The Whole Truth (A. Shaw 1)

Mentally, Shaw was telling her to jump, jump, before it was too late, even though he knew it already was. It was an agonizing moment for him; he couldn’t even imagine how terrifying it had been for her. The next frame, however, sent his agony to an entirely new level.

He saw the first bullet pass through her chest and a wash of blood and tissue was propelled from her body. A split second later another chunk of Anna was blown out into the fresh London air. As she toppled back inside her office, Shaw finally looked away.

“We can finish this later,” Royce suggested.

“Keep rolling, I’m okay.”

Several minutes later the men emerged from the front door. Seconds after that the van was gone.

“And no one heard or saw anything?” Shaw asked. “Even a woman screaming out the window? Shots fired, her blood hitting the street?”

“The buildings on either side of this one are scheduled to be renovated so they were empty. The buildings opposite are occupied but the tenants were notified that the city was doing some hazardous gas work in the area that day and they were to leave their premises before noon or risk a hefty fine.”

“And no one bothered to call and check whether that was true?”

“There was a phone number on the notice. Several tenants did call and received confirmation that it was true.”

“Only the number was phony.”

“Correct. And the cones blocked off the normal automobile flow and foot traffic. And it’s a dead-end street. There’re never many vehicles down here anyway.”

“Leaving The Phoenix Group all alone. It was well planned out,” Shaw grudgingly admitted. “I’d like to see Anna’s office now.”

“Well, first I’d like to introduce you to an owner of The Phoenix Group.”

“They’re here?” Shaw said sharply.

“One of them flew in as soon as he was notified.”

“Where from?”

“What do you know about the phoenix symbol?”

“Bird that never dies. Rises from the ashes. Egyptian origin.”

“Your description is accurate, as far as it goes. The phoenix is actually a symbol that has various origins. Egyptian as you said. It’s also Arabian, Japanese, and at least one other.”

“Which is?” Shaw said impatiently.

A small man appeared in the doorway. He was dressed in a black suit and his expression matched the color of his clothing. Royce rose to greet him.

“Shaw, let me introduce you to Mr. Feng Hai. Of China.”

CHAPTER 53

WHILE SHAW WAS INSIDE THE BUILDING Katie had been busy outside. She’d actually gotten there before him and had hidden around a corner when she saw him arrive by cab. She’d flashed her no-longer-valid press badge at the officer on duty outside the entrance and fired off a series of questions to which the man in blue offered not a single answer.

“Move along,” he said, his beefy face showing considerable irritation.

“Not into a free and independent press, Constable?” she asked.

“What I’m into is you

blokes letting us do our bloody jobs without you poking your noses into places it don’t belong.”

“Your name will never appear. You’ll be an unnamed source.”

“You’re bloody right my name won’t appear. Now move along!”