Silencing Eve (7 page)

“So much for privacy on the road.”

“A few years ago, this kind of tracking would have been impossible. The camera feeds would have been recorded on videocassettes and stored at each place. Now the images are recorded on hard drives, usually networked, and thus vulnerable to remote hacking and snooping.” His lips twisted. “And Weiner’s network connections are truly impressive. Once he knows which road or direction Doane is traveling, he’ll be able to follow his path using Google Street View, looking left and right at businesses, banks, etcetera, to see security cameras he can hack.”

“Why tell him to focus on Colorado and Wyoming? For that matter, why are we holed up in this modernistic Taj Mahal instead of going back to Vancouver?”

“A hunch. That jump down into the cavern and the trip downstream was pretty rough. I’d think Doane would want to hole up and recuperate a little before he took to the road. First, he’d want to see if his little scam had worked; and then he’d start pulling a new plan out of his hat.” He nodded at the memorial service broadcasting on the TV set across the room. “This should reassure him that he’s safe to move.” He smiled. “And it will also be the signal for Quinn to go after me and try to grab me as bait for Doane.”

“It sounds like a good plan to me,” Stang said.

“I’ll make a decision on how to handle Doane when I make the approach.”

“It seems to be the only way to keep Eve Duncan alive. Why not go along with Quinn?” He met Zander’s eyes. “And don’t tell me that you don’t care whether or not Eve survives. I’m no expert about analyzing your reactions. God knows, you’ve had decades to grow that hard shell, and I’ve just accepted that it has become part of you. But I watched you after that saloon blew up, and everyone thought Eve and Doane were dead. If you’re capable of caring about anything, you cared that night. You
cared,
Zander.”

Zander gazed at him without expression. “Maybe I was angry that I didn’t get my chance at Doane.”

“I don’t think so. You let me read Eve Duncan’s dossier. You talked to me about Doane and his son, Kevin. That was completely unlike you.”

“Was it?”

“Yes, you wanted me to know about Eve Duncan. You wanted someone to be on her side, to try to convince you to go after her and try to save her.”

“You think I’m that complicated?”

“I think that you’re an unsolvable Rubik’s cube.”

“That you’ve solved?”

“No, but perhaps you’ve given me enough clues to see a way to do it.” He grimaced. “Maybe. You’re fighting so hard not to care about Eve. For God’s sake, she’s your daughter. It’s pure instinct to care about her.” He gestured to the TV. “And there are dozens of people at that damn memorial service who will testify that she’s a life worth saving. She’s a very special person, Zander.”

“So eloquent. You must have been storing that dissertation up for a long time.”

He was silent a moment. “It’s what you want to hear from me, Zander. Now accept it and go save her.”

“Is that an order?” he asked silkily.

Stang found himself tensing. He was on very shaky ground at that moment. “Yes, and a plea. She must have gone through hell. She deserves to have it end.” He paused. “You had a meeting with her up in the mountains, didn’t you? Before Doane captured her again. You must have some idea what kind of person she is after that.”

Zander was silent. “Yes. She’s extraordinary.” His shoulder lifted in a half shrug. “And it has nothing to do with me. I could never have given her what her life experiences have done to shape her. It was good that I stayed away from her.”

“No regrets? What about her daughter, Bonnie? If you’d been there, you might have saved her.”

“Or brought a horde more of the scum of the earth down on her, who would only use her to destroy me. By the time I was twenty-five, I was on the enemies list of half a dozen countries and targeted by four criminal networks. The only way I could survive was to do it alone and with no encumbrances. Would you like to know how many people have died because I allowed them close to me? When I was a young man, I was arrogant enough to think I could keep it from happening because I wanted to reach out and pretend I was normal. That didn’t last long. Revenge and greed are powerful motivations, and I attract the bastards who go after both.” He gazed directly in Stang’s eyes. “So don’t try to lay any guilt trips on me, Stang. If I’d allowed myself to feel guilt, I would have put a bullet in my head a long time ago.” He added impatiently, “And stop staring at me with that sickeningly maudlin look on your face. I didn’t start being cautious with my associations because I wanted to spare anyone. I just realized that it wasn’t safe for me either.” He shrugged. “And it gets boring having to replace the people close to you. It’s better to keep them at a distance.”

