“It’s not as if I’m not doing even more than you could expect of me. I gave you Gelber. I’ll give you Beth Avery, too, if you can find a way for me to get her away from Quinn and the others. Of course, I could blow that whole damn house to hell and gone and get rid of all of them, but you said no publicity where she was concerned.”
“No, that would be totally unacceptable. I’ve paid you a good deal of money. It’s really not my job to make it easy for you, Drogan.”
“But you will. Because you’ll do anything to have this over quickly. It’s too inconvenient for you.”
“You have monumental nerve to believe you can judge what I will or will not do.” She was silent for a moment, thinking. “There may be a way. I don’t want to do it, but I may be able to make it work. I have both Quinn’s and Duncan’s telephone numbers. But do you have a way to contact Beth directly?”
“No, she got rid of the phone Newell gave her after I called her that first time.”
“We may still be able to work through Duncan. I’ll have to think about it. It’s all in the positioning. Don’t make a move. I’ll get back to you.” She hung up.
“Did you hear that?” Drogan murmured as he looked down at the small metal container on the seat beside him. “It’s all in the positioning, Mama Zela. You know about positioning, don’t you?”
He smiled as he heard the familiar slither within the case. He had chosen well. This Mama Zela was restless and eager to strike. It was his habit to call all the snake gods by his mother’s name whenever he decided a death deserved the proper ritual. Sometimes, as he watched with fascination a snake writhe and strike, he wondered if his mother had come back to earth and could truly be one of the snakes he used to kill. It wouldn’t surprise him. His mother had been as vicious and full of poison as a rattlesnake until the day he had shoved the bitch into that coffin and given her the snake to keep her company. The idea of her coming back as a serpent amused him; he liked the idea of being able to keep her caged up and made to do his bidding. “Don’t be impatient, Mama. I’ll have plenty of work for you soon,” he whispered. “Everything is ready. We only have to wait until that other bitch comes through with what I need. We don’t get the chance of doing kills the way we want them very often, do we? But this is worth a little time and risk.” His hand stroked the smooth metal of the case. “You’re going to like Eve Duncan, dear Mama Zela.”
* * *
“WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO SAY?” Beth asked as she closed the last page. “You’re looking at me as if you think I’m going to explode or something.”
“I didn’t know what you were going to do,” Eve said. “But I thought there would be more response than this. I was more upset than you are.”
“I’m upset. I think it’s terrible. But it’s as if it happened to someone else. I can’t remember it, Eve.” She moistened her lips. “And how can I believe it if I don’t remember it?”
“You don’t believe it happened?”
“I think some of it might have been true.”
“Why not all of it?”
“The part about Rick and that young girl. It’s … ugly. I won’t believe he’d do that kind of thing. Rick isn’t like that.”
“Isn’t he? You must have noticed that he was attracted to young girls. What about your friends? Didn’t he ever comment on them? Didn’t you notice that he liked to be around them?”
“No!” Beth’s eyes were suddenly blazing. “Stop saying things like that. It’s natural that he’d like to be around my friends. He knew I was lonely because he couldn’t be with me. He told me that he wanted me to have lots of friends around me to make up for it. Of course he liked all of my school friends. And they liked him, everyone likes Rick.”
“I’m sure they did. He seems to be a charmer.” Eve added quietly, “But a charmer with a terrible flaw, Beth. We think the Asian girl you saw that night was a Chinese prostitute who was only twelve years old. And there’s a good chance she died because Rick’s mother thought she was a danger to her son’s career.”
“If it did happen, it was his mother’s fault. Rick had nothing to do with it.” Her hand reached up and desperately clutched the golden key on the chain at her throat. “He would never hurt anyone.”
“There are many ways to hurt besides the physical.” Her gaze was on the golden key. “I’ve noticed you grab that pendant whenever you’re upset. Did he give it to you?”
