He would hold that thought close as he faced all the delays and was forced to creep forward at a snail’s pace.
There was no question that he would kill Beth Avery, but she had suddenly taken on a minor importance. First, Eve Duncan, then Joe Quinn.
The Snake God was hungry.
Valencia, California
THEY DID NOT ARRIVE in the L.A. area until 11:40 that night. Joe had insisted that they stop at a rental-car agency to get a second car. He didn’t like the idea of their movements being hampered by a lack of transportation. Newell gazed critically at the Spanish-style house, with its palm tree and row of plants dotting the front yard as he got out of the dark blue Toyota. “This isn’t bad, but every house in the subdivision looks the same. It reminds me of the setting of those early Spielberg movies. My safe house was much better.”
“Who knows? Maybe it was used by Spielberg. Don’t be a snob,” Eve said as she got out of the Mercedes. “It’s very nice. Joe was lucky that he had contacts and was able to get this for Beth on short notice.”
“All I cared about was that it had three bedrooms, and it’s not that far from Beverly Hills.” Joe slammed the car door and strode toward the front door. He located the house key underneath the decorative porch bench to the left of the entrance and unlocked the door. “I’m hoping to move fast enough that we won’t have to be here long. If we can get Gelber to give us an affidavit that will incriminate Pierce and protect Beth from being thrown back into that hospital, we won’t have to worry about keeping her under such tight security.”
“The hell we won’t,” Newell growled. “What about Drogan? No one should know better than I how single-minded he is. He’d been paid for a job, and he’ll do it. He’s not going to care about what Gelber does.”
Joe nodded. “But I may have managed to divert his attention from her.”
Newell thought about it. “It’s possible.”
“That’s not what I wanted,” Beth said tightly as she walked past them into the foyer. “All I ever hoped was that I’d find a place to hide until I could figure out what was happening to me. Now you all seem to be targets. It’s not right. I think I have to do something.”
Eve’s gaze narrowed on Beth’s face. She didn’t like that remark. Beth had been very quiet on the long trip down to L.A., and Eve could sense the fragile state of her emotions. Beth was feeling guilty and unsure … and afraid. She had put her fate in the hands of three people, two of whom she considered strangers. But then, everyone but Newell was a stranger to Beth, and that must be even more frightening. “What you can do is go with us to question Gelber. Maybe if he actually sees you as you are now, he’ll get a few qualms of conscience, and we might cop a break.”
“Appeal to his tender heart?” Joe asked sarcastically. “Not likely. Maybe an appeal to his wallet. I might try a bribe if we’re not getting anywhere.” He turned on the lights and illuminated a cozy living room-kitchen combination. “The bedrooms are supposed to be upstairs. I’ll make a pot of coffee and we’ll get settled.” He turned to Eve. “I’d like to go pay our call on to Gelber tonight, but I have a little research to do on the security system in his residence. He has a house in Beverly Hills about three blocks from his office. I’ll go out and take a look at it in case I decide we need to spring a surprise visit on him at home.”
“Will he see us in the middle of the night?” Beth asked.
“No.” Joe smiled. “But we could wake him up and persuade him. It would be more efficient to catch him off guard.” He shrugged. “But if it’s not a feasible option, then we’ll go after him tomorrow morning after his autographing. He’s signing his new book at ten tomorrow at Century Mall.” He grimaced. “But I’d rather run him to ground where we don’t risk an audience in a mall parking lot.”
“You’re worried about that security system?” Newell asked.
“I can manage to disarm most alarms,” Joe said. “If it gets dicey, I’m probably going to regret not having Kendra’s buddy, Sam, to help.”
“I know a little about—”
“No,” Beth said sharply. “You’ve done too much already, Billy. You’re not going with us.”
“The hell I’m not.”
