Caroline turned to face the door of the small interview room where she'd been penned for the past two hours. The floor rushed away, and she sat abruptly as Jane Hayden walked through. She couldn't move. Jane came around the small table in the center of the room immediately; rested two hands on Caroline's shoulders and turned her facing. Caroline flinched.
Jane scowled at her. "You okay, sport?"
"Not really," was all she could manage to get out as Jane hugged her tight.
She mustered up a small cry though, when Ruby came through next, still dressed in her light blue prison jumpsuit. The bruises on her face were just coming in. The abrasions around them had been cleaned and bandaged.
Jane grabbed up Caroline's wounded paw and held it gently for examination. She licked a thumb and ran it over a couple drabs of dried blood. "Ouch. Didn't bring your magic back pills with me. You'll have to make do until we get you out and Eleanor can see to your TLC."
"Have you spoken to Eleanor? Have you seen her?" Caroline leaned toward Jane as she sat opposite her, next to Ruby, who'd also taken a seat.
"Only been in Paris maybe an hour. Haven't been able to get her on the mobile." Jane's lips stretched across her teeth.
"Okay. Well. I'm awfully glad to see you, Jane."
"I've never been more glad to see you, Caroline. Though you do look rough." Jane replied. She nodded over to Ruby. "I'd like to introduce you to CO Vera Atkins from the SIS."
"Hullo Ms. Dawson. Sorry about what happened in the cafeteria, ma'am. And about the injuries to your hand." When Ruby, Vera, Caroline corrected herself, spoke, it was muffled for the swelling in her jaw. But the rough accent was gone, replaced by a midrange, nasal, Londony public school clip.
"Hullo." Caroline sat back. Jane was here... somehow. Ruby / Vera was Secret Intelligence Service. She could ask a million questions, or she could be as soul-tired as she was and just let the other women do the talking.
Jane and Vera exchanged open glances. Jane ducked her head, and Vera began.
"I think you're going to help us nab some people we've been after for quite a few years now."
Caroline rubbed her tired eyes with the back of the hand that wasn't on fire. She was having trouble putting sights and sounds together in general. She was having particular trouble matching Vera – her tattoos, her tragic dental situation, her pallor – with the magnificent posture and diction of the woman now in front of her. She blinked, and picked Vera back up mid-stream –
"We're all over Marie and Lannie of course. They were easy to ID right off. We've been sitting on them, waiting for a line on their shot-caller on the outside. And once you and your wife entered the picture, we got a much clearer idea of the thing."
"You can't possibly think – " Caroline wanted to stand, but her legs just wouldn't.
"We don't believe you or Ms. Strathclyde are involved in the theft, or this scheme, ma'am. In any way other than as victims."
Victim. Caroline did not think of herself as a victim. She wouldn't start, either. What she would start doing was being very angry. As soon as she had some sleep. And clean water. And decent food.
Jane stretched a hand out.
Caroline took it. "It's okay?"
Vera spoke again, voice softer, smoother, than Caroline could believe. "You're clear of suspicion, ma'am. Right now, we're just stamping paperwork. Direct orders down from on high at the DGSI, the French. They've finally agreed with us that you're not our target. You'll be out hopefully within the hour."
"Really?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Jumper looks nice with your eyes, but they've got the stuff you were wearing." Jane added, always the helpful one. "I grabbed you a hoodie off a stall on the street, best I could do."
"Okay."
"I can't say much, but do you have any questions?" Vera stood. "I need to get back to the infirmary. I'm not done in here."
What a massively shitty assignment this woman had, Caroline realized. The last two – or was it three – days had almost killed her. How in the world could anyone survive more? "I have a lot of questions. Obviously. But, I suppose, mostly, what now?"
"A lot," Vera replied. "You'll be released with DCI Hayden to look after you. We will want you to testify at some point, but that's a long way off. We will likely want you to confirm identification on the woman in the catacombs who set you up. We believe she's still in France. In Paris, actually, waiting for the payoff. We're looking for her. So we'd like you to stay close."
