“What are you trying to say?”
“I’m not trying to say anything. I’m saying it. I think I’m being exceptionally lucid,” Kendra said. “That’s why I’ve been sitting up here trying to talk myself out of being so damn logical. I don’t want to be right this time.” She paused. “But I am right, Jane.” She put her cup down on the coffee table. “And that means I’m no longer an asset to the hunt, I’m a liability.” She got to her feet. “If we believe Doane and Eve are dead, then there would be no use for me to still be here. The fact that I remain after the memorial service would automatically set off alarm bells if we’re still being watched.”
“But Blick is dead, and he was the one doing surveillance. We don’t need to be quite as careful now.”
“Don’t we? I’m not so certain.” She moved over to her duffel that was sitting by the front door. “There are too many unknowns in the equation. Doane may have been playing a different game than the one we were told by Venable. Different games have different board pieces. If Doane took out one piece, that might mean he made room for another.” She unzipped her duffel and drew out a tattered journal. “And this might be the prize for winning the game.”
Jane sat up straight on the couch. “What’s that supposed to be?”
“It’s Kevin’s journal, which Margaret and I found in a hiding place in Doane’s house in Goldfork, Colorado. We were trying to find some clue to where Doane might have taken Eve or, at least, anything to do with that disk that his son might have given him to use as blackmail to get the CIA to give him witness protection. No disk. Just this journal. I’ve gone through it several times, and I couldn’t find anything that was more dangerous than the sick ravings of a mad pervert. But it was hidden, and that alone must mean that it has value to Doane.” She paused. “And we were told that everyone was looking for the disk that had revealed names of embedded CIA agents in Pakistan. As I said, no one found that disk. Which makes me wonder if it actually existed.”
“Venable said that it existed. He should know.”
“Yes, he should.” She moved back across the room. “Venable has been our source for most of Kevin’s past history and what went on during that period in Pakistan.”
Jane’s gaze was focused on the journal in Kendra’s hand. “You haven’t told Venable about this, have you? You told me before that you have some doubts about him.”
“Do I think that he’s one of the bad guys in this scenario? No, I’d never have let Quinn tell him that Eve and Doane were still alive if I’d thought that was a possibility. It was safe to turn him loose to try to locate Eve and Doane. We needed someone with his power and connections who could move discreetly behind the scenes. But I think that Venable’s one of those people who balance what he considers the good of many against the good of one. I’ve run into agents like him before.”
“I’ve always trusted Venable. But it scared me when I saw Venable’s attack team swarming down the mountain and firing on that saloon. He swears none of his team’s bullets caused that explosion.”
“I believe him. I think that Doane staged it and blew it himself. But that doesn’t mean that Venable couldn’t have been responsible. He took a risk.” She added deliberately, “And I don’t think he did it for Eve’s sake. He wanted to get Doane. It would be interesting to know what orders he gave his men. Kill or capture?”
“So are you going to confront him with that question?”
“No, he’d only sidestep.” She shrugged. “Besides, I’m out of it.” She thrust the journal at Jane. “It’s your decision now.”
Jane’s eyes widened. “What?”
“You heard me. I’m a liability. I was deliberately brought in to find Eve. I can’t stay here. I’m going home to San Diego. I’m going back to my teaching job.”
“You’re giving up trying to find—”
“No, dammit.” She drew a deep breath. “But it’s got to look that way. I can’t be on the scene. It has to look as if I gave up on the search because I thought Eve was dead. I’ll still do what I can. I’ll try to figure out what’s going on with this journal, and you can send me anything that—” Her hands were clenched. “It’s not enough. I hate it. It’s going to drive me crazy. But this isn’t about me. We may have only a small window of surprise with Doane, and I can’t smash it because I want to be involved.” She added fiercely, “But if there’s something I can do that won’t hurt the chances of keeping Eve alive, you call me, tell me.”