“Yes, when I was sixteen.” Her voice was uneven. “He told me to wear it forever, and I’d know that I had the key to his heart. No matter how far apart we were, we’d still be together.” She stared at Eve defiantly. “It was on my neck all the time I was in the hospital. He must have told them to make sure it was never taken from me.”
“Very sentimental. It would have been better if he’d dropped the sentiment and tried to find a way to get you out of that place.”
“I’m sure he would have done it if he could. They must have lied to him. He wasn’t to blame. He loves me.”
Eve gazed at her helplessly. Beth wasn’t going to believe anything against her father, and, since he was the center of what happened that night at the chalet, she was looking at the entire report skeptically. How was Eve going to reach her?
“Beth, I believe that Gelber told the exact truth in those notes. Why would he lie?”
“How do I know?” she said jerkily. “I’ve been surrounded by violence and lies since Billy helped me escape from that hospital. Black is white. But I have to hold on to something. The only person I believe in is Rick. I won’t give him up because of some scribbling of that idiot doctor.”
“Beth…”
“No, Eve.” She shook her head forcefully. “Don’t talk about it anymore.”
“I will talk about it,” Eve said. “Cling to Rick if you have to do it, but believe that what happened that night was the reason that you lost all those years. You saw something you shouldn’t have seen, and Nelda Avery had to be sure that you didn’t talk. You may be right that Rick did love you and that—”
“Of course—and he still loves me.”
“Let me finish. If Nelda Avery wanted to keep her hold over her son, she couldn’t risk killing you. Even an accidental death would appear entirely too ‘convenient’ to him under the circumstances. But a tragic skiing accident in which your injury required permanent care and restraint would fit the bill. It actually must have been very satisfying for her on several levels. Your very existence must have been a constant thorn in her flesh since her son insisted on keeping in touch with you. It was much safer to have you under strict control. Will you accept that as being reasonable?”
“Maybe.” She went on in a rush of words, “I know that you think I’m being foolish. But what if that report was twisted and not true? All that about me not being able to breathe … Wouldn’t that posthypnotic suggestion have some kind of an effect on me now if it wasn’t pure bull? I’m fine, Eve.”
“Because in your heart you’re still believing what Gelber told you to believe, that you never went to that chalet. Because you’re afraid it’s going to hurt too much if you believe what really happened. You’d take the physical pain but not the emotional.”
“Think what you like.” She tossed the pages on Eve’s lap. “Everyone has gone to a lot of trouble to try to help me, and I appreciate that you—” She had to stop, her eyes glittering with tears. “I’m sorry, Eve,” she whispered. “It hurts me to have you believe I’m not grateful for all you’ve done. I want to think what you think, do what you think is best, but I can’t. I have to go my own way. Please forgive me.”
Eve could feel her throat tighten as she looked at her. In a way, she had tortured Beth as much as that bastard Gelber by bringing her face-to-face with her father’s sins and his involvement in her imprisonment in that hospital. How could she expect her to be willing to accept it? It might take a long time for her even to come close.
But they didn’t have a long time, she thought desperately. Things were moving at li
ght speed.
Maybe they could work around Beth in some way, Eve thought wearily as she got to her feet. They seemed to have no choice at the moment. “There’s nothing to forgive.” She put the notes back on the bed. “I only ask you to read it again and see if—just read it again.” She turned toward the door. “I’ll see you later. I’m going to check with Joe and see if he’s been able to contact Cara Sandler. We’re trying to verify Gelber’s notes. I know you didn’t like or trust her, but we have to do what we can to—”
“Eve.”
Eve looked back at her.
“I … have to tell you something.”
“So tell me.”
