Текст книги "Silencing Eve"

Автор книги: Iris Johansen

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Текущая страница: 19 (всего у книги 23 страниц)

She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t look away from him. “Why? After all these years, why would it matter to you whether I lived or died?”

“God only knows. It could be that all during those years, I never permitted you close. It’s only after Doane made me pay attention to you that I began to feel … something.” His lips twisted. “And how I fought it. It was only the night of the fire at that ghost town in Colorado that I realized that you had become … necessary. It stunned me.” He paused before he added hoarsely, “And it broke me.”

“Nothing could break you.”

“No?”

“And I don’t want you to kill for me, Zander. I only wanted you to care.” She gestured with frustrated impatience. “Or for you, it could be the same thing. I don’t know why it matters to me anyway. But it does. It does. Maybe there’s a reason that we came together. I don’t want anything here unresolved when I go to Bonnie.”

“I’ve given you the only answer I can, Eve.” The intensity suddenly left his face. “And don’t be in too much of a hurry to tie up loose ends. I have no intention of letting you go to Bonnie anytime soon.”

“You’d be more convincing if you weren’t cuffed hand and foot, one arm in a cast, and with no weapons and—” She frowned. “I can’t believe you let Doane catch you.”

“I appreciate your faith in my prowess, but he counted on the fact that he’d catch me off guard.”

“And he did it?”

“What do you think? No man is perfect. Though I do come close.”

“You’re better than Doane. You ran rings around him in that forest in Colorado.” She paused, gazing at him in despair. And this Zander was the same man she had met in that forest. Even though he appeared helpless, as Doane had claimed, there was an aura of confidence and power that had been there when she was his prisoner. “I could wish that if you were going to get yourself caught, you’d choose a time when there wasn’t so much in the balance.”

“Your life? No, you’re talking about those nukes that Doane wants to set off to honor his idiot son.”

“You know about them?”

He sighed. “I’ve heard nothing but how irresponsible it is that I don’t give my full cooperation and sacrifice personal will to the CIA, Homeland Security, and a zillion other bureaucrats. Catherine Ling is very vocal on the subject.”

“Catherine? What does she have to do with this?”

“What doesn’t she have to do with it?” he said dryly. “She barged into my life and announced I had to be kept alive so that I’d be a decent barter for you. She even had the nerve to appoint herself my bodyguard. I had a hell of a time slipping away from her tonight.”

“I can imagine you would.” But she had trouble with the concept that even Catherine had been bold enough to confront Zander in his lair. It was both bizarre and humorous. “But she’d want more than me in that barter if she knew about those nukes.”

“Yes, but you were the primary prize.” He inclined his head toward her. “You’re the primary prize for all of us, Eve. Except, perhaps, Venable.”

“Then Venable is the one who is right,” she said soberly. “And you should have paid attention to what Catherine was saying.”

“I paid attention. But every one of those organizations would take me down if they could. I have problems working with anyone that I know will turn on me after they get what they want.” He smiled faintly, “And it would happen, Eve. They would make promises, then find it convenient to forget. That’s the world as I know it. It’s the world you know, too.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“Then what does matter?”

“The children.”

“Ah, but of course.”

“And the parents who gave them life. I’m not important at all when you put those on the scale.”

“I beg to differ. But, then, I’m far more callous than you’d ever dream of being. After decades, I’ve only managed to care about one individual, and you mustn’t expect me to suddenly throw open the gates to anyone else. It’s not going to happen.”

“I don’t expect anything from you. You bewilder me.” He had said he cared about her but she didn’t know how she felt about him. He was completely out of her experience. Perhaps he was out of everyone’s experience.

But she wanted to know him, she realized suddenly. He had been an emptiness within her, and she had put that emptiness aside and tried to forget it existed. How long had she lived with that secret bitterness she would not admit even to herself?

Release it. It would only corrode and hurt her if she held it close. But she had to know one thing more than he had told her.

