“Gallo, I’m not doing this for any—”
“I know. I’m not assuming anything that you wouldn’t want me to assume. Don’t worry, I’m not suffering a major character change.” The soberness was suddenly gone, and he was smiling recklessly. “You’ll still have to watch me and make sure I don’t try to manipulate you to get what I want. I’m still the same hell-raiser I was when I was a kid. I just raise it in different ways…”
CHAPTER
14
St. Joseph’s Hospital
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
JOE WAS WALKING DOWN THE hospital corridor when Eve got off the elevator at his floor the next morning.
She smiled with an effort. “Busy already? Have you had breakfast yet?”
He shook his head. “They’ll bring it soon. I thought I’d take a walk to help increase my stamina.”
She wasn’t sure how to take that. “I expected Jane to be here.”
“She was here when I woke. I sent her down to Administration to start the paperwork going to get me out of here.” He met her gaze. “When she said you wouldn’t be able to see me until later today. But here you are. What happened, Eve?”
“Nothing to make you leap out of that bed and start worrying.”
“I’m not leaping. I’m not that far along yet. But I’m getting there.” He steadily met her gaze. “And you’ve been beside me every waking moment since I’ve been in this place. I’ve told you to go back to the hotel any number of times, and you wouldn’t go. Now suddenly Jane tells me that you have something to do that will keep you away? It doesn’t compute, Eve.”
Eve made a face. “And I should have known that Jane’s too honest to make you believe that everything was just fine.”
“She tried, but she’s clear as glass around the people she loves.” He smiled. “Like you, Eve.”
“That’s not so bad.” She took his hand. “Except when I want to keep you safe, dammit. Did Jane tell you anything?”
“Only that you were going up to Gallo’s property. I figured I’d get everything else out of her on our way there. She said she wouldn’t let me go alone.”
She shook her head. “No, of course she wouldn’t. She didn’t like it that I made her stay here and try to stall you until I was sure what was happening up there.”
“And what is happening?” Joe’s hand tightened on hers. “I’m trying to hold on to my patience, but I’m having a tough time of it. Do you know how much I’ve hated being stuck in this damn hospital while Catherine was going after Gallo?”
Eve had realized that every day lately. She had been surprised that he had not been more impatient. It was not like Joe. “You’ve been very good about not complaining until it was time for your release.”
“What good would it do? I have to be as strong as possible before I go after Gallo. Has Catherine found him?”
“Yes.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“He’s convinced her that he didn’t kill Bonnie.”
“What?”
“You heard me.” She shook her head. “Or maybe she’s convinced herself. I can’t put it all together. All she’d tell me was that she’d fought to believe what I’d told her was true, but that it didn’t work for her.”
“So why are you here instead of up there in the woods trying to shake some sense into her?”
“Because I called her when I was on the road, and she wasn’t at the property. It sounded like an airport. ”
“So you came back here.” He added, “To save Jane and face the music.”
She nodded. “I was expecting you to be angry.”
“Not angry. Impatient, frustrated, confused.” He shrugged. “It will take some time for me to muster any anger in connection with you. I came too close to losing you. Which puts everything else definitely in perspective.” He suddenly chuckled. “Though being human, I’m sure it will come back to me with full force.”
“I’m sure, too.” Her lips twisted. “And I come in here, and you’re walking the halls and building up stamina. Not very reassuring.”
“I can’t have you taking me for granted.” His tone was absent. “Which airport? Did you hear any flight being called?”
“No, just the Homeland Security bag announcement. And a flight arrival from Miami. ”
“What time was it?”
“Three forty in the morning. It had to be either Milwaukee or Chicago. They didn’t have time to get from Gallo’s property to any other airport. When Catherine called me previously, she told me she was still at the property.”
“Have you checked with both airports to see if there was a flight at that time?”
“Not yet. I thought I’d let you do it.” She smiled faintly. “It will keep you busy for a little while and give you a little more rest before you take the big plunge. I’m going to try to ration your energy.”
He tilted his head. “You’re not going to try to stop me?”
“I’ve bought more time than I thought I’d be able to manage—thanks to Catherine.” Her lips tightened. “I can’t understand how she could—”
“Yes, you can. Catherine and I were wondering the same thing about you a month ago. Gallo is very convincing.” He was frowning. “But Catherine didn’t have the same history with Gallo as you did, and she’s smart as hell. It’s a puzzle. What argument did she use?”
“She said that he didn’t do it. She told me to start with that and work back.”
“That’s all?”
“Something about Gallo trying to take his life.”
“Killers sometimes do commit suicide.”
“That’s not what she meant.” She bit her lower lip. “I was so sure, Joe. But all I can think of now was how tormented Gallo was in those days when we were together. I could feel how much he loved Bonnie. Was I wrong to believe Paul Black?”
“You said Gallo believed him, too.”
“And Catherine said just because Black thought he was telling the truth was no sign it was the truth.” Eve shook her head. “I wanted to help Gallo. But I may have pushed him over the edge.”
“Stop it,” Joe said roughly. “Gallo can take care of himself. And now, evidently Catherine is watching out for him, too. And I’ve never understood why you’ve always believed he loved Bonnie.”
