Текст книги "Body of Lies "

Автор книги: Iris Johansen

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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

All the pieces were falling together.

And the picture they were making was scaring him to death.

“He’s still pretty ugly, even without the sticks.” Galen tilted his head as he studied the skull on the pedestal. “Maybe it’s those empty eye sockets.”

“Go away, Galen.”

“Nope, it’s eight o’clock and you’ve been here since six this morning. Time to close up shop. I’m going to walk you home and feed you. Rick would let you work all night.”

“I’m not ready to go.”

“Are you going to be able to finish him tonight?”

“No way. I’ve still got a good four days’ work. Maybe more.”

“Then you’ll do better with some rest. Since there’s no urgency.”

“There is urgency.”

“Not for you. Melton can wait.”

He didn’t understand. When she started work, the urgency came from within. It was as if the person she was reconstructing was urging her, whispering to her: Find me. Help me. Bring me home.

“What color?” Galen was still gazing at the eye sockets. “How do you know what color to use for the eyes?”

“I don’t. I usually put in brown. It’s the most common eye color. Why are those sockets bothering you?”

“I knew a bloke in Mozambique who’d had his eyes cut out by a nasty customer in the drug trade. He got along surprisingly well, but it always gave me the chills.”

“I can see why.”

“It made me mad. I hate mutilation. No one should do that to anyone.” Eve turned to look at him. “I’ve never seen you angry.”

“You don’t want to. I get pretty nasty.”

“To that ‘nasty customer in the drug trade’?”

Galen didn’t answer directly. “No one should be allowed to do that,” he repeated.

He suddenly smiled. “Now you’ve done it. You’ve made me dwell on that unpleasantness and I’m all depressed. You have to come home so that I can fix you a fine meal and forget about it. It’s therapy.”

“It’s manipulation.” She draped a towel over the skull. “But I’ll let you get away with it. Maybe I am a little tired.”

“Right. Now wash your hands and we’ll be off.” Galen crossed over to the window and looked out at the bayou. “You should really see more of Baton Rouge.

It’s a great town.”

“I had lunch with you the day of Marie’s funeral. I saw Baton Rouge for hours and hours that day. And I didn’t come here to sightsee.”

“Someone needs to take you in hand. There’s more to life than skulls with empty sockets.”

“They’re not empty when I fill them.” Eve dried her hands on a towel. “And I’m not a total workaholic.”

“You come close. Me, I believe in stopping to smell the roses.” Galen opened the door for her. “Though I do know New Orleans better than Baton Rouge. So we’ll walk home very slowly, and I’ll tell you the history of the Big Easy and maybe a few bits of the history of my stays there. You can decide which is more entertaining.” Galen’s stories were definitely more entertaining, and lasted the walk back to the plantation house. They were bawdy, funny, and full of colorful characters and incidents.

“His name was really Marco Polo?” Eve asked. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“No way. He said his mum named him that because he was destined to be a great explorer. Actually, he fit right in with some of the weirdos who inhabit the French Quarter. He wore thirteenth-century garb whenever he was at home, and he had a particular fondness for Chinese prostitutes. I don’t think that was the kind of Oriental exploration his mum had in mind, but who am I– Shit!” He jerked her to one side and stepped in front of her. “Who the hell are you?”

“Quinn.” Joe stepped out of the shadows next to the front door. “As Eve’ll tell you, if you’ll get away from her.”

Eve stared at him in shock. “Joe?”

“You remember my name? I guess I should be grateful.”

“You shouldn’t have come. I don’t want you here.”

“You’ve made that clear. Tough. I’m here and I’m staying.”

“Where’s Jane?”

“She’s fine. She’s with your mother. Sandra’s husband and little Mike are in Oregon on a fishing trip. The kid’s real mother was jailed again for drugs and they thought he should get away for awhile. Your mother was glad to have the company.“ Shock was being replaced by anger. “I told you when I left I didn’t want you to come with me. Go back to Atlanta, Joe.”

