“No!” Keep calm. He might be only trying to frighten you. “What good would that do? Things have been going well until today. I’ll keep on doing what you want. Just don’t hurt her.”
“What about it, Salva?” Nicos said, not looking at him. “Shall I listen to her?”
“Entirely up to you, as usual. But if you don’t mind, I’m a little bored. I believe I’ll go back to my office.”
“No, don’t do that.” Nicos took a step closer to Rosa and pressed the gun to her temple. “I assure you that things are going to perk up at any minute.”
“No!” Rosa was sobbing. “I don’t want to die. I’ll do anything.” She gazed frantically at Margaret. “Make him stop. He’ll listen to you. Tell him not to do it. I’m begging you. Do whatever he wants, but don’t let him kill me.”
“You heard her,” Margaret said as she took a step closer. “She’ll do anything. I’ll do anything. Just don’t kill her because you think I made a mistake.” Her voice was shaking. She could see that she wasn’t getting through to him. If anything, his expression was wilder than before. It reminded her of her father’s face on the night she had run away. The night she had known that she had to run or be killed. Only she couldn’t run and leave Rosa. “Isn’t what you’ve done to her enough?” She swallowed. “Do you want me to beg you? Okay, I’m begging you. Please, don’t kill her.”
“Yes, please. Margaret won’t do it again,” Rosa said frantically. “Do anything else you want with me, but don’t kill me.”
“Too late.” Nicos met Margaret’s eyes. “She has to pay for her mistake. Or rather, you do.” He smiled. “Remember this, Margaret.”
He pressed the trigger.
Margaret screamed.
Blood on the black-and-white tiles.
Rosa’s blood.
Rosa lying on the tiles with her skull half blown off.
Blood everywhere.
Nicos eagerly drinking in Margaret’s expression.
Salva smiling in the background.
Blood on the black-and-white tiles …
* * *
Blood …
Margaret found that she’d sunk to those tiles and was leaning huddled against the wall in the darkness as memory after memory flowed over her. She was shaking, shuddering, as she had that night.
So much evil.
She had felt so helpless to save Rosa. Nicos had saddled her with the blame, and she had been so numb that she had accepted it rather than face thinking or analyzing. She’d been so traumatized that it had been over a year after she’d escaped from Nicos before she’d even been able to think of that night. It was a long time after that she’d been able to be objective enough to realize that she’d not been at fault for that savage act. She’d thought that somehow she should have been smarter, been able to find some way out for both of them. The one time that she’d persuaded Rosa to try to escape from the island, they’d been caught and Rosa had been beaten unmercifully. After that, Margaret had kept an eye out for another opportunity, but it had never come.
And then it was too late.
Too late. That was what Nicos had said that night before he’d put a bullet in Rosa’s head.
I’m sorry, Rosa. I don’t know if someone else could have helped you more than I did. I think I tried as much as I was able at the time. And I’m sorry that I was afraid and ran away from that night as well as from Nicos.
She closed her eyes as she felt the tears run down her cheeks. She could see Rosa, smiling, gentle, full of fun, the way she’d been when Margaret had first met her at that petting zoo in New Orleans. So different from the slave Nicos had made of her toward the end.
It was so evil. They mustn’t be allowed to do that ever again to anyone else.
Not ever. No matter what she had to do to stop it.
I promise you I’ll never run away again, Rosa.
Port of Spain
Trinidad
4:35 A.M.
The small, cream-colored house had a terra-cotta tile roof. It was half a block from the ocean and surrounded by an ornamental wrought-iron fence.
“Not bad,” Mandell murmured. “The houses this close to the beach sell for a pretty penny in Trinidad. Nicos must be paying him well.”
“Then Zwecker is in his pocket and not being threatened or intimidated,” Lassiter said grimly. “I’m glad. We don’t have to feel in the least hesitant about doing anything we have to do to get the information I need.” He looked at the cobalt blue front door. “You go in the front door and disarm any alarms. I’ll take the back door and hit the bedroom.”
