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“You’re not very good at this.”
“Neither are you.”
“My people were following you when you killed your old business partner Gaspar Navarro, in that park in Spain.” This information should have been enough to get him to fold, but it was obvious he had a rather severe obstinate streak. “You thought he was taking money from you, yes?”
Gould shook his head. “None of this matters. Rapp is the only person I will talk to.”
“That’s not going to happen, Mr. Gould.”
“Why?”
“I already told you . . . I’m fairly certain if I put the two of you in a room together he is going to kill you, and to be honest, I’d like to keep you alive for a little while.”
“Why?”
“Why do you think?”
He shrugged as if he didn’t have the foggiest idea.
“You possess information that I require. Information that you will give me sometime in the next minute or two is my guess.”
Gould laughed in her face. “Oh, are we going to start the CIA’s vaunted enhanced interrogation process now? Please, if you think those techniques will work on me you are a fool.”
“This doesn’t happen very often, but I’m tempted to test you just to see your arrogance stripped away.”
“Torture will not work, and you have yet to convince me why I would want to tell you a thing.”
Kennedy smiled. “Because I hold the key to your future, and I’m actually fond of your wife. I think she’s a good person who fell in love with the wrong man. I wouldn’t want to hold that against her . . . the fact that you’re a serial liar and a murderer, amongst other things.”
“You don’t know a thing about me.”
“You couldn’t be more wrong. Mr. Gould. In fact, I think I care more about your wife than you do. You have gotten into bed with some bad people. I think it’s safe to say they wanted you dead yesterday after you completed their work for them. People like that won’t stop until they get what they want. They are running now, trying to tie up all their loose ends to make sure there is nothing left to connect them to you. So while you sit here and refuse to talk, your wife and child are vulnerable. The men who hired you don’t know you’re here.” Kennedy stood. “They will start looking for you, and they will eventually find your wife and child.”
“You don’t really expect me to fall for this, do you?”
“Oh, I do, Mr. Gould, because if I could find them I’m guessing that your employer can as well.”
“You’re bluffing.”
Kennedy spoke each word in a staccato rhythm. “Nelson, New Zealand . . . 4102 Vickerman Street.” She saw the panic in the way his right cheek twitched. At least he cared about them. “Would you like me to describe the house to you?”
The façade melted away at the mention of the city, let alone his address. He shook his head.
“I had Claudia and Anna placed into protective custody last night.” Kennedy turned for the door. “And just so we’re clear on this, I did it because I don’t think they should die because of your greed and stupidity.”
Gould felt the walls closing in around him. He watched Kennedy reach for the buzzer next to the door and he blurted out, “How did you find us?”
Kennedy made a half turn and looked down at Gould. “This is your last chance, Mr. Gould. You either tell me everything I want to know, or I will tell Claudia how you have continued with your little hobby despite promising her you were done. I will tell her about the type of people you’ve been working with and how you have put her and Anna in harm’s way, all for your own selfish gratification. And then you can spend the rest of your life in a cell, agonizing over your stupidity and wondering what your daughter looks like with each passing birthday. So what’s it going to be, Mr. Gould, are you ready to talk or do want to continue with these stupid games?”
His head hung in defeat, Gould said, “I’m ready to talk.”
“What is my name, and what do I do for a living?”
“You’re Dr. Irene Kennedy. Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.”
Kennedy nodded and pressed the buzzer. The door opened a second later to reveal Nash. She told him, “I need a pen and a pad of paper. Mr. Gould is about to give us a good deal of information.”
Nash looked more than a little surprised that his boss had been able to accomplish what he couldn’t, and in only a few minutes. He nodded and turned to get what she’d asked for.