“Sorry.” He turned to Galen. “What’s been going on here?”

“None of your business,” Eve said. “Go home.”

Joe whirled on her and his words spat out like bullets. “You listen to me. I’m not going to barge in on your cozy little establishment here. I know you wouldn’t have me in the same house. But I’m staying. You can’t stop me. Now I’m coming in and I’m going to tell you a few things, and then either you or Galen is going to fill me in on what’s been happening here.”

“I think we’d better invite him in, Eve,” Galen said as he unlocked the door. “I do hate scenes in public.”

“He’s leaving. There’s not going to be a scene.”

“Yes, there is. At this point I’m ready to burn down the whole damn parish if I don’t get my way.”

“We wouldn’t want that,” Galen said. “I’ve just been telling Eve what a fine little metropolis this is.”

“Oh, was that what you were telling her?” Joe murmured. “I would have guessed something entirely different.”

“Uh-oh. Is that the way the wind’s blowing?” Galen flung open the door. “Come in, Quinn. I can see this is going to be an interesting chat.” His gaze shifted to Eve.

“Give him twenty minutes, Eve. He obviously has something we might need to hear.

From what I’ve heard about him, he’s not stupid enough to have come all this way without a reason.”

“I don’t want to—” She might as well get it over. She knew that expression on Joe’s face. He wasn’t budging. “Twenty minutes.” She passed Joe and went into the house.

“I'll be right back.“ Galen was running up the stairs. ”I have to check the upstairs.

If you want to make yourself useful, you might check the downstairs, Quinn.“

“You trust me to do that?” Joe asked sarcastically. “Your faith is—” But Galen was out of hearing. Joe turned and went toward the first door on the left. “Is this the kitchen?”

“Dining room. Kitchen adjoins it.”

Joe opened the door. “Stay here.”

“The hell I will.” Eve followed him through the dining room into the kitchen, and watched him while he checked the two pantries, under the table in the kitchen, and the dining room. “It’s not fair for you to do this. I’m not ready to see you, Joe.”

“Will you ever be ready?” He went past her into the hall. “Is that a parlor?” She nodded and watched as he checked the room out.

“Okay?” Galen was coming down the stairs. “Now that we have that out of the way, I don’t suppose you’d like a glass of wine or a cup of coffee? No, I didn’t think so.” He came into the parlor and sat down on the velvet couch. “You’ll excuse me for sitting down before you, Eve, but I can tell by your stance that you’re in no mood for relaxing.” He turned to Joe. “She’s bristling. I believe you’d better hurry a bit.”

“I don’t need your advice. I know Eve better than you’ll ever know her.” His gaze never left Eve’s face. “Don’t I?”

“Do you? I thought I knew you.”

“You do. You just don’t want to accept what you know, what you’ve always known.” He shook his head. “I can’t get through to you. Screw it. It doesn’t make any difference right now. I have to tell you about Capel.”

“Who’s Capel?”

“George Capel. He’s the doctor I bribed to send you that positive DNA report and bury the real one.”

“And the man who sent me the real report.”

“It wasn’t Capel. It didn’t compute that he would do that without trying to get more money out of me first… unless someone paid him an enormous amount of cash. So I started digging. Capel hadn’t shown up for work in a couple days, so I assumed he’d flown the coop.” Joe’s lips tightened. “He knew I’d be looking for him.

But someone had to have suspected something to have gotten to Capel. I went to the DNA lab and asked questions. I went through a dozen administrative clerks before I found one who remembered a police officer from Forsythe County who’d asked to check Bonnie’s records. The clerk was pretty upset because she couldn’t find them.

The police officer asked who would have been in charge of the case, and she told him George Capel and asked if he’d like to see him. He told her he’d come back when he had more time. Two neighbors saw a small, dark man with Capel later that day. They went to his house and then left again. A man of the same description accompanied Capel to the bank the same day. The bank teller who let him into the vault commented that he looked sick. He told her he had the flu. My guess is that the man who was at the DNA lab suspected some shenanigans when there was no record to be found and decided to check out Capel. He struck pay dirt. Capel was fairly transparent, and wouldn’t have been difficult to break for anyone determined enough. He was probably forced to go to his house so the guy could search it. No DNA record. Then it got serious. I believe a good deal of time was spent persuading Capel to reveal where he’d placed the record. Then they went to the bank and got it.

