Silencing Eve (14 page)

“We can do it.” He gazed at her coolly. “But the chances are that Doane would notice that kind of search and surveillance. A helicopter zooming down is difficult to mask or hide. Would you want to risk having Doane panic and kill Eve?”

“You know I wouldn’t,” she said between set teeth. “Okay, let the state troopers try to locate them and hope they don’t blow it. What next?”

“There’s the possibility that camera at the tire company didn’t identify the correct car,” he said, as the helicopter started its descent. “We go to the motel, check and see if that room is still occupied.” He smiled faintly. “In which case, I’ll kill Doane, and we’ll avoid a good deal of bother.”

“You can’t kill Doane until we determine if he’s told anyone about where Kevin placed those nuclear devices.”

“Can’t?” His brows rose. “You’re sounding amazingly like Venable. I can and will do anything I please. It’s Venable’s job, and now evidently yours, to take care of saving the free world. Doane has been very troublesome to me since the day I killed his son.” He added, “And very troublesome to your friend, Eve, as well. I’d think you’d want me to get rid of him.”

“You’re being simplistic. That’s what I do want, but do you think Eve would want him killed at that cost?”

He didn’t speak for a moment. “No, but when have I ever exhibited any interest in what she feels or thinks? You’re not being reasonable.”

“The hell I’m not. I’m just not being callous.” Her eyes were glaring into his. “And I’m not being hypocritical. I think you’re lying about not caring about Eve. Why don’t you take a long look at yourself and see what you find?”

“And I think you might just be as idealistic and unrealistic as Eve.” He opened the copter door and jumped to the ground the instant it landed. “We’ll have to see who is right, won’t we?” He strode toward the car that was waiting several yards away. “Stop talking, and let’s get moving.”

*   *   *

“STAND BACK.”
ZANDER WAS
pressed on one side of the motel door. He took out his gun and fired a bullet to blow the lock. He waited a moment, then kicked the door open with his foot.

“Empty.” Catherine entered the room and glanced around. She had not had great hopes, but she still felt terribly disappointed. No sign of any occupants except those two unmade beds. Eve was not overly neat but she never left an unmade bed. Even if the circumstances were totally bizarre, Catherine could not see her doing it.

“Come on,” Zander said impatiently. “We need to get on the road.”

“You wanted to be sure it was Eve and Doane in that Toyota.” She went over to the beds and jerked the covers off first one bed, then the other. Nothing on the surface of the bottom sheet on the first bed.

On the second bed she thought the condition was the same.

No, not quite the same.

She reached down and picked up a few tiny crumbs from the sheet. “Clay. It was Eve. She was here. And she was trying to tell us she was here.” She headed for the door. “Now we can go. Zander, contact those state troopers and see if they’ve seen them on the road.”

*   *   *

VENABLE CALLED CATHERINE
when they’d been on the road just five minutes. “I’ve had a notification from a state trooper on Highway 25 that they saw a vehicle answering the description pull off the main road onto a side road.”

“What’s on that side road?”

“I’m checking it on the map now. Houses, a trailer camp, a small convenience store … Shit! A small private airport. Get the hell out there!”

“An airport,” Catherine said to Zander as she hung up. “They’re not heading for the state border. They’re heading for an airport. We’ve just got to hope that Doane hasn’t already arranged for his flight and that there will be a delay.”

“You hope. I always operate on the worst-case scenario.” Zander’s foot pressed on the accelerator and the car leaped forward. “And that scenario is that Doane has made contact with Kevin’s old friends, and they sent a plane to pick him up. Tell Venable to scramble some airpower and be ready to try to bring them down.”

She reached for her cell, then stopped. “No.”

“What?”

“I’m not sure
how
they’d bring them down, dammit. Venable said that Homeland Security was a little too eager about using the drones.”

“He didn’t mention that to me. But that’s no surprise. Venable and I are not always entirely honest with each other.” He increased speed again. He was going close to a hundred miles an hour now. “Then I believe we’d better forget about airpower and get to them before they take off.”

Fast.

Faster.

The hills on either side of them became a green blur.

They’d be lucky if those state troopers they’d put on alert didn’t try to pull them over, Catherine thought.

