Текст книги "Silencing Eve"

Автор книги: Iris Johansen

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Текущая страница: 15 (всего у книги 23 страниц)

“What miracle?”

“Commitment. Barbecues and porch swings and family.” He kissed her gently. “Dreams. Love ever after.”

Love ever after.

Oh, yes, she did love him so much. Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.

And Ever After.

If she was to keep from crying, she had to make a joke of it. “Ever After? It sounds like something from a Disney movie. That’s schmaltzy, Trevor,” she said huskily. “Nice, though.”

“I like the idea of Ever After. It means that all the things that have gone before are just the beginning, that all the mistakes and the happy times we’ve gone through are only building blocks.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “And I find I’m developing a tendency toward schmaltz, on occasion.” He pulled her down into his arms again. “But strictly sincere schmaltz. Did I embarrass you? You’ll have to get used to it.”

“I think that’s possible.” The rays of the sun coming into the room were stronger. Life was invading, she realized reluctantly. “It’s almost seven. I suppose we should get up.”

“In a little while.” He smiled. “I believe my focus is beginning to shift toward—”

Her phone on the bedside table rang.

She stiffened. Caleb?

No, Margaret.

She accessed the call. “Margaret, where are you?”

“In Caleb’s room. I’ve ordered coffee and breakfast for everyone. Thirty minutes?”

Jane looked at Trevor. “Maybe a little longer.”

“It’s important, Jane,” Margaret said quietly. “Things are breaking.”

“What—”

“Thirty minutes.” Margaret hung up.

“She said it was important,” Jane said as she pressed the disconnect. She lay there, gazing at him. Dear God, she loved him. She didn’t want to leave the cocoon that they’d built together in the past hours. “I guess we have to go.”

“You know we do.” He got up and scooped her up in his arms and turned in a circle. “And important can be good.” He kissed her before setting her on her feet. “There will be other miracles. They’ll be that much better if we go out and earn them.”

That’s right, they were just starting out. It was hard to remember that when she had just found out that all the paths they had traveled had come to this wonderful crossroad.

It was hard to remember and harder to believe.

No, she would not be negative. She didn’t even know from where that crazy thought had come. She would reach out and grasp that gold ring, and everything would be fine. She would find Eve. She would keep this love. There would be dreams and love and miracles.

“You take the first shower.” Trevor patted her behind as he nudged her toward the bathroom. “Then you can run down and talk to Margaret. I know you’re going to be on edge once you start thinking.”

He knew so much about her, she thought as she closed the bathroom door. That knowledge was a miracle in itself. She was already eager to find out what Margaret considered important. She moved quickly to the shower and turned on the spray.

Trevor said it could be good news. Please, let it be good news, Margaret.

*   *   *

“EAT YOUR BREAKFAST, JANE,” Caleb said mockingly as he poured more coffee in her cup. “You have to keep up your strength. I’d hate to waste all my efforts.”

“Be quiet, Caleb.” Jane turned back to Margaret. “Clocks?” Excitement was sweeping through her. At least one answer in this hellish puzzle. “Bless Kendra. If we can locate those nuclear devices, then no matter what Harriet does, we’ll be in control. We could go forward with finding Eve without that hanging over us.”

“Not true,” Trevor said. “We have to do more than locate them—have them disarmed. Or at least prevent them from being detonated.”

“And you said Harriet denied she was going after the detonator this morning,” Margaret said. “But she’ll have to go get it sometime. Could you steal it, take it away from her?”

“We don’t even know if the detonator is here or in Seattle. And once she has it in her hands, the danger increases. If she panics, she might set it off before anyone could get near enough to her to take it away from her. It would have to be handled with extreme delicacy.”

“I can’t see her in a panic,” Jane said dryly. “I think she has a keen appreciation of her own value and a well-developed sense of self-preservation.” She added thoughtfully, “But Harriet wouldn’t like to risk defeat. She might set off those explosions from sheer bitchery. She’s supposed to meet with this Cartland. Perhaps we can work something through him.”

“Or call in Venable,” Margaret said quietly. She held up her hand at Jane’s expression. “I know that you’re afraid that he’ll sacrifice Eve to national security. It’s a legitimate concern after the way he almost got her killed in Colorado. But you have to consider that you may have to do it. You can’t let Harriet even get close to setting off those bombs.”

“I know that I can’t,” Jane said curtly. “But I’m not going to run that risk while there’s still a chance that we can take care of it ourselves. We still have some time. She’s not going to set off those explosions until after Zander is executed.” She moistened her lips. “And Zander isn’t going to be killed until Doane kills Eve. He wants him to see Eve die. It’s all connected.”

