Silencing Eve (32 page)

Wires. Eat the wires.

Run.

Eat.

Eat …

*   *   *

“YOU’RE PALE,” TREVOR SAID
as Margaret strolled across the parking lot toward their rental car. “Something go wrong?”

“Nah, I guess I’m a little tired.” Margaret jumped into the backseat. “Was it a good game? Did the Cubs win?”

“We wouldn’t know,” Jane said. “Do you really think that we’d be able to concentrate on a ball game? Not likely, Margaret.”

“Did Caleb call? Anything on Harriet?”

“She went back to the hotel after she left the bank. No other calls or visitors,” Trevor said as he started the car. “And why are you asking questions instead of answering them?”

“I’m trying to get my head together.” She shrugged. “I’m a little … scattered. I feel…” She tried to find the right word. “Chewed.”

“Pleasant,” Trevor said.

“No, it wasn’t. Believe me, it wasn’t.” She was silent a moment. “But it was productive. At least, I think it was.” She added. “The nuke is not in that field scoreboard and clock or anywhere around it. I didn’t think it could be when I saw the interior, but there’s always a possibility. But the rats know that scoreboard and surrounding areas inside and out, and they’re not familiar with anyplace that could house a device.”

Trevor’s brows lifted. “They told you so?”

“Trevor,” Jane said. “She’s having enough trouble with this.”

Margaret smiled. “Thanks. I don’t like rats much. I have a hard time dealing with them. They … drain me.”

“And it was all for nothing?”

“I didn’t say that. I said the nuke wasn’t at Wrigley Field.” She paused. “But there’s a good chance it might be at the other clock tower.”

Jane stiffened. “What?”

“There are a couple of the older rats that evidently commute back and forth between the baseball field and the other clock tower. The pickings are richer here during the summer and fall. But when the stadium closes up, and it gets cold, the office complex is the place of choice for the winter.”

“So?”

“There’s a death memory in the lower level, near the river. Several rats were killed when they tried to gnaw through the wires surrounding a box that had been slid into a cavity in the walls.”

“How long ago?”

She shook her head. “I only get impressions. It’s lucky there’s a memory at all. But rats don’t necessarily always learn from their mistakes. Those old rats keep going back when they’re hungry. There’s plastic that they gnaw at … and some kind of circular-tube-type gadget.”

“If they ate the wires, maybe they actually disconnected the bomb,” Jane said.

“Or if they were outside the box, maybe the wires were meant to be an alarm system,” Trevor said. “That seems more likely. Kevin would have wanted to protect his treasure. Could you tell what else was in the room, Margaret?”

“No.” She thought about it. “But the circular tube had a WR—and the rest has been eaten. The only reason that made any impression on them was that it was on the wall.”

“They’re into wall art?” Trevor asked.

Margaret gave him a disgusted glance. “No, haven’t you noticed that you seldom see a rat in the middle of the room? That’s because they have terrible vision, and they feel uneasy unless they can hug the wall.”

“It never occurred to me,” Jane said. “But the nuke device is tucked away in the wall, and, therefore, it’s rat fodder?”

“It’s possible. I guess it could be some other box that’s been hidden there,” Margaret said. “But no one goes to that room. It’s deserted whenever the rats decide to raid.”

“Then it’s worth a shot,” Trevor murmured. “Let’s get back to the hotel and get a schematic of the Wrigley building and see if we can figure out where that room is located.” He smiled at Margaret. “Of course, we could send you back and have the rat third degree continue.”

“No, you couldn’t,” Margaret said flatly. “I’m done. It’s up to you now.” She leaned back on the seat. “Take me back to the hotel. I need a hot shower and a long nap.” She closed her eyes. “Then I’ll be fine. Too many rats … I just have to get away from them…”

*   *   *

“HERE’S THE WRIGLEY
floor
plan.” Caleb turned his iPad around on the room-service table. “It’s a damn big building.”

“We only want the lower floors.” Margaret was scanning the floor plan. “And probably an area that’s not usually frequented. Kevin wouldn’t have wanted to risk stashing the device somewhere that it would have been easily discovered.”

“And how do we find a room where no one would generally go?” Jane grimaced. “Particularly in a high-rental place like that building. It’s not reasonable that any space would be wasted.”

