Silencing Eve

by Iris Johansen

  He stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. “I’ll have a car for you within the hour to take you to the airport. It will take me that long to arrange a charter. Anything else?”

  “A phone. I can’t chance using mine in case it’s been bugged.”

  He smiled. “I thought of that.” He reached into his pocket and handed her a pay-by-the-minute phone. “This should do.”

  “Not quite.” She handed it back to him. “I want your phone. I won’t chance your giving me a phone you’ve bugged either.”

  He frowned, then handed her his phone. “It’s an inconvenience.”

  “It’s an insurance policy.” She glanced around the lobby. Hell, she didn’t know if she was being watched or not. It had to be safer than her hotel room. “Wait here.” She dialed the phone as she strode over to the huge glass windows.

  “This is Harriet. I’ve been waiting to hear from you, James,” she said, when her ex-husband answered. “But now I’m not waiting any longer. Everything is falling apart. I’m going to get on a plane and come to you. Do you have Zander?”

  “Not yet. But I know he’s in the city. I can—”

  “I don’t care what you know. I want Zander dead. It’s time you made it happen. I don’t give a damn about Eve Duncan. She’s in the way. Kill her, then go after Zander.”

  “No, I’ve planned it all. I won’t give it up because you’re impatient.”

  “You fool. Listen to me. You let that journal be taken from you, and now Jane MacGuire and Venable and God knows who else are getting close to those nukes. If we don’t act soon, we’ll have to drop everything and go on the run. Then Zander will live, and I won’t have that happen.” Her voice hardened. “Get Zander. I don’t care how you do it, but you have him by the time I get out there, or you’ll ruin everything.” She paused. “And Kevin would never forgive you. He never tolerated failure. You remember that, James.”

  “I never failed him.”

  “Then don’t do it now. This is your last chance. Either do it your way, or step aside and let me go after Zander myself. Kevin would rather I do it anyway. He always knew he could trust me.”

  “Trust you? He only played with you, the way he played with those little girls. I’m the one who—” He broke off, and she could tell he was struggling with rage. “I’ll have Zander by the time you get here. I told you I was close. Not because you want it, but because Kevin would hate to have you spoil everything I’ve planned.”

  “I’ll call you when I get off the plane, and you can give me directions how to get to that cottage.” She paused. “And tell me that you have Zander staked out and ready for the kill.” She hung up.

  She felt an instant of fierce satisfaction. If anything would move James, it would be the words she’d thrown at him. He always had a tendency to be too careful and stick to his precious plans, but she’d always been able to manipulate him and guide him the way she wanted him to go.

  Now she’d had to crack the whip and make sure that he brought Zander under the gun.

  We’ll have you, Zander. Another few hours, and you’ll be a dead man.

  She turned on her heel and strode back toward Cartland.

  “You look … satisfied,” he said, his gaze on her face. “Maybe even triumphant. I hope that means something positive.”

  “I am satisfied.” She headed for the elevator. “Where is Jane MacGuire now?”

  He shrugged. “She left the hotel a few hours ago. Do you want me to check?”

  “No.” Harriet had no desire to have him trace the MacGuire woman’s steps if they were leading anywhere near that nuke. Harriet had to remain in control. “It’s not important now.”

  He lowered his voice. “I promised you I’d take care of her. Do you still want me to do it?”

  Did she want that bitch dead? Oh, yes, with her whole heart. But not by anyone’s hand but her own. She no longer wanted just to get rid of an inconvenience. Jane MacGuire had humiliated her and endangered her plans, and that had filled her with rage. Harriet wanted to pull the trigger, to see her die. “As I said, it’s not important. You’ve told me what I needed to know about her. I’ll take care of it.” She punched the button for the elevator. “Just get me out of the city. I’m going upstairs to pack. Call me when you’re ready to send the car.”

  Driftwood Cottage

  “YOU DIDN’T GO OUTSIDE TO TAKE that call, Doane,” Eve said. “Were you caught by surprise?” She studied his face. “Yes, I believe that’s probably it. Who is Harriet?”

