Chapter twenty-seven

Cape Town

Irina thought she must be insane to have come to the mall on Christmas Eve. It appeared that the whole city had left their shopping until the very last minute. Irina was trying her hardest not to get frustrated; everyone was in a rush and more than once, someone had bumped into her as they moved past.

She would have gone home, except Andrei was in disgustingly cheerful mood. Not that coming to the mall had helped; carols were being played over the speakers and there were festive decorations on all the store windows.

And lots of dark-haired, brown-eyed girls who reminded her of Sydney.

This would be their second Christmas apart; but at least this year Sydney would have Jack with her. She wondered how her daughter had spent the previous Christmas; probably with the Sloanes.

I'm sorry, Jack. I didn't mean it. Come back.

She stopped outside a bookstore and went inside, drawn immediately to the children's section. Without giving it much thought, she bought a copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It was only once she'd left the store that she realized what she'd done.

Unable to stay in the mall a minute longer, she returned home. Andrei was in the living room when she arrived. Ignoring him, she dropped the shopping bag onto the nearest couch and headed straight for the wine cabinet. When the door refused to open, she turned to face her cousin, who was watching warily.

"Give me the key."

"No."

"Andrei, please."

He shook his head. "No. I know this is a difficult time of year but the alcohol is not going to help."

"Nothing helps!" She picked up the shopping bag and tossed it to Andrei. "Look. It's Sydney's favourite book. I didn't even know I'd bought it until I was out of the shop!"

Andrei lifted the book from the bag and looked at it. "Ira, don't do this to yourself."

"One glass of wine, Andrei. Just one." She hated how desperate she sounded.

"I'm sorry."

"Fine." She began walking towards the door but Andrei stepped in front of her and grabbed her shoulders.

"No. You're not going out to drink."

She glared at him, furious that he'd guessed her intentions. "Andrei—"

"I promised Jack I'd look after you."

Her will to fight disappeared. "Jack's not coming back. I told him I didn't want him to."

"Nevertheless, I won't watch you destroy yourself." He guided her to the couch, then sat beside her and pulled her closer to him. Keeping her in place with an arm around her shoulder, he added, "It'll be okay, Ira."

She leaned against him and let herself cry.

Los Angeles

Arvin watched Emily laugh with the party guests but he could see her heart wasn't in it. She was worried about Sydney; the police still knew nothing more about her disappearance. As he'd promised Jack, he was keeping track of the investigation – but it was difficult as there were really no leads. All they had was Sydney's sweater, and two little girls who thought they'd seen Sydney go into the bathroom.

Arvin had yet to tell Emily where exactly Jack had gone – all she knew was that he was following his own leads. Her reaction had been a surprise to Arvin: "You should have gone with him."

Though Arvin had heard nothing from Jack, he wasn't worried yet. He'd been in enough tight spots with Jack to know that his friend was perfectly capable of handling himself. When Jack returned, Arvin thought, it might be the right time to tell him what he had been thinking recently. If Sydney was never found, Rambaldi might be exactly what Jack needed to survive. Nothing less than what Rambaldi had to offer would be enough for Jack after yet another loss. Arvin knew how much he had loved his wife and wasn't naïve enough to think that just because she'd turned out to be the enemy that Jack loved her any less. He still kept her photograph in the house.

Losing Sydney, Arvin believed, would push Jack over the edge. Rambaldi might keep him from falling. Arvin would have to make him see that.

He wondered what Jack would do if he ever found out the truth about his wife; that she had died not in that icy river, but in a Soviet prison months later. No, he thought, it was kinder to keep this from him.

The phone rang, but Emily was deep in conversation at the other end of the table. Arvin excused himself and went to the study to answer.

"Sloane."

"Arvin, it's Ben. I need you to come in."

"It's Christmas Eve."

"It's about Jack."

Twenty minutes later, Arvin entered the office to find a somber Ben Devlin waiting in the bullpen. "Did you know Jack went to Russia?"

Arvin nodded.

Ben sighed. "We received some intel earlier today – Jack was spotted in the company of this woman in Moscow."

He handed a folder to Arvin. Inside was a photograph of a pretty blonde woman, someone Arvin recognized instantly. "Raisa Chornova is a known KGB assassin."

Ben nodded solemnly. "One of our agents over there confirmed they got into a vehicle together. That's the last time Jack was seen alive."

Arvin said nothing.

"Chornova and her partner blew up the car. There's not enough left of the body for any positive ID but . . ."

"But it's Jack."

"What was he doing over there, Arvin?"

"Looking for his daughter." Arvin let the folder fall to the desk and he turned to leave.

He drove to the Bristow house instead of going home. A light burned on the porch but the rest of the house was dark. There was a time, Arvin thought, when he'd envied Jack and Laura. Their lives seemed perfect; and now they were both dead.

He'd have to tell Emily, somehow. Not the details, of course; he'd spare her that. But Jack had been her friend too.

It was strange how quickly life was cut short. One minute Jack and Sydney were having dinner with him and Emily, and in the next Jack's remains were being flown back to the US, where he would be buried next to his wife's empty grave.

And what of Sydney? Arvin wondered. Most likely she was already dead.

He couldn't bear to think of her like that; maybe one day she would be found. He and Emily would raise her, and they would be the family she deserved to have.

The family Emily deserved to have.

A glance at his watch told him his dinner guests would have left by now, and Emily was probably wondering what was taking so long.

News like this shouldn't be shared at Christmas, he thought as he started his car again. He would tell her the day after tomorrow, and then they could grieve together.