“This is … difficult for me. I think I— I don’t know much about affection and stuff like that except with Rick. But I think I like—” She lifted her chin. “No, I think I … care for you. After all, we’re sisters. I guess that’s not weird or anything. You don’t have to feel the same way about me. That’s okay. We’ve barely gotten to know each other. I just wanted to let you know. Things happen, and if you don’t say the words, then they might get lost, and I wouldn’t—”
“Hush, Beth.” Eve smiled at her. “It’s difficult for me, too. We seem to be alike in more than blood. I think I care for you as well. But we’re as different as night and day in most things, and it’s going to take some doing to bridge those differences. We’ll have to take our time.”
Beth’s eyes were bright with eagerness. “But we’ll get there, won’t we?”
“We’ll get there.” She closed the door behind her and stood in the hall for an instant, trying to smother the emotion Beth’s words had ignited. Beth was part child, part woman, and her eagerness, vulnerability, and strength were impossible to resist.
And Eve didn’t want to resist, dammit. She had fought against letting Beth into her life in a meaningful way, but that was in the past. But as she had said, they were two individuals who would have to walk carefully not to damage one another.
“Eve?” Joe was walking toward her down the hall. “You’re upset. How did she take it?”
“The way we thought she would,” Eve said as she went toward him. “She won’t believe anything bad about Rick Avery. And she’s leaning toward not even believing much of Gelber’s notes because she’s in defense mode about her father. I asked her to read the notes again and think about them.”
“Will she do it?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. She doesn’t want to do it. Her first impulse is to reject.” She made a face. “But she has an intrinsic honesty that keeps her from being completely blind about it. I’m hoping that she’ll be able to begin to accept that it might be true the longer she lives with the knowledge.” She added soberly, “But time seems to be running out, doesn’t it?” She didn’t wait for an answer but changed the subject. “Did you get Cara Sandler’s number and manage to contact her?”
“Yes, I got her cell number.” His lips twisted. “But no I didn’t contact her. The call was picked up by the Vancouver police, and I got bombarded by questions.”
“The police?”
“Cara Sandler’s car went off the highway and down a gorge yesterday evening. She was killed on impact.”
“Damn,” Eve whispered. “How?”
“That’s what the police are trying to determine. They think the brake lines were cut.”
“Nelda Avery?”
Joe nodded. “Probably through one of Drogan’s contacts. Or maybe she’s had a plan in mind for Sandler for a long time and just set it in motion. She appears to be very efficiently tying up all the loose ends she left dangling all those years ago.”
“Hans Gelber, now Cara Sandler. So much for having a witness that could keep Beth from being tossed back in that hospital.” She leaned her head on Joe’s chest. “Hell, Joe, Cara Sandler was in Canada. Nelda is reaching out like a scorpion and stinging—” She drew a deep breath. “Maybe if we tell Beth about Cara Sandler, it will have some effect and she’ll be able to see the pattern.”
“We can hope it will—” His phone rang and he glanced at the ID. “Newell? Why would he call from—” He accessed the call. “What’s happening?”
He listened for a moment. “See what you can find out from your friends at the hospital.” He hung up and took Eve’s arm. “Come on, let’s go downstairs and watch the news on TV. Harry Pierce has been reported missing.”
“Pierce?”
He nodded as he nudged her down the stairs. “He had a meeting with an important donor at noon today and he didn’t show. He took out $800,000 in cashier’s checks early this morning. Stella Lenslow was with him last night and presumably this morning.”
“Then maybe Pierce lost his nerve, and he and his lady friend took off for some South Sea island.”
“Maybe. He didn’t impress me as being very brave but he was greedy. Less than a million dollars? I think he’d want more than that to set up his own Shangri-la.” His lips tightened. “Newell is seeing what he can find out at the hospital. We’ll have to watch for more news and try to put a picture together.”
* * *
“WHEN ARE YOU COMING HOME, Nelda?” George asked as soon as he picked up the phone. “I can’t stall the media much longer, and Rick is asking questions, too. What’s happening?”
“I’ve called Rick and told him that I’m fine. Let the campaign people handle the media.” She didn’t want to deal with George just then, but it wasn’t smart not to keep him calm and think he was still in the loop. She was too far away to influence him on a physical basis, and verbal reassurance was the best she could do. “I just wanted to let you know that everything is going well, and I should be able to come back in a few days.”
