Also by Glenn Cooper NOVELS The Cure The Taken Girls The Tenth Chamber The Devil Will Come The Resurrection Maker Near Death WILL PIPER Library of the Dead Book of Souls The Keepers of the Library DOWN Floodgate Pinhole Portal CAL DONOVAN Sign of the Cross Three Marys The Debt The Showstone THE TAKEN GIRLS Glenn Cooper An Aries book www.headofzeus.com First published in the United Kingdom in 2021 by Aries, an imprint of Head of Zeus Ltd Copyright © Lascaux Media, 2021 The moral right of Glenn Cooper to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN (PB) 9781800246348 ISBN (E) 9781800242227 Cover design © Lisa Brewster Aries c/o Head of Zeus First Floor East 5–8 Hardwick Street London EC1R 4RG www.headofzeus.com Contents Welcome Page Copyright Victoria and Elizabeth’s Story Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Marcus’s Story Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Ferrol’s Story Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 About the Author An Invitation from the Publisher Victoria and Elizabeth’s Story 1 Villa Shibui. No one in these parts knew the meaning of shibui. Most of the residents of Filarete who saw the sign on the gate assumed the American who lived in the villa was linguistically confused. Others were aware that the American’s wife was Italian, and others still, knew that Elena was a native Calabrian, so they were able to debunk theories about a language muddle. Jesper and Elena Andreason had purchased the dilapidated villa three years earlier when Victoria was two and Elizabeth was five. At the time, it was known Villa Del Mare, a bland appellation that traced back to nineteenth-century deeds. The previous owners had let the rambling residence go to seed, but Jesper and Elena saw a house with decent bones, some fine period touches, and a spectacular view of the sea from its perch on a coastal plateau. Still, Elena had not been keen on shouldering a project of this magnitude because, in part, of the logistical challenges of supervising construction from five thousand miles away. But Jesper got very excited about the property—as he did about many things. He persuaded Elena that it could be spectacular and opened his checkbook wide to make sure he was proved right. He hired an award-winning architect from Milan, an experienced construction management firm from Catanzaro, and commissioned Elena’s mother, Leonora, an artist, to do the interior design. Elena’s parents lived just up the coast, one of the reasons for the purchase. Years before, when Jesper made the old-school gesture of asking her father’s permission to marry, he promised that one day they would buy a vacation house in Calabria so that Elena’s parents could have front-row seats to grandchildren. Leonora grafted Jesper’s spare and modernist sensibilities onto the Mediterranean roots of the house to create something sunny and minimalist and altogether unique. The first time Jesper jetted in to see the finished project he fell to his knees and bowed to Leonora. “You like it?” she said, laughing. “No, I love it. You’re a genius.” “It’s a European house, but I was guided by a Japanese concept. I think it’s very shibui.” “What is that?” “It’s an aesthetic of simple, subtle, unobtrusive beauty that comes together in a timeless sort of tranquility.” “Then that’s what we’ll call it. Villa Shibui.” The girls were now five and eight and this was their first summer at the house. Elena was planning on staying the full season; she assumed that Jesper would make good on his vow to spend the first two weeks of July and the last week of August in Calabria. He’d assured her (and himself) that with high-speed Internet and an encrypted video link he could conduct office business from the house, but shortly after their arrival, he learned of a Pentagon procurement meeting that he needed to attend. “You promised,” she said, pushing the button to retract the patio awning. A blood-orange sun was setting over a calm sea, and the expanse of lush, green lawn where the girls were playing was darkening. A high Lucite fence at the boundary of the property protected them from the cliff without interrupting the sublime views. “I know,” he said. “I’m sorry.” “Why you? I’m sure your father can handle the meeting.” “He made me CEO. It’s my responsibility.” He poured himself more red wine. Elena put a hand over her glass. “Mickey will do anything for the girls. Tell him they’ll be sad to see their father leave.” “Dad should stay at the lake with Mom. He’s been doing these meetings his whole life. It’s my turn.” “When do you have to go?” “I’ll drive up to Rome in the afternoon and stay in an airport hotel. I’m on an early flight Thursday morning.” “Mickey won’t send the company plane?” “I don’t want to act like a prima donna. I can fly commercial. First class, of course.” She gave no indication she was listening anymore. “Look how much they love it here,” she said. They were kicking a ball up and down the lawn, but the younger girl, Victoria, decided to see if she could loft it over the fence. Her first attempt bounced off the Lucite. “Stop it!” Elizabeth cried. “We’ll lose it.” “It’ll float,” Victoria said. “It’ll float all the way to America and we can get it when we go home.” “It won’t,” her sister insisted with the wisdom of age. “You’re just being silly. Do it again and I’ll tell.” Everyone who saw the girls raved about their beauty. Victoria, ever-exuberant, still had baby fat and possessed a fuller face than her sister. Elizabeth was demonstrating a new-found grace as her body elongated into