“Yeah, let’s see, we find out where the nukes are stashed here in Chicago and have them disabled,” Caleb’s lips twisted. “Then we follow Harriet when she heads for Seattle and joins Doane. We rescue Eve, kill the bad guys, then have the nukes in Seattle disabled. Piece of cake.”

“I know it’s a nightmare.” And his listing of those nightmare elements was causing her desperation to soar. “You can opt out, Caleb,” Jane said. “I’ve told you that before.”

“Same answer,” he said shortly. “But somebody had to outline the problems. Trevor is ready to leap tall buildings with a single bound for you. Well, I’m not Superman, but I’m damn good, and I have a few talents he lacks. There’s a job to be done, and I’ll do it.” He smiled recklessly as he glanced at Trevor. “I’ll even work with you to do it.” He looked down at the photos on Margaret’s phone. “Two very famous clocks here in Chicago. Which one do we try first?”

“Neither one,” Margaret said. “I’m heading for Wrigley Field right after breakfast to check out that clock at the stadium. You tend to Harriet Weber and let me do the advance work.”

“Advance work?” Trevor’s brows rose. “And that is?”

“Rats,” Margaret said flatly. “I took a look at that clock. It’s in the scoreboard and maintenance has to be done on the scoreboard and the clock. That means that there are places inside where a device could be placed. I don’t think it would take that much space.”

“Rats,” Trevor prompted.

“There are rats everywhere,” Margaret said. “Particularly around the rivers and lakes. Rats are always hungry and looking for food. They don’t care what it is and will try anything.”

“Even a nuclear cocktail?” Caleb asked.

“Anything,” Margaret repeated. “And they may remember the taste, or the death of another rat from ingesting, or location. If there were human food scraps in the area where the device was planted, it would be particularly memorable.”

“You mean if Kevin dropped a few bites of a McDonald’s Big Mac when he was planting the bomb, it might be a giveaway?” Jane asked. “That was over five years ago, Margaret. How long do rats live?”

“Wild rats can live from five to seven years.” She shrugged. “I’m not hoping for that kind of contact. But you can never tell. Rats tend to breed in the same area if food is readily available, and a baseball stadium and an office complex have that advantage. There might be places in either that they use as a pathway or—”

“And you expect to be able to pin those rats down to a location?” Trevor said skeptically.

“Possibly. It’s worth a shot. At least, I won’t attract much attention the way you would. Both you and Caleb are very memorable. People generally sort of take me for granted.” She made a face. “As for the rest, no promises. Rats aren’t really reliable.”

“Pity,” Caleb murmured. “If they were, I think you might pull it off.”

“Really?” Margaret tilted her head. “You mean it?”

“You’re remarkable,” Caleb said. “Annoying but definitely remarkable. And Jane told us about the way you charmed that wolf in the mountains.”

“You don’t charm wolves; you accept them and hope they accept—”

The machine on the table by the balcony doors pinged softly.

“Our Harriet’s moving.” Caleb rose swiftly to his feet. “It may take her a while to shower and dress, but I’m not going to take a chance. I’ll go down and watch the suite until she takes off to meet Cartland.” He glanced at Jane. “Stay here. The last thing we want is for Harriet to see you. I’ll call you when she’s left the hotel.”

The next moment the door closed behind him.

Stay here?

Jane got to her feet. She did not want to stay here. She wanted to be on the move, part of the action. But there was no doubt it was the sensible thing to do. At least, she was here in the same hotel as Harriet, close to the action and not parked “safely” a block away.

“Jane,” Trevor said.

“I know, I know. I’ll do what’s smart and discreet.” She turned to Margaret. “Okay. But I’ll go with you to Wrigley Field. Maybe I can do something to—”

“Perhaps we’d do better to stay here and explore that driftwood thread that Ben Hudson—” He stopped as he saw her expression. “Problem?”

“I’m not going to stay cooped up in a hotel room doing computer research on driftwood. I’ll leave that to Catherine and Joe. I spent all those days in the hospital doing the same kind of research to find that place in Colorado where Doane was keeping Eve.”

“And you found it,” Trevor said softly.

“I only did it because I wasn’t strong enough to go after Doane myself. I had to rely on others to do my job.” She met his eyes. “I won’t do that again. I’m strong, Trevor. Thanks to Caleb, I’ve never felt stronger.” She grimaced. “Damn him.”

