“Yes, you’ve done such a great job of keeping it out of the hands of the bad guys,” Gallo said sarcastically.
“That will be rectified.” He met Gallo’s gaze. “It is my creation. Therefore, it is mine to do with as I choose. I will not have governments or bureaucracies trying to get in my way. Would you not feel as I do?”
Gallo stared at him for a long moment, a dozen emotions flitting over his face. “It’s possible. I haven’t had the best experiences with government interventions in my life. There are too many ways Big Brother can be manipulated. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t try to stop you if you decided to make a deal with Nardik.”
“He wouldn’t do that, Gallo,” Catherine said.
“But you can see as far as Gallo knows, everything is still on the table as far as I’m concerned,” Hu Chang said. “He didn’t like it that I was not immediately up-front about my dealings with Jack Tan.” He said to Gallo, “I truly would have confessed all soon. I was searching for a possible way to remove Catherine from the entanglement.” He beamed. “Which would involve substituting risking your life to any danger to her. That would have made me very happy.”
Gallo’s lips were sudden quirking. “I can see how it would. Too bad you blew it.”
For God’s sake, Catherine thought, from suspicion and enmity they were beginning to bond in some twisted way. “You did blow it, Hu Chang. I thought we were on the same page.”
“Always, Catherine. But you can hardly blame me for wanting to preserve that page.” He reached into his inner jacket pocket and drew out a small, gray, leather notebook. “But speaking of pages, would you like to see the profile Jack Tan was so eager to have me approve for execution?” He moved across the room and handed her the tattered and stained book. “In spite of the waterproof sleeve, the binding is a little stained from being in the dampness of the woods. I hid it in the trunk of a tree. But the ink is still clear except for a little running on page three.” He added distastefully, “Though Tan’s less-than-clean fingerprints and scrawl are uglier than any other damage. As you can see, Gallo, I was prepared to share it with you.”
Gallo was ignoring him as he strode across the room to sit on the arm of Catherine’s chair. “Is there a name?”
“No name,” Hu Chang said. “That would have been too much to hope for. I told you, I was very disappointed in the scantiness of the information in this profile. However, I should have realized Nardik wouldn’t trust Jack Tan to any great extent. He’d give him what he needed to delve for the information he needed, and that would be all. I had a chance to go through the book earlier in the evening, and there were a few items of interest. You’ll notice at the top of page one there’s a date scribbled.”
“July 3,” Catherine said. “No year.”
“If you were planning an operation on a certain day, you wouldn’t need a year,” Gallo said. “Unless it was a year other than this one.”
She was going down the page. “‘Height 6 foot 3, weight 185 pounds, eyes blue, hair brown, age 46. Race Caucasian.’ This reads like a driver’s license.”
Gallo nodded. “Date of birth April 3, 1965. But no name, dammit.” He flipped to the page Tan’s scrawl had labeled Medical Records. “Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland, Hermann Hospital, Houston, Texas. St. Luke’s Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri.” He flipped the page again. “Just the names of the hospitals, no records.”
“Tan was probably going to be given authority to access those records if I proved cooperative and agreed to go over them with him,” Hu Chang said. “But it would have been a death sentence if Nardik had given Jack Tan those records. Then Tan would know who the target was, and I doubt if he would have lasted more than a few days. Nardik wouldn’t have trusted him. So it was fortuitous for Tan that he didn’t have to tap those records.” He added, “Though I’m sure that he’s still in serious trouble that he lost this notebook. It may still yield a good deal of what we need if we work at it.”
“July 3 doesn’t have to be a target date,” Catherine said.
“But it might be,” Hu Chang said. “We’ll see how it ties into the picture once we put it all together. But first we have to find out to whom these medical records belong. I told Tan I had to have complete records from birth to the present for any assessment of the efficacy of the drug. I believe our best bet is to go for the birth record and start from there.”
