was quarter-to-eleven already. Forty-five minutes past the meeting time specified. “Anything?”
“Negative,” Briar answered, and everyone else reported the same.
Dammit!
Kiyomi bit back an irritated sigh. “I’m calling it. It’s a bust. Head out whenever you want. We’ll see you back at the house.” She switched off her earpiece and glanced at Marcus. “Maybe whoever it was spotted some of the others and got spooked.” Though she doubted it. The others were all experts at blending in, and the sender must know she wouldn’t show up alone here.
“Maybe,” he murmured, though he didn’t look convinced.
They stuck with the stream of tourists on their way back to the large parking lot on the north end of a walkway leading from the village. Large tour buses were offloading their passengers for the day amongst all the cars crowding the lot. Kiyomi rounded the hood of the rental car Zack had picked up for her last night and opened the driver’s side door.
The tingling started up at the back of her neck again.
She froze, her head lifting. Her gaze shot to one of the tour buses, and the group of passengers milling around its door. A woman with strawberry blond hair stood there in black capris and a T-shirt.
The face was unfamiliar, but their eyes met. Recognition flared in the woman’s stare.
And in that fleeing instant, something inside Kiyomi jolted. Shock and denial flooded her, sucking her back in time.
The damp, mildew scent of the moldering brick surrounded her as she picked her way through the fog up the alley. She had been searching for her friend for weeks now, but the latest tip had been days ago and the trail had gone cold. Until tonight.