Page 272 of Chameleon Killer

The gun came up.

A man stood near an open door just—fifteen feet away.

I stared. That was Simon? For all the mythology we'd built around him, I expected—I didn't know what I'd expected.

Something more John Wick than Better Call Saul. But there was almost nothing remarkable about Simon.

White. Somewhere in his late forties, maybe early fifties. Average height. Average build. Brown hair touched with gray at the temples. Clean-shaven. Dark trousers. Plain shirt beneath an equally plain jacket.

He could have been an accountant. The thought struck me hard enough to snag on memory.

Reardon's office.

The memorial.

Hallways.

Faces.

Had I seen him?

I tried to fit him against the man I'd spoken to briefly in Guy's office, the one I'd dismissed almost as soon as he'd left my line of sight.

Maybe.

Or maybe Simon simply had one of those faces that just seemed familiar. Nothing about him demanded attention.

If I passed him on the street, I wouldn't have looked twice. If he stood behind me in line for coffee, I wouldn't have remembered him by the time I reached the door.

Then he glanced at me as he took two steps out of the deeper shadows. His eyes were pale brown. So pale that where the weak warehouse light caught them, they seemed almost gold.

Those I would remember. His eyes were distinctive.

He studied me and something changed in his strange eyes.

“Mallory.”

My stomach tightened. I knew that voice. Not from the computer. I had never heard him speak. And yet somehow⁠—

It was him. “Simon.”

Brewster laughed. The sound contained no humor. “Simon.” He looked between us. “That's what you gave her?”

Simon continued watching me as though Elliot were of no concern. “She asked.”

I almost laughed.

Brewster raised the gun higher. “Look at me.”

Simon did. The change was extraordinary precisely because nothing visibly changed. His face remained relaxed. His posture easy. But the man who had looked at me disappeared.

It was the Auditor who stared at Brewster. “Hello, Elliot.”

Brewster's breath shuddered in satisfaction. Years of pursuit condensed into that one moment. “I knew you'd come.”

“Yes.”

“For her.”