“So you mean we find out in which hospital he was born?” Catherine asked. “Do we each take a hospital and try to trace him by this date of birth? Then double-check the other hospitals for additional medical procedures performed on patients with the same name through the years?”
“That sounds like the best plan,” Gallo said. “I’ll take Hermann Hospital, Houston.”
“Johns Hopkins,” Hu Chang said. “That leaves you with St. Luke’s in St. Louis, Catherine.” He added, “But this is going to take a long time to access and call hospital administrations, then find out the names of all the baby boys born on that date.
“We do know he was Caucasian. That will help to narrow it down. May I suggest that we go to our rooms and get some sleep, then meet tomorrow at breakfast to discuss results?”
Catherine nodded. “Whatever. But it’s afternoon now in St. Louis. I may try to do some checking now anyway.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” Hu Chan was heading for the door. “It’s your choice, of course.” He glanced at Gallo as he reached the door. “As I said, I was impressed with you. I should have known Catherine would not have been drawn to anyone who was less than adequate. You may do very well after all.”
“I was thinking the same thing about you,” Gallo said coolly. “However, with considerable more skepticism. But only time will tell.”
Hu Chang smiled and inclined his head. “That is true.” The door closed behind him.
She was alone with Gallo. She was suddenly aware of how close he was to her, sitting on the arm of her chair, the warmth his body was emitting, the sensuous feel of the velvet upholstery against her bare foot that was tucked beneath her. The faintest scent of spice and lemon …
“You go, too, Gallo,” Catherine said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
He rose from the arm of her chair. “We could work on these hospitals together.” His brows rose. “Or am I in disgrace for treating your Hu Chang with disrespect?”
“Why? Hu Chang was playing his own games, and they needed to be exposed. He’s always difficult, but he had no right to keep anything from us when we’re trying to help him.” She stared him in the eye. “But toward the end, the two of you were playing a different game and leaving me out. I didn’t like that.”
“The game was all about you, Catherine,” he said quietly.
“A game to keep me safe and out of the action.” She didn’t bother to try to keep the anger from her voice. “No one does that to me, Gallo. I’ve earned my respect and independence. Don’t try to rob me.”
He stared at her a moment, then slowly nodded. “No disrespect. You’re right, I got a little carried away when I was confronting Hu Chang.”
“You bet you did.”
A sudden smile lit his face. “But I shouldn’t have to face this alone. Why don’t I go get Hu Chang and let you go after him, too?”
That smile was brilliant and full of warmth, and she could feel that familiar melting. No, she did not want to be drawn by that charisma. Hold on to the annoyance that had kept it at bay. “Hu Chang always knows when I’m annoyed with him. He doesn’t need words. I’ll see you at breakfast, Gallo.”
He gazed at her for a moment, then turned and headed for the door. “I won’t push it, Catherine. It’s tempting, but it’s not the time.” He smiled again as he opened the door. “I’m in your bad books. I have to prove that I have the utmost respect for your freedom of choice.”
She stared at the door after it had closed behind him. Damn him, he had known exactly how she had felt in that moment. She could still feel the flush of readiness that had begun
to ripple through her. It was evident she couldn’t be in the same room with him without that response.
Well, he isn’t here now. Forget him. Get some air, then get to work.
She got to her feet and went out on the balcony. She drew a deep breath of the intoxicating scents drifting from the flowers in the planting beds below. She looked up at the night sky, at the glitter blanket of stars. So much had happened tonight, so many words spoken, so many memories of the past, so many facts about that past that she’d taken for granted that had been questioned. By Hu Chang. By Gallo.
By herself.
Laughter …
She looked down at the fountain a short distance away.
Chen Lu again, joyous and full of life.
For an instant she felt a twinge of envy of the woman who seemed to live each day as if it were her last. Catherine had always tried to do that, but Chen Lu seemed to have perfected the skill.
Foolish. Catherine was not Chen Lu, and if she lived in this beautiful place, she would be bored within a week. She had to go her own path.