Mandell nodded as he opened the ornamental front gate. “No problem.” He glided down the walk.
Lassiter went around to the backyard, climbed over the fence, and in another moment was at the back door. He was about to take care of the lock when the door swung open.
“What kept you?” Mandell whispered. “For a computer expert, Zwecker leaves much to be desired in the alarm department. Do you want this to be a dual assault?”
“No, find his office and start looking through his notes and computer files.” He was moving silently down the hall. “I’ll go after Zwecker.” He silently opened the door to his right. A bathroom. He opened the next door down the hall.
Bedroom. A bed, empty, with covers rumpled, pushed hastily aside, one on the floor—
Not good.
Lassiter dove down and forward into the room, then rolled to the side against the man standing behind the door.
A knife descended toward him.
He reached up and grasped the man’s wrist and twisted it. The knife dropped to the floor.
Obscenities.
He swung his legs in an arc that hit the man’s knees and brought him down. Then he was straddling him, his hands on his throat. “Zwecker?”
“Let me go.” He was tearing at Lassiter’s hands, grasping his throat. “Do you know who you’re dealing with? I have friends who will like nothing better than to cut your throat. I have protection.”
“I don’t doubt you had it,” Lassiter said grimly. “Past tense. But you’ve lost any protection you might have had the moment we found out you worked for Nicos. That made you vulnerable. Nicos won’t like the idea of anyone being able to tap someone who knows his secrets.”
“I don’t know anyone named Nicos.”
Lassiter’s hands tightened on Zwecker’s throat until his eyes bulged. “I don’t have time for this bullshit.” He loosened his grip and let Zwecker take a deep breath. “Would you like to go over that again?”
“Maybe I do work for him.” Then he spat, “But he won’t care that you’ve found out about me as long as he can rid himself of you. And he’ll do that. I’m important to him. He knows I’d never betray him. I’ve been working with Salva for the past three years and he trusts me. Now let me go.”
“What’s all the uproar?” Mandell stood in the doorway. He reached over and turned on the wall switch, lighting the room. “You didn’t handle this at all smoothly, Lassiter. You should have left it to me. I take it that’s Zwecker?” He took out his phone and checked the photo Cambry had texted them. “Fortyish, skinny, Vandyke beard, receding brown hair. Yes, at least you got that right.”
“I’m glad you approve.” Lassiter got off Zwecker and pulled him to his feet. “Did you find the office?”
“Across from the living room. But I didn’t have a chance to try to get into his computer before I heard you causing a ruckus.”
“Then we’d better go do it now.” He said curtly to Zwecker, “Get some clothes on. We’re going to go to your office, and by the time we leave it, I’m going to know everything that you know about Nicos’s operation.”
“I don’t know anything,” he said quickly. “Why should I? I’m only a tech expert. I set up Nicos’s system, but I don’t have any information about what he enters into his files.”
“You might make someone who didn’t realize how good you are believe that,” Lassiter said. “But I know a little
something about computers, and I looked at how many calls Salva made to you. They must have had you do constant adjustments to make that file work efficiently for them. And I’m wondering if they didn’t have you set up other files concerning other Nicos enterprises.”
“I don’t know anything,” Zwecker said stubbornly. “I just set it up.”
“No, you didn’t. You created that file and made it yours. And it’s so complicated that I’d bet you wouldn’t have been able to resist putting in a command to slip out a copy into your personal computer. You’re going to tell me every detail of what’s on that file. Do you understand?”
Zwecker shook his head. “Why? Nicos will kill you as soon as he finds out that you came and threatened me.”
“He’s not going to find out. He’s a dead man. Now get your bony ass in gear. We’re going to go to your office and start work.” He reached down and picked up the knife Zwecker had dropped. “And if you’re cooperative, I may not cut off any of your fingers. That would make it so difficult to operate a keyboard, wouldn’t it?”
Zwecker’s eyes widened, and for the first time he appeared uncertain. “You wouldn’t do that.”