Because she’d never told him. The relationship between Joe and Gallo had been too strained. But she had to tell him now. “Because … Bonnie comes … to him, too.”
“Shit.” Joe muttered a curse. “He could be lying to you.”
She had tried to tell herself that lately. “He told me things … that song about the horses that she loved so much. I don’t think he was lying, Joe.”
Joe gazed at her for a moment. “Then what the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know. But would that mean that Bonnie loved him, too?” She shook her head. “And if that was true, how could she love him if he was the one who killed her? None of it makes sense.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Joe shook his head. “Never mind. I know why. I was jealous as hell, and you didn’t want me to think that even Bonnie was against me.” He met her eyes. “Maybe the question should be why are you telling me now?”
“Because you told me that you know Bonnie now, that she brought you back. For years, no matter how we tried to overcome it, she’s been between us. But something changed.” She whispered, “I don’t want to close you out of any part of my life. And she’s such a big part, Joe.”
He was silent, gazing down at their joined hands. “That’s damn obvious. And spreading into all kinds of directions and little nooks. I never thought that she’d take me to John Gallo.”
She waited, feeling the tension grip her.
“But you have to hand it to the kid. She’s always throwing down a challenge.” He looked up and met her eyes. “So I think we have to ride with her.”
Relief surged through her. “And Catherine.”
“And Catherine.” He took t
he pad and pencil from the table beside him. “She may be wrong. Gallo may be the premier con man of the millennium. But I don’t want you hurting for the bastard if there’s a mistake. We might as well check it out. I’ll call Milwaukee airport. You phone O’Hare. It will help if we can figure out where they’re going.” He reached for his phone. “And then we’ll do what Catherine said and start putting together a scenario of ‘what if it wasn’t Gallo.’”
* * *
JOE WATCHED EVE IN THE hall talking to Jane, and he didn’t envy her. They had chosen to keep Jane from going with them when they went after Catherine, and Eve had volunteered to break it to her.
Eve had wanted to protect him from the inevitable explosion. She had been protecting him constantly in big ways and small since he had come out of the coma. Ordinarily, it would have frustrated him, but in this instance, he welcomed it. He needed to think, and no one could reason logically when Jane was upset. She would be hurt as well as angry, and it was terribly hard to hurt someone you loved.
He got to his feet and moved across to the window and looked down at the hospital parking lot.
Okay, Catherine had said to assume Gallo wasn’t guilty and figure it out from there.
But he didn’t want to assume Gallo wasn’t guilty. He was still having problems with the antagonism he felt toward him. Jealousy? Maybe. He had always been possessive of Eve, and he didn’t like the idea of any other man in her life, past or present. Or maybe it was the fact that Gallo had endangered Eve since the moment he had come back into her life. Either way, the antagonism was present, and he had to deal with it.
So deal with it. Use intelligence, not emotion. He was an investigator. That was his chosen profession and he did it damn well. This could be the most important case he’d ever been given.
Is it Bonnie? This was a strange twist in the path that he’d been on since he’d come back with her from death’s door. Strange or not, he could only do what he could, be what he was. Think. Concentrate. Look over the possibilities and see how the puzzle pieces would fit in different scenarios.
Deal with it.
He was still standing at the window forty-five minutes later when Eve came back into the room.
“Jane wants to see you. I couldn’t talk her out of it.”
“You shouldn’t have tried.” He turned to face her. “She has a right to vent her emotions on both of us.” He smiled. “Don’t worry, she’ll be easy on me. She’ll only try persuasion. She’s been almost as protective of me as you.”
“And it’s been annoying you.” She grimaced. “I can’t help it, Joe.”
“I know. It will take a little time.” He paused. “If it will make you feel better, I’m feeling very strong. Sometimes stronger than I’ve ever felt before. There are moments when I’m not so good, but then I feel a kind of … surge. I can get through this, Eve.”
She took step closer and laid her head on his chest. “And you won’t take stupid chances?”
He chuckled. “Not too stupid.” He took a step back. “Now give me fifteen minutes, then I’ll face our tigress, Jane. Let’s go over those notes about the flights leaving from O’Hare and Milwaukee. I think I know who Gallo and Catherine are going after. I just want to verify by the destination.”
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
“NOT VERY PREPOSSESSING,” Catherine said as she looked up at the small two-story apartment building that looked more like a motel. “When I think of Georgetown, I think foreign diplomats and money.”
“That’s probably why he wanted an address in Georgetown. Even though he was short of cash most of the time, he needed to put up a front.” He was climbing the steps to the second level. “Apartment 26?”
“Yes.”
He stopped before the door. “Locked. And probably an alarm shared by the other apartment dwellers.” He leaned back against the jamb and crossed his arms across his chest. “Take care of it, Catherine.”
“How do you know I can?”
“I watched you on camera when you and Quinn were storming my house in Utah. You were obviously an expert. I was impressed. My alarm system was state-of-the-art. This will be a piece of cake for you.”
“You’re giving me orders again.” She was starting back down the stairs. “And I don’t think you’re an amateur, Gallo.”
“I’m not. But you’ll be faster. I’ll open the lock by the time you get back. Okay?”
