“His lover’s dead, his wife’s in prison …” Mark pointed out. “Surely that’s retribution?”
“You know,” Maggie said, “they really are Atholls.”
Mark stared at her, and then began to laugh. He laughed so loudly that the other patrons began to look over in curiosity and annoyance.
“Please, I’ve been waiting all week for someone to finally say it. And look, whether things work out between you and Hugh someday—well, regardless, it was a pleasure to work with you, Maggie.”
“Likewise, Mark.” Her eyes dimmed. “But alas, I believe that ship has sailed. Hugh and I … Well, even if we’d stayed together, can you imagine the dinner conversations? ‘So, about that time your mother killed my father …’ No.” She shook her head. “It just wouldn’t have worked out.”
“And your RAF pilot?”
“Also not an option, for many reasons.” For a moment, seeing Mark’s wedding band glint in the firelight, Maggie felt just the slightest bit sorry for herself. And lonely. But that’s ridiculous. “I do have a cat now.” Maggie had a sudden longing to hold K and feel his fur against her cheek and the warmth of his compact body. “And, you know, I’m happy with that. Freud would have a field day with my so-called daddy issues—and so maybe it’s best that I’m on my own.”
“But not forever, certainly?”
“Mark, I don’t know. In this line of work …” Maggie started, then realized she was thinking more of being an agent than an instructor. Am I ready to go back into the field? But what about my old friend, the Black Dog? “… Well, let’s just say that at this point in time—given what I do—a cat is probably a better option than a beau. And certainly a better option than a husband.”
Sarah will live. There is no public health scare. “You realize a man died that night, when his bike didn’t make the jump over the ravine?” she asked.
“Yes,” Mark said. “I do.”
“And I’d do it all again, if I had to,” Maggie said bleakly. Surprised, she realized it was true—to protect those she loved, she would kill. There was no hand-wringing now, as over the dead German boy she’d shot. And the Black Dog was silent.
I’ve become a professional, Maggie realized. No more plucky ingenue.
And whether that’s a good thing or a bad, I have no idea.
Nomura was sitting on a leather sofa in front of a crackling fire in his embassy office. “When the transmission is finished, they want us to destroy our code books and our machines!”
Kurusu was sitting in a winged armchair opposite, his face impassive.
“ ‘Only specially screened members of your communications staff are permitted to process the fourteen-part message and prepare the typed translation,’ ” Nomura read. He looked to Kurusu. “It will be hard without the help of a skilled typist.”
Kurusu pursed his lips. “Even though your employees here are Japanese, they have picked up the lazy American habit of the ‘weekend.’ ”
“True,” Nomura said, not wanting to argue. He, too, was fond of the “weekend.” He was in the office on a Saturday night only to wait for the message. “But this is too sensitive to have one of the girls type it up. Who can we get, at this late hour?”
“I’ll alert the code room,” Kurusu said. “The situation right now between Japan and the U.S. is extremely delicate. We must be prepared to have each part of the message decoded as soon as it comes in—don’t want things piling up.”
Nomura studied his compatriot, his usually jolly face apprehensive. “Do you know what this is all about?”
“No,” Kurusu said, his face poker-serious. “But I suspect all will be revealed tomorrow.”
Dr. Carroll was not going to give up without a fight. He was determined to question Clara Hess once more, convinced that if he could just find the link between the adult Agna and Clara, perhaps the split could be repaired. “Do you consider Dr. Teufel to be your father?”
Clara played with her hair. “I suppose. I always thought I was hatched.”
“Like Athena, from the head of Zeus?”
Clara snorted and lit a cigarette. “Nothing so grand. Like a chicken egg. Dr. Teufel was my mother hen.”
“But Agna created you.”
“I was with Agna when she was small, yes.”
“But Dr. Teufel made it possible for you to come out fully, to take over Agna’s body. What does she do when you’re here?”
Clara blew out blue smoke. “She rests,” she deadpanned.