Текст книги "Pandora's Daughter "

Автор книги: Iris Johansen

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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

MEGAN'S CELL PHONE RANG late that afternoon.

Dr. Jason Gardner on the ID. Hope soared through her. He'd said he wouldn't call unless there was something to report.

Oh, God. Let it be good news.

"How is he?" she asked as soon as she picked up. "You said you thought there was a change. Bad or good?"

"Don't get excited," he said cautiously. "I can't promise anything. I told you that your uncle—"

"He's better? Stop being diplomatic and talk to me."

"I think he's better. Twice he squeezed my hand when I asked him to answer yes or no to a question." You re sure?

"It was weak, but I don't believe it was an automatic reflex. The machines don't indicate any change, any spiking, but it may be a beginning."

"Thank God."

"But we need a breakthrough. It's as if he's wandering through a maze and can't find his way out. I've seen a few cases where this happened and in a few weeks the response just faded away. I can't let him backslide."

"What can we do?"

"I'm with him as much of my day as I can manage. My head nurse, Madge Holloway, is there the rest of the time. We talk to him. We ask him questions." He paused. "But I believe we need a more personal contact. We need someone who knows and cares about him, someone he cares enough about to make the effort to come back."

"He needs me?"

"I believe it would be... helpful."

"I'll be there tonight. You'll be at the hospital where I can talk to you?"

"I'll make sure I am. What time?"

"Nine or before. We may have to make plans. What room is he in?"

"Suite fourteen B. It's at the end of the corridor."

"I'll be there."

"I'll be waiting for you. Thank you, Dr. Blair."

"No, thank you." She hung up and whirled to face Grady. "Phillip may be coming out of it."

"That's wonderful," he said quietly. "But it's not wonderful that you intend to go flying to his side."

"You're not going to talk me out of it. He needs me."

"I wouldn't think of it. I'm not into futile efforts. I'm just making a statement."

"It's better than sitting here twiddling my thumbs waiting. There's a chance I can do something useful. It may make a difference in whether Phillip comes out of that coma or not."

"Okay." He got to his feet. "Then will you let me set it up so that it's as safe as possible for you? There's a chance that Molino is having the hospital watched."

She nodded. "As long as I can spend some time with Phillip."

"Can you limit it to one visit?" He saw her start to frown. "We'll play it by ear. I'll go with you to his room. Harley and Renata can do reconnaissance around the hospital grounds to make sure that the area's safe. Okay?"

"It will have to be." She started toward the staircase. "I'm going to get my suitcase and medical bag. I may have to spend the night with Phillip. As Gardner said, what Phillip is going through is like wandering through a maze. There's no telling when he might come to a break in the hedge."

"Let's hope it comes early on the path," Grady said gently.

"I'm crossing my fingers."

"So am I."

She hesitated. "Thanks for not making this difficult for me, Grady."

"For God's sake, he's my friend too," he said harshly. "I could have wished it had happened a few days down the road but that's the breaks. We'll get you there and keep you safe." He headed for the door. "I'll go get Harley and Renata stirring."

GARDNER TURNED BACK TO NURSE Madge Holloway after he'd hung up the phone. "She's coming, Madge."

Madge grinned. "Did you have any doubt? You said she was one of the ones who cared." She looked down at Phillip Blair. "And it's not often that we can give a relative hope. Lord, I hope we can bring him back. There's a chance?"

"There's a chance." He came closer to the bed and took the man's limp hand. "There's always a chance, isn't there, Phillip? You're a good man and God should be on your side. That should weigh in for something."

"And he has you," Madge said. "It should count that you're on his side too."

"Tell that to the five other patients in this annex that aren't doing as well as Phillip here," he said wearily. "But I've got to hope, Madge." He turned away. "Is that guard of Phillip's still outside the door?"

"Jordan?" Madge nodded.

"Tell him to come in the room for today. I want to make sure that Phillip and Megan Blair are safe."

"Right away." She hurried out of the room.

Gardner gazed down at Phillip for a long time. "Keep fighting, Phillip Blair. You'll be okay if you keep fighting." Damn, he hoped he was telling the truth.

"IT'S NOT SMART," HARLEY SAID. "Molino could have tapped the line and sent a welcoming committee. You shouldn't let her go."

"I know that," Grady said impatiently. "I knew he was a weak link from the time we put him in Bellehaven. That's why I had Megan limit the time of her calls when she was checking on him. There was always the possibility of them being able to trace the call."