"You think it's that daft old woman running the show? Then what about Eleanor? The ransom? Does she know about any of this? Is she safe?"
"We had an agent on her," Vera answered, sort of. "It seems though that she's slipped the net. She and the friend who's with her. Your wife stopped using her mobile. Turned if off and even stripped the SIM. We had her GPS locked through it when we didn't have eyes. We haven't been able to track her since early this afternoon."
"Oh."
Jane came over and took Caroline by the elbow, helped her to stand. "French are all over the CCTV. We'll find Eleanor soon. Let's get you in some clothes for now. Back to your flat, and please God into a shower."
"Thank you, Jane." Caroline ignored her friend's smart mouth. She hugged her again instead, extra tight for good measure, made sure to slide her armpits up and down the side of her sport jacket a couple times. "Now you won't mind the smell so much." In any other circumstance she would have accompanied that with a grin. Instead she sneered and jerked away.
Jane slung an arm over her shoulder. "I know, Caroline. I know. Come on. Let's go find Eleanor."
The taxi hummed quietly at the red light. When it turned green, they whirred off. Away from the massive concrete and glass edifice of the Commissariat in the 14th and toward the Marais. Vehicles surrounding irritated Caroline differently, louder or even silent depending on their size, all of them insufferable for impeding their progress.
"Tell me how you got here, Jane, and what you know. I'm going to close my eyes, but I'm still listening." Caroline put her head back and did close her eyes. If Jane hadn't been here in the car, she probably couldn't have done that, wouldn't have felt safe enough. But she trusted her friend. And she was tired.
"Well I got a call from Meg yesterday," Jane began -
"Meg? Eleanor's friend Meg?"
"Yes. Eleanor's friend Meg. And you're just listening."
"Alright."
"She called me and filled me in on the whole circus. Or most of it. I suppose there's a lot I still don't know. Mostly told me to high-tail it to Paris and get your ass out of French jail. Said she'd help as she could, that she'd certainly arrange to get you out -"
"Help as she could? How in the world – "
"Not important. My job was getting you sprung. She and Eleanor were apparently working on whoever set you up. That's where Vera and the SIS come in. Seems you stumbled into an active investigation on a group running an extortion racket, same way they did you, hitting mostly Brits in Paris. They've been on it since an American girl was jailed last year."
"Are we almost there yet?" Caroline rolled down the window. She shifted in the seat. Ran a finger at the collar of the black 'J'adore Paris' hoodie with the Eiffel Tower 'I' Jane had so thoughtfully provided. "Can you turn up the air please," she called to the driver, who nodded.
"You sure you're alright, Caroline?"
"I'm fine. Keep going."
"Well you're the first they've seen the woman who called herself Ginny Graham come out to do the deed herself. Either a link in the chain broke and someone did as Eleanor has and refused to play along and set up the next mark, or you're a special case."
"I don't see how." Caroline really couldn't. She felt less like a special case than she ever had in her whole life.
"We're looking into it."
"We – you – and the SIS?"
"And the DGSI, French internal intelligence. Won't even try to mangle that. This mouth's not made for languages."
"What's Meg got to do with it, again?" Caroline turned to the taxi window once more as they crossed the Seine. Thank God, they were almost to the flat. Sort of. Not near enough with this goddamn traffic. She really couldn't stand to be in this car anymore. She did smell, badly, and so did everything. And it was so hot. And bright out. Inexplicably fidgety, she turned back to Jane. "When can we start looking for Eleanor?"
"Hate to say it but the best bet is to stay at the flat and wait." Jane grimaced. Caroline wouldn't stand for that and she knew it.
"We'll see." Caroline would have made a fuss, but she just didn't have the energy. Still - she'd muster it once they got back and she could change. Sit somewhere that wasn't this cramped, stinking car, and think. She had a bad feeling about Eleanor's missing in action status.