Page 82 of The Shadow Friends

“I’m just pointing out the pattern here. Everyone on that hit list was a defector. Every one of them used to work for Russia. That was the pattern. Until you, Ingrid.”

“I don’t like what you’re implying.”

“But we have to consider all the possibilities.”

“What possibility? That I used to work for Russia too?”

Lloyd blurted out: “How dare you, Ben? This is Ingrid we’re talking about!”

Ben nodded. “Yes. One of our oldest friends.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

“It’s what we’re trained to do, isn’t it?” He looked at Declan and Maggie, two people he’d known for decades. Theirs was a friendship forged during the challenging months as new Agency recruits, months when they’d been pushed to their limits, their weaknesses identified. “Question everything and everyone.”

“Including your best friends?” said Lloyd.

“Everyone,” Ben repeated.

“I’d hardly call that friendship.”

“But he’s only speaking the truth,” Ingrid said quietly.

Lloyd looked at her in disbelief. “He practically called you a traitor!”

“Not a traitor. A Russian defector.”

“Either way, it’s hardly flattering!”

“But it’s a question that needs to be asked.” Ingrid looked at her friends. “I’m sure the rest of you are wondering the same thing: Am I a Russian defector? The answer is no. Was I a sleeper agent? Again, the answer is no. I’m who and what you always thought I was. Born in Baltimore, faithfully served my country for thirty-six years. You don’t have to believe me. In fact, I expect you to maintain some small sliver of doubt, because that’s the way we think. I don’t know why I’m on that list, Ben, or why the Russians think I’m really Lilia Kuraskaya. But it’s clear they now want me dead. Or someone wants me dead. I can only speculate that it has to do with recent events. Maslov’s poisoning. The loss of their operatives in Amsterdam and Madrid. My work with Argus.”

“And Rodrigo Estrada,” said Lloyd.

Maggie watched Ingrid’s reaction. Saw her lips twitch and her expression flatten, like a mask shielding her emotions. During their careers, they had all learned to don that same mask, to transform themselves into unreadable ciphers, and the fact Ingrid was wearing it now meant she was hiding something. It might only be her true feelings for Estrada, or it might be another secret. Something she could not share.

“I think they’ve simply made a mistake,” said Ingrid. “That has to be it. And since when does Moscow target Americans? That’s a move with catastrophic blowback. They usually avoid killing us on our own soil. This has to be a case of mistaken identity, unless . . .” She paused. “Unless someone purposefully fed them misinformation.”

“Who would do that?” said Declan.

“I don’t know. And clearly, the Agency’s not going to give us any answers.”

“Because they don’t know who to trust either,” said Ben. “It’s turned into a house of mirrors over there. My contacts have been forced to compartmentalize information from each other, with each cell guarding its own. It seems like every week, someone’s ordered to empty out his desk and be escorted out of the building.”

“I can think of another way Ingrid’s name came to Moscow’s attention,” Maggie said, and she looked at Lloyd. “We put her there.”

“What are you talking about?” said Lloyd.

“They know you were in Amsterdam looking for your wife. You showed that woman Ingrid’s photo, told her Ingrid’s name. She would have queried Moscow. And that would have brought Ingrid to their attention.”

Lloyd let out a breath. “Oh God. I just wanted to find my wife. Did I put a target on her back?”

A pall settled over the table. There was no simple way out of this situation. To stay alive, Ingrid might have to pull up roots, assume a new identity, and disappear. It would mean the breakup of their circle. It would mean the end of the Martini Club.

Declan said, “We have one advantage. We don’t know who they’ll send to kill her, or when he’ll strike, but we do know he’s coming. And we’ll be ready to deal with him.”

“Shouldn’t we tell the police?” said Lloyd. “We could use Jo’s help.”

“No,” snapped Ben.