“But that isn’t all, is it?” Margaret was studying Jane’s expression. “You don’t believe Ben Hudson?”

“Of course I believe he’s telling the truth as he knows it. Who wouldn’t? When I was drawing that sketch of Doane from Ben’s description, it was like looking into a crystal-clear pool. He’d never intentionally lie.”

“Intentionally seems to be the key word,” Margaret said quietly. “You’re saying that his dreams are hallucinations? Yet you’ve evidently had some very strange dreams yourself. Were your dreams of Cira and her Anthony hallucinations?”

“Maybe. I’ve never ruled that possibility out.”

“Because you have problems accepting anything that’s not strictly black-and-white.” Trevor smiled. “But I believe that Cira managed to suspend your disbelief on occasion.”

She was silent a moment. “But I never claimed that she was a ghost who talked to me and told me how to run my life.”

“Ah, there we have it,” Trevor said. “The crux of the issue is Bonnie. I had a few reservations myself when I heard the story, but I was willing to go along since Quinn appeared to be taking it seriously. He’s a cop, and I thought there might be minimal substance.” He tilted his head. “He believes in ghosts?”

“I don’t discuss it with him.” She saw him gazing quizzically at her. She would not lie to him even by omission. “I don’t know about ghosts in general. I think he believes in Bonnie. I know that Eve believes in her.”

“But you can’t bring yourself to do it?” Margaret asked.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with me. If they want to cling to Bonnie even beyond the grave, if it brings them peace or happiness, why should I mind? All I want is for Eve to be happy.” She tried to steady her voice. “And safe. I want her to be safe. And I can’t go chasing off on a wild-goose chase that could waste time and kill her.”

Margaret nodded. “Then you shouldn’t do it. Let Kendra and Catherine work on it.” She chuckled. “That’s actually funny. There aren’t two more hardheaded women that I know and I’m tossing a ghost at them.” She got to her feet and gave Jane a hug. “Personally, I don’t know if you’re right or wrong. But it doesn’t matter. I’m here for you no matter how you want to handle this. By all means come along to Wrigley Field and we’ll play hickory dickory dock. Only substitute rat for mouse.” She glanced at Trevor. “You can come, too.”

“Thank you,” he said dryly.

“You’re welcome. You can keep an eye on Jane while I’m busy up behind the clock.” She smiled. “You’ll like doing that. You can hardly stop staring at her anyway.”

Trevor’s gaze shifted to Jane. “Yes, I will like that very much, Margaret.”

Jane was caught, held. She could not look away from him.

Today. Tomorrow. Ever After.

“We’ll leave right after we get the call from Caleb that Harriet has left the hotel,” Margaret said. “In the meantime, I’ll call Kendra and see if she’s come up with anything else.” She pulled out her phone. “I’m feeling a little de trop at the moment. You’re practically glowing, and Trevor is … I don’t know what.” She waved her hand as she started to dial. “But go ahead, continue. It’s interesting, and I think I like it. It’s kind of … warm.”

*   *   *

“A BANK, HARRIET?” Cartland gazed at the BANK OF AMERICA gold lettering as he opened the glass door for her. “It’s not what I expected.”

“Why not? A bank is where treasures are stored.” Harriet smiled. “And Kevin and I decided that Bank of America, the king of capitalism, should be where we kept the key to our kingdom. Don’t you find it amusing?”

“No, there was nothing amusing about Kevin’s shifting those nukes without telling me or anyone in the cell,” Cartland said bitterly . “It wasn’t a one-man operation. We had a right to know where they were.” He scowled as he followed her through the plush marble halls. “And it caused the entire project to go down the drain when he was killed.”

“But now it’s resurrected,” Harriet said. “And Tehran will be more pleased than if you had been able to set off those bombs five years ago. The political climate is much tenser now. Every victory is shouted from Tehran. You do agree that virtually destroying this fine city and Seattle will be a great victory?”

“Don’t be stupid,” he said shortly. “Of course it will. Why do you think I’m here? I didn’t want to deal with you. Kevin wouldn’t listen to anyone else after he brought you into the project. I knew it was going to cause trouble. Now it’s happening again. Doane came to me and offered us the nukes. Then, all of a sudden, he said that you had to be bought off. Well, I’ve done it. You have what you want. Now prove that you’ll give us what we want.”