“Did you … love my mother?”

“Sandra?” He slowly shook his head. “Sex. Pure sex. And she cared nothing for me. We met in Florida when we were just teenagers. We were both wild and hungry for life. After high school, I’d gotten a job working on a freighter that was due to leave Daytona in four weeks for South Africa. Sandra’s mother had brought her down there on vacation, and she was partying on the beach every night.” He shrugged. “So was I. Booze and drugs and sex. Sandra liked them all. I wasn’t the first or the last man that she took under that pier to screw.” His gaze was on her face. “You don’t like my saying that. You’re protective of Sandra even though she wasn’t a good mother to you.”

“No, I don’t like it. But I asked you, and I’m not ignorant about Sandra’s past.” She paused. “And she was good to my Bonnie when she was alive. She loved her. Everyone loved her.” And she vaguely remembered Sandra’s telling her about that vacation in Florida and that Eve was conceived at that time. “If she was that promiscuous, how did you know I was your daughter?”

“I didn’t.” He grimaced. “The next week I took off for Johannesburg. Three months later, I received a letter from Sandra telling me that she was pregnant and that she was certain that the kid was mine. I didn’t believe her.”

“Why not?”

“Because my shipmate, George Royce, who had also spent a good amount of time beneath the pier with Sandra, received a letter stating that she was sure George was the father. I figured that she had just sent out letters to all of her partners, hoping that one of us would believe her. She wasn’t too bright to send a letter to both George and me. She might have known we might talk to each other.”

No, Sandra had never been bright. “Desperation?”

“Perhaps.” He was silent. “But I preferred to think she was victimizing me. It was more convenient. I wasn’t a particularly good kid, but I still had a few ingrained scruples left at that period of my life. Enough to feel a twinge of guilt. I sent her some money and turned my back on her.”

“But you came back later. Why did you come back?”

He shrugged. “Curiosity? That possibility always stayed with me. Maybe because those nights in Daytona were the last carefree time I had before my life changed.” He corrected, “No, before I changed. I’m the one who joined a mercenary army in Johannesburg and discovered my true vocation. Any blame belongs solely to me, not fate. I learned to accept that truth with no excuses. That’s probably why I wanted to make sure that I’d made the right decision about Sandra.”

“And how did you do that?”

“DNA. It was difficult, but I managed to get your hairbrush and a blood sample.”

She stiffened. “And what did the DNA show?”

“That for once Sandra had told me the truth,” he said quietly. “You’re my daughter, Eve.”

She inhaled sharply. She had been expecting it, but his words still came as a shock. “I’m surprised you went to those lengths.”

“I was curious.”

It could be true but she didn’t think that was the entire story. “And if I was a target because I was your daughter, then you had to know that someone else might find it out, too.”

“Someone else did find out. Doane. I wasn’t careful enough when I was checking that DNA. I left a trail. At the time, I had no idea that a man could be so obsessed that he would spend five years hunting down every single bit of my history. I should have known. You wouldn’t be here now if I’d taken care of Doane five years ago.”

“If,” she repeated. “Who knows? Doane is crazy. We just have to take what we’ve been given and try to get out of this. Though we haven’t been given a hell of a lot.” Her brow wrinkled thoughtfully. “Doane mentioned Kevin’s mother, Harriet, out of the blue. What do we know about her?”

“That she’s in control, that her dainty little finger is on the detonator, and she’s only waiting to set it off until she sees Doane blow my head off. And that she’s probably going to be here very soon to take care of that little matter.” His brows rose. “Is that enough information?”

“More than enough. How soon?”

“She’s in Chicago, so we may have a little time.”

“Doane hates her. We may be able to use that.”

“Divide and conquer? Don’t count on it. Where my imminent demise is concerned, they stand united. I killed their beloved Kevin.” He added, “But all is not lost. Catherine will be scouring the coastline for a cottage with a graveyard of driftwood.”

She stiffened. “What?”

