Hailey said, “But we didn’t.” She laughed. “It was all garbage.”
“I’m inclined to agree. I’ve looked through it, and some of it makes sense to me, but I still don’t know what they’re about or why any of it would be worth killing for.”
Except for the mention of Naumenko, he thought. He’d considered it earlier and put it aside, but Naumenko was one of those people whose power and ruthlessness disturbed the trajectory of anything that came too close. Was Naumenko their target, and fear of him the reason they were overreacting now?
Of course, Finn’s trajectory had been pulled into Naumenko’s orbit, too. There had been a genuine bond between them, fostered by their mutual interest in history, but it was the nature of Naumenko the man that even his friendship could be destructive, and so it had proved for Finn.
Debbie looked up at her daughter and said dolefully, “Honey, see what you’ve done?”
Hailey nodded, suggesting she was all too aware of the unintended consequences of the deception she’d set in place that day when she’d asked Jonas about hacking networks.
Finn said, “Debbie, what Hailey did was wrong for a lot of different reasons, but nobody in their right mind could have foreseen this. The important thing now is to deal with the situation at hand.”
Ethan sounded dismissive as he said, “And how do you propose to do that? You sit here and tell us that one of the people who killed Jonas has come back to kill Hailey, but presumably you have no idea how or when he’ll try to do it. So what’s the plan, Finn?”
“I’ll stay here tonight, that’s the first thing. I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
“Stay in the guest room,” said Debbie.
“No, thanks all the same. I don’t want to be too comfortable.”
Ethan looked at his wife in consternation, and then back to Finn. “I’ve said it before and you talked me out of it, but the situation has changed, Finn, you have to admit that. I think we should go to the police.”
“And tell them what?”
“About this conversation you had, for one thing. You know, before there was no evidence, but now they can speak to this person, whoever he is, and get the information from him.”
Hailey had looked remarkably relaxed considering her safety and possible attempted murder were under discussion, but as her father spoke she became more uncomfortable, her eyes skittering between him and Finn. She did not want it to be true, and Finn was touched in some way that she had that emotional investment in him as a person—but she knew it to be true nevertheless.
“Dad, I think maybe the person Finn spoke to this evening—well, I don’t think he’ll be speaking to the police, or to anyone else.”
Finn avoided making eye contact with her, staring at Ethan instead as confusion washed over him and finally ebbed away.
“What? You mean you—”
Finn brushed it aside, interrupting Ethan, saying, “Look, even if we could give the police the addresses of the two people who are behind this, it wouldn’t do any good. These are not the kind of people who get arrested and brought to trial.”
“So you’re saying Hailey’s always going to be in danger?”
Calmly, Finn said, “No, because I’m dealing with the situation. I’ll deal with the two people behind this, but the imminent threat comes first.”
Hailey was relaxed again as she said, “What if he doesn’t come tonight? I can’t stay in the apartment forever. You know, I have to go back to school at some point.”
Finn smiled, thinking how far school had been from her mind during her brief stay in Sweden.
“He probably won’t come tonight, and I don’t know what his plan of attack is, only that he’ll almost certainly try to make it look like an accident.”
“Or another suicide,” said Hailey. And before Finn could counter she said, “You know, they run in clusters—one friend does it, then others follow suit.”
Debbie was horrified, looking up at her daughter to ask if that was true. Hailey nodded nonchalantly.
Finn said, “It’s possible, but I don’t want you to worry. Chances are, nothing will happen tonight, but I’ll be here anyway. Tomorrow, I’ll go looking for him.” He thought about the phone number in his pocket, acknowledging to himself that it wasn’t much to go on.
Once again, on the subject of Hailey’s safety Ethan ceded control to Finn, saying, “I guess we have to put our trust in you, Finn. I only hope it’s well placed.”
“I haven’t let you down yet.” Ethan acknowledged the fact, even as Finn countered in his own mind that he couldn’t say the same for Jonas. He checked his watch and said, “I’ll just go back up to my apartment. I’ll be back in half an hour or so.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” Debbie said, and produced a brittle laugh that seemed to surprise her.