Berlin (Leo & Allissa International Thrillers Book 3), page 16
Minty wrapped a bright yellow scarf around his shoulders and, with a broad smile, looked directly at Leo and Allissa. Leo stumbled further out of sight. With his smile unfaltering, Minty waved.
“Bugger,” Leo whispered.
Minty turned to a large plant pot next to the door and removed a camera from amongst the leaves. He had been watching the street the whole time.
“Clever guy,” Allissa said as they stood up.
Minty looped the scarf around his shoulders and got in the car. For a moment, the engine’s gentle purring was the only sound, then the car clunked into gear and pulled away.
Leo stepped out onto the road to watch it go and raised a hand too. At the end of the street, the car turned left. A yellow scarf fluttered from the window.
That’s west, Leo thought, perhaps Hamburg, or Hanover. Or anywhere else. That was the best thing. No one knew where they were going. Not even Minty.
78
“This way,” Leo said, starting in the direction of the station. “What time is it?”
Allissa checked her phone. “Just before five.”
“The trains should be running again by now. The station’s just up here.”
The pair walked in silence.
Leo’s mind twisted and turned with the events of the evening.
Ahead, a pair of starlings darted across the path and landed on a branch overhanging the road. Their chirruping song pierced the silence. As Leo and Allissa approached, the birds leapt into flight again.
“One question,” Leo and Allissa both said at the same time.
Realizing the coincidence, they looked at each other.
“You go,” Allissa said, her expression fierce.
“No, you,” Leo said, trying in vain to appear serious.
He yelped as he felt Allissa’s elbow dig him in the ribs.
“What! What was that for —”
“Why didn’t you keep in touch with me?” Allissa’s expression darkened. “We’re supposed to be a team, which means you keep me involved.”
“I know, I was tracking Borya. Couldn’t exactly ring you.”
“A message would have been fine. I was worried about you.”
Allissa walked ahead and Leo ran three steps to catch up.
The starlings watched from their perch on the branch.
“How did you find me?” Leo asked.
“Remember the ‘Find Your Phone’ app?” Allissa asked, pulling out her phone.
“Ahh yeah,” Leo said, tapping his pockets. “Oh shit! Borya made me give the phone to Anafisa. I’ve got to go back and —"
“Leave it,” Allissa said, her expression thawing. “We’re not going back there now. If the police aren’t there already, they soon will be.”
Leo looked at Allissa. Circumstances had forced him to travel across the world for her, and now she’d done the same for him. They both risked their lives for what was right, and for each other.
“I’m sorry I didn’t keep in touch,” Leo said.
“And…”
“And what?”
“Thank you for saving my arse, again…” Allissa said.
“Well,” Leo said, “I had it totally under control. I would have —”
Allissa silenced him with a look before quickening her pace.
Leo watched her and smiled.
One starling shuffled closer to the other on the branch. Their rhythmic twitter mingled with the dawn.
Looking at Allissa, her face awash with the glow of the coming morning, Leo thought about the embrace they’d shared a few days before. Right now, he wanted that more than anything.
Leo took a few quick steps and caught up with Allissa. Inhaling a reinforcing breath, he lifted his arm and put it around Allissa’s shoulders.
“What’re you doing?” Allissa said, looking up at him.
“I’ve just missed you, I suppose,” Leo said, leaning towards her.
“Go put your arm around Borya,” Allissa retorted, shrugging off Leo’s arm and accelerating again.
Leo watched and laughed. Maybe one day, he thought, circumstances would let him close that final distance.
Allissa paused and looked back at Leo. Her beaming smile showed that she had missed him too.
Leo didn’t notice though; he was watching the starlings skitter together in the direction of the woodland.
Epilogue
“So, let me get this right,” Allissa said as she walked towards Leo sat at the desk in their front room. Through the window, the grey-blue patchwork of the sky looked cold. Leo had wedged the ancient sash window open with a guidebook, and fresh salty air streamed in. “She wants us to follow her husband there, just to see what he gets up to?”
“That’s it.” Leo spun on the chair to face her. “I know we don’t usually take this sort of jealous marital stuff, but —“
Leo and Allissa got offers of work from wives and husbands all the time. Generally, the missing partner had just left because the relationship had run its course. The client didn’t need the services they offered, but those of a therapist.
“What’s the difference here?”
Leo spun to his computer. Allissa saw the map of an island she didn’t recognised on the screen.
“She knows where he is, for one.”
“So, he’s not actually missing —”
“No.”
“So, why are we doing it?”
“This is where he is.” Leo tapped the map, and the image of a flawless beach filled the screen. Clear blue water lapped against white sand. Palm trees hung lazily. “And she’s going to fly us there and book us into a five-star hotel just down the road from where her husband is.”