"And now they don't have to trace it if Megan goes running to Phillip's side."

"We're not sure that the line's been tapped." He made a motion as Harley started to speak. "Okay, we can't take the chance. That's why we have to be sure to clear the way for her. Call that guard you set up to watch Phillip …what's his name?"

"Lee Jordan. A good man."

"Put him on the alert. I'll go with her to Phillip's suite. You and Renata scout the parking lot and surrounding grounds for snipers." He reached in his pocket and handed him a copy of the photo he'd given Megan and a driver's license photo of Darnell. "Pictures of Molino, Sienna, and Darnell. Other than the three of them, you're on your own."

"And Darnell has a Chevy pickup truck?"

"If he's still using it."

"He sounds like a hot dog. Men who beat up women love people to think they're macho. He probably likes the tough image a truck gives him. If not this truck, I'd bet he has another one by this time."

"No bet. Just don't let him slip away if you spot him."

"You can't talk her out of this?"

"No." Grady turned away. "I didn't try. She's operating on a purely emotional level. I can't fight that side of her. Hell, I don't want to fight that side of her. It's pretty damn wonderful."

"If it doesn't get her killed."

"It won't. I won't let it." He strode toward the front door. "Just do your job."

Bellehaven

THE PARKING LOT OF ANNEX 4 contained only a few cars that were parked fairly close to the small building.

"Evidently visiting hours are over," Grady said as he got out of the car. "Or maybe they don't get many visitors in the coma wards. I suppose it's easier to forget them as long as the families know the patients are well cared for."

"And, remember, there are only six patients in this ward. Gardner believes in being able to concentrate fully on individual patients." Megan moved toward the entrance. "But I wouldn't forget."

"I know you wouldn't." He opened the glass entrance door for her. "And that's why we're here."

The corridor of the rectangular building was shadowy and dimly lit and there was only one nurse at the circular desk just inside the door. She looked up from her paperwork as Megan and Grady came toward her. She was plain, a little plump, somewhere in her thirties. Her RN badge identified her as Madge Holloway. She smiled regretfully. "I'm sorry. No visitors are allowed in the wards after nine. I was about to lock up for the night. Would it help if I checked the latest report on your patient's condition for you?"

"We've had a report from Dr. Gardner," Megan said. "I'm supposed to meet him in Suite fourteen B."

"Oh, yes." Nurse Holloway's face suddenly lit with eagerness. "The Phillip Blair case. I was hoping I'd be here when you came. We've been so excited at his progress. Dr. Gardner never gives up. You're so lucky to have him working on the case."

"I realize that," Megan said as she moved down the hall. "The far end of the corridor?"

"That's right. Good luck."

"Thank you."

"Wait for me." Grady took her arm. "You're almost running."

"I feel like running. I'm excited." She glanced at him. "And I know you want to tell me not to get my hopes up, but don't do it. I can't help it."

"I wouldn't think of it." His gaze was wandering from side to side as they passed the hospital rooms. "It would be an exercise in futility. But I'm a realist. I'll reserve my excitement until I see Phillip coming a little closer to consciousness."

He stopped a few yards from the door at the end of the corridor. "Stay here. Let me go in first." She glanced back at the nurse at the reception desk and frowned. "Everything seems okay here."

"And hopefully Harley and Renata are having an equally good experience outside." Grady moved toward the door. "But let's not rely on what seems to be taking place. I've shaped reality too many times myself to have any faith in it."

"Yes, but Molino is no Controller. And this is—what's wrong?" He was looking beyond her toward the front entrance. "Why are—"

"Shit!" He opened Phillip's door and dove to one side and into the room. "Get down!"

THE NURSE WAS MOVING AT A FAST WALK, almost at a run, as she came out of the annex building. Her stride was purposeful as she moved toward the SUV parked in front of the door.

Renata didn't like it. The nurse was moving too fast and Megan and Grady had just entered the building. Mark had always told Renata that any irregular behavior was a red flag in a surveillance situation. Of course, this was a nurse and there were always emergencies. She scanned the exterior of the car the nurse was now driving out of the parking lot.

No, dammit, it wasn't right.

Renata reached for her phone as she started her car and followed the nurse's SUV out of the lot. Warn Megan. And hope Grady was observant enough to keep Megan alive.