“You didn’t answer me,” George said. “What’s happening? Have you found Beth?”
“No. Not yet. But I’m getting close. It shouldn’t take much longer.”
“If you’re that close, then leave it up to Pierce.”
Pierce. It was going to cause a problem when George learned about Pierce’s death. Maybe prepare him a little? “I’m having trouble getting in touch with him. He may have decided to take the money we’ve been paying him and head for sunnier pastures.”
“Bullshit,” George said bluntly. “He’s been under your thumb too long. He hasn’t the guts to double-cross you.”
George was too sharp. She’d just have to deal with the Pierce problem when it developed. “I hope you’re right. I just want to have Beth back in that hospital and be on my way home to you.” She added quickly, “I have to go now. Take care. I’ll let you know if there’s any progress.”
“There doesn’t appear to be much chance of that happening.”
“Don’t be pessimistic. Trust me. Things are working out very well. Definitely progress.” She hung up.
It was true. There had been progress once she had gathered the reins into her own hands. Not the kind with which George would be happy, but it was the only kind she could make and still protect herself. She had taken the weapons she had found and made them her own. Drogan had been a particularly valuable tool, with his lethal mind-set, contacts with other equally efficient killers around the globe, plus a total lack of loyalty to Pierce. She’d needed only to furnish the money, and he had provided the means to start eliminating all the troublesome people who had been a danger to her for years. It had been almost a relief to know that she could break those chains she’d been forced to wear because of that night at the chalet. She was going to be free. She should probably have made this move before, but Rick had always been in her way. Now she had no choice since Pierce had failed so miserably to erase Beth from the scene.
But the list of the people who had been dragging her down and keeping Rick from reaching for the heights was dwindling. All she had to do was control Drogan after he cornered Beth and made the kill. It shouldn’t be too difficult. She was far more clever than Drogan.
And far more clever than Stella Lenslow.
She had a sudden memory of Stella sitting on the bed tha
t morning. She couldn’t deny that the slut had stirred her. It had been a long time since she had felt that intensity of lust, and it had been even stronger because she knew Stella was so dangerous. It might have been interesting to take a few chances and enjoy the skills Stella was offering to show her.
Interesting and exciting …
CHAPTER
16
STELLA HAD NEVER LIKED MOUNTAINS.
She gazed out the window of the plane at the darkness of the Rocky Mountains below her.
Beaches and surf had always been more flattering backgrounds to show her off to advantage. Heat and undulating rhythms and sensuous breezes suited her very well. What could you do with mountains but climb them and smile when someone said how inspiring they were?
Boring.
As boring as the trip had been so far. It had been bad enough during the daylight hours when she had first boarded the plane, but now that it was dark, all you could see were the red lights on the wings and the shape of the mountains below. She was ready to land, but it was at least another hour until they reached Vancouver, where she would change planes.
The only thing that made the trip bearable was the fact that she was on a private business jet. Well, not totally private. There was a Korean businessman toward the back of the Learjet who looked promising but seemed too involved with his wife sitting beside him to be worth bothering about. She had flown with Pierce a few times on private aircraft, and she liked them. They made her feel rather special, and this corporation jet of Nelda’s was particularly luxurious: soft lights, leather seats, and burl wood accents.
“More champagne?”
She looked up at the smiling male flight attendant, Mark Telfer, who was standing beside her seat. Good-looking but probably gay. He hadn’t paid her more than polite attention.
“Why not?” She gestured to her empty glass. “It’s very good.”
“The best.” He refilled her glass. “If you’d like anything else, all you have to do is call me. I received a note from Mrs. Avery right before we took off, and she said to make sure that I fulfilled your every wish. She specified the year for the champagne and sent a box of after-dinner chocolates for me to serve you.”