It was no wonder he looked sick. He was probably in severe pain.”

“All this because of Bonnie’s DNA record?” Eve asked skeptically. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“Does the fact that we found Capel’s body two days ago convince you?” Her eyes widened. “What?”

“Murdered?” Galen asked.

Joe nodded. “Knife wound from the back. Several other cuts on his body.”

“The means of persuasion,” Galen murmured.

“That’s what I figure.”

Eve dazedly shook her head. “Why?”

“You,” Joe said. “Why did you come here? What drove you?”

“You know why I came.”

“Hell, yes, I know. It was very well orchestrated. The defacement of the grave to send the first shock wave. Then the arrival of the DNA report. A one-two punch that sent you running as far away from me as possible. And wasn’t it convenient that you had a job beckoning here?”

“You’re saying that man was murdered to get me here?”

“Do you want more proof? The shoe prints at the hill were made by shoes from a company with heavy distribution in this state. They led to tracks made by tires that are standard issue on the Saturn. I had a composite sketch drawn of the man who went with Capel to his house and the bank. I had the bank security videos checked, but he was too smart and was looking away from the camera. But both the neighbors and the bank clerk agreed on the face in the sketch, so I played a hunch and took it to the rental car agencies at the airport. Bingo. Avis rented a Saturn to a Karl Stolz from Shreveport, Louisiana. He paid by credit card and was very pleasant to the clerk. He returned the car and boarded a plane for Baton Rouge the day you told Melton you’d take the job.“

“You’ve done a good job of putting it together,” Galen said. “I suppose you traced the credit card.”

“Billed to the real Karl Stolz at an address in Shreveport. A case of stolen identity.

He hasn’t left his home for the past six months.” His hands clenched into fists at his sides. “Believe me, Eve. All this was done to draw you to Baton Rouge. Now get the hell out of here.”

It was incredible. Yet she did believe him. “You’re saying this man tried to ruin my life and killed a man just to get me to take this job?” She tried to think. “Melton?”

“I called him before I got on the plane today. He denies everything, of course, but the entire mess seems to lead toward him—or an associate.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t squeeze that out of him.”

“I didn’t have time.”

Eve shook her head. “Go home, Joe. I don’t want you involved. If there’s a problem, I’ll handle it.”

“You mean you don’t want me in your life. Well, that’s too bad. You’re not the only victim here. Whoever killed Capel did a damn good job of messing up my life, too. Now are you going to tell me what’s been going on here?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Then I’ll find out on my own.” He turned on his heel. “If you change your mind, you can reach me at the Westin Hotel.”

“Wait.” Galen got to his feet. “Could I see you for a few moments in private, Quinn? Why don’t you go upstairs and rest, Eve?”

“Galen,” she warned.

“You’re not involving him. I am. I’ll take all the help I can get. He’s better occupied in helping than blundering around and getting in my way trying to find out a few simple facts.” He smiled. “You can still keep your distance. Let me deal with him.”

“I don’t want him here.”

“I do.” Galen smiled. “So unless you’re going to pack up and go home, he stays.

Not close. On the edge. But he stays. So go and rest and I’ll fix you dinner after Quinn leaves.”

“Stop treating me like a child. I’m not hungry and I’ll do what I please.” Eve strode out of the room and up the stairs. Dammit, she hadn’t expected Galen to turn on her. It had come as a surprise—but not as big a shock as the ugly story that Joe had told her. It seemed impossible that anyone would go to such diabolical lengths to get her here. That man had delved into the most painful area of her life and used Bonnie to manipulate her.

A surge of rage tore through her. Son of a bitch. And what about the story that had been told to her by Melton. How much was truth and how much was lies?