“I see.”

“And I know all the philosophies and psychological explanations you’re probably stifling at the moment. Think what you like. I’ve made my life what it is, and that’s how it will remain.”

“After you get Eve away from Doane.”

“You’re not listening.”

“I’m listening very carefully. So carefully I’m hearing all the undertones and nuances.” He pulled out his phone. “Should I call Weiner and tell him to speed up trying to find that Toyota? We need to locate Doane very quickly if you think he may be on the move after the memorial service.”

Zander gazed at him for a moment. “No, I’ll do it.” He started to dial his phone. “You may have become bold as brass lately, but you lack a certain ability to inspire fear. Fear is our friend at the moment.” As he waited for the phone to ring, he looked up at Stang. “And if you try to pressure me again, I’ll broadcast to the four corners of the earth how much I value you. How I’d have a horrible time replacing you. I might even say I consider you as close as a brother.” He smiled gently. “You’d be dead within two days.

“Weiner.” He was speaking into the phone. “Zander. I hear you got my message, and you’ve started tracking. A Toyota 4-Runner? Where else was it seen? I need the results right away. I’ll feed you as much additional information as I can, but pull every string on the Internet and that network that you’ve set up. Now give me every location that you have on hand…”

CHAPTER

4

Lake Cottage
Atlanta, Georgia

SHE SHOULD BE ABLE TO TALK
to Joe soon, Catherine thought.

It was getting dark, and the guests were gradually saying their good-byes to Joe and drifting away. The last photographer had snapped a few mood shots of the darkening lake and taken off.

However, Venable was still here and socializing with various guests, which was completely out of character for him. If she didn’t know him better, she’d think he was avoiding her. But Venable was never averse to facing anyone. He was probably just marshaling his thoughts and his arguments and would—

Her cell phone rang, and she glanced at the ID.

John Gallo.

Oh, shit.

She started talking as soon as she accessed. “I didn’t know, Gallo. I would have told you about Eve, but I only found out this morning, when I got to Miami. I did call, but I got your voice mail. It’s not my fault if you don’t answer your phone. It seemed all I was getting was people who didn’t want to talk to me. It was driving me—”

“Calm down,” Gallo said curtly. “I didn’t need you to tell me about Eve. I saw the story online three days ago. I was trying to get hold of you, but Venable blocked me at every turn.”

“I know.” She paused. “I thought you’d want to be here. If you knew three days ago, why didn’t you come to the service?”

“At first, I was trying to be diplomatic and kind to Quinn and Jane MacGuire. I was Eve’s past, and she had my child, Bonnie, when she was only a teenager. But Quinn was her present and future. I had no part in building that life, and I had no right to intrude.”

“At first? What followed?”

“I talked to Joe Quinn. We had an interesting discussion.”

“He told you.”

“He thought I was qualified to be helpful, and he didn’t mind using me or anyone else if it meant saving Eve. He’s desperate.”

Qualified? Yes, John Gallo was qualified in any enterprise that had to do with violence and mayhem. He had been a prisoner of war in a North Korean concentration camp, then had become an Army Special Forces agent whose specialty was infiltration and assassination. He was smart, experienced, and completely lethal. He had also had a few mental problems, fits of rage, due to torture while he was incarcerated in that hellhole of a prison. Catherine had met him when she had suspected he might have killed Eve’s daughter, Bonnie, during one of those fits of rage. Their relationship from that moment had been as turbulent and volatile as a perfect storm that neither of them could fight.

No, that wasn’t true. She was drawn sexually to Gallo, but there had definitely been a struggle to resist that magnetism. She had made her life what she wanted it to be. She was a CIA agent who was expert in her job. After she had found and rescued her son, Luke, he was tentatively coming to accept her. She did not need Gallo to disturb her and cause ripples in her life.

“You don’t agree Quinn’s desperate?” Gallo asked, when she didn’t answer. “Those were the vibes I got, but you’re on the scene.”

“Oh, he’s desperate.” She tried to concentrate on the problem at hand. Gallo always managed to distract her. “He loves her. They’ve been through a lot together.” She paused. “How are you feeling, Gallo?”