“And what do we have to do?” Allissa wasn’t convinced. It sounded too good to be true.
“We just have to monitor who comes and goes from his house. She’s not even said why — just monitor. I said we weren’t into trespassing and that. She said that was fine. The house has a long approach road we could sit out of sight on.”
“Oh, so we’ve got to sit in a mosquito-infested bush all day in some tropical paradise.”
“Well, we would.” Leo clicked to another internet browser. “If I hadn’t just ordered this.”
Allissa leaned in to see the screen. It was a battery-operated remote-control camera system attached to a stake that could be pushed into any flower bed, bush or pot plant.
“Didn’t we see —” Allissa said.
“Yep, Minty had one outside his house. That’s how the sneaky bugger saw we were spying on him. It just got me thinking how useful something like that could be, and then this lady contacted us —”
“Is it legal?”
“I… I don’t know.” Leo spun back to the computer screen. “It doesn’t say. But do you really care? We’ll put this thing near the guy's house, and we can watch the lot from beside the pool.”
“I see.” Allissa straightened up, beaming. “Now we’re talking. When do we leave?”
Leo’s answer was disturbed by the buzz of the flat’s door entry system.
“Oh, that thing’s working.” Allissa turned towards the door where the handset and screen were mounted on the wall. Allissa picked up the phone and looked at the screen. Black and white lines flickered, but no picture materialised. A distorted, incomprehensible voice cracked from the speaker.
“I’ll come down,” she said into the handset before replacing it on the cradle. “Nope, still knackered.”
With their company being registered to the flat, they got multiple deliveries every day. The problem was, the intercom didn’t work, so delivery drivers often assumed no one was in and took the parcel to the sorting office, which was nearly two miles away.
Allissa rushed down the three twisting flights of stairs. She really didn’t want to have to go there again. Turning onto the final staircase, Allissa saw a dark outline through the glass door.
Good, he’s still there.
Stepping over multiple piles of junk mail and moving the bike, which always seemed to be in the way, Allissa opened the door.
“Hi,” she said, out of breath. She would get into an exercise routine soon. “Sorry it took so long. The system’s broken and we’re on the top floor.”
“Parcel for Leo Keane,” the rider said, his voice muffled by his motorcycle helmet. The visor of his helmet was raised; Allissa felt his pale blue-grey eyes connect with hers. There was something about those eyes that said, I get what I want.
“Yeah, sure, I’ll take that.” Allissa reached out and took the package. It was no bigger than a paperback book.
“Thanks, have a great day,” the rider said, turning. Allissa recognised an accent. Eastern European, or even Russian.
“Thanks,” she shouted as the man turned and walked towards his bike. He had a pronounced limp on his left leg.
Allissa pushed the door shut and climbed the stairs again.
“I’ve e-mailed to say we’ll do it,” Leo shouted as Allissa let the door slam behind her. “She’s going to send the deposit for the flights and hotel today. It could be a nice little earner.”
“Cool.” Allissa crossed the room and placed the package on his desk. “We best get packing.”
“What’s this?” Leo picked it up.
“No idea, probably some shit you’ve ordered online that we’ve no use for.”
Leo turned it over in his hands. “I don’t remember ordering anything.” Leo pulled the strip seal from the packet and looked inside. “What the…?” he muttered as a mobile phone fell into his hand.
Leo looked at Allissa.
The phone felt familiar. Leo pressed the screen, and the phone recognised his finger. A picture filled the screen. It was a picture Leo had taken of the hills surrounding Pokhara. He’d had the image as his phone background for ages. It was the phone Leo had last seen in the back of the red Maserati.
New York
In their next case, Leo and Allissa go to one of the most written about cities on the globe — New York.
I visited New York for the first time in 2018 and, as with all my settings, just longed to write a story there.
Read New York now:
www.lukerichardsonauthor.com/newyork
★★★★★
“Luke Richardson has pulled this one out of the bag.”
★★★★★
“I love this series. New York is my favourite.”
★★★★★
“A superb thriller”
★★★★★
“I love the work of this author and recommend all of his books.”
A serial killer stalks the streets. The city lives in fear. The winter of terror is here.
Heading to New York for a much-needed holiday, Andy and Emma hope some quality time will put their relationship back on track. But, when Andy wrecks his car in the Lincoln Tunnel and then disappears, it’s clear the city that never sleeps has other plans.
Teaming up with New York P.I. Niki Zadid, Leo and Allissa search the city. But this isn’t just another case, Emma's Leo's sister, he knew they were having problems, and should’ve done more to help.
When their investigation entangles with the plans of an unhinged killer, things become more complex and dangerous than any had imagined. The trio must navigate the city, from elite hangouts to dingy back streets, without falling foul of a murderer with a sickening endgame in mind.
