Chapter Ten

BRADLEY CAUGHT UP with me at the doors leading from the hotel’s beautiful courtyard into the grand gallery, moving surprisingly fast, given his limp.

I had said a curt goodbye and headed out, but he managed to grab my arm before I knew he was following. ‘I have a favour to ask, ’ he said. ‘That’s why Marcie and I came to Paris. ’

I shook my head. ‘I’ve got to go, ’ I said.

‘Listen – please …’ He took a breath, struggling with what he was about to say. But I didn’t give him a chance. I pushed his hand away and started to leave.

‘No, ’ he said, in that authoritative voice. I looked around and saw that people at the nearby tables were watching us. I didn’t want to create a scene and it gave him a moment.

‘Go down deep enough into darkness and nothing’s ever the same, ’ he said quietly. ‘Being injured made me think differently – about life, my relationship with Marcie and my work. Especially my work. If there was one positive—’

I’d had enough. ‘I’m sorry, ’ I said, ‘the injury must have been terrible and I’m glad you came through okay, but there are things I’ve got to arrange. ’ I didn’t have time for a sob story or to hear reflections on life from a man I would never see again. I was getting out of Paris, running for cover and maybe my life, and I didn’t have time to waste.

‘Just one minute – one more, ’ he said.

After a beat I sighed and nodded – I suppose I owed him some small courtesy for telling me how my former life could be laid bare so effectively. But I didn’t bother moving, and everything about my body language told him the Wailing Wall was in Jerusalem and to just get it over with.

‘You never asked about how I got my injuries – and I want to thank you. Professionals usually don’t, of course. Most of us have been in bad situations so there’s not much point in talking about it. ’

Yeah, yeah – enough about correct professional conduct. What do you want to ask me? I thought.

‘I told you I was trapped in a building. It was a little more than that – I was in the North Tower of the World Trade Center when it went down. ’