“Do you expect me to say I love her, too?” Gallo asked. He was silent a moment. “I do, you know. She was a big part of my life when we were young. We didn’t know about love then. It was all about sex. But years later, when I came back, we had our memory of Bonnie and the realization that she would have wanted us to have some kind of bond. Neither one of us could walk away from that bond. Although God knows we wanted to be free from each other and go about our lives.” He was silent again. “That bond still exists, will always exist, because of Bonnie. There are all kinds of love out there. She’s my friend and the mother of my child. I will never be her lover in the conventional sense, that’s Joe Quinn, but I’ll be there for her if she needs me. Is that honest enough for you?”

“You don’t have to answer to me, Gallo.”

“Yes, I do. In spite of the fact that you’re pushing me away.”

“Why? I have nothing to do with your relationship with Eve.”

“You know why. Though you’re having trouble admitting it.” He suddenly chuckled. “I’m in a fever to have sex with you. It’s all I can think about. Well, almost. And I won’t allow you to put any barriers between us because everything isn’t clear to you about my relationship with our mutual friend, Eve.”

She felt a surge of feeling that was hot and sweet and bewildering. She quickly changed the subject. “You never told me why you didn’t come here for the service.”

“I decided I’d get a head start. No one expected me to go to her memorial. I flew to Vancouver instead to try to track down Zander when I heard that he was the key to trapping Doane. That’s where I am now.”

“And did you find him?”

“No, I’ve been to Zander’s place here, but it’s deserted. I even did a little housebreaking to make sure. I’m going through some of his papers to see if I can find a clue to where he might have gone.” He paused. “Zero in on Venable. If anyone knows anything about Zander, then he should.”

“I’ll do that. I’ll let you know.”

“I phoned Hu Chang in Hong Kong after I got your call and told him to tell Luke you’d been delayed.”

“I called Luke myself the minute I got into Miami. He was down in Hu Chang’s lab and was so excited he could only talk about their latest experiment. Luke trails behind Hu Chang night and day.” She could hardly blame her son. Hu Chang was fascinating, and she had found herself trailing after him herself when she was just a few years older than Luke. “He probably won’t even miss me.”

“He’ll miss you. Though I admit your friend Hu Chang is something of a spellbinder. How long are you going to leave Luke with him?”

“I’m bringing him back to Louisville to go to school in two weeks.” She sighed. “At least, that’s what I was going to do before I found out about Eve. I’ll have to leave him a little longer now.”

“I hate to admit it, but you couldn’t ask for him to be in safer hands than Hu Chang’s,” Gallo said dryly. “As long as you get a promise from him not to teach the boy how to concoct any of his poisons.”

“He wouldn’t do that. He’d know that I’d kill him.”

“Would you? I’m never sure how much leeway you’d give Hu Chang to do anything he wanted to do. Sometimes, I think he has you hypnotized.”

“Don’t be absurd. He’s my friend.” He had been her only friend for years after they had met in Hong Kong when she was only fourteen. An unlikely friendship. She had been a street kid who had found her niche in selling information to the highest bidder, he was a master poisoner who traveled the world and sold his wares to whoever could afford them. When they had come together, they had found a closeness that had saved them both. “And he loves Luke. He wouldn’t hurt him.” But Hu Chang didn’t always have the same opinion of right and wrong as others. “He knows that it would break our friendship if he did something that I felt was wrong for Luke. He values that friendship as much as I do.”

“You sound as if you’re trying to talk yourself into something.”

“Nonsense. Hu Chang is brilliant, and Luke is learning more from him than he’d ever learn in school. These last months in Hong Kong have been wonderful for him.” She added, “But thank you for calling Hu Chang and telling him what happened. I’ll call Luke again tonight and explain.”

“You’re welcome. I was just clearing the decks for you. I knew you’d be on the hunt as soon as Quinn told you that you had a chance of saving Eve. Remember to tap Venable for any information you can squeeze out of him.” He hung up.

She pressed the disconnect and slipped the phone in her pocket. She felt a sudden rush of hope as well as excitement. John Gallo was on the move.

Time for her to move, too.

Brush aside that sleek, gray-haired guest Venable was using to run interference against her. Make the bastard talk to her.