Marie and Pierre Letaux? They had been killed to keep her from doing the reconstruction. Where did they fit in?

Oh, she just didn’t know. She couldn’t think right now. She was confused and angry, and the shock and hurt she’d experienced when she’d seen Joe didn’t make it any better. For that first split second she’d felt such soaring joy that it had rocked her, and then she had remembered and the pain had come rushing back.

She had to get Joe to leave Baton Rouge. She couldn’t live with this kind of confusion, and she certainly couldn’t work.

Work? She felt a sudden icy chill as she realized that maybe she shouldn’t be as worried about finishing Victor as about just surviving.

Chapter 8

« ^ »

" EVIDENTLY YOU HAVEN’T GOTTEN TO KNOW EVE AS WELL AS I THOUGHT,” JOE SAID

to Galen as they heard Eve’s door slam. “You should never treat her with condescension.”

“I hardly think you can qualify as an expert on the subject. You’ve put your ass on the line with her,” Galen said.

Joe stiffened. “She told you about the DNA report?”

“That bothers you, doesn’t it? No, Logan told me everything you told him. You took a big chance.” He changed the subject. “Now, do you want to know what’s been going on here or not?”

Joe was silent a moment. “I want to know.”

“That wasn’t too painful, was it?” Galen filled him in on the events since Eve had arrived in Baton Rouge.

Joe was cursing by the time he finished. “Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you let me know?”

“Logan hired me, not you. And the only way I could keep Eve willing to accept me here was to agree not to tell you anything. So it was really your fault.”

“And you’re enjoying telling me that.”

“Antagonism always brings out the worst in me. Did you turn over the sketch to the FBI to see if they could track anything down for you?”

“They couldn’t. No matches.”

“I’d like to see the sketch. The man who took Eve to the hospital that night fits the description. We can run it by the admittance personnel. Do you have it here?”

“I have several copies at the hotel. I’ll give you one.” Joe looked up the stairs. “She won’t listen to me. Can’t you talk her out of staying here?”

“I’ll try. She’ll be absolutely furious with Melton if she thinks he’s connected with the things you told her about. On the other hand, she’s caught up in the work on Victor. I had to drag her away tonight.”

“Dammit, it’s clear whoever is behind this isn’t playing for small stakes. One false step and she could be—‘ He broke off and took a deep breath. ”I can’t take not being here to help her. It’s driving me crazy.“

“You’re not keeping it a secret,” Galen said. “I’ll do my best. In the meantime, give me your cell phone number and I’ll try to keep you informed.”

“I want to be more than informed.”

“It’s the best I can do. You lurk around here and Eve will explode. Trust me, I’ve taken good care of her. I’ll keep on doing it.”

“I don’t trust you, and I don’t want you to—” Joe jammed a card with his name and cell number at Galen, turned, and moved toward the door. “If you don’t let me know what’s going on, I’ll tear you apart.”

“I do hate threats. They offend my genteel nature.”

“Bullshit.”

“Now what can I do to get my own back? What would rub you raw?” Galen smiled maliciously. “Shall I tell you how well I’ve gotten to know Eve? We’ve exchanged viewpoints and past history. We’ve eaten together, and shared sadness and death. I’ve protected her and held her in my arms.“

“You bastard.”

“I thought that would do it.” He passed Joe and went toward the kitchen. “Now I have to go and get us a bite to eat.”

Joe was tempted to go after him and strangle him.

Galen looked over his shoulder and shook his head. “I’m her safety net, Quinn.

Get rid of me and you’ll be up shit creek.”

Joe muttered a curse and jerked open the front door.

“Oh, I forgot to mention one small thing,” Galen said. “I was in her bedroom naked a few nights ago.” He disappeared into the kitchen.

Joe could feel the pulse pound in his temple as he started to follow him. He stopped and drew a deep breath. Keep calm. Galen had wanted to score off him. He could have been lying.

