Page 46 of The Paradox Club

“Inconvenient for us, you mean.”

Before knocking on the door, they had parked their rental car around the corner, but now Montag 5 had driven to the end of the block where they had a view of the front door.

“We’ve got to get in there and check for that radio,” said Montag 5.

“We can’t get in there,” said Nemo 7. “Not with a witness. Pilgrim 3 said—”

“Maybe we should immobilize the witness.”

“What do you mean immobilize?”

“I hold her down while you search the house. I can keep her quiet for a few minutes. We grab the radio, get the hell out of there, and by the time she calls the police we’re on the highway.”

Nemo 7 considered this. On the one hand, if they took the radio now and left, Montag 5 and Pilgrim 3 might not ask any questions about the young woman in the house. She might be safe. But it seemed an awfully big risk. Could there really be no evidence of her identity in the house? And could Nemo 7 count on her to keep silent when he had no way of warning her?

“Pilgrim 3 told us to not let anyone see us,” said Nemo 7. “Robbing a house while we hold someone hostage isn’t exactly inconspicuous.”

“She’s already seen us,” said Montag 5.

“But she doesn’t know who we are or what we want. Let’s give it an hour. Maybe she’ll leave.”

“If nothing happens by nine o’clock,” said Montag 5, “I’m calling in.”

Nemo 7 felt cold sweat trickling down his back as the minutes ticked away. Why didn’t Vivian return? Why didn’t Richard or one of his allies arrive? And what could he do to save Tess with Montag 5 watching him the whole time?

At exactly nine o’clock, Montag 5 made the call. “I’m putting it on speaker,” he said.

Nemo 7’s stomach sank as Pilgrim 3’s voice crackled on the line and Montag 5 started to relate what had happened.

“Hang on,” said Pilgrim 3. “I’m just coming up from the vault. We’ll have a better connection in a couple of seconds.” After those couple of seconds, Montag 5 described their encounter with the young woman in Vivian Harbottle’s house.

“She said her name was Tess?” said Pilgrim 3.

“That’s right,” said Montag 5.

“You’re absolutely sure it was Tess?”

“Absolutely.”

“How old would you say she was?”

“Youngish. Maybe college-aged, I’d guess. But it was hard to tell. It looked like she just woke up. Hair in her face, bags under her eyes. She could have been nineteen or she could have been thirty-five.”

“Which means she could be twenty-two?”

“Yeah, I suppose,” said Montag 5.

“Dammit, we should have kept an eye on Vivian after…after the event. I heard she had a niece living with her for a while, but I never suspected…”

“Suspected what?” said Nemo 7, afraid it might look suspicious if he didn’t participate in the conversation.

“Did you know that Harry Maxwell had a daughter?” asked Pilgrim 3.

“It was common knowledge,” said Nemo 7. “He talked about her around the club until—”

“And her name was Tess,” said Pilgrim 3.

“She’d be about twenty-two years old,” said Montag 5.