“And we could spend all evening going over this map and still not be sure.” Trevor was gazing down at the computer. “But there’s one way we’d know for sure.” He jabbed his finger at a cubicle on the plan. “Security.”

“What?” Jane frowned. “Security’s not even on the lower level.”

“No, but their motion cameras are focused down there. They’d be all over the building.” Caleb nodded. “And if we could get our hands on a set of the security tapes, we’d be able to run them and find the type of area that we’re looking for. If there’s no motion activity, then there’s a good chance that we’re close.”

“And how are we to do that?” Jane asked.

Caleb exchanged glances with Trevor. “Distraction, then a discreet snatch. I can provide the distraction. In fact, such a good distraction that they won’t even suspect that you were the one who made off with the tapes.”

“So I’m the one who runs the risk of the snatch,” Trevor said dryly. “And I have to rely on you to make sure that I don’t get arrested.”

“No,” Jane said. “We’ll think of something else, Trevor.”

“No, it’s a good plan.” He smiled at Caleb. “He knew that’s where I was headed when I mentioned security. And I even trust him to make an excellent distraction. It would be too obvious for him to do anything else.”

“What kind of distraction?” Jane asked warily.

“One of the security guards will start worrying about the possibility that he’s having a heart attack.” Caleb held up his hand. “Not pain, I promise. Just a rapid beat. It will end when he’s on his way up to the medical center. The other guard will probably stay with him until he’s at the facility. If he’s not, I’ll have to think of something else.” Caleb turned to Trevor. “I lure the guard away, and you get the tapes. And there would be no immediate discovery of anything wrong. You don’t have to access anything recent. You can go back to past-date files and get a day that’s already been filed away. That would be fine for our purpose.”

“I don’t like it,” Jane said flatly.

“You’d like it less if Harriet flew the coop, and we didn’t know where that nuke was located,” Trevor said. “We may have to move fast, and knowledge is power.”

He was right, Jane thought reluctantly. Harriet was on the move now, and all she was waiting for was Doane to tell her that he had Zander. Time was the enemy.

And time was running out.

Running out for Eve and for all those other innocent people whose lives would be taken if they took a wrong step.

The enormity of that responsibility was suddenly there before Jane.

Dear God, what right did they have to make that choice?

She felt the muscles of her stomach clench. They had been sitting here making plans, ignoring the fact that the situation had changed. Ignoring the fact that they had no idea what Harriet had given to Cartland when she went into the bank. They were working blind, and if there was any possibility that she’d shared information with him about the location of the detonator, it could change everything. She looked at Margaret. “We can’t even be sure that nuke is in that building, can we? It’s all guesswork.”

Margaret nodded. “I never said anything else. I could be wrong.”

And the consequences of guessing wrong were catastrophic. Jane had been struggling desperately to try to fight the battle alone for Eve’s sake. Now she knew she couldn’t take a chance even though it was tearing her apart. God, she felt sick. “We have to bring Venable into it. We don’t have the right to do anything else.”

Trevor reached over and covered her hand on the table. “I was wondering when you’d make that decision,” he said quietly. “I could see it coming.”

“I couldn’t,” she said. “Even Catherine doesn’t trust Venable to put Eve first.” She moistened her lips. “But Eve wouldn’t want us to run that kind of massive risk for her sake. We have to tell Venable what we’ve found out about Harriet.” Her hand clenched around Trevor’s. “
Damn,
I don’t want to do it.”

“So we don’t go after the security tapes?” Caleb asked.

Jane tried to think. “If we call Venable now, and he sends in a team to locate that nuke, then it could ruin any chance of our being able to track Harriet. If she hears about it, she might panic, and that’s the last thing we want.”

“We could verify it’s there,” Caleb suggested. “It will only take a couple hours to get those tapes. Then we could use the location as a bargaining chip with Venable to try to control his actions.”

“He’s not easily controlled,” Jane said. But any way to force Venable to listen to their suggestions to use caution would be valuable. “Okay, we’ll get the tapes, go through them, then call Venable.” She looked at Trevor. “And I’ll go with you to get them.”

Both men instantly shook their heads.