And he could have been telling the truth. Okay, accept it. If he’d been telling the truth and Eve had taken Galen as a lover, then he’d just have to take it. His own hands were tied. He needed the bastard to keep Eve alive. He couldn’t touch him.

Not now.

Later.

“I’ve brought you a sandwich,” Galen said when Eve opened the door to his knock. “I know you said you weren’t hungry, but you’ve got to stoke the furnace if you want to finish Victor.”

“I don’t like to be overruled, Galen,” she said coolly. “Particularly when it concerns my personal affairs.”

“But it doesn’t only concern your personal affairs. It concerns your life, and that’s what I’ve been hired to preserve. So you do what you please about Quinn, but if I need him, I’ll use him.” He set the tray down on the bedside table. “Logan tells me he’s an ex-SEAL, besides his FBI and police training. He may come in handy.”

“No one uses Joe.”

“That’s why it’s so much fun.” Galen took a string of silver bells out of his pocket and crossed the room toward the balcony. “That balcony’s been bothering me, and I’m tired of checking it a couple times a night.”

“I didn’t know you did.”

“That’s because I’m so good.” He went out on the balcony and tied the string of bells on one of the wrought-iron spokes. He grasped another spoke a few feet away and pulled at it. Immediately a shower of tinkling sound drifted on the night air.

“There we go. Thank God for this shaky ironwork. Not exactly high tech, but it sounds pretty and it’s loud enough to alert me if we have a cat burglar.” He looked back over his shoulder with a mischievous smile. “Or if Quinn decides to pull a Romeo and Juliet scene. ‘Once more unto the breach…’ ”

“That last line is from Henry V.”

“I never let accuracy get in the way if a quote fits.”

“And Joe is too pragmatic to play Romeo.”

“He didn’t impress me as being that pragmatic. He was seething tonight, and he didn’t like me this close to you. It amused me at first, but then my defense mechanisms kicked in and I’m afraid I was a little naughty.”

“What did you do?”

“Oh, this and that.” Galen jiggled the spoke again, instigating another shower of silver sound. “That is pretty.” He left the balcony, closed the doors, and locked them.

“Eat your sandwich and try to get some sleep. I know what Quinn told you upset you.”

“Of course it did.” Eve shuddered. “I feel… violated. That bastard used my little girl and tried to twist my life to suit himself. And what he did to Capel…”

“I’m surprised that bothers you. Capel did some heavy manipulating of you himself.”

“No, that was Joe. He manipulated Capel and me. When Joe makes a decision, opposing him is like trying to stop a tornado.”

“I got that impression.” Galen moved toward the door. “But you may be being a little rough on him.”

“You don’t know anything about it, Galen.”

“You’re right, but that never stops me from offering an opinion.” He smiled back at her as he opened the door. “Good night, Eve. Be sure to eat that fantastic ham sandwich I made so you can praise me in the morning.” She shook her head as the door shut behind him. He was completely impossible.

She looked at the sandwich without enthusiasm, but picked it up and started to eat.

He was right. She needed strength. Not only to work, but to get through this nightmare that was escalating whenever she turned around. She had to plow through all that Joe had told her and everything that had happened since she got here, and make a decision.

She should probably pack up and go back to Atlanta.

But Victor was waiting. She could feel him calling her. She was getting closer to bringing him home every day.

She had to think, and it was impossible with the emotional upheaval she’d been thrown into when she’d seen Joe again.

Jesus, she wished he hadn’t come.

The bells on the balcony jingled softly in the darkness.

Eve stiffened in bed, her gaze flying to the French doors.

The bells jingled again.

“Stay put.” Galen was at her bedroom door. “We have a visitor.” He moved in darkness toward the balcony. “And not too bright a one if he’s still trying after he heard that first jingle.”

“Be careful,” she whispered. She could barely see him in the darkness, but then the door was flung open and he was outside on the balcony. She heard a crash and jumped out of bed and ran after him.

Galen and another man were struggling on the floor of the balcony.