She glanced at Zander’s face. It was completely intent and resolute. He would not stop regardless of who tried to get in his way. She felt a sudden chill as she realized she was seeing the Zander who had earned a reputation that was feared in every corner of the world.

He was handling the Mercedes like a race car driver. He suddenly made a turn to the left that caused the tires to screech, but he never lost control. “How far?” he bit out.

“Three miles. On your left.”

Dirt bumping and spraying beneath the tires.

Rocky Mountain Airport.

“Just ahead,” she said. “I see a few hangars…” Her excitement was growing. “There’s a Toyota parked before that little terminal building.” She was getting a glimpse of the runway. “And there’s a plane going down the runway!”

Zander was screeching to a stop in front of a chain-link fence. He drew his gun as he jumped out of the car. “Get the numbers on the side of the plane.”

“You’re going to shoot? You don’t even know if it’s them,” Catherine said as she memorized the number.

“I don’t know that it’s not. It won’t hurt to shoot the tires out before they—” He stopped as the Gulfstream left the runway. “Too late.” He put his gun away. “Now we can go inside and see if they were on that Gulfstream or if they’re in that terminal waiting for us.” His lips twisted. “As usual, I’m subscribing to the worst-case scenario.”

And the worst-case scenario proved to be accurate.

Five minutes later, Catherine was on the phone giving the registration numbers that were on the Gulfstream to Venable as they strode out of the terminal building and over to the Toyota Doane had abandoned.

She hung up the phone as Zander bent over the lock of the car. “Venable said that he’ll make every attempt to locate the plane.” She made a face. “And that the chances aren’t even fifty-fifty if they continue to use out-of-the-way airports like this one.”

“It’s a weapon in the arsenal,” he said as he picked the lock and swung open the door of the driver’s seat. “Now let’s see if we can find any other weapons he might have left in here.”

“I’m surprised you picked the lock. I would have thought you’d shoot the damn thing off. You seem to be so fond of using your gun.”

“Only if I’m in a hurry. We have more time now.” He was rifling through the glove box. “We can start using more mundane methods.”

She raised her eyes to the sky.

The disappointment was hitting home with wrenching force as she realized how close they’d come to Eve only to lose her.

Zander said they had more time now, but she wasn’t so sure.

Doane was moving fast, and it appeared he had help.

How much time did Eve have left?

CHAPTER

8

Muncie, Indiana
Muncie Airport Terminal

“MS. WEBER?” JANE SAID
when Harriet Weber answered her call. “This is Jane MacGuire. You don’t know me, but it’s essential that I talk to you. If I come to the school where you’re teaching, could you spare a few minutes?”

“I’m very busy Ms. MacGuire.” Harriet’s voice was crisp. “I have students who need me. Perhaps we could make an appointment for next week.”

“I need to talk to you right away. I don’t want to disturb you in any way, but I have to ask you a few questions.” She paused. “It concerns your ex-husband and your son.”

Silence. “You’ve got the wrong person. I’m a widow.”

“Your ex-husband’s name was James Relling. When he was placed under federal protection, his name was changed to James Doane.”

Another silence. “Are you a reporter?”

“No.” She paused. “I wonder if you’ve been informed that your ex-husband was recently killed in an explosion?”

She didn’t answer for a moment. “Yes, that CIA agent Venable called me and told me that James and some woman were blown up in a town in Colorado. I told him I didn’t care, that I’d put all that behind me.”

“I do care,” Jane said. “I couldn’t care more. That woman was Eve Duncan, who adopted me when I was ten years old, and he was responsible for her death. Perhaps you saw the media coverage?”

“No, I don’t know anything about her or what happened. I didn’t want to know. I told Venable that James was a stranger to me now, and I didn’t want to hear anything about what kind of terrible things he was doing.” She added harshly, “Is that why you came? You want to heap blame on me because of what he did to that Eve Duncan? Well, it’s not my fault. Venable was supposed to watch him and keep him from doing anything bad. I’ve had nothing to do with James for years.”

“I have no intention of blaming you for anything. I don’t want to cause you any trouble. Just answer a few questions, and I promise I’ll go away and not bother you again.”

“Why won’t you leave me alone?” she said angrily. “I told you, that was another life.”