She didn’t answer as she hurried down the steps and around the back of the apartment units. She would just as soon deactivate the alarm herself. She was accustomed to working alone, and Gallo was a little too domineering for her taste. His attitude was probably natural since he, too, was used to working alone. They would have to learn to keep pace with each other. She remembered that she’d had no real problem with working with Joe Quinn. But Joe had been her friend, and she’d respected him and felt comfortable with him.
There was no comfort about working with Gallo. She might respect his abilities, but there was a constant awareness that aroused an emotion that was close to antagonism whenever she was with him.
An antagonism caused by that physical disturbance that she couldn’t suppress or diminish.
She might not be able to suppress it, but she blocked it when she had a job to do.
Take out the alarms.
Piece of cake as Gallo had said. She was climbing the stairs four minutes later. The door was cracked open, and no Gallo.
She glided silently into the apartment and shut the door. She was instantly assaulted by darkness and the pungent smell of pepperoni.
“No other alarms in here,” Gallo said from across the room. He was going through the drawers of a desk, his LED flashlight piercing the darkness. “Very messy. Jacobs was either a complete slob or he was in a big hurry.” He took the Rolodex from the desk and stuffed it into his pocket. “No convenient receipts for airline tickets. I don’t see any credit-card receipts either.”
Catherine went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. “German beer. A California wine.” She opened the bag on the second shelf. “And some kind of pasta in marinara sauce. He has international tastes as far as food is concerned.”
Gallo was heading for the bedroom. “I’ll go through the drawers of the bedside table. You check the bathroom.”
The heavy scent of a citrus aftershave coming from a bottle on the sink … No toothbrush. A half-used lemon soap left in a green soap dish. Catherine picked up the aftershave and held it up to read the name. “Italian. Naples.”
“Nothing here but a pack of prophylactics,” Gallo said from the bedroom. “It’s nice to know the bastard practices safe sex. We’re not finding out much more than that. Anything else?”
“No.”
“Then let’s get out of here and start going through this Rolodex.” He was heading for the front door. “If he traveled out of the country frequently, then he probably had a travel agent. When you’re uneasy or afraid, then you tend to go to ground in the place that you feel most comfortable.”
“And you can’t be comfortable unless you visit a place with some degree of frequency.” She closed the front door behind her and followed him toward the steps. “So we check and see where—” She suddenly halted on the top step. “Was this too easy, Gallo?” Her gaze was wandering around the parking lot. “I know we’re both thinking of Jacobs as a second banana to Nate Queen, but it makes me uneasy that we don’t know how he thinks, which way he’ll jump. I don’t like invisible men.”
“I have a general idea how he’ll react.” Gallo looked soberly up at her from the bottom step. “And I’m not underestimating him, Catherine. He’s a cornered rat, and he’s not going to like me going after him. He’s always resented me. He likes everything neat and able to be managed and manipulated, and I stepped outside the box.” He turned and started toward the car. “But I wouldn’t worry too much. I became an expert at killing rats in that Korean prison where Queen and Jacobs sent me.”
* * *
“GALLO AND CATHERINE LING just left your apartment,” Nixon said when Jacobs answered the phone. “They weren’t in there for more than thirty minutes. They didn’t carry out any boxes or anything big.”
“But they probably found my Rolodex,” Jacobs said through set teeth. Dammit, he should have grabbed it when he’d left yesterday morning. He’d known he’d have to go on the run soon, but he’d been trying to raise a stake to see him through. When he’d gotten word that his superiors had issued orders for him to be picked up for questioning he’d been thrown into a panic. He’d only grabbed his clothes and spare stash of cash and split. “Why the hell didn’t you go in after it?”
“That’s not what you paid me for,” Nixon said. “I don’t know anything about alarms. I’m clean with the local police. I don’t want anything on my record. I watched. I reported. If you’d given me the go-ahead, I would have taken care of them.” He paused. “I’ll still do it. I’m right behind them on the freeway. All you have to do is make an electronic transfer into my bank account.”
But I don’t have the money to make that transfer, Jacobs thought in frustration. His hand clenched on the phone. He and Queen had used Nixon before, and he was the best man for a job like this. He was almost as good as Paul Black had been with none of the bizarre freakiness Black had always exhibited.
He would rid himself of Gallo once and for all. And then he’d have a chance of being safe. He was not afraid of either Army Intelligence or any other law-enforcement body. He’d be able to survive. The world was crooked, and he knew where all the bodies were buried.
But Gallo was different. He’d seen how crazy the bastard could be. He wouldn’t stop. He’d keep on until hell froze over, until he had Jacobs in his sights. Those yokel cops had said Black had killed Queen, but it was probably Gallo’s doing. Jacobs had told Queen any number of times that it was dangerous trying to manipulate Gallo. Something about him caused a cold knot to form in Jacobs’s stomach. He hated being afraid. He hated the arrogant macho bastards who’d tried to beat him down and crush him all his life.
But he’d shown them that it was brains, not brawn, that mattered. He’d plugged along and kept quiet and let them all show off how smart they thought they were. But it was Queen who had been killed. It was Gallo who was on the run.