Golden Threads Read Online Free PDF Page A

cat."
    He blinked seraphically and began to purr. Ching's purr was no more feline than his other sounds, since it resembled a cross between a human's tuneful hum and the flutter of a bird's wings. It was also extremely loud. Lara had gotten used to it, but it tended to unnerve others—particularly since the hum held a definite but elusive tune, always the same one, that no one had yet been able to identify. A veterinarian had once confided to her that a cat's purr was one of the mysteries of science; he wanted to do a paper on Ching.
    Lara moved about the apartment getting ready for bed. She kept her mind blank, unwilling to think about the confusing day behind her or the potentially troubling ones ahead. Still, she was conscious that whatever happened, the limbo of these past months was ended.
    She wasn't sure how she felt about it. Emotions couldn't exist in a limbo. No pain or fear, no grief. It provided a kind of peace, even if that was only an illusion.
    Sometimes, she thought, illusions were better than reality. Sometimes, illusions were the only havens left.
    Out of habit, she turned off her bedside lamp before moving across the dark room to open the drapes. Also because of habit, she looked out first. Since her apartment windows faced front on the main street of town, it was well lighted outside. Across the deserted street was another group of apartments, this one set at right angles; the sidewalk there was in shadow. A faint motion caught Lara's attention, and she stood perfectly still, her eyes straining.
    At the corner of the apartment building directly across the way, a patch of darkness moved slightly. Lara waited, holding her breath unconsciously. She stood there for a good five minutes, but couldn't be sure if she had seen someone leave. Or arrive. Or if she had seen anyone at all. Was someone watching her building? Perhaps even this window?
    She left the drapes closed and crawled into bed feeling distinctly uneasy. Ching was already stretched out under the covers. She stroked his warm flank and listened to his rasping purr, and stared at the dark ceiling.
    At one end of town near a shadowed street corner, a call was placed from an unlighted phone booth. The caller, insubstantial in the dimness, waited for a response, and then offered a flat statement as greeting.
    "It's started."
    The voice on the other end was impersonal. "Does she know?"
    "She's no fool. What do you think?"
    "You'll have to move fast then."
    "Yes."
    "Backup?"
    "No. Not yet."
    "It's your call." The voice was accepting. "Keep in touch."
    "Right." The caller hung up, then glided away from the dark booth like a shadow.
    On the opposite end of town, another call was placed, this one from a lighted booth at a convenience store. As before, the conversation was terse and largely without emotion.
    "Are you in?"
    "Yes. She's taking part in a community theater production. So am I."
    "Anything yet?"
    "I threw a scare into her tonight. I have a few more planned. We'll see."
    "Search her apartment."
    "Of course."
    "We have to have those documents."
    "I know. If she has them, I'll find them. If she doesn't have them—"
    "Kill her."
    There was a pause, and then the caller said slowly, "That wasn't the deal, unless she proved to be a threat."
    "It is our new understanding," the voice said with forced patience, "that she could conceivably know more than we realized. Even without the documents, she's a threat. Make certain about the documents first—then kill her."
    "Another thousand."
    "You'll get it. When she's dead."
    "Very well."
    "Keep in touch."
    "Right." The caller hung up, then strolled away from the convenience store, whistling softly.
    When Devon arrived at Lara's apartment the following evening, she was waiting with a calm she had wrestled into place. After lying awake half the night, she had abruptly fallen into a deep sleep, from which only Ching's insistent demands for breakfast had roused her. She had managed to work a couple of hours during