“Well, not seduce girls, but the rest of it. I wanted to shoot bad guys and win at chemin de fer, and sit eye to eye with megalomaniacs who wanted to rule the world, and escape from their armed fortresses. It seemed so glamorous.”
“And was it?”
“I got posted in Pittsburgh and Paris. No maniacs have tried to rule them yet. Of course, you know this from my file.”
“I know what it says. I didn’t know your attitude about it. Are you married?”
“Divorced. My husband was an insurance salesman. Couldn’t get used to living with a spy. In retrospect, I can’t blame him. I treated him like a civilian. What about you?”
“I was married. My wife’s dead. A car accident a couple of years ago. I’m still not over it.”
She looked in his eyes. “With you I can’t tell what’s true and what’s deep cover.”
“Does it matter?”
“Did she know you were a spy?”
“Why? Didn’t your husband?”
She smiled. “You’re very good at what you do.”
“I don’t even know what that is.”
“Neither do I, but you’re very good at it. Has there been anyone since?”
“There was a woman for a while, but we live in different places. How about you?”
“Not really. That damn fool agent thinks he’s in love with me. As if he had any chance.”
“Reynolds?”
“No, not him. Morrow. Believe me, I’ve done nothing to encourage him.”
“I believe you. After all, you’ve done nothing to encourage me.”
“Except ask you out to dinner. Why do you think I did that?”
“I think you’re highly competitive. I think every agent at the station wants to find out why I’m here, and you want to be first.”
“You don’t think it’s your devilish charm?”
“I was being modest.”
She smiled. “So what’s it going to take to find out what you’re doing here?”
“You could ask me.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to Paris to pick up attractive spies.”
“How’s that going for you?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow.”
34.
WHEN TEDDY WOKE up she was gone. He sat up in bed and looked around her apartment. He hadn’t paid much attention to it the night before. It was only slightly cheerier than his. She’d had time to decorate it, but there was little evidence of a woman’s touch.
Teddy’s jacket was lying over a chair. It was in a slightly different position than when he’d left it. Teddy smiled. She’d gone through his clothes. He’d have been disappointed if she hadn’t.
She had left a note. You don’t have hours, but I do. See you there. Act casual.
Teddy grinned. He found he was getting quite a kick out of Kristin.
Teddy got dressed and headed out. He used evasive action, but no one was watching the apartment. He hailed a cab, got out a block from the embassy, and asked a passerby for the Café du Soleil. It was a little coffee shop down a sunny side street. There were tables out front, but Jacques wasn’t there. Teddy peeked in the door and found him sitting over a cup of coffee. His laptop was open on the table in front of him.
“So that’s why you like this café. They have Internet.”
Jacques looked up and smiled. “Ah, you took my suggestion.”
“You seem like a man whose opinion I can count on.”
“Please, sit down.”
“Thank you.”
Teddy sat and ordered an espresso and a croissant.
“I checked you out,” Jacques said.
“Oh? Why?”
“Because everyone else did. Right after you left, Agent Reynolds wanted to know what you were asking about.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him you were looking for a place to eat.”
“Was he happy to hear it?”
“He didn’t seem happy.”
“I get the impression he really isn’t. I’m glad you didn’t tell him about l’Arrington.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know what it means yet, and until I do, people underfoot are a nuisance.”
“Do you think there’s something to it?”
“You did.”
“What makes you say that?”
“You told me about it.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Why?”
“I suppose I was passing the buck.”
“Your English idiom is very good.”
Jacques frowned. “You don’t want to know what I mean?”
“I know exactly what you mean. You think the reservations at l’Arrington mean something. But you’ve made your report, no one took it seriously, and you don’t want to become known as a pest. On the other hand, if I take an interest, you’re off the hook.”
Jacques grinned. “Got me. Am I no longer your friend?”
“No, I like you even better. All right, here’s the deal. I’d like to know a little more about these reservations. Check them out again, see if anything else pops up. Though let’s not bring it up at the Agency. This is just between you and me. Are you here the same time every morning?”
“More or less.”
“Let’s make it more. See if there are any more bookings of that nature, and get me some details on the ones you found. We’ll meet back here tomorrow. Is that all right with you?”
“It is.” Jacques put up his hands apologetically. “I would kind of like to know who I’m dealing with.”
Teddy smiled. “You accessed my files and got nothing.”
“Yes.”
“May I use your laptop?”
“You can’t access Agency files from here.”
“Let me see.” Teddy swung the computer around, typed in a few codes, and swung it back. Felix Dressler’s file was on the screen.
Jacques was astonished. “How did you do that?”