Jane was recovering from the shock, and she felt a surge of sympathy for Kendra. “That goes without question.” She smiled sadly. “I know how it feels to be forced out of the action and not being able to help. Those days in the hospital were terrible.” She glanced down at the journal. “My decision, you said. Why are you giving it to me?”
“Because, other than Joe Quinn, you care the most for Eve. It’s intensely personal with you, and you’ll fight to the death to get her back. You don’t have to strike a balance like Venable. There is no other answer for you.”
“That’s right, there isn’t.” She touched the cover. “You’re not asking me to keep it from Venable.”
“Your decision. I’ve made a copy of my own. I’ve told you my opinion, but you’re going to be on the ground running, and I’m going to be in San Diego. I’m only asking you to think long and hard about it.”
“I’ve already thought about it. I’ll show it to Joe, and we’ll discuss it, but Venable isn’t going to get it until his motivations are a hell of a lot more clear.”
“That’s a relief. Look, Catherine Ling is here. If you need someone of CIA caliber, I think you can trust her to look out for Eve and nothing else.” She made a face. “There I go again, trying to run the show. You don’t know how hard it was for me to give up control.”
“I think I do,” she said quietly. “I’ve learned a lot about you since you came to search for Eve.” She paused. “And all I’ve learned is good, Kendra.”
“Naturally, at least, in my areas of expertise.”
“That wasn’t what I was talking about. You have a good heart. I trust you.”
“And that’s a true honor,” Kendra said. “I’ve noticed that your trust is pretty well limited to Quinn and Eve.”
Jane lifted her shoulders in a half shrug. “It comes from being a street kid. I was in a dozen foster homes before Eve took me into her life. Everything would seem to go well for a while, then suddenly I’d be sent back to DEFACS. Or maybe it wouldn’t go so well, and I’d purposely do something that would make them kick me out. Either way, it wasn’t a lifestyle to inspire trust.”
“Even with Mark Trevor?” Kendra asked. “I’ve only gotten to know him during the days he’s been here after Colorado, but I’d say that he’s worth taking a chance on.” She smiled. “Besides being fantastically good-looking and totally charming. Quinn told me that he was your lover but that you broke up a year or so ago.” She held up her hand. “Forget I asked. It’s none of my business. It’s just my nature to probe into everything around me. Give me an inch, and I’ll take a mile.”
“I don’t mind,” Jane said. “Not from you. Trevor is all of those things. He was my first love, and he made me dizzy from the moment I met him.”
“But you couldn’t commit,” Kendra guessed. “And you walked away.”
“Something like that.”
“Okay, I’ve pried enough. I’ve just always found you a fascinating blend of wariness and emotion and wanted to know what made you tick.” She tilted her head. “You notice I didn’t mention Seth Caleb.”
Jane found herself unconsciously tensing.
“Because I knew you’d react like that,” Kendra said softly. “He wasn’t one who I’d want to bring into a discussion on trust. That’s not part of your relationship. You try to keep from looking at him whenever he’s in the room. I found that very odd until I noticed just how you connected. Very sensual. Very disturbing. Very complicated. No trust.” She smiled. “Much too complicated for me to try to anal
yze. I believe you’re having trouble with that yourself. You might try to resolve it as soon as possible. I had to bring it up since Caleb appears to be very much a factor in your life at the moment, and everything that affects the search for Eve is important.”
“Not my personal life. I’d never let it interfere.” But Jane was relieved that Kendra had slid away from talking about Caleb. She hadn’t realized that their relationship was so transparent to outsiders. Perhaps it wasn’t to anyone but Kendra. She changed the subject. “Margaret. If your presence here is a threat, wouldn’t Margaret’s presence fall into the same category? She came here at approximately the same time, and though she was obviously not an investigator of any kind, she was at the scenes of the crimes.” She frowned. “And she was seen with you at the house in Goldfork.”
“Very good,” Kendra said. “But Margaret is your responsibility.” She headed for the front door. “I’m going down to try to convince her she should opt out as I’m doing. But knowing Margaret, I don’t think I’m going to get very far. She’s stubborn as a mule and thinks it’s her duty to take care of you.” She paused to look back at Jane. “I repeat, she’s your responsibility now. You take care of her, or I’ll be coming after you.”
