The Oslo Affair (Shadows of War, #2) by CW Browning (best non fiction books to read txt) 📕

He nodded and stroked his chin, staring at her consideringly.

“It is. It’s a tavern in the old city. On Österlånggatan.” He lowered his hand and shook his head. “Not a good neighborhood, Fraulein. Are you meeting someone there?”

“Yes.” Evelyn frowned and bit her lip. “Is it very bad?”

“It’s not terrible, but it’s not for the likes of you,” he said, scratching his wiry gray hair. “You’ll attract a fair bit of notice, if you don’t mind my saying.”

She glanced down at her clothes and nodded in sudden understanding. “Would it help if I wore something different?”

“That might do it,” he agreed. “And if you’re meeting someone, you won’t be completely alone. You’ll want to be careful, though. As I said, it’s not terrible, but it’s not what you’re used to, I’m sure.”

“Thank you. I’ll be very careful.”

“Well then, you want to go along here,” he said, turning and pointing in the direction she had been walking. “When you get up to that road there, you’ll go straight and follow this until you reach the bridge. It crosses over the water. When you get to the other side, follow the road around to the left and take it down to Slottsbacken.” Here he paused and frowned, then shook his head. “It will be easier with a map,” he decided, bending down and rummaging behind the table of his booth. He straightened up with a folded map in his hands. “I’ll mark it out for you on this.”

“Thank you so much,” Evelyn said, watching as he pulled out a pencil and opened the map of the city. “I’ll pay for the map, of course.”

He nodded and proceeded to draw a heavy line on the map, marking out exactly where she had to go.

“It’s not far. Only about a fifteen-minute walk,” he said, looking up from his task. “Quite pleasant, actually, until you reach the inner roads in Gamla Stan.”

He finished and handed her the map. “Do be careful, miss.”

“I will. I’ll change my clothes so I’m not quite so obvious,” she promised him with a smile. “Can I have a newspaper as well, please?”

He nodded and she paid him for the map and the daily paper.

“Good luck,” he said as she turned away.

Evelyn tucked the map inside the newspaper and carried it in one gloved hand as she went back the way she’d come. However, instead of going back into the hotel, she continued on to the next block and turned down the street, looking for clothing shops. It was a few blocks before she found what she was looking for and she went inside quickly, glancing at her watch. She didn’t have very much time, but it had to be done. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself.

She supposed she should be worried about going into an apparently seedy neighborhood, but she knew something the kindly gentleman at the newsstand didn’t: it took a lot to bring her down. Many very skilled fighters had tried, and failed. It was an extremely useful thing to be trained in the martial art of Wing Chun.

After looking around for a moment, Evelyn headed to the back of the store where the heavily discounted and damaged items were located. With just a bit of luck and acting, she would blend in with the locals, minimizing the likelihood of any problems before they even began.

Chapter Nineteen

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Comrade Grigori walked across the lobby towards the entrance of the hotel, his brows knit together in thought. The Englishwoman must have left her room already, but he hadn’t seen it. A telegram had been delivered to her door personally by one of the hotel staff and the woman staying with her had accepted it. Listening from around the corner, he heard her tell the boy that the Englishwoman wasn’t in but he could leave it with her and she’d make sure she got it. When had the woman left? He’d been watching the room all morning.

The concierge had been of no help. He didn’t remember seeing the woman leave either. After checking the restaurant and determining that she wasn’t there, Grigori was annoyed with himself. How did he manage to lose her in a hotel? He’d followed her all the way from Oslo easily enough!

He looked up as he approached the entrance to the hotel and his eyes widened as the object of his frustration strode by the door on the sidewalk outside.

She had slipped past him and out of the hotel! His pace increased and he exited the hotel just in time to see her disappear around the corner at the end of the block. At least now he had her again. He turned the collar of his coat up as a gust of wind blew off the water and went after her.

Last night he’d summoned Comrade Yakov to his room for a full report. There wasn’t much. Vladimir Lyakhov had arrived in Stockholm early the day before and checked into a hotel halfway across the city. From there, Yakov had nothing but complaints about the amount of walking the man had done. It seemed Comrade Lyakhov had been sightseeing most of the day, ending up at the Royal Palace across from this very hotel. He did go into The Strand, but only to go to the restaurant where he had dinner, alone. He then returned to his room midway across the city. Yakov hadn’t observed any contact with anyone.

Grigori exhaled and turned the corner, spotting his quarry a block ahead. He slowed his pace, content to keep distance between them. He didn’t want her to see him. It was bad enough that she’d caught sight of him last night when he was checking into the hotel. He’d managed to avoid being seen in the restaurant while she was eating, although there was one moment when he was convinced he’d been spotted. He’d purposefully waited until they were in the lift before crossing the lobby, but the lift had been