And now her own path was waiting for her inside and away from bright stars, gorgeous flowers, and sparkling fountains.
She went back into the suite to start making her phone calls.
* * *
SMOKE …
Catherine lifted her head from her pillow as she came wide-awake and alert.
Yes, smoke.
She swung her legs to the floor and jumped out of bed. She could see the sky was now a gray haze outside the balcony doors she’d closed when she went to bed a few hours ago.
Her phone rang.
“Fire,” Gallo said. “I don’t think it’s in the palace yet. Stay where you are. I’m coming to get you.”
“No, go get Hu Chang and see if he’s all right. He’s in the south wing. He’ll be the target. This can’t be an accident. I’ll see you downstairs in the foyer.” She hung up and started throwing on her clothes.
The smoke was getting heavier, and she ran to get a wet washcloth to cover her mouth and nose in case she had problems on the way down that grand staircase.
Explosion!
Somewhere in the garden.
God, Chen Lu and Rory had been in that garden.
She started for the French doors, then stopped. It was a risk to go out on the balcony. She could be a target. But it was more of a risk to go down to the garden and verify if she could see them than do it from up here. Dammit, there wasn’t any question that she wouldn’t do that.
Take the risk.
She threw open the balcony door.
No shots. The smoke poured into the suite. She darted to the left and pressed against the wall.
Dear God.
Chen Lu’s magnificent floral beds were on fire. Acres and acres of blossoms being devoured by flames. Through the heavy fog of smoke she could see several men in black leather jackets torching the garden.
The fountain. Chen Lu and Rory Benedict had been beside the fountain.
Her gaze strained through the stinging smoke to see if they were still there.
A swath of violet silk crumpled on the ground beside the fountain. Chen Lu? The man lying beside her must be Rory.
A powerfully built man stood over them. Black leather jacket, thick gray hair. He had a knife in his hand.
“For God’s sake, get off that balcony.” Gallo was running into the room behind her. “All hell’s breaking loose. On my way up here I took down a man who had blown the door from the veranda to the foyer. I couldn’t raise either of the two guards at the dock entrance.”
She barely heard him. She was staring down at the man standing over Chen Lu and Rory. He must have heard Gallo for he had raised his head and was looking up at her on the balcony.
Nardik. He was smiling.
Then he was reaching down and jerking one of the figures at his feet upright by the hair of the head. Chen Lu?
No, the hair was red and curly. It was Rory.
Catherine knew what he going to do.
“No! Oh, my God. Shoot him, Gallo.”
Gallo was already aiming his gun.
Too late.
Nardik looked up at her and his smile deepened as his knife sliced viciously across Rory’s throat.
Blood spurted.
Gallo’s bullet splintered the marble of the fountain next to him as Nardik disappeared into the smoke.
Gallo was muttering a curse as he jerked her back into the suite. “We’ve got to get out of here. I called the shore police, but they may not get here in time.”
“Not in time for Rory.” She felt sick as she remembered Nardik’s knife tearing through Rory’s throat. “Maybe not for Chen Lu.” She was stuffing the book with the victim profile into her duffel. Clear your head, she told herself. She couldn’t help Rory now, and Nardik had abandoned Chen Lu and disappeared into the smoke. She might still be alive. “That was Nardik, wasn’t it?” she asked jerkily. “I’ve only seen photos, but I recognized him.” She grabbed her duffel and headed for the door. “And he recognized me. He wanted to punish me. I smashed a wineglass, and he cut a throat. Son of a bitch.”
“It’s not your fault. Do you believe he wouldn’t have done it anyway? You know damn well he would have.” Gallo carefully opened the door, glanced outside, then motioned her to come. “He just had the opportunity to make it count for more, and he took it.”
“Where’s Hu Chang? I told you to go get Hu Chang.”