“Providing there really is a macabre collection of driftwood outside? Since I was unconscious when Doane brought me here, I wasn’t able to verify its existence.”

“Yes, it’s there. How did you know?”

“Bonnie evidently knew about it and passed the description along.”

“Bonnie…” She felt a rush of warmth and love. “And you believe it, Zander?” For some reason, she desperately wanted him to believe that Bonnie’s soul still lived.

“Don’t be rid—” He stopped as he saw her expression. “Perhaps. I shouldn’t, of course. Ghosts are mere hallucinations, but I find myself wanting to believe what you believe. I’ll have to see how accurate she is about that graveyard before I pass judgment.” He glanced at the door. “I don’t know how much more time Doane’s going to give us. He’s too erratic. Look, we can’t wait until Harriet gets here. That would be cutting it too close. We have to make our move before that.”

She stared pointedly down at her bound wrists. “And how are we supposed to do that?”

“Why, just follow my lead…” For an instant, she thought she saw a twinkle in his eye as he smiled mockingly. “Like a good and obedient daughter.”

CHAPTER

17

VENABLE CALLED JANEWHEN they’d been in the air over thirty minutes. “Change course. We’ve just found out that Harriet’s not heading for Sea-Tac Airport. Her pilot’s flight plan calls for her to land at Sandhurst Airport. It’s a small coastal airport southwest of Seattle.”

“Tell me you won’t have anyone there to meet her,” Jane said. “You’ll keep your word.”

“Unless something happens to indicate that Harriet’s plans are escalating. Then all bets are off.” He changed the subject. “You promised to tell me the location of those nukes. I need that info, Jane.”

“But you won’t act on the information while we still have a chance to get our hands on Harriet and Doane? That’s first on the agenda, right?”

“I’ll get a force together, and we’ll be poised to move to defuse those nukes at the first sign that there’s any immediate danger.”

“In your opinion.”

“In my opinion. Give me the locations.”

“We can’t be certain. According to Kendra, there’s a good chance that the one in Seattle is somewhere in the King Street Station. You’ll have to explore to find out exactly where.”

“Got it. As long as we know the approximate location, I can arrange a flyover by a plane with terahertz spectroscopes. They can detect plutonium signatures at great distances,” Venable said. “What about Chicago?”

“The Wrigley Building, where there’s another clock tower. We think it’s on the lowest floor, but we can’t be—”

“I think I’ve found it,” Margaret said from across the aisle. She held up a security video.

“Wait a minute, Venable.” Jane asked Margaret, “What did you find?”

“There’s a small room down there where the Wrigley executives used to store boating equipment. I don’t know if it was supposed to be emergency stuff since the complex is on the river or if the executives once did some public-relations gigs on the water. Anyway, there are black-and-white photos on the walls that show them standing at the rail of various craft and having a good old time.”

“Where are you going with this?”

“That it must have been decades ago. Everything is covered with dust except for the oars and various pieces of equipment that are covered by plastic.” She made a face. “Very well chewed plastic.”

“What else?”

“Half of a life preserver. The rats really must have loved the material that was used to make that preserver. W and R were the only letters left of the original Wrigley.” She paused. “It was leaning against the wall beneath a large wood panel that had ships carved on it. I couldn’t tell if there were any burned-out wires in the area.”

“If it was a room that had been deserted for decades, it would be a safe place to hide that device,” Trevor said. “Maybe your rats are more reliable than you thought, Margaret.”

“They’re not my rats,” she said flatly. “But they may have come through for us. Though I guarantee that wasn’t their purpose. They only have one purpose.”

“Talk to Venable. He’ll want to know everything there is to know about that room.” She handed Margaret her phone. “It might be a good idea to skip the bit about the rats.”

“No, he has to take me the way he finds me,” Margaret said. “He’ll survive it. Venable has had to deal with me before.” She started to speak into the phone.