GRADY DREW HIS GUN AND rolled over and under the hospital bed a few feet from the door. No gunfire.

No curses or exclamations.

From where he was under the bed he could see no one in the room.

"Grady, dammit. What's happening?"

"Stay where you are, Megan. No problem that I can see."

In the adjoining bathroom?

He started to slowly ease himself from beneath the bed. Something warm splattered on his hand.

Blood.

He froze as he watched the blood that had dropped from the bed run off his hand onto the beige tiles.

Oh, God.

Don't look at the man on the bed. Not yet. Not until he was sure there was no one in that bathroom waiting to pounce.

HER PHONE WAS RINGING, Megan realized dimly. Ignore it. Every nerve of her body was tensed and focused on what was going on in Phillip's room.

It was only a few moments since Grady had last told her to stay the hall but it seemed a century.

"Grady."

No answer.

"Unless you let me come in there I'm calling the police."

"You don't want to come in here. I'll come out."

Panic jolted through her. "If there's not a problem, why don't you want me to—" She jumped to her feet and moved slowly, cautiously into Phillip's room.

Blood.

The sheet on the bed was soaked with blood from the throat and face of the man in the bed.

"Dear God." She recoiled back against the wall. Her knees gave way and she slid to the floor. "Phillip..."

"No." Grady was kneeling beside her. "That's what I thought too. But it's not Phillip. It's hard to tell from that carnage of a face but I think it's Gardner."

"Gardner?" Her gaze flew to his face. "Dead?"

He nodded. "I'd judge it happened within the last few hours." He paused. "And there are two more bodies in the bathroom. According to his ID, one of them is Jordan, the guard Harley hired. He was shot at close range. He must have been taken by surprise. The other one is a woman in a nurse's uniform. It's probably the head nurse, Madge Holloway. Her neck was broken."

Madge Holloway. "The woman at the front desk had an ID badge with that name."

"And I saw her hurrying out the door as we reached Phillip's room. She waited just long enough to put up a normal front for us and then took off."

She rubbed her temple. "But where's Phillip?"

He shook his head.

"He has to be—How could they get him out of the building?"

"How could Molino kill Gardner and the nurse? He wanted it done. If he had Gardner prisoner for any length of time before his death, he could make him pull strings. It appears as if they toyed with him before they cut his throat."

"Sons of bitches." Her voice was shaking with anger. "Gardner was a good man. He cared about Phillip. He cared about all his patients. All he wanted to do was bring them back to—"

Her cell phone rang.

"Answer it," Grady said.

She'd already punched the button.

"Darnell tells me there was a good deal of blood," Molino said. "Isn't it good that you're a doctor and not squeamish?"

"You bastard. What did Gardner ever do to you?"

"Nothing. He was very helpful, but he would have been expensive and he was no longer useful." Shock jolted through her. "What?"

"I offered him an astonishing amount of money to lure you there. I've had Sienna in negotiations with him for some time."

"He wouldn't sell out a patient to you."

"Everyone has a price. He's an idealist who believed in the sacrifice of one for the many. They were going to withdraw his funding."

"I don't believe you."

"Believe what you like. Of course, I told him what he wanted to believe. Blair was only going to be held as a threat. The only reason we wanted you was to get the Ledger. He bought it because he was desperate for the cash. He made it easy for Darnell. He called the guard into the room so that he could be disposed of in private. Sienna told him Jordan would just be tied up and left in the bathroom. Gardner was supposed to send the nurse away but Darnell came a little early."

An assassin had come early so another precious life had been taken, Megan thought, sick. "Is Phillip still alive?"

"As much alive as a lump of unthinking flesh can be. I was really surprised that you didn't just write him off after my friend Darnell made a vegetable of him."

"He's not a vegetable," she said through her teeth. "And he's getting better."

"So Darnell overheard when he was trying to trace you. I had him monitoring Gardner's phone from the moment you took off for Sweden."

"Was Gardner telling the truth about Phillip getting better?"

"Oh, yes, and Gardner was torn. But not enough to sacrifice his little kingdom. Sienna and I were debating whether you'd take the risk. Though neither of us understands your reasoning we thought you might since your uncle seemed to be improving. Of course, we would never be that foolish."

"Because you're both cold as ice."