“And I decided to do exactly what I’d intended to do. I called Hu Chang and made sure he knew what was happening. He was already with Chen Lu’s security guards and trying to determine what was happening. I told him we’d meet him at the boats and get you out of here.”
“You’re crazy if you think I’d leave without knowing if—”
A bullet exploded in the wall next to her.
“Shit.” She pulled Gallo down behind the column at the top of the staircase. “They’re in the house. We may have to use the balconies.”
Another bullet.
One gunman near the chest beside the veranda door. She didn’t think there was more than that.
“By the door.” She took out her gun. “I’ll take my shot, then run to the next column. If he shows, take him out.”
“The hell you will,” Gallo muttered.
She was already aiming. She might be lucky …
No luck. She rose to her feet and, keeping low, streaked toward the nearest column.
Two shots, almost simultaneous.
The second hit the column before she dove behind it.
The first?
“Come on, I got him,” Gallo said roughly. “Unless you want to dodge a few more bullets.”
“Stop complaining. It was the fastest way.” Catherine glanced at the veranda door as she ran down the stairs. The man in the black leather jacket was lying against it, his head half blown off his body. “What’s the best route out of this place?”
“Rory showed me a tunnel passage below the palace that leads to the next house about a mile along the shore.”
Rory.
A vision of him came back to her, being held upright by Nardik while the bastard cut his throat.
“We’ll get him.” Gallo’s gaze was on her face as he pulled her toward the silk wall hanging across the foyer. “I liked Rory. We’ll get Nardik, Catherine. It’s only a—” He broke off and his head tilted as he listened. “I believe the cavalry has arrived. We may not have to use that passage.”
She, too, was hearing the wailing of the sirens of the shore patrol as they sped over the water. They were very close. “Then if we’ve got them on the run, let’s go after Nardik.” She headed for the veranda door. “I want that bastard.” She stopped. “Wait. Chen Lu. We have to make sure that she’s okay.”
She opened the door and smoke poured into the foyer.
The gardens were still blazing, and it was hard to see through the dense haze. If there were any of Nardik’s men in the garden she couldn’t see them. They were
probably in the palace or had fled when they heard the sirens.
But that smoke was now as dangerous as Nardik’s scumbags.
“The fountain…”
But Gallo was already running across the veranda and down the steps to the garden.
She was right behind him.
She started coughing and covered her mouth with the wet washcloth she had grabbed from her bathroom in the suite.
The white fountain loomed out of the haze.
Violet silk … and blood.
“I think she’s alive.” Gallo was kneeling beside Chen Lu, his fingers on the pulse in her throat. “Dammit, I can’t feel a pulse…”
“Let me see her. That may not mean anything.” Hu Chang had suddenly appeared out of the fog of smoke. He fell to his knees. “She’s very strong. She has a chance. The pulse can be elusive. There are ninety-seven pulse points…” He took her wrist and his fingers probed delicately. “I feel one. Let’s get her out of this smoke.”
“Rory…” Chen Lu’s eyes were open and fixed on Hu Chang’s face. “Help Rory … Hu Chang. Can you … save him?”
Hu Chang shook his head as he glanced at Rory’s body a few yards away. “Too late.”
“No, you can do it. Save … him.”
“I can’t save him. There’s no way, Chen Lu,” he said gently. “It’s too late.”
“I’ll take her.” Gallo gathered Chen Lu up in his arms. “I don’t think it’s only the smoke. There’s blood…”
Catherine could see the blood soaking the side of the violet silk of the caftan as she hurried after Gallo into the palace. “It’s a knife wound,” she said to Hu Chang, who was beside her. “Nardik had a knife. He and his men must have caught Rory and Chen Lu by surprise. They were both lying on the ground when I first caught sight of them from the balcony.” Her lips tightened. “But Nardik wanted me to know that he’d completed the job on Rory. He cut his throat.” The sirens were still wailing and the burning garden appeared deserted. “They were all dressed in those black leather jackets. What’s happening, Hu Chang?”