“I have to go up to the cockpit and tell Caleb of our new destination,” Jane told Trevor as she unbuckled her seat belt. “You heard me try to pin Venable down. He wasn’t having it.”

“I think he’s trying.” Trevor reached out and gently stroked her cheek. “He likes Eve. If he can, he’ll give her every break.”

“If he can,” she repeated. For the briefest instant, she rested her cheek on his hand. He had strong hands, wonderful hands, she thought. Hands that brought pleasure and built that golden cocoon that shut out the world and made everything safe and good. As safe and good as Trevor was himself. She gave his palm a quick kiss and rose to her feet. “I can always count on you to make me see the bright side.”

“That’s what I want for you. The bright side all the way.” He smiled. “So give Caleb his new marching orders and come back, and we’ll work on it. We have a few hours we can steal before we have to hit the ground running. I’m going to use every one of them.”

Jane’s smile lingered as she headed for the cockpit. A few hours to steal. A few hours to be close to him and build a few more memories.

Loving memories. Bright memories.

Driftwood Cottage

“HARRIET’S ON HER WAY.” Doane’s face was flushed as he came back into the cottage. “She should be here within a few hours. You’re a dead man, Zander.”

“You’ve been saying that for too long. Repetition is boring.”

“You won’t be bored when I blow her brains out.” Doane took a step closer to Eve and touched her hair. “All that ugly brain matter tangled in this pretty hair…”

“Crude. Why do you persist in thinking that it will matter to me?”

“When it gets down to those final moments, it will matter.” He smiled down at Eve. “Harriet wanted me to just kill you and get you out of the way. She just never understood how unsatisfying that would have been. She never admits she’s wrong.”

“When will she be here?”

“Beginning to be frightened? I’d say perhaps three hours. You have time to bond a little longer.” He went to the cabinet. “And I have time to dig two graves out in Kevin’s garden.” He pulled out a shovel. “Those places I chose will do very well, Eve. I’ve never dug a grave for anyone but Kevin’s little girls. Well, there was that agent who got in my way back at your lake cottage, but he didn’t matter. There was no pleasure in it. This one will be different.”

“Would you like help?” Zander asked. “If you’ll undo these handcuffs, I’d be glad to volunteer.”

“Do those cuffs bother you? Do you feel powerless? That must be maddening for you. You are powerless, Zander. Those are the finest military handcuffs, and they’ll hold you until the bullet goes into your brain.”

“Then I take it my offer is refused?”

Doane’s smile lost a little of its malicious pleasure. “You arrogant bastard.”

The front door slammed behind him.

“I thought for a minute that he’d take that shovel to your head,” Eve said dryly.

“There was a possibility but not a very great one. It would have spoiled his precious finale. He’s exceptionally single-minded.”

“I’ve noticed that.”

“And he won’t complete the show until Harriet is here.” He was staring thoughtfully at the door. “It would be much easier to take Doane out before she arrives on the scene.”

“Oh, would it?”

“But, since she apparently may be more dangerous in your eyes, I’d have trouble convincing you to run the risk of her blowing up Seattle and Chicago if she became upset that we had shifted the balance.”

“Yes, a good deal of trouble, Zander.” She shook her head. “And I’m having trouble with believing this discussion. You’re talking as if it’s a done deal.”

“No, there will be difficulties. It might be nice to have skilled assistance if it proves very dicey. We’ll have to see if Catherine comes through.”

“Catherine?”

“I told her that she had to redouble her efforts to find this lovely cottage.”

“And what did she say?”

“Well, nothing really. That was about the time when I knocked her unconscious.” He smiled. “But I’m sure that she’ll do as I suggested.”

“I’m not certain those circumstances would lend to compliance. Catherine doesn’t appreciate force.”

“But she does appreciate you. I think she probably weighed her anger at me and her affection for you, then got to work.” His smile faded. “If you want to take down Harriet, too, we’ll have to wait until she’s almost here before we bid good-bye to Doane.”

“She’s almost here now according to Doane.”