“I’m not stupid, Cartland,” she said coldly. “You’ve obviously been associating too closely with your Middle Eastern cohorts who think that ‘woman’ is a synonym for ‘feeblemindedness.’ And you’ve not bought me off, you’ve only made the first installment.” She was heading for the safe-deposit-box section. “I’ve decided that I have job for you to do that will make my departure from these shores a little safer. Now be quiet until we get this business over with. Then we’ll talk, and you’ll find out the price for being touted as the next Bin Laden.”

*   *   *

“SHE TOOK HIM TO THE BANK of America on State Street,” Caleb said when Jane picked up the phone. “I’m e-mailing you a photo of Cartland. He’s in his forties, well dressed, dark hair. Very much the American businessman.”

“You didn’t expect him to look like he just stepped off the plane from Tehran,” Jane said. “Did you hear anything? Could you plant any listening bugs?”

“No time. And it would take a hell of a lot more sophisticated mobile equipment than I could pick up at a mall or on the street.” He added dryly, “So even if I could get close enough, the only way I could get anything would be to read their lips. Maybe your friend, Margaret, might have that kind of skill, I don’t. I’m outside the bank, and I’ll wait until they come out and follow them.” He paused. “It may come down to me protecting that bitch if Cartland decides to try to take her down.”

“She’s into power. I can’t see her not being able to manipulate him.”

“He’s a terrorist.”

“Same answer. Be careful, Caleb. We’re on our way to Wrigley Field. Call me as soon as they leave the bank.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that.” He hung up and leaned back against the door of the bakery across the street from the bank. This wasn’t the kind of stalking of which he was fond. He had done it before during the years when he was hunting down his sister’s murderer, and he had learned all the tricks. But it was more detective work than seeking out prey.

It would have been so simple if Jane had permitted him to go after Harriet and make her talk to him. Simple and completely efficient.

Don’t think about it. Do what Jane wanted him to do. Keep the flame burning low.

His time would come.

*   *   *

CARTLAND FROWNED AS HE gazed down at the sheaf of papers in the open safe-deposit box. “What the hell is this crap? I thought you might be going to give me the detonator.”

“I never said that. I just said you’d find it valuable.” She picked up the papers and handed them to him. “And interesting. Kevin wasn’t sure that you wouldn’t cause him trouble with Tehran when he moved those nukes. He set about getting insurance.” She watched his face as he scanned the documents. “You weren’t always hard-line al-Qaeda. You made deals that Iran would find not only disloyal but offensive to their religious creed.” She listened to him cursing for a moment. “If they knew about those transactions, you’d be on their hit list. And you know how deadly it can be for those on that hit list.”

His angry gaze swooped up to her face. “Blackmail, you bitch.”

“Yes,” she said. “I had to be certain that you understood that I’m not anyone you can discount or try to manipulate. We can work together, or you can go on the run and hope you have a week before they butcher you.” She stared him in the eye. “Until this is over, I’m in charge. Do we understand each other?”

He didn’t speak for a moment, and she could read the struggle in his expression. “Maybe,” he muttered.

No maybe, she thought triumphantly. He had caved. He might try to save his pride, but she had him. “Then I’m willing to show you this.” She lifted the black cloth in the bottom of the box on which she’d placed the documents. “Since we’re going to be such good partners in the battle for Islam.”

Cartland’s brow furrowed as he looked down into the box. “A cell phone? What the hell?”

“Why are you surprised?” Harriet said. “You set off bombs all the time using a cell phone as a detonator.”

“But this is an antique.” He gazed skeptically at the large, clumsy-looking cell phone. He took out his own sleek, thin iPhone. “Technology has left it in the dust.”

“It was the last thing in technology five years ago,” Harriet said. “And once the phone is charged it will still work beautifully. I consulted with an electronics expert just six months ago.” She looked him in the eye. “Believe me, all I’ll have to do is put in the code. Boom. There goes Chicago and Seattle.”

“Both cities?”

“My Kevin was brilliant. You never appreciated him. We were going to get on a plane to Samoa, and as the door closed, he was going to press in the code.”

“That’s still your plan?”

“With certain modifications.”

His voice was suddenly eager. “You said you weren’t going to give me the detonator.”

“Do you see me handing it over to you?” She took the cell phone out of the box and slipped it into her handbag. “But now that you understand who makes the rules, I don’t object to proving that I have it.”

“I want that cell phone, Harriet.”

“Forget it. It would do you absolutely no good without the code. Surely you don’t think I’d give that to you?”

“I believe you could be persuaded,” he said softly.