Galen’s arm lifted and his fist came down on the jaw of his antagonist.

The man went limp.

“Also not much of an opponent,” Galen said as he got off him and dragged the man past Eve into the bedroom. “This job is proving no challenge at all.” She followed him into the room. “I’m sorry you don’t believe he’s worthy of your talents, but I find men crawling over my balcony threatening enough.” The man, who appeared to be in his mid-forties, had heavy Slavic features and dark hair peppered with gray. “Did you hurt him?”

“Nah, he has a glass jaw.” Galen squatted beside the man and searched his pockets. “And a potbelly. He’s in lousy shape for this kind of—”

“Shit.” The man’s hazel eyes had opened; he was glaring up at Galen. “I think you broke every bone in my face. What the hell did you do that for?”

“It seemed appropriate.” Galen put a knee on the man’s chest. “Eve doesn’t like second-story men.” He opened the man’s wallet and checked the driver’s license.

“Bill Nathan, age forty-seven. Eye color is right, but the weight’s wrong. He’s a good fifteen pounds heavier than it says here.”

“So I gained a little weight when I quit smoking.” Nathan’s glance shifted to Eve.

“Will you call this… bastard off me so that I can talk to you?”

“My name is Sean Galen, and you’re in no position to call me anything but sir.” Galen finished searching him. “He’s clean.” He handed her a card. “Press ID. He’s with the Times Picayune… maybe.”

Nathan scowled. “Are you going to let me up?”

Galen glanced inquiringly at Eve.

She nodded.

“Maybe I shouldn’t—” Galen shrugged. “Oh, well, he’s not much threat either way.” He stood, pulled Nathan to his feet, and then pushed him into the chair beside the bed. “Talk to me. What are you doing here?”

“I’m on a rescue mission, dammit. And I don’t like being tossed around like this.”

“Why the balcony?”

“I wasn’t sure whether the front door was being watched. Do you think I like crawling up the side of a house like some nutty superhero comic-book character?”

“It’s definitely not your area of expertise,” Galen said.

“Let him talk, Galen,” Eve said. “What do you want from us, Nathan?”

“In the short term, I want to save your necks. In the long term, I’m hoping for a Pulitzer.”

“Save us from what?”

“From finishing your reconstruction.” Nathan gingerly touched his bruised cheek.

“God, I need a cigarette.”

“You’re saying that finishing the reconstruction is dangerous.”

“I think so. If you finish, they don’t need you anymore, and you may know too much.”

Galen lifted his brows. “You think so?”

“That’s what I said,” he said sourly. “I can’t look into a crystal ball and know what they’ll do. I’m still digging. I don’t know what the hell’s happening yet.”

“You evidently know more than we do,” Eve said. “Who are ‘they’?”

“The Cabal.”

“Sounds like a witch’s coven,” Galen said.

“It’s not funny.” Nathan gave him a poisonous glance before turning back to Eve.

“Don’t you think I was tempted to just let you go on with the reconstruction until I could find out who you were working on? If you don’t finish, I risk losing my story.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

He grimaced. “Ethics. The bane of my existence.”

“Inspiring,” Galen murmured.

“The truth.”

The man’s reply was both bad-tempered and defiant, but Eve thought she could also sense honesty. “How did you know I was working on the skull?”

“I didn’t. I followed the skull and staked out the church.” He paused. “I’m not the only one. I almost stumbled over two guys near the church.”

“Guards. There are four, sometimes five,” Galen said. “And much more talented than you.”

“I’m a journalist, not a thug.”

“From where did you follow the skull?” Eve asked.

“Well, I didn’t exactly follow it. Etienne told me it was going to be taken to the church.”

“Etienne?”

“Etienne Hebert.” He drew a deep breath. “Look, I can’t have a cigarette, so will you at least give me a cup of coffee? I need the caffeine.”

“This isn’t a social occasion,” Galen said. “Conversation first.”

“Oh, for God’s sake. If I hadn’t intended to tell you everything I know, I wouldn’t have come here tonight. As you’ve pointed out, I’m no great shakes at this kind of thing.”