"I wasn't cold about my son. And there's nothing cold about my hatred of you, bitch. It's white hot and eats at me every minute of the day. I could have sent in Darnell and a few other men to take you down once I knew you were going to Bellehaven. I thought about it. Then I realized that there was no way I was going to do it. It would have been chancy with Grady and Harley, but that was only one reason. I want to see you die slowly." His voice was thick with malice. "I want to hurt you as I did Edmund Gillem. I want to do it myself. I want to watch your face and know you're in pain."

"It won't happen."

"Yes, it will. Because I have this disgusting zombie you appear to be so fond of. Of course, he won't be as well cared for as Dr. Gardner and his nurses have been doing. No warm bed. I'm putting him in the cellar and it's a little cold and damp down there."

"That could kill him. His immune system isn't functioning as—"

"Then come after him."

"Will you let him go if you have me?"

She heard a curse from Grady.

"It's possible. I've no use for him."

Her hands tightened on the phone. "Where?"

"Redwing, Tennessee. Isn't that a pleasant name for a town?"

"You're staying there?"

"Of course not. Come to the graveyard on the hill and we'll discuss an exchange."

"Discuss? I'm not a fool, Molino."

"But you have a strange mind-set where the helpless are concerned. Come to the graveyard tomorrow night at eleven. If you're lucky, one of the corpses won't be Phillip Blair." He hung up.

"An exchange?" Grady asked.

She nodded jerkily. "Redwing, Tennessee. A graveyard on a hill. He wants to discuss terms. Tomorrow night at eleven."

"It's a trap. He won't give up Phillip. He wants to hurt you and he knows it will hurt you if he kills Phillip."

"I know that." Her gaze went to the blood-soaked bed. "Gardner was a Judas. He killed him to keep from having to pay him. He killed Jordan and the nurse just because they were there."

"We have to leave, Megan," Grady said gently. "If the nurse shift changes anytime soon, we don't want to be caught here. There would be too many explanations and explanations will bog us down."

She didn't want to leave yet. Gardner had betrayed Phillip and she cared nothing about him. She didn't care how idealistic his reasons were for doing it. For once she felt no empathy for another's pain. He could have found another to get his funding. But Jordan and the head nurse had also died in this room. It seemed callous to just walk away from them.

"Megan."

"Okay, okay." She got to her feet and headed for the door. "I know what you're saying. I just don't like it." She strode down the hall toward the front entrance. The corridors were as dim and quiet as they had been when they had walked toward Phillip's room.

Dead quiet.

And so were those three people who had been alive and well and full of purpose only hours before.

She took out her phone as they reached the car. "I'm calling 911 and telling them that there's an emergency situation in this annex. I can't leave this place unattended. There are helpless patients that might need urgent care."

"Go ahead." He started the car. "We'll be blocks away before they get anyone over here from the main building." His phone rang and he picked up. "We're leaving the grounds, Harley. You and Renata get out quick." He listened for a moment. "Okay, we'll get back to her." He hung up. "Renata has been following the nurse who ran out of the annex. She didn't like the fact that she was in such a big hurry and that her car had no hospital parking ID. She tried to call you but wasn't getting an answer. So she called Harley and told him to get in touch."

"Did Harley spot Darnell or any other Molino men here?"

He shook his head. "But he found a truck that met the description. Darnell might have had to transport Phillip in an ambulance to avoid suspicion and been forced to leave his truck. Harley's going through the glove box now."

"If Darnell's as smart as you told me, he won't have left any evidence."

He shrugged. "You can never tell. At least, we have two threads to Molino to work on that we didn't have before."

"If Renata doesn't lose that nurse she was following."

"I don't believe Renata has a habit of losing what she's going after," he said dryly. "Call her."

"After 911." She was already dialing. "The patients." He nodded. "By all means, after the patients."

RENATA'S CELL PHONE WENT immediately to voice mail when Megan called. She tried three other times and got the same result.

"She has her cell phone turned off." She bit her lower lip. "Or someone else turned it off for her."

"The nurse?"

"If she worked for Molino she could be as bad as he is. For God's sake, the least she did was stand by and let three people be butchered."

"I don't believe she could take down Renata. From what Harley said she's remarkable."

She dialed again. "Renata is wounded. And she doesn't know for certain that the nurse was—She's picking up. Thank God. Are you okay, Renata?"

"I'm fine," Renata said. "I was just a little busy. It was a trap?"

"Yes. Dr. Gardner, the head nurse, Madge Holloway, and Jordan, the guard were murdered. Phillip is gone. Molino has him. The woman you followed is a phony."