“But she’s not on the doorstep. Timing is everything.”

“And Catherine may appear and come to our rescue.”

“Wouldn’t that be delightful? Of course, it would ruin my image, but I might be able to bear that coming from Catherine.” He thought about it. “No, I still couldn’t stand it.”

“Then there’s no question she’ll do it for sheer punishment’s sake. You should not have knocked her out, Zander.”

“I do many things I shouldn’t do. I’m sure you’ve heard.”

“Yes.” It was bizarre sitting here in this equally bizarre and dangerous situation perfectly at ease with him, talking and even smiling. “You do have that reputation.”

“And I’ll do a few more before this night is over.” He met her eyes. “And I won’t regret one single act. After all, I am a lost soul, Eve.”

“I don’t know about that. Bonnie says there are second chances.”

“And, of course, she’s an expert.”

“She wouldn’t claim to be an expert. She only tells me what she’s learned since she left me.”

He was silent a moment. “And since she’s my granddaughter and therefore supremely intelligent, I’m inclined to believe her.” His lips twisted. “But only inclined considering her ethereal state. Suppose we change the conversation to a subject on which we both agree.”

Her brows rose. “And what is that?”

“Why, Catherine, of course. Tell me all about Catherine. She was a little too uptight to confide in me while she was my so-called bodyguard.”

“And I won’t break her confidence unless given permission.” She added quietly, “But I will tell you that she has amazing perseverance. She’ll find us, Zander.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll make every attempt. And there’s no doubt she’s pulled Joe Quinn into the search front and center by now.”

“Joe’s always front and center.”

“You really do care about him?”

“With my whole heart.”

“I can’t say the same. Quinn and I were at odds most of the time we were on the search in Colorado.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. You’re both alpha males.” She added quietly, “Joe has a tendency to trample down opposition if it gets in his way. He wouldn’t like the idea that he couldn’t control you. And you probably felt the same way about him.”

“Yes, but I was right.”

“Right, perhaps. But I’d wager not particularly moral.”

“And now we’re back to the lost soul.” He smiled. “And our joint wish that Catherine and your Joe are having a successful bonding to find Doane’s graveyard. Hopefully before he manages to put us in it.”

Seattle

“DAMMIT, CATHERINE, WHERE THE HELL is that information on Oregon real-estate records?” Joe asked as he strode back into the sitting room. “You said that Langley promised it to you within the hour. I should have known those bureaucrats would drag their feet when they’re most needed.”

“They’re not bureaucrats. I’ve worked with these agents, and they do their best. Sid is very sharp.” She glared at him. “I hate bureaucrats as much as you do, but you can’t condemn the entire world because you’re hurting, Joe.”

“I can if what they’re doing is hurting Eve.”

She dropped the argument because she was almost as impatient as Joe. “Did either of you find that online book about driftwood artistry?”

“I didn’t,” Gallo said. “Nothing in any of the libraries or sites in Washington State.”

“You should have looked at Oregon,” Joe said. “I found a reference to a self-published Portland University book that contained photos and descriptions by a Josiah Natlow. One of the descriptions was of several pieces that resembled headstones.”

Catherine inhaled sharply. “Where?”

“It didn’t give a location. I’ve tracked down Natlow’s telephone number, and I’ve been calling him for the last ten minutes. No answer,” he said through set teeth. “Get that answer from Langley. We’re running out of time. According to what Jane told us, Harriet Weber should be landing in three hours.”

“You call Natlow back,” Catherine said. “I’ll get on the line to Langley.”

“Good.”

“May I suggest we get on the road,” Gallo said quietly. “Quinn is right, every minute may count.”

“Just wait until I get through to—” Her phone rang, and she glanced at the ID. “Langley.” She punched the speaker and the access button. “It’s about time. What have you got for me, Sid?”