And Jane was feeling guilty at insisting. But not guilty enough to stop. Every avenue had to be explored with Eve in danger. “Just a few questions.”

Harriet Weber was silent, and Jane could sense the waves of resentment in that silence. “Very well,” she said shortly. “I’ll meet you in the stands at the athletic field behind the school. One hour.” She hung up.

Jane made a face. “She’s not pleased.” She turned to Trevor and Caleb, who had been listening on speaker. “And who can blame her? She worked hard to have a second chance, and she thinks I might blow it for her. I’ll be as glad as she is when this is over.”

Caleb smiled. “But not if you can squeeze something of value out of her. I take it that we’re not invited to go along?”

She shook her head. “All she’d need to send her running for the hills is to see more than one person heading toward her. You’re both high-impact. I sent Margaret to rent a car, and she can drive me, but I’m not letting her come to the meeting either.” She got to her feet and started for the car-rental area. “I have to go down and sign for the car. Margaret’s not old enough. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“And you’re leaving us to our own devices?” Trevor asked. “Boredom can be dangerous.”

“That sounds more like Caleb than you.”

“I have my moments.” He smiled. “Remember?”

Yes, she remembered all of those moments that had been charged with adventure and sex and a thousand other emotions that had made life full of zest. Gazing at him, she could feel a wave of nostalgia sweep over her, warm, sweet … She shook her head. “That was the past, Trevor. I’m living only in the present.”

“Not true. But I’ll settle for the present.” He waved his hand dismissingly. “Have a good chat with Satan’s mother.”

“I will.” Jane felt both their eyes upon her as she headed for the rental-car booth.

She saw Margaret step forward as she approached. “Everything is fine,” she said. “Just sign and show him your ID. I gave him your credit card, so we’re all set.”

“My credit card? How did you get my credit card?”

“I took one of them out of the bedside table drawer in your hospital room a couple weeks ago. I needed it to get to Colorado to find Eve.” She smiled. “I meant to give it back to you, but I kept forgetting.”

Jane stared at her in disbelief. “Don’t you think it would have been a little more honest to have told me … or even asked?”

“Yes, but you were all upset about imposing on me and might not have wanted to have anything to do with sending me after that bastard, Doane.” She smiled with satisfaction. “So I took care of it. I didn’t have enough money for a plane ticket, so I borrowed your credit card. I’ll pay you back later. You can trust me.”

“I’m sure I can.” She signed the rental contract. “In the basics, but not to have everything clear and up front. Don’t do that again, Margaret.”

She nodded. “Whatever.” She headed for the door. “Our car is in the pickup outside. You decided not to intimidate Harriet Weber by bringing along Trevor and Caleb?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “That’s smart. She’ll be much more comfortable with just us.”

“You’re staying in the car.”

“But I’m not intimidating.”

“Margaret,” Jane said dryly as she opened the terminal door, “in your own way, you’re far more intimidating than either Caleb or Trevor.”

*   *   *

“YOU DID A VERY GOOD JOB
of reviving the embers of ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ Trevor,” Caleb said as he watched Jane and Margaret go out into the parking lot. “But it was the wrong time for Jane. You should have waited until she could concentrate fully on you.”

“There’s never a wrong time, Caleb. Not if the emotion is honest, and the memories are good.” He smiled. “And I can understand how you’d feel a trifle annoyed by the fact that Jane and I have a history.”

“I’m not annoyed. I was at first, but it’s just something I have to deal with. In Jane’s eyes, you’re the knight in shining armor, and I’m Merlin the evil magician.” He tilted his head. “You’re a very good knight in shining armor. Not phony. Only interested in Jane’s good. I don’t think that I’ve ever met anyone as genuine as you are. There are even moments when I actually like you, Trevor.”

Trevor burst out laughing. “God, how it must have hurt you to say that.”

“I have my honest moments,” he said. “And I won’t ask you to lie and tell me that liking is returned.” He was no longer smiling. “Because I’m not interested in Jane’s good. I’m too selfish, and I’ve never felt about anyone as I do Jane. White-hot and pure unadulterated lust. And I
will
have her, Trevor. It’s just a matter of time.”