“True. But it could be a ploy.”

Eve made a decision. “We’ll go down to the kitchen and get some coffee. He looks like he could use it.”

Galen shrugged. “Whatever.” He stood aside as Nathan got up and headed for the door. “I hope you don’t regret it, Eve.”

“A cup of coffee?” She followed them out into the hall. “I don’t think that’s being particularly soft. I have questions to ask, and he may as well be comfortable while he answers them.” She gave Nathan a cool glance. “And I assure you that you will answer them.”

Ten minutes later she was pouring steaming coffee into Nathan’s cup. “And who is Etienne Hebert?”

“I don’t think the present tense applies to Etienne.” Nathan took a drink of coffee, and gave a deep sigh of satisfaction. “I think Jules killed him.” He held up his hand at Eve’s exclamation. “Okay, okay. Let me do this in my own way. I’ll start in the beginning. About a month ago I received a phone call at my office from a man named Etienne Hebert. He said he knew what had happened to Harold Bently, and that Bently was the smallest part of the story. He asked me to meet him outside New Orleans, at a little crab shack on the Mississippi.”

“Why you?”

“How the hell do I know? Maybe because I covered the Bently disappearance for the newspaper.” He took another sip of coffee. “Anyway. I met him. He was a big guy, not over twenty-one or -two, and seemed a little simple at first glance.” He shook his head. “But he wasn’t that dumb. After I talked to him for a while, I realized he was smarter than I first thought. He was just troubled, and feeling guilty about talking to me. He had a big brother, Jules, and there was no way he wanted to get him in trouble. It was obvious he had a king-size case of hero worship. Etienne was only a fisherman, but Jules was the smart one in the family. He was the only one who made it to college.” He grimaced. “Maybe it would have been better for him if he hadn’t. He was a junior at Tulane when the Cabal recruited him.”

“What’s the Cabal?”

“It’s a secret society that’s been in existence since the early 1900s.”

“Secret society?” Galen said. “Be for real.”

“I couldn’t be more serious.”

“And the society is named the Cabal? For God’s sake, that means secret society.

They must be seriously lacking in imagination.”

“They’re called that because their members are drawn from the top echelon of other organizations.” Nathan grimaced. “And they think of themselves as the ultimate secret society.”

Galen snorted.

“That was my reaction until I did my homework,” Nathan said. “There are hundreds of secret societies around the world, and the U.S. has taken them to its heart. The Freemasons, the Odd Fellows, Skull and Bones.” He studied Eve’s expression. “I know. They all sound a little ludicrous—unless you study the membership lists. Did you know both George Bush and George W. Bush belong to Skull and Bones, and George W.‘s only comment about his membership was that he couldn’t talk about it?”

“So what? I assume there’s no proof that Skull and Bones is involved in any nefarious activities?”

“No proof. But there are also members in positions of power in the CIA and on Wall Street and practically every level of the business world. It’s not only Skull and Bones. The Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations have always been influential. The Bilderberg Group is supposed to be so powerful it can influence worldwide politics itself. Margaret Thatcher’s career took off like a rocket after she attended a Bilderberg meeting. The same thing happened to Tony Blair after he was invited to a meeting in Vouliagmeni, Greece. In 1991, David Rockefeller invited Arkansas governor Bill Clinton to a meeting in Baden-Baden, Germany.”

“Now wait a minute. I respect Bill Clinton and Tony Blair.”

“So do I. I’m not accusing them. I’m just trying to show you the influence a secret society could wield. Probably the great majority of the members of these societies are totally in the dark about the activities, unaware of the elite groups in their organizations. I don’t even know which groups are part of the Cabal. Maybe none of the ones I mentioned. Maybe all of them.” He shrugged. “Etienne didn’t know how many secret societies were involved. He only knew what Jules had told him, and that was that the Cabal comprised the highest echelon from several organizations, and that these elite members used their societies to influence the world economy.”

“How?”