“No? I’ve spent eighteen months trying to find a man whose location has probably been at your fingertips for that entire time.” Lassiter’s voice was soft but icy cold. “I won’t go into what Nicos has been doing to him during that time. You might even already know. You said he trusts you.” He stared Zwecker in the eye. “Look at me. Then tell me I won’t do anything I have to do to make sure that I find out what I have to know.”
When Zwecker finally pulled his gaze away, he was pale. “I’m just a tech.” He moistened his lips. “And Nicos would kill me if I told you anything.”
“And I’ll kill you if you don’t. I’m the devil you know. I’d advise you not to be concerned about Nicos. Worry about me.” He glanced at Mandell. “My friend Mandell here and I will take turns questioning you. We’ll start on the little programs and build up to others. I have an idea we may find a few interesting nuggets that you’ve squirreled away in your own computer. But I’m not going to waste my time. If you don’t cooperate, I’ll start on the index finger of your left hand. I don’t want to interfere with your dexterity by disabling your right hand in case you become more sensible. You might be able to access your own data quicker than I can. I’ll break that index finger first. Then if you don’t begin to answer, I’ll show you the knife again. Is all that clear?”
“Yes,” he said hoarsely, his eyes now wide with fear. “But I’m just a tech.”
“Don’t say that again. I know exactly what you are. And now you know what I am.” He turned to Mandell. “Get him started by having him give us his own password to bypass his firewall. I’ll go make a pot of coffee. I figure we can afford giving him until noon before we have to get on the move.”
“I can’t let you have my personal password,” Zwecker said quickly. “What good would that do you? You’re after Nicos.”
“Ah, maybe I struck a nerve? Interesting…”
Trinidad
10:35 A.M.
“The password for Nicos’s file is Bakulu,” Mandell said as Lassiter walked into the office an hour later. “It’s some kind of monster voodoo god who ruins lives and causes pain. The file is a nice healthy one. And Zwecker evidently has his own copy of this file, as he does several other of Nicos’s directories. He was just about to break it down for me.”
“Good.” He glanced at Zwecker. “You didn’t exactly earn that trust that you said Nicos gave you.” He made a clicking sound with his tongue. “I’m certain Nicos wasn’t aware you have your own copies, was he?”
“It was just a protective measure, a backup,” Zwecker said sourly. “In case there was a loss of power or something of that nature.”
“And you think Salva would approve of that backup?” He dropped down in a chair, his gaze on the screen. “Somehow I doubt it.”
“I wasn’t intending to—” He shrugged. “It was only smart to take out insurance in case Nicos decided that I wasn’t reliable. He’s a little erratic.”
“Tell me about it.” The heading at the top of the file was NALSARA. Lassiter’s gaze was going down the subheadings. He could feel the excitement grip him. “NALSARA. What do you know about this, Zwecker?”
“It’s the name of a camp, an installation in northern Columbia. I assumed it was some kind of drug-related storage facility. You see that it has employees, transportation, and supplies listed. It’s deep in the rain forest and the supplies have to be trucked in from the coast. The forest is so thick and impenetrable that there’s no place to land a plane or helicopter anywhere nearby. Here are the dates of deliveries and receipts for salaries. Salva is very efficient.”
“And how many people are at this facility?”
Zwecker pointed to the employees list. “Twenty-two on staff who are paid bimonthly.”
“You’re sweating. You’re hand is shaking.” His eyes narrowed on Zwecker’s face. “You’re lying or not telling me everything. Why?”
“I’m telling you what—”
“I think it’s time we start on that index finger, Mandell.”
“Wait.” Zwecker hesitated. “There may be other people down there. The food-supply orders indicate that there may be.”
Lassiter went still. “How many?”
“How should I know? I could be wrong. I just found it curious.”
“How many more?”
“At least six.”
That meant five more of Nicos’s enemies he’d kept prisoner who might have been suffering as much as Patrick had.
“Six,” he repeated.