“You’re being very stern. You evidently became very close while you were on the hunt for Eve.”
“As close as you can come to a character who’s part Peter Pan and part Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.” She nodded. “Yeah, I’m close to Margaret. And, if you’re looking for someone to trust, you don’t have to look any farther. But, unfortunately, she takes chances that she shouldn’t.”
“You don’t have to tell me. I was there when we found her cuddling that wolf in the woods above the ghost town.” She added, “Don’t worry. I won’t let her run any risks on my behalf. I’ll find a way to keep her safe.”
Kendra made a sound remarkably like a snort. “You can try.” She opened the door. “And you might be busy keeping yourself safe. You stay here and rest for a while. You haven’t convinced me that you’re in the best of shape.”
“I’m not in the best of shape. I won’t lie to you. But I won’t let it matter.”
“I know you won’t. Good luck, Jane. Don’t you dare not call me if I can help.” She shut the door behind her.
The house felt suddenly empty without that vital presence, Jane thought. She imagined that every room Kendra entered she effortlessly owned.
She looked down at the journal.
And since she was lacking Kendra’s vitality at the moment, she might as well start reading this journal of Kevin’s and hope that lightning might strike, and she could see something in it that Kendra had missed.
She shuddered as she reluctantly opened the cover and began reading the journal of a monster.
Penthouse
Drake Hotel
Denver, Colorado
“I’VE REACHED WEINER.” Stang, Zander’s personal assistant, entered Zander’s suite after contacting Zander’s information guru. “It was difficult. He got your message and said to tell you he’d already started the process. He said one of his contacts spotted an off-road vehicle with those special tires at the Wyoming border on the day of the explosion. It was a tan Toyota 4-Runner. He didn’t want to call you until he had something concrete to offer you. He was afraid that you were targeting him because Joe Quinn had found out that he’d done work for you.”
“Thanks to you,” Zander said dryly. “I don’t appreciate your lack of discretion in giving away my contacts. I don’t tolerate that lack of loyalty. Perhaps you should be the one afraid, Stang.”
“Probably. But I’m done with that.” He smiled. “You’ve been intimidating me so long that you’ve dulled the edge.” He put the telephone number down on the desk in front of Zander. “Do you really think that Weiner can zero in on Doane?”
“It’s possible he can help.” Zander leaned back in his chair. “He’s as close to an electronics genius as they come, and he thinks outside the box. He has the sophisticated equipment to make it happen. It depends on his motivation.” His smile was tiger bright as he said softly, “And I don’t wish to brag, but I’m quite good at providing motivation.”
Stang was aware that Zander could persuade anyone to do anything if he chose. His physical presence was very powerful, and his reputation was chilling. Who should know better than Stang? He had worked for him for a number of years as his accountant and personal assistant, and most of that time, he’d been on the edge of fear. Zander was a brilliant assassin whose fees were in the millions, but he kept most compartments of his life strictly private. That was fine with Stang, he had no desire to know too much about Zander’s dealings. It could prove dangerous, if not fatal. It was only lately that Zander had let Stang into his confidence. He had seemed to want him to know about the kidnapping of Eve Duncan by Doane. “What kind of electronics voodoo do you want Weiner to perform?”
“Something a little less than voodoo. Cameras are much more pedestrian.”
“Cameras?”
“In the past, I’ve had Weiner track targets for me using public and private cameras. I give him an area, and he creates a huge wall-mounted map and uses a highlighter pen to track a designated vehicle.”
“How?”
“Municipal traffic cams posted at major intersections. Most cities keep at least a few weeks’ worth on their servers’ hard drives. Live highway cameras feeds are available to anyone on the Internet these days, but Weiner takes it a step further by tapping into the Department of Transportation servers to review history. Then there are private-business security cameras. ATM cameras facing the roads. Toll-gate cameras…” He waved his hand. “It goes on and on.”
“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.”