“I don’t need you, Newell,” Joe said quietly. “But if you want to be helpful, you can go in another direction. You can try your hand at breaking into Gelber’s office and accessing his computer records on Beth. You said you managed to pull up most of Pierce’s records on her. I’m hoping to drag Gelber over there and get him to hand them over himself, but a backup is always good. I could drop you off at his office on my way to his residence.”
“I want Billy entirely out of it. You’re not listening to me,” Beth said, frustrated. “He could get into trouble.”
“Have a little faith.” Newell smiled at Beth. “I’ve been trained very well. This should be a piece of cake.”
“Coffee,” Eve said firmly as she saw Beth’s expression. “Newell, go to the car and get the bags.”
“I don’t like this,” Beth said between her teeth. “I feel like I’m being bulldozed.”
“You are,” Eve said. “But all done with the best of intentions. Newell would follow Joe if he left him behind. He might as well take a useful role off the front lines. That’s all I can promise you.” She checked her watch. “It will probably be a couple hours before Joe will know if he can breach the security at Gelber’s residence. There’s no use our going to bed, but we can wash up and have some of that coffee while we’re waiting. We’ll go out on the patio and try to relax. It’s important not to let your nerves start playing tricks on you when you’re waiting for the game to start.”
“‘Game’? You sound like Joe.” She studied Eve’s face. “But you don’t think like him, do you? He actually does think of it as a game. That’s what I was thinking when he left the house to hunt down Drogan.”
“I guess we’ve been together so long that we do think alike in some things. And I had to become a hunter, too, during the years we searched for my daughter.” She shook her head. “Do I enjoy it? No way. But I know what the elements are and how Joe and I can help each other toward a common goal. In a situation like this, that’s crucial if you want to stay alive. You’ve got to have a plan, and there can’t be any impulsive or emotional changes.” She turned toward the kitchen. “Go upstairs and wash your face and choose a bedroom. Coffee will be ready in fifteen minutes, and when you come down, don’t give Newell a hard time. You can’t have it your way. He’s made his choice.”
Beth didn’t speak for a moment, then turned on her heel and ran up the stairs.
“We’d be better off on our own,” Joe said as he filled the coffeemaker. “You know that, don’t you?”
“Yes.” She took down cups from the cabinet over the sink. “She says it’s her battle, but she doesn’t really realize what that means yet. If she sees Gelber try to lie his way out of the situation, it may hit home.”
“Or he may be so plausible that she’ll believe him when he tells her that she really needed all those years as a prisoner in that hospital.” He glanced at Eve. “And that she still needs help and should go back and let those good, competent doctors take care of her.”
“I don’t think so.”
“But you’re afraid that it could happen.”
“She’s confused.” She handed him the can of coffee. “But she’s smart and tough. I’ll bet on her.”
He nodded. “But not too heavily. It could be dangerous.” He suddenly smiled. “But what am I saying? It’s not going to do any good to try to dissuade you. For someone who was so reluctant and wary to come to Beth’s rescue, you’ve come almost full circle. I’ll just have to do what I always do when I see your soft side coming to the forefront.”
“And what is that?”
He turned on the coffeemaker, and brushed his lips across the tip of her nose. “Why, watch your back, my love.”
* * *
“I UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM, Pierce. But you’re ove
rreacting.” Hans Gelber looked critically at his nails. He really did need a manicure before he went to the book signing at the mall tomorrow. “All you have to do is locate the woman, and the issue is resolved.”
“Overreacting?” He could hear the barely controlled rage in Pierce’s voice. “You can say that. You sit fat and happy in that office in Beverly Hills while I’m on the hot seat. My career could be ruined.”
“Not to mention that you’d face criminal charges if Beth Avery could prove what you’d done to her.”
“What we’d done to her,” Pierce corrected.
“My part would be difficult to prove. I was very thorough in erasing her memories. She won’t remember any of the details of our little get-togethers.” He added, “And you told me that you’d not kept any in-depth records of the sessions. That was very clever of you, Pierce.”
“But you didn’t tell me that you’d destroyed your own records. I don’t trust you, Gelber.”
