The Pursuit by Janet Evanovich Read Free Book Online Page A

attachés at U.S. embassies who worked with local law enforcement agencies on cases involving American interests.
    “Sorry to dash your hopes, but sending an FBI agent here to deal with this muck-up would only worsen an already terrible situation,” Plitt said. “It would imply to the Belgians that the FBI had prior knowledge of your actions or that they tacitly approve of your conduct. We can’t have that. Besides, the FBI has notoriously poor diplomatic skills, which you’ve profoundly demonstrated already.”
    She might have been offended by his comment if it hadn’t been totally true. Not to mention she was standing there holding the makings of a bomb in a grocery bag.
    “What happens now?” she asked.
    “My job is to convince the Belgians that despite your unorthodox and inappropriate conduct you’re a hero and that the apprehension of Nicolas Fox is a win for everybody. If I can do that, I deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. The first step is for you to offer the Belgian authorities your total and unconditional cooperation with their investigation.”
    “I’d be glad to do that, but they’ve made it clear they don’t want me involved.”
    “They still don’t,” Plitt said. “But Nicolas Fox does. He refuses to talk to anybody but you.”
    —
    “He’s playing with us,” Chief Inspector Amelie Janssen said, clearly not pleased with the way things were proceeding.
    “Of course he is,” Kate said. “What did you expect?”
    Kate was standing in an observation room, looking out at Nicolas Fox. He was sitting at an interrogation table, and he was wearing an orange jumpsuit, his wrists in handcuffs and his ankles in chains. And yet, he not only appeared relaxed and content, but somehow managed with his posture to make the hard, stiff chair seem incredibly comfortable. There was a time when his cool attitude would have irritated Kate as much as it obviously irked Janssen. Now Kate found it reassuring to see him in control of himself and his environment.
    She hoped she appeared equally in control. If she did appear equally in control she thought it would be an acting miracle because she didn’t
feel
in control. What she felt was
sick.
Not exactly on the verge of throwing up but moving in that direction. She was making a maximum effort to put up a hard-ass front. She’d decided on a role. She’d rehearsed her lines. She’d put some Imodium in her purse just in case.
    Jeez Louise, she thought. This isn’t my
thing.
I’m good at enforcing the law, not breaking the law. How did I get into this
mess
? She narrowed her eyes at Fox. It’s
him,
she thought. It’s my stupid obsession with Nicolas Fox.
    “Are you okay?” Janssen asked Kate. “Your face is flushed.”
    “I’m fine,” Kate said. “I’m just
angry.
I
hate
this guy.”
    Not far from the truth. She hated him. She liked him. She hated him. She liked him. And she especially hated him because he looked so damn good in his jumpsuit. It was just wrong, wrong, wrong.
    Kate flipped through several pages of inventory itemizing everything that was stolen from the vault, with the notable exception of the vial of smallpox.
    “He’s a con man,” Kate said. “Manipulating people is what he does for fun and profit.”
    “That’s why it was a huge mistake for my bosses to give in to his demand that we bring you in. I warned them not to do it, but although they have badges, they are politicians, not police.”
    “Were you getting anywhere with him?”
    “No, but now that you’re here, it completely undercuts my authority in the interrogation. He’ll think that he’s the one in charge now. It won’t be easy getting back the upper hand.”
    Kate put a paper clip on the papers. “If you want him to give you information, you’re going to have to play his game.”
    Kate walked out of the observation room and into the hallway, where a uniformed guard stood outside the interrogation room door. Janssen nodded her approval at the officer, and he opened