The Skeleton Key: A Short Story Exclusive Read Online Free PDF Page B

Seichan slammed the trunk closed. She didn’t want anyone passing by to note what was happening. Neither did Claude, who raised no objections to her abrupt gesture. He dared not attempt to free his bound son from the trunk in such a public space.
    “As you can see, Gabriel is fine,” she said, and held up the sedan’s electronic fob. “And here is the key to his freedom.”
    Claude reached for it—but she pulled her hand away.
    Not so fast.
    She tugged down her jacket’s collar and exposed the steel one beneath it.
    “What about this?” She also nodded over to Renny, who still had his scarf in place. “An exchange of keys. Your son’s freedom for ours.”
    “Oui . That was the deal. I am a man of my word.” He reached into a pocket and removed a hotel key card. He placed it on the top of the trunk. “Inside your hotel room, you will find what you need to free yourselves.”
    He must have read the suspicion on her face and smiled sadly.
    “Fear not. Your deaths will not serve me. In fact, I plan to pin Vennard’s loss upon your traitorous shoulders. With the Guild hunting you, no suspicions will be cast my way. And the faster you run, ma chére amie, the better it is for all of us. But, as an additional sign of good faith, I believe I promised you a reward.”
    He swung the briefcase onto the trunk and ran a hand over the rich leather surface. “Vuitton’s finest. The Président Classeur case. It is yours to keep.” He smiled over at her with amusement and French pride. “But I suspect what is inside is the true price for my son’s freedom. A clue to the shadowy leaders of the Guild.”
    He snapped open the case to reveal a stack of files. On the top folder, imprinted onto the cover, was the image of an eagle with outstretched wings, holding an olive branch in one talon and a bundle of arrows in the other. It was the Great Seal of the United States.
    But what does this have to do with the Guild?
    He snapped the briefcase closed and slid it toward her.
    “What you do with this information—where it will lead—will be very dangerous territory to tread,” he warned. “It might serve you better to simply walk away.”
    Not a chance.
    She took the case and the hotel key card. With the prizes in hand, she placed the sedan’s fob on the trunk and backed to the curb, well out of the reach of Claude’s guards.
    The historian didn’t make a move to take the sedan’s key. Instead, he placed a palm tenderly on the trunk’s lid. His eyes closed in relief as the tension drained from his shoulders. He was no longer a Guild associate, merely a father relieved at the safe return of his prodigal son. Claude took a long breath, then motioned for one of his men to retrieve the key and take the wheel. As his guards climbed into the front seats, Claude ducked into the back, perhaps to be that much closer to his son.
    Seichan waited for the sedan to pull away from the curb and head down the street.
    As the car vanished out of the square, Renny crossed over to join her. “Did ye get what ye wanted?”
    She nodded, picturing the relief Claude must be feeling. For the sake of his son, the historian couldn’t risk that she might have searched the papers first. They had to be authentic.
    “Do ye think he can be trusted?” Renny asked, reaching to his scarf.
    “That remains to be seen.”
    As they both stared across the plaza, Renny took off his cashmere neckpiece and revealed a close-guarded secret, a secret that Seichan had kept from Claude.
    Renny’s throat was bare.
    He rubbed at the red burn from his earlier shock. “It was good to get that bloody thing off.”
    Seichan agreed. She reached to her throat and unsnapped her own collar. She stared down at the green LED light. After Vennard’s death, she’d found herself with an extra hour before the noon deadline. Taking advantage of the additional time in the catacombs, Seichan had reached out to Renny’s network of resources. He’d claimed that his fellow