“I’m shocked. We’ve been partners for a long time, and we’ve both prospered enormously from that single transaction. Why would I wish to hurt you?”
“To turn state’s evidence against me and save your neck. But you’d be hurt as well. Your fine cars and that mansion paid for by your books, all those starlets standing in line to be hypnotized to keep those size-zero figures—your little bubble would burst.”
“You don’t have to threaten me, Pierce. I’ve no desire to make trouble for you.” He couldn’t quite keep the edge from his voice. “Even though it’s entirely your fault we’re having to have this discussion. You could have continued just to keep the woman as a patient, but you decided to take an action that was dangerous for both of us. Then you botched it and now you come to me frantically trying to plug every hole to save your skin.”
“I won’t be lectured by you, Gelber. What I did was necessary. It wasn’t my choice, but now everything is coming unraveled. I just received a call from Nelda Avery with information regarding Joe Quinn. It’s true he’s a detective with Atlanta PD, but he was never assigned to Beth’s case. And his live-in lover is Eve Duncan, Beth Avery’s half sister. Duncan was here at the hospital day before yesterday. She found a way to attach herself to a music therapist touring the place, but she had to be snooping around. There’s no telling what she found out.”
“You’re panicking for no reason. You’ve told me that Beth Avery’s maternal family has never displayed an interest in her.”
“Before she ran away from the hospital. Something has changed. I’ll have to deal with Quinn and Eve Duncan as well as Beth. Now, will you cooperate or not?”
“I might consider it. What do you wish me to do?”
“Send me all the Beth Avery records.”
“I believe you realize that is impossible. After all, they are confidential. You wouldn’t want me to break my Hippocratic oath. They are quite safe with me. Anything else?”
Pierce was viciously cursing, and it took a moment for him to answer. “Leave town. Disappear. Go back to Germany for a while. Show off for the natives how well you’ve done.”
“It’s a global society. It wouldn’t be long before I could be found.”
“But it would take time, and I’d be able to finesse the problem out of existence before that time ran out.”
“‘Finesse’?” He chuckled. “What a word to describe the act I assume you mean. Very amusing.”
“I’m not amused. Will you disappear until I tell you it’s safe to come back?”
“I’ll think about it. But it’s not at all convenient. My new book just came out last week, and it has a chance to make the New York Times bestseller list with the right promotion. I have a signing at Century Mall tomorrow.”
“Then leave right after the signing. I’ll have Stella make the reservations for you. Just tell me where you want to go.”
“Ah, the lovely Stella. If you’d lend me her company for a month or two, I might be persuaded to find a sunny beach in some out-of-the-way island chain.”
“It can be arranged.”
“But lust can’t compare with the Times at my stage of life. Sad but true. Besides, I have no problem acquiring women. You’ve forgotten what a talented man I am.”
“What do you want? I’ll give it to you.”
Desperation, Gelber recognized. It pleased him that he could make the arrogant son of a bitch dangle on his string. He would probably eventually give in to Pierce’s demands. He had no desire to be caught up in the mess that appeared to be looming for Pierce if he didn’t locate Beth Avery soon. He would do better to make himself scarce and be out of the range of the tornado. He would make a discreet exit and only return if he found that it was to his advantage.
“Let me think about it.” Actually, it might make his new book sell even better if there were hints that he was involved in such a notorious case. Only hints, there had to be a balance. “Suppose we get together and discuss it before my signing tomorrow.”
“You can call me.”
“Breakfast is better. If I decide to accede to your request, I’d want to leave at once, directly after my autographing. I’d require that you bring a cashier’s check for $800,000 to take care of expenses on my journey.”
“What?”
“Don’t squeal. I know how well you’ve been doing all these years. It’s time you shared. After all, I’m giving up a generous income to accommodate you.”
“I’ll think about it. Bring the records.”
He ignored the demand. “It would probably be better if we met in private. There’s a small motel north of Los Angeles where I occasionally go when I wish to have a discreet liaison with a client.”