“Success,” Sid said. “And if you’d been asking the right questions, we would have gotten it for you sooner. Kevin Relling purchased a small acreage five and a half years ago. The paperwork was buried beneath four fake companies and one legitimate franchise, but I finally dug through all the shit.”

“Near the beach?”

“On the hill above with beach access.”

“What about the driftwood?”

“Give me a break. There’s no way these records would mention driftwood.”

“Where is it?”

“Right below Oregon’s northern border with Washington.”

“On the Oregon side?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Give me the address.”

“Twelve Moonspinner Place.”

“Sickeningly poetic for the domicile of a mass murderer.”

“Yeah, anything else?”

“No. Thanks, Sid.” She hung up and jumped to her feet. Excitement was zinging through her. “Come on, we’ve got it.” She started for the door. “Gallo, do you know far it is to the Oregon border?”

“About 140 miles from here.”

“Shit.” Joe was jerking open the door. “God, it’s going to be close.”

“What about a helicopter?”

“By the time we get to the airport and rent it, we’ll have lost too much time,” Joe said. “And if Doane hears a plane overhead, it could trigger—” He broke off. “We’ll just have to break every speed record and take the fastest highway. I’ll drive, Gallo. You keep calling Natlow to verify. I’ll Google the house and area and see what we’re up against.”

A few minutes later, they were in the car and heading through the city streets. Catherine knew they couldn’t travel any faster until they got on the highway, but she was breathless, tense, and only wanted to hurry. Joe was right, it was going to be incredibly close. “What if Sid is wrong?” she asked jerkily. “Wrong address? Wrong Relling? We don’t have time for mistakes.”

“You’re borrowing trouble,” Gallo said quietly. “And I don’t believe he’s wrong. I just pulled up the Natlow photo that Quinn found in that Portland University site.” He handed her his phone. “Pretty convincing.”

Stark white branches curved in a wild, horribly macabre simile to a headstone. She felt sick as she stared at it. Death. Both Doane and Kevin had been totally absorbed with death as a means to power. This piece of driftwood was meant to fling that ugly power in the faces of anyone looking at it. She hadn’t the slightest doubt that this photo was part of Doane’s tapestry of evil.

She swallowed as she handed Gallo’s phone back to him. “Very convincing. Now let’s get to the damn place and find Eve.”

Sandhurst Airport

Washington

THE GULFSTREAM’S ENGINE WAS STILL whining as Jane, Trevor, Margaret, and Caleb ran down the steps and moved toward the blue-and-white hangar. The pilot immediately taxied into the hangar to get out of sight.

Caleb craned his neck, his gaze searing the sky. “If Venable is correct, Harriet could be arriving at any moment.”

“We just have to hope that they didn’t have a last-minute course change.” Jane glanced around the small single-runway airport located southwest of Seattle. “I thought you’d arranged a car for us.”

“I did.” Caleb pointed to a black Range Rover parked next to the hangar. “Curb service.”

A portly man in a gold shirt emblazoned with a rental-car-company logo climbed out and walked toward them with keys and contract. Caleb had barely finished signing the paperwork when Jane heard the sound of a jet in the distance. The next moment, Caleb’s iPad made a pinging sound in his satchel.

“They’re back in range,” Jane said. She looked up at the approaching plane. “That has to be them. Let’s move.”

Trevor snatched the keys from Caleb’s hand. “I’ll drive.”

“I gathered that,” Caleb said dryly.

“Come on!” Margaret had already opened the Range Rover’s rear door and was climbing into the car. “I think I see a car coming toward the airport. That may be Harriet’s welcoming committee. We have to get out of sight.”

Less than a minute later, they were idling in a small lot near the airport’s exit. Two minutes after that, a Cadillac Escalade drove past and headed toward the Learjet that had just landed.

“Whew,” Trevor said softly. “Entirely too close.”

“Two men in the front seat,” Caleb said. “That shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”

They watched as Harriet came down the steps of the Learjet carrying her overnight bag and the box of Kevin’s letters. One of the two men who had met her politely tried to take the bag from her, but she waved him aside and got into the Cadillac.