“How nasty. Are you threatening me, Cartland? Remember those documents? On my death, my lawyer will FedEx a copy to Iran. And do you think I brought you here to flaunt this detonator in your face? I know you have no problems with torture. Kevin told me all about you and your friends. He said you were amateurs. That’s why he took the devices away from you.”

“He was a traitor.” His cheeks flushed. “I was glad when I heard he’d been killed.”

“And you all ran for cover.” She smothered the rage she was feeling. Cartland still had his uses. “Think what you like. I know what my son could do.” She took a deep breath. “You’re thinking that you don’t have to know where the nukes are located if you have that detonator. You’re quite right. That’s why you have to deal with me and not my ex-husband. I have the detonator, and I have the code. That gives me all the cards, Cartland. And it puts me in the driver’s seat.” She added, “You’ll like the way I drive. I’m waiting for James to give me the death of the man who butchered my son. Then I’ll personally set off those nukes. You won’t have to do a thing but accept the responsibility. You’ll have no risk. You and your little group can take credit and become big men in Tehran. And I’ll have a red herring that will give me time to go underground. Interested?”

“Maybe,” he said cautiously.

“You’re very interested.”

“You want more money.”

“Yes, one more payment would make me happy. It should be sent to the same bank a week after the explosions take place. I’m taking a chance on you, of course. But I still will have those documents, and I’m sure that you won’t want those politicians in Tehran to know that I’m the one who will be responsible for the explosions. It would be humiliating for you to have them know that you took credit for the work of a lowly woman. I’ll just disappear into the sunset.”

“That would be best,” he said slowly.

“I thought so.”

He was silent. “Just one more payment?”

“And perhaps a favor or two.”

He stiffened. “Favor?”

“Kevin told me that you were a very clever man. You trained at a camp outside Berlin that specialized not only in bomb making but assassination. I’m sure you’ve just gotten better over the years.”

“You want me to kill someone.”

“It would make it safer for me to leave the country. Safer for me to disappear. Safer for you to maintain the reputation I’m going to hand you.”

“Who?”

“No one who should cause you any problem. Just a woman who pushed in where she shouldn’t be. James says that I shouldn’t worry about her, but then James can sometimes be a fool.” She smiled. “Her name is Jane MacGuire.”

“Why do you want her dead?”

“She knows about my son’s journal. That means that she may find out more than I’d like her to know about our project. I’ve no desire for her to suspect that I had anything to do with either your group or the explosions. She may have some kind of connection with a CIA agent, but she had a purely personal reason for hunting me down and harassing me.” Her lips tightened. “And she won’t give up. I saw it in her face, heard it in her voice. No matter where I go or how much time passes she’ll be right behind me. I won’t permit that to happen, Cartland. Take care of it for me.”

“How do I get to her?”

“That’s your problem. Her family lives in Atlanta. She’s the adoptive daughter of Joe Quinn and Eve Duncan. I last saw her in Muncie, Indiana.” She paused. “I want it done quickly. I don’t want to have it hovering over me. Find her. Kill her.”

“I’ll find her.” He smiled grimly. “It shouldn’t take long. The advantage of living in a technical world is that no one can really get away from it. I’ll have Samli run a check on her smartphone. Unless it’s been specially blocked, it should be easy enough. He’s located troubling people for me before. I can probably give you her location down to half a mile or so.”

“You can really do that?”

“Anybody can do that, if they know the right person. A couple hundred bucks to an employee of one of the wireless carriers will tell you exactly which tower Jane MacGuire’s phone is pinging at any given time. No muss, no fuss.”

“And no warrant.”

“Actually, the cops don’t even need a warrant for that. The phone companies have a cozy relationship with most law-enforcement agencies. This isn’t exactly legal, but it’s also no big deal. Any private investigator in any fleabag strip center could do the same thing for you. There are thousands of underpaid telephone employees who are glad to supplement their incomes.”

“But I don’t want a private detective to do it. I want you. How long will it take?”

“I’ll put Samli on it and he’ll be able to narrow down her exact location within five or six hours. Once I have her zeroed in, it’s all over.”

“Excellent.” She closed the safe-deposit box and locked it. “When you tell me that I no longer have to concern myself with her, I’ll be able to concentrate on more important things.”

“When?” Cartland asked bluntly. “How soon will you punch in that code?”

“Don’t nag me. I don’t like it. It’s all coming together.” She turned and headed for the door. “Within two days, you should be a very happy man.” She glanced at him over her shoulder. “And if you take care of the Jane MacGuire matter, I’ll be a very happy woman.”