“I’m tired of this. Don’t tell me no,” Jane said. “I won’t stay here and send you out to do my job. That’s happened too often.” She gazed at Trevor. “I’m not going to get in the way. I won’t step in unless I see that you’re in trouble.” She made a face. “You keep saying that it’s your job to act as some kind of guardian for me. I don’t agree with you. But if that’s what you believe, then it should go two ways.”

He shook his head.

“Yes,” she said firmly. “I’ll be your getaway driver or something. I’m going to be with you, Trevor.”

He sighed, then slowly nodded. He glanced at the two machines on the table across the room. “Someone has to monitor those machines.”

“Margaret can do that,” Jane said. “And the only thing we’ve heard from Harriet this evening was her ordering room service.” She looked at Margaret. “Will you do it?”

“Of course,” Margaret said. “Though being a getaway driver would probably be much more interesting. On the other hand, I’ve no desire to chance running into any rats. I’ve had enough of them for today. Besides, I need to call Kendra. She needs to work on figuring out where Kevin and Harriet would have hidden the detonator and what kind of code would set it off. Not that she doesn’t have enough to do. When do you leave?”

“It’s seven now,” Trevor said. “Another hour.” He got to his feet and held out his hand to Jane. “Let’s go to our room. I want to be with you.”

He was not smiling. His expression was curiously grave.

“Trevor?”

Then he smiled. “Stop worrying. I just realized that I’m not going to be able to have my way with you all the time. I don’t like that bit about taking care sometimes going two ways. I want it all.”

“Tough.” She slipped her hand into his grasp as she rose to her feet. She wanted to be alone with him, too. She wanted to hold him. She felt heavy and sad and desperately worried that she was making a terrible mistake that could be fatal for Eve.

And that moment of gravity of Trevor’s had shaken her a little. She’d had the strange feeling that there was something … frightening beneath that flip answer. “But we have an hour for me to show you the error of your thinking.” She didn’t look at either Margaret or Caleb as she and Trevor headed for the door. “Call us if there’s anything we should know, Margaret.”

“Oh, we will,” Caleb said. “Count on it.”

10:05
P.M.

“IT’S ABOUT TIME YOU CALLED ME,
Cartland,” Harriet said curtly. “You said it would only take five or six hours to find MacGuire. I’ve been waiting and I—”

“Be quiet, Harriet,” Cartland said. “I’m not talking to you until you come down to the lobby, and we’re face-to-face.”

She stiffened. “What do you mean? Are you giving me orders?”

“I’m trying to keep you from making a fool of yourself,” he said roughly. “But it’s probably too late. Meet me downstairs in the lobby in ten minutes, and we’ll take a walk.”

“The hell we will. I really would be a fool to go anywhere with you.”

“Meet me in the lobby,” he repeated.

“Why are you—”

But Cartland had hung up.

Harriet felt a mixture of impatience, anger, and panic as she hung up the phone.

How dare he call her a fool? Kevin was right to have broken with Cartland.

She drew a deep breath.

Think, don’t feel. That’s what she’d always told Kevin.

Calm down.

In spite of her precautions, Cartland could be trying to lure her out of the hotel to be taken by his men. They wouldn’t like the idea of a woman’s being in control of the operation.

Or it could be something else.

I won’t talk to you until we’re face-to-face.

She looked down at her phone.

Had she been the fool Cartland had called her?

It could be either one.

She had to know.

She got to her feet and grabbed her handbag. Leave the detonator in the suite or take it with her? If she left it, Cartland’s men might break in and steal it. She would rather trust herself to protect it. She checked her gun, then put it in her handbag beside the detonator.

Now she was prepared to face the bastard and any tricks he might be planning.

She almost hoped Cartland was trying to pull a fast one.

The alternative was humiliating and unacceptable.

CHAPTER

15

CARTLAND WAS STANDING
a few yards away when the elevator door slid open. His expression was grim.

“I’m here,” she said coldly. “But I’m not going anywhere with you.” She nodded at the bar across the lobby. “If you want to talk, we’ll talk there.”

“No. It’s not safe.” He took her arm. “Just walk with me around the lobby. Slowly. It’s not going to take long, then I’m out of here.”