Deliver Us From Evil (A. Shaw 2)

“No, he’s a monster. He’s not the first, and he’s not the last. And he has to be dealt with.”

“Why the hell do you do this?”

She stood. “Just tell me when it’s time to go. I’ll be ready.”

The two hours came and on the dot the phone rang. Shaw was correct in his thinking. Kuchin asked to speak to Reggie.

“Hello, little Janie,” he said after she had confirmed she was on the line. “Our last meeting was cut short. I look forward to visiting with you again.”

Reggie said nothing else and simply handed the phone back to Shaw.

Arrangements were made. They would leave the following day. They were to say nothing to anyone. “She will be dead long before you reach her if you disobey,” Kuchin had warned.

“But if you plan to kill her anyway?” Shaw had countered.

“I give you my word that if you follow my instructions to the letter, I will release the woman unharmed.”

“Your word?” Shaw had said incredulously.

“As a former officer of the KGB.”

“That really does nothing for me.”

“On my mother’s grave, then. I swear it. I have no fight against your friend. My issue is with you and the woman.”

“Where and when?”

“That depends on where you are currently.”

“In your own backyard. Montreal.”

Shaw thought he could hear a small gasp from the other man and it gave him some pleasure at having startled him.

“Then that simplifies matters,” said Kuchin. He explained the details.

When he was done Shaw clicked off and looked at Reggie. “You still game for this?”

“Even more so now. His arrogance pisses me off. He takes it as a foregone conclusion that we’re just sheep blithely going to the slaughter.”

Well, aren’t we? thought Shaw.

CHAPTER

91

THE NEXT AFTERNOON Reggie and Shaw met at a café down the street from the hotel where they were staying. Shaw checked his watch.

“One hour,” he said. “The address we’re supposed to meet at is a five-minute cab ride from here.”

“Good, then we can catch up, Paddy.”

Shaw jerked around when he heard the voice.

Whit was standing there next to the table, with Dominic behind him.

“What the hell are you two doing here?”

“I’ll take that as an invitation to sit down,” said Whit, who did. Dominic sat across from him, resting his arm cast on the table.