“You mean fuck your patient.”
“Don’t be crude. Be there at seven in the morning. It’s the Twin Branch Arms and I’ll be in Room 7 unless I call and tell you different.”
“How do you expect me to get a cashier’s check at that hour?”
“You’re a man of influence in the community. Call one of your banker friends. You can arrange it.”
“You actually think I’m going give you that money.”
“I actually do. Good night, Pierce.” He hung up.
He smiled with satisfaction as he stood up from his easy chair and went into the bedroom to shed his robe and get dressed. Not a bad deal. He might have saved his own ass by this move, and he’d managed to stick it to Pierce.
But he had to go to the office immediately to retrieve those Avery records and hide them. Pierce had been too insistent. He wouldn’t give up easily after Gelber had held him up for that money. Perhaps he’d put the computer records in a safe-deposit box in his bank in Geneva. He’d known eventually those records would come in—
He froze.
A sound, soft, barely audible from the sitting room.
What the hell?
His gun in the nightstand. He had his hand on the cool metal when he heard another sound, closer, near the window.
Imagination?
Better be sure …
He moved toward the window.
* * *
“THE SON OF A BITCH is holding me up for eight hundred thousand.” Pierce told Stella as he hung up the phone. “He doesn’t give a damn what kind of trouble we could both be in.”
“With Nelda?”
“Not only with Nelda.”
Stella’s eyes narrowed. “But it’s Nelda who is pushing you. Why did you suddenly decide you had to send Gelber out of the way?”
“It wasn’t suddenly. I always knew that he could be a problem. So did Nelda. But the problem didn’t raise its head until Beth took off. Now Nelda wants every loose end tied up, and she’s pressuring me. The bitch won’t accept anything less.”
“And Gelber won’t cooperate without a fat bribe.”
“He thinks he’ll come out of this smelling like a rose.”
“Is that possible?”
“Yes, if he decides to hand my head on a platter to the district attorney. He could make a deal.”
/> “Then wouldn’t it be safer just to give him the money?”
“Easy for you to say,” he said harshly. “It’s not your money.”
“No, and I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. You need to give me a bigger allowance. You don’t like me to wear the uniform when we’re alone, but how can I afford to buy anything decent on the money you give me?”
“I don’t want you to be decent. That’s the last thing in the world I intend for you.” His gaze wandered over Stella as she sat with one naked leg over the arm of the black velvet easy chair. She was dressed in a gold silk robe that hugged her body and almost fully revealed the swelling of her breasts. Her red hair shone against the shimmering material, and she was totally and temptingly arousing. “But I like that gold thing you’re wearing. Wear it tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“I’m taking you with me when I meet Gelber at the motel tomorrow morning. In fact, I think we’ll check into the motel before he gets there so that you can be ready for him. He thinks you’re hot. He wants to screw you.”
“Of course he does.” She smiled as she pulled the robe down to totally bare her breasts. “Isn’t he a man? But I thought you were mad at him. You want to give him a present?”
“Hell no, but I don’t want to be robbed by the bastard either. There’s a chance that I can bargain with him. I’ll bring two cashier’s checks for $400,000 each. I’ll see if I can trade one of those checks for a few months with you and your promise to do any service he asks of you.” His lips tightened. “And you’d better get him so hot that he can’t think of doing anything else but screwing you. You can do it. You can drive him crazy.”
“But only if I want to do it.” She got to her feet and stretched like a cat. “Beg me.”
“I don’t have to beg you. You belong to me.”
She took off the gold robe and dropped it on the floor. “Only when I choose. Haven’t you found that out yet? I’m becoming stronger and stronger every time we do it and you’re becoming weaker. You have more stamina than most men, or I would have left you before this.” She tilted her head. “A few months is a long time to be another man’s whore. Gelber isn’t you. I could drive him crazy. He doesn’t realize that I could break him in a few weeks.” She moved toward him. “Do you want me to do that?”