"I'd already gotten that far. Well, a little more actually. The name of the woman I followed is Hedda Kipler. She does work for Molino and she's pretty good at his brand of ugliness."

"How do you know?"

"I told you I was busy. We're at her motel room at the Fairfield Inn on Highway 40. Come and get her." We re on our way.

"Take your time. We're having a nice chat, aren't we, Hedda?"

Megan hung up and turned to Grady. "Fairfield Inn on Highway 40. She said that there's no hurry, but I'm not sure that's true."

"Why?"

"She already knows the woman's real name. I don't know how much Cousin Mark has taught Renata about interrogation methods."

THE FIRST THING MEGAN SAW when Renata opened the door was Hedda Kipler tied to a chair with a drapery cord. She was gagged and her face was bruised and bloody.

Megan glanced at Renata with a frown. "Renata."

"I didn't do that while I had her trussed up like a turkey," she said quickly. "She jumped me when I got out of the car here at the motel. I had to defend myself." She made a face. "She got in a few licks herself. You're going to have to restitch me."

For the first time Megan noticed the bloody patch on Renata's shoulder. "You opened your wound. Sit down and I'll fix it."

"Not now," Grady said. "We need to know about her orders from Molino before he finds out we have her." He glanced at Renata. "How much did you get out of her before we came?"

"I need to tend to that wound," Megan said. "And she said she was only defending herself."

"To start off with. I imagine she's not totally innocent, are you, Renata?"

She met his gaze. "No, I'd already shaken her up. I had to follow through or it might have taken hours or days to pump her. Mark would have thought it 'inefficient.'" She turned to Megan. "I didn't do any permanent damage. Just enough to make her know I was serious. She helped them take your Phillip. Would you rather I let her lie and make up stories until it was too late for him?"

She wearily shook her head. "No, but I don't like it that it was you who did this. There has to be damage to you too."

"What did you find out?" Grady asked again.

"She's worked for Molino in Paris, Athens, and Miami in the past ten years. She's done everything from transporting drug money to be laundered to jobs like this one tonight. She thinks he's got a hideaway in Tennessee, but she's never been there." Shit.

"But she has been to an apartment he keeps in Miami. 1230 Ocean View. Last month she delivered a package to him there from Central Africa."

"He's not in Miami now, dammit."

"No, but you can get the CIA to go to his apartment and get me that personal object I need to find him. They don't seem to be able to get anything from anywhere else."

"Are you sure there's something you can use in that apartment?" Megan asked.

Renata's lips twisted. "Oh, yes. Hedda Kipler says he keeps the things she brought him in the second drawer in the chest by the bathroom door. Tell them to bring me any object in that drawer and I'll be able to find Molino."

"You seem certain."

Renata's gaze shifted to meet the malevolent glare of Hedda Kipler. "Absolutely."

"Megan is supposed to meet with Molino at Redwing, Tennessee, tomorrow night. Redwing could be a starting point for you." Grady shrugged. "Or maybe not. He could have chosen a place to meet at the opposite end of the state from his headquarters."

"I'll try Redwing. If you can make the CIA move fast, I'll be out there on the road tomorrow."

"I'll call Venable right away," Grady said. "He can send someone to pick up Hedda Kipler and get a man out to Molino's Miami apartment. Will Molino be expecting a contact from her?"

Renata shook her head. "She phoned Sienna when she left the hospital. Darnell had left over an hour before with Phillip in an ambulance. He'd pretended to be delivering a new patient to the annex and he and another of Molino's men were sent into Phillip's room to see Gardner. After that it was all over." She glanced at Megan. "You did know that Gardner was in Molino's pay?"

Megan nodded. "Molino told me."

"Gardner had it all set up. At that time of evening there are only two nurses on duty at a time. There's not much to do for coma patients after they're tucked in for the night. Gardner said he didn't need them and to save money he sent both of them back to the main nursing home. Hedda's job was to stay until Megan was inside the room and Molino could contact her."

"Cold bitch."

"She's foul. I was almost hoping she'd give me an excuse to put her down," Renata said. "But she has guts. Anyone could have come in and questioned her right to be there. She obeyed orders and stayed."

"And she didn't make any other calls?"

"She would have told me if she had." Renata sat down in the chair. "Now patch me up, will you? My damn shoulder is starting to bleed again."