pond below the pavilion’s deck, where her fish surely swarmed near her feet. “And what if he does not wish to be found?”
“It’s not his choice, not this time. He is in possession of dangerous things that don’t belong to him, and he’s with a person who is not a friend to the United States.”
“This Lukas Kral you mentioned, he is with my husband?”
“Yes. Do you know him?”
Fei put down her plate on a small table before her. Her fingers then linked tightly in her lap. “I know that he wishes my husband harm.”
“I don’t doubt you, but words aren’t enough to change the minds of those in charge of this task force.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s suspected that your husband is”—Riley grimaced apologetically before continuing—“no longer acting in the best interests of the United States government.”
Abigail gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth to prevent further outbursts, but Fei only nodded, unmoved by the revelation—or the sound of Abigail’s reaction. “He acts according to his own conscience. He always has. But I have never lost faith in him, even when I did not understand him. He knows what he’s doing. You mustn’t worry.”
You never lost faith in him?
Shock and anger bringing tears to brim in her eyes, Abigail clutched at the moon gate, her fingers going white around the wooden slats. She hardly cared if they spotted her now.
“I don’t think he’s an accomplice in what’s happening,” Riley said. “I think he’s a hostage. However, I can’t prove his innocence and spare him what may be coming if I can’t put the pieces of this puzzle together.”
“No.” Fei shook her head. “He will tell us what he wishes us to know, when he wishes us to know it. Until then, we must trust him. He is a patriot and a good man. He has never and will never conspire against his country.”
What about the interests of his family?
Abigail, who rarely raised her voice, wanted to scream. The carefully suppressed anger and pain of two decades surged up, ready to stream through her like a geyser.
“It’s not up to him anymore,” Riley said, his voice growing hard. “As much as I respect Peter Mason, we cannot wait for him to sort this mess out. If it were only his life at stake, we might leave him alone. But his isn’t the only life endangered now.”
Fei looked sharply at Riley. “What do you mean?”
His lips tightened. “I can’t be more specific. But trust me, the threat to public safety is real.”
Water splashed; a carp must have breached the pond’s placid surface. The creatures did that, Abigail knew, when her mother was nearby but ignoring them. The enormous fish were her mother’s pets, though Abigail never understood what sort of relationship a human could have with a creature so different from herself.
Fei bent down to stick her hand in the pond. The animals would swim around her, suckling her fingers and twisting their tails like excited puppies. “The koi are concerned. So must I be.”
“Is there anything you can tell me that can help me find your husband?”
Fei lifted her head. A tear ran down her mother’s right cheek. Abigail couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her mother cry, and for a moment, she was surprised enough to forget her anger.
“I wish there was,” her mother said. “But he has told me nothing that would relate to this disappearance. We last spoke by phone seven days ago, but you must understand that we do not speak of his work very often, and we did not speak of it then. I did gather, though, that he was working on something momentous, something that could change everything for us. And for Abigail.”
Abigail stopped breathing, stunned by the mention of her name.
For me?
That bastard—yes,
bastard
felt like the right word now—thought he could do anything that might benefit her?
“For her? How?”
“I cannot say. But everything he does—everything he has ever done—is for our family and his country.
“It’s not his choice, not this time. He is in possession of dangerous things that don’t belong to him, and he’s with a person who is not a friend to the United States.”
“This Lukas Kral you mentioned, he is with my husband?”
“Yes. Do you know him?”
Fei put down her plate on a small table before her. Her fingers then linked tightly in her lap. “I know that he wishes my husband harm.”
“I don’t doubt you, but words aren’t enough to change the minds of those in charge of this task force.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s suspected that your husband is”—Riley grimaced apologetically before continuing—“no longer acting in the best interests of the United States government.”
Abigail gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth to prevent further outbursts, but Fei only nodded, unmoved by the revelation—or the sound of Abigail’s reaction. “He acts according to his own conscience. He always has. But I have never lost faith in him, even when I did not understand him. He knows what he’s doing. You mustn’t worry.”
You never lost faith in him?
Shock and anger bringing tears to brim in her eyes, Abigail clutched at the moon gate, her fingers going white around the wooden slats. She hardly cared if they spotted her now.
“I don’t think he’s an accomplice in what’s happening,” Riley said. “I think he’s a hostage. However, I can’t prove his innocence and spare him what may be coming if I can’t put the pieces of this puzzle together.”
“No.” Fei shook her head. “He will tell us what he wishes us to know, when he wishes us to know it. Until then, we must trust him. He is a patriot and a good man. He has never and will never conspire against his country.”
What about the interests of his family?
Abigail, who rarely raised her voice, wanted to scream. The carefully suppressed anger and pain of two decades surged up, ready to stream through her like a geyser.
“It’s not up to him anymore,” Riley said, his voice growing hard. “As much as I respect Peter Mason, we cannot wait for him to sort this mess out. If it were only his life at stake, we might leave him alone. But his isn’t the only life endangered now.”
Fei looked sharply at Riley. “What do you mean?”
His lips tightened. “I can’t be more specific. But trust me, the threat to public safety is real.”
Water splashed; a carp must have breached the pond’s placid surface. The creatures did that, Abigail knew, when her mother was nearby but ignoring them. The enormous fish were her mother’s pets, though Abigail never understood what sort of relationship a human could have with a creature so different from herself.
Fei bent down to stick her hand in the pond. The animals would swim around her, suckling her fingers and twisting their tails like excited puppies. “The koi are concerned. So must I be.”
“Is there anything you can tell me that can help me find your husband?”
Fei lifted her head. A tear ran down her mother’s right cheek. Abigail couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her mother cry, and for a moment, she was surprised enough to forget her anger.
“I wish there was,” her mother said. “But he has told me nothing that would relate to this disappearance. We last spoke by phone seven days ago, but you must understand that we do not speak of his work very often, and we did not speak of it then. I did gather, though, that he was working on something momentous, something that could change everything for us. And for Abigail.”
Abigail stopped breathing, stunned by the mention of her name.
For me?
That bastard—yes,
bastard
felt like the right word now—thought he could do anything that might benefit her?
“For her? How?”
“I cannot say. But everything he does—everything he has ever done—is for our family and his country.
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