Peyton Riley Read Online Free PDF Page B

disappointed—its walls were set against the hotel's interior and there was no way for her to escape unnoticed. She cleaned up and was just about to leave when the door to the restroom opened and a flash of silver-white registered through the gap between the cubicle door and the jamb.
    Feeling idiotic, Peyton held the doorknob tightly and pressed her eye against the infinitesimal gap. Anja stood on the other side, primping in the mirror, a mobile sandwiched between shoulder and ear.
    "Yes, yes," Anja was saying. "How long is he staying? A month? You are sure?"
    A pause as Anja leaned forward and studied her reflection.
    "Very good." She switched to Dutch and Peyton concentrated hard to understand. "And when is he? (So long)? Mmm… (something unintelligible) I can show it to him…yes, I have it with me…all the (security?), of course…"
    Anja straightened to flip her hair. "Thank you," she switched back to English. "Yes. I'll be glad to help Mr. Van Der Luyden."
    She ended the call and stared at her reflection. On the other side of the stall, Peyton watched, holding her breath. After a moment, Anja breathed a soft sigh and left.
     
    "I have to tell you—"
    "You'll never believe what—"
    "No, you go first."
    "No, you—"
    "Fine."
    Peyton's skin was still flushed from her brisk walk from the hotel to the flat—so elated she was from the breakthrough from their surveillance that Newsboy left her mind completely. She sat on the bed and smiled at Carson. "Anders Van Der Luyden is going to be in town. The sale is going down." Carson collapsed next to her and watched her face as she recounted the conversation she'd overheard.
    "That's great, Peyton!"
    "Your turn," she said. "What did you find out about Loverboy?"
    Carson propped his head on his elbow. "For one, his name is Theo Karastis. For another, he's in some sort of money trouble."
    "What?"
    Carson stretched out on the bed, smiling like he'd caught the cream. "It is a tale that is worth telling in full."
    "Get on with it, Scheherazade."
     
    Carson had followed the dark-haired man, through side streets and various neighborhoods, until they approached its outskirts. There were the typical rows of old buildings flanking the water, but they seemed to have emerged at a row that was abandoned. Perhaps it was due to be torn down or refurbished; it seemed an outlier in the city that had redeveloped what had once been its most derelict assets.
    The young man picked his way between the strangely forlorn buildings and paused by the water. There were half a dozen houseboats here, but unlike the spruced up and pretty examples in Carson's Brouwersgracht neighborhood, the ones here peeled and rusted under the weak spring sun. Carson settled behind the narrow gap between the buildings from which he'd followed the young man. The small space afforded him a view of the faded red houseboat that his quarry now approached.
    The young man hesitated, standing on the docks, until a dark, bearded head appeared above the hull. The rest of this bearded stranger emerged as he climbed from the boat. A bomber jacket clad his slim frame and aviators protected his face.
    "If it isn't the devil himself, Theo Karastis! Merhaba! " greeted the man with the aviators, stepping off the boat to the docks. He didn't seem much older than Theo and had a thick accent. Though he smiled, the coldness in his tone and the jittery movements of the boy called Theo told Carson how friendly they really were.   
    "I hope you have some good news for us?" he smiled, white teeth flashing in the sun.
    "Same news as last time," he said. "I'll get the money, just not at–"
    "Are you such an idiot?" hissed Aviators, pulling Theo roughly. "Inside."
     
    "Then what happened?"
    "He came out maybe thirty minutes later. No visible damage, but he was limping."
    Peyton's eyes went round. "Do you think–"
    "Yeah. Light application of baseball bat to knee, maybe—not enough to break, but enough to hurt," said Carson.
    She chewed her