A few minutes later, the Escalade drove past their Range Rover as it exited the airport.

“Okay, here we go,” Caleb said as he looked at the iPad. “And we have a strong signal.”

Trevor slowly turned the wheel and waited until the Escalade had turned the corner before he started to follow it. Five minutes later, they had left the small town behind. Twenty minutes later, the scenery became sparse and barren, with tall grass lining the two-lane highway. The sky was overcast with a damp blanket of marine layer and only an occasional sliver of moonlight as they drew closer to the coast.

“Faster, Trevor.” Jane’s hands were clenching with tension. “I think we’re losing her.”

Trevor shook his head. “If I get any closer, she’ll see us. It’s been five minutes since we’ve seen another car.”

“No worries.” In the backseat, Caleb raised the iPad screen. “I still have her right here. Strange, she’s heading south, not north toward Seattle. But she can’t make a move without my knowing it. She’s moving fast, but not—”

Margaret’s phone rang. “It’s Catherine. Should I—”

“Not now,” Jane said, her gaze on the road ahead.

But after Margaret’s call had gone to voice mail, Jane’s phone rang. It had to be important if Catherine was going through her list trying to reach them. “Catherine, what is it?” Jane asked.

“Something good at last,” Catherine said. “I think we’ve located Doane’s cottage.”

“What?” Jane’s heart leaped. “That’s fantastic. Where is it? Are you—”

“Harriet’s stopped,” Caleb said.

Trevor eased off the gas pedal. “You’d better be sure of that.”

“Positive.”

“I’ll call you right back, Catherine.” Jane hung up.

“Where?” Trevor asked Caleb.

“About half a mile ahead. Probably just around that bend.”

Jane leaned back to glance at the iPad screen. “What’s there?”

“Nothing as far as I can tell. Absolutely nothing.” He waved his hand toward the tall grass along the road. “More of the same.”

Trevor cursed under his breath. “They may have seen us.”

“Unlikely, considering how careful you were,” Caleb said. “For once, your conservativeness may have been an actual benefit, Trevor.”

Trevor thought for a moment. “Okay, everyone get down. I’m going to do a drive past.”

“Now, that’s not a conservative move,” Caleb said.

“Do it,” Trevor snapped.

Jane, Caleb, and Margaret slumped far down in their seats so that Trevor appeared to be the only one in the car. He stepped on the accelerator and roared around the bend.

“What do you see?” Jane asked.

“Her car’s parked on the roadside. No one’s inside. Caleb’s right, there’s nothing else around here.”

Jane sat up and looked around. Just as Trevor said, there was the car but no trace of Harriet and the two men. “I was hoping when they stopped that it was at Doane’s cottage.” Had they changed cars? Jane felt the muscles of her stomach tighten. To come all this way and possibly lose her … “Stop the car. Now.”

“I don’t like this,” Caleb said slowly.

“There’s another curve up ahead,” Trevor said. “We’ll park on the other side and walk back. We’ll find them, Jane. They couldn’t have gone far.”

“Unless they changed cars.”

“If they did, they left Kevin’s letters in that Cadillac. I’m still getting a ping,” Caleb said. “And that’s not likely.”

Trevor rounded the bend and pulled over. He, Jane, and Caleb got out of the car. Margaret was about to follow them, and Jane shook her head. “No, you stay here.”

“I go where you go,” Margaret said quietly.

“Not this time. I’m not protecting you, Margaret. I’m just trying to be sensible. What if something goes wrong?”

She frowned. “Then I’d want to be there.”

“No, we’d want someone to be able to sound an alarm, to call Venable or Catherine, anyone who could help. You’re that person.” Her voice became firm. “I’m not asking, I’m telling you. Stay here.”

She finally nodded. “For a little while. Until I know if you’re in trouble.”

Jane hurried to join Trevor and Caleb as they moved through the tall grass at the roadside.