“I thought it was nine, but the food order went down a couple months ago,” Zwecker said impatiently. “What difference does it make? It probably doesn’t mean anything. I just thought it was curious.”
“And you wanted to explore every aspect of Nicos’s little kingdom in the jungle,” Mandell said. “Were you thinking about blackmail?”
“Maybe.” He scowled. “If I could do it without getting myself killed. Nicos wanted that camp to be kept very confidential. He had to have a reason.”
“You said drug storage? Truth?”
He hesitated. “No, I’ve set up other files for him that concerned drugs and arms. He was more careful with this one.”
Lassiter leaned forward. “And you think you may have guessed why,” he said softly. “Haven’t you, Zwecker?”
Zwecker didn’t speak for a moment. “Powerful men have different needs than other people. Nicos might have wanted a place to— What do I know? I’m just guessing.”
“And what are you guessing?”
“Salva had me add this heading a few months ago.” He pointed at the bottom of the document. “EXIT. A substantial amount of money was allotted at that time.”
“About the time that the food-supply orders reflected a drop of three,” Lassiter said. “They had three deaths and had to arrange to make the bodies permanently vanish. Nicos wouldn’t have wanted any evidence connecting them to him if the camp was discovered. I’m sure the corpses were gruesome in the extreme.” He shook his head. “And you ‘guessed’ what was going on and you didn’t do anything about it.”
“I had to protect myself.” He moistened his lips. “I didn’t actually know anything.”
“Oh, I think you did,” Lassiter said softly. “Those guesses were a little too accurate. You’ve been studying this file for a long time and you had plans for it. Let’s see, I don’t think you have the nerve to try to blackmail Nicos. What’s another option?”
Zwecker shook his head.
Lassiter thought about it. “I don’t know about the other prisoners, but if they have as much potential as Patrick, then that detention camp could be a pot of gold. Nicos didn’t care how much money those prisoners were worth. He had his own agenda. But it would be enough to dazzle someone on the outside. Did you know how much money I offered to ransom Patrick?”
“No.
How could I know that?” he asked quickly.
“Monitoring. Hacking.” He paused. “Or maybe someone who had been told how much the merchandise they were holding was worth leaked it to you. Maybe to emphasize to you how carefully it had to be guarded.”
“You’re only making wild guesses. I’m cooperating. Let me go. I’ve told you all I know.”
“You’ve told me enough so that you were hoping I’d not dig any deeper. I’m digging deeper. I think you’ve been planning this scheme for quite a while. But you had to be sure of your facts and knew you might need an accomplice. It wouldn’t be anyone close to Nicos.…” His finger went down the screen to the STAFF heading. “Twenty-two. Monsters every one. You knew what they were doing to those prisoners. Which one were you going to share the booty with, Zwecker?”
He was silent.
“I’ll give you thirty seconds.” He took out the knife. “I believe I’ll skip breaking the finger first. You’re annoying me.”
“No!” Zwecker was breathing hard, his gaze fixed compulsively on the knife. “Don’t be a hard-ass. What I did wasn’t all that bad. I needed help. Some of those prisoners could be ransomed. At least three would bring in a fortune. If I couldn’t blackmail Nicos, I could go in another direction. Hell, it would even be the humanitarian thing to do.”
“I’m touched. Which guard did you make a deal with?”
He hesitated and then brought up a photo on the screen. The man was in his early forties, with craggy features, a broken nose, blue eyes, and a white-blond crew cut. “Lars Brukman. He’s in charge of the Nalsara Detention Camp and is a favorite of Nicos. He’s been down there for over four years and gets the highest pay. He’s a former mercenary and he’s tough enough to run the camp efficiently. But he’s tired of being stuck down there in the jungle and he liked the idea of the ransom.” He smiled tentatively. “We would have let you buy back Sean Patrick. We’d even talked about it. Maybe we could still make a deal?”
“Lars Brukman was also probably in charge of the torture they did on Patrick. What do you think?”
His smiled vanished. “Then what are you planning on doing with me?”