New York is Luke Richardson’s fifth fiery international thriller. Grab your copy to continue this series today!
www.lukerichardsonauthor.com/newyork
What happened in Koh Tao?
Read the series prequel novella for free now:
www.lukerichardsonauthor.com/kohtao
★★★★★
“Intense, thrilling, mysterious and captivating.”
★★★★★
“The story grabs you, you’re on the boat with your stomach pitching. As the story gathers pace the tension is palpable. It’s a page turner which keeps you hooked until the final word.”
★★★★★ “
The evocative writing takes you to a place of white sand, the turquoise sea and tranquilly. But on an island of injustice and exploitation, tranquillity is the last thing Leo finds.”
★★★★★
"Love and adventure collide in Thailand, love it!"
KOH TAO
Leo’s looking for the perfect place to propose to the love of his life. When they arrive in the Thai tropical paradise of Koh Tao, he thinks he’s found it.
But before he gets an answer, she’s nowhere to be seen.
On searching the resort, his tranquillity turns to turmoil. Is it a practical joke? Has she run away? Or is it something much more sinister?
Set two years before Luke Richardson’s international thriller series, this compulsive novella turns back the clock on an anxiety ridden man battling powerful forces in a foreign land.
KOH TAO is the prequel novella to Luke Richardson’s international thriller series. Grab your copy for free and find out where it all began!
www.lukerichardsonauthor.com/kohtao
Music has been a big part of my life for a long as I can remember and this is the first one of my novels to include it. I loved writing Leo’s visit to the nightclub. The DJs mentioned are friends of mine too – although they may be so underground that even Google doesn’t know about them (yet). As such, I dedicate this book to everyone I’ve danced with. Whist there are way too many of you to mention by name, and I am bound to offend by trying, know that the moments we’ve spent getting lost in the music are very special to me.
I do want to make a special mention, though, to those who are now dancing, singing and partying elsewhere:
Peter Clough
Craig “Chopper” Hutchinson
and Paul Revill
To quote the 1998 hit by house music trio Stardust, “the music sounds better with you.”
Join my mailing list
During the years it took me to write plan and this book, I always looked to its publication as being the end of the process. The book would be out, and the story would be finished.
Since releasing it in May 2019, I realised that putting the book into the world was actually just the start. Now I go on the adventure with every conversation I have about it. It’s so good to hear people’s frustrations with Leo’s reserve, their shock at the truth about the grizzly backstreet restaurant, and their questions about what’s going to happen next.
Most of these conversations happen with people on my mailing list, and I’d love you to join too.
I send an email a couple of times a month in which I talk about my new releases, my inspirations and my travels.
Sign up now:
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Other books by Luke Richardson
Koh Tao
Leo’s looking for the perfect place to propose to the love of his life. When they arrive in the Thai tropical paradise of Koh Tao, he thinks he’s found it. But before he gets an answer, she’s nowhere to be seen.
www.lukerichardsonauthor.com/kohtao
Kathmandu
Leo’s jobless, crippled by anxiety, and obsessed with a girl he hasn’t seen in two years.
Just as things reach an all-time low, Leo’s thrown a lifeline. A politician’s missing daughter has been traced to Kathmandu. Leo must go there and find her, if his anxiety and the mysterious city will allow.
www.lukerichardsonauthor.com/kathmandu
Hong Kong
When Jamie’s colleague and former lover disappears, the police ask questions. Sure, a body’s not been found, but there’s plenty of evidence to land Jamie behind bars.
Leo and Allissa take the case. In order to free a man charged with murder, they must find a woman who’s supposed to be dead.
www.lukerichardsonauthor.com/hongkong
Berlin
When a prominent fashion designer falls beneath a train on Berlin’s U-Bahn, everything points to suicide. But his family aren’t convinced.
Keen to prove he’s over his past and has a handle on his anxiety, Leo heads to Berlin alone. When the investigation leads from a late-night techno club to a shop run by gangsters and finally onto the sinister wreck of a Cold War spy station, it may be a decision he stands to regret.
www.lukerichardsonauthor.com/berlin
New York
Heading to New York for a much-needed holiday, Andy and Emma hope some quality time will put their relationship back on track. When Andy disappears, it’s clear the city that never sleeps has other plans.
Teaming up with New York P.I. Niki Zadid, Leo and Allissa search the city. But this isn’t just another case, Emma's Leo's sister, he knew they were having problems, and should’ve done more to help.
www.lukerichardsonauthor.com/newyork
Riga
Leo and Allissa’s next case will take them to a city I was lucky enough to visit in November 2020.
Riga will be released mid 2021. Pre-order now.
www.lukerichardsonauthor.com/riga
The Liberator: Kayla Stone Vigilante Thrillers with Steven Moore
