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Pascal along with another man hustled to an SUV that had pulled up within the last few minutes. They opened the back gate and hauled out two animals. They were burly pit bulls tethered to metal control poles. Leather muzzles were securely fastened over their snouts. Using the poles, the men, with difficulty, maneuvered the lunging beasts to the front door. Then they released the wire nooses connected to the poles, whipped off the muzzles, and pushed the animals through the opening, slamming the door behind them.
As Waller nimbly stepped into his ride, the snarls of the attacking dogs and the screams of Abdul-Majeed could be heard over the sound of the vehicle’s engine. Waller slipped in his ear buds and selected a joyful song on his iPod even as his thoughts turned back to the beautiful young woman he’d had dinner with tonight. He looked forward to seeing her again.
Soon.
CHAPTER
38
THE AIR was cool, but oddly heavy. The darkness here was more intense than anything Reggie had experienced. She could only flash her penlight every few seconds to see where she was going. Twice she bumped into hard objects, skinning her arm and bruising a toe. She kept making her way down, pausing every few seconds to listen. After she passed through a door something grabbed her.
“Jesus Christ!”
“Shhh. You’ll wake the bloody dead.”
A light flashed on the face next to her, revealing a grinning Whit.
“What the hell were you thinking sneaking up on me like that? If I had a gun I would’ve shot you.”
Whit turned the light away from his face. “Sorry, Reg, I guess this place does something to you. Makes you all silly.”
“Is it all clear at least?” she said sternly, her breath returning to normal.
“Of all living things. See for yourself.” He swept his light around. Reggie took in the revealed objects.
Crypts.
They were in the catacombs of Gordes’s Catholic church. Since Reggie had articulated her plan to Professor Mallory back at Harrowsfield they’d used the church as the focal venue of their plans. Whit and Dominic had explored its interior and were thrilled to find it held all they needed to entrap their quarry.
“How many do you reckon?” she asked.
“Dunno. Didn’t bother to count ’em. It’s a lot, though.”
“Now show me the pass-through you found. That’s the critical piece.”
He led her back the way she had come in to an intersection of two passages: the one they’d come through that led to the catacombs, and the second heading off to the left. They walked down this long passage that was dimly lit by a few flickering electric lights, then Whit hooked a left, led her down a long flight of aged steps, through another door, and they finally arrived farther down the cliffs and on the other side of Gordes, near the villas.
He said, “Brilliant on your part using the religion angle.”
“It’ll only be brilliant if it actually works. Where’s Dom?”
“Back at our digs. He’s got an itchy finger to get this guy.”
“Then it’s your job to calm him down. I already told him that’s how mistakes happen. And with a guy like Kuchin we can’t afford any errors.”
They walked back to the catacombs.
“So where’s Bill?” Whit asked.
“Why?”
“I saw you talking to him earlier tonight. Just wondering.”
“You were spying on me?” Reggie said.
“No, just covering your back. Partners do that, you know.”
“Okay, partner, we’re going to Les Baux tomorrow to look at the Goya exhibit.”
