In the Grey (64 page)

Her fingers automatically
opened the book. She glanced at Jesse, and he nodded.

She looked down. Shocked,
she looked up to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She was still
sitting in her bedroom, next to her babies, while her husband and
dog slept.

This was no parenting
book.

She was holding Josef
Yakovlev’s first printing of
The
Gadfly
.

She was holding the
original printing of
The Gadfly
that Cooper’s father had
borrowed
.

The fuchsia sticky note
stuck on the front read:

I heard you and your father talking about
this book on the plane and remembered I had a copy. Love, Mom

Alex flipped through the
book. The title pages and margins were annotated in an older,
European handwriting. A second person had written detailed notes in
a small, tight military hand on the last four pages. Unable to take
in what she saw, she looked up at Jesse.

“
Is this what I think it
is?” Alex asked in sign language.

“
The reason they killed
everyone,” Jesse said in Spanish.

She gave him a solemn nod.
For a moment, she felt an overwhelming sense of relief. She finally
knew why she had been targeted.

“
You have to admit,
Alexandra,” Jesse said. “We’re really going to fuck their
plans.”

She laughed.

“
Love?” John sat up in
bed. “What is it?”

Alex glanced at Jesse. He
winked at her and disappeared.

“
Just some very good
news,” she said.

“
Come to bed, and I’ll
give you some more good news,” John said.

“
Oh yeah?” Alex tucked the
book into her sock drawer. “What’s that?”

“
I’m quite refreshed from
my little nap.”

“
That
is
good news,” she said and pulled
off her fleece sweater

He lifted the covers.
Slipping in next to him, she caught a glimpse of the
clock.

“
Look, it’s Christmas,”
she said. “Merry Christmas, my love.”

“
Oh love,” he moved on top
of her. “You’re the best present I’ve ever received.”

F

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