  “A bitch like you,” he said through his teeth. “No, maybe worse than you. She thinks that she can tell me what to do. If I do what she wants, it’s because I choose, and Kevin wants it. It has nothing to do with her.”

  “Who is Harriet?” Her gaze narrowed on his face, trying to put it together. “Kevin…” Then it came to her. “Kevin’s mother?”

  “A bitch. She thinks she rules the world.” The words were spitting out. “She thinks that she was the only one Kevin loved. He didn’t care for her. He only used her.”

  “It appears he only used everyone.”

  “Well, I’m going to be done with the bitch and done with you.” He turned on his heel and went to the chest across the room. “She didn’t need to tell me to get Zander. He’s already in my sights.” He opened the top drawer. “I was going after him tonight anyway.”

  She stiffened. “You know where he is?”

  “Why, where would a father be when his daughter is in trouble?” he asked mockingly. “It seems Zander wasn’t fooled by that explosion in Colorado. He’s here in town and asking questions about me.”

  “About you, not me.”

  “If he knows about me, then he knows that you’re also alive.” He shrugged. “And that could mean that Quinn and Jane MacGuire may have staged a very elaborate distraction while they hunted me down. Not that it matters now. It will all be over tonight.” He took a large pistol out of the drawer and put it on the table. “And I’ll be done with Zander and you.” He added, “And maybe that other bitch, too.”

  “You’re going to shoot him?” Her gaze was on the pistol.

  “Eventually. Right now, I’m going hunting.” He stroked the butt of the gun. “This was Kevin’s tranquilizer gun. He used it occasionally when he did his own hunting. One shot, and they would be out.”

  She felt a chill. “Who would be … out?”

  “Why not come and see.” He yanked her to her feet and pushed her toward the front door. “Harriet said that Kevin and I had nothing in common, but he never shared this with her.” He threw open the door and she felt a blast of cool air as he pulled her out on the porch. He gestured to the shimmering white driftwood. “You said it looked like a graveyard. That’s how Kevin wanted it to look. It was his own little joke. He searched the entire coastline to find just the right-shaped driftwood.” He whispered. “Why do you think that he did that, Eve?”

  She was afraid she knew. “How many, Doane?” she asked hoarsely.

  “Only two little girls. He took one from a suburb in Seattle and the other from a little town in Oregon. He was under pressure when he was here and needed release, but he didn’t want to attract too much attention.” He nodded at the driftwood closest to the house. “One is buried there if I remember correctly. The other I’m not sure…”

  “Why bury them practically on his own doorstep?” she asked. “He must have been even more mad than I thought.”

  “He liked the idea of having them near him. And the fact that no one knew what lay beneath that pile of driftwood amused him.”

  “His little joke,” she repeated. She felt sick. A joke. And two little girls who had once been loved and cherished had died and never been brought home.

  “We can go inside now,” he said softly, his gaze on her face. “That’s how I wanted you to look. You were too hard, too tough, like her. But I can hurt you if I go about it the right way.”

  He pushed her back into the cottage. “And I can hurt her. I just have to wa
it until all this is over.” He pushed her down into the chair and began to bind her. “You’ll be good when I’m gone, won’t you? Just sit there and anticipate seeing your father. I may even let you have some time together before I kill you. He should appreciate what he’s losing.”

  “He won’t care if I live or die. How many times do I have to tell you that? We’re strangers.”

  “Blood means everything. He killed my son. Blood for blood.” He turned and picked up the tranquilizer gun. “And who knows? I may bury you both beneath that driftwood outside.” He smiled as he headed for the door. “Kevin would like that …

  * * *

  “I THINK YOU’D BETTER come back to the hotel, Jane,” Margaret said as soon as Jane picked up the phone. “Forget about those security tapes. Something strange is going on.”

  “We’ve already got the tapes. It didn’t take us that long. We’re already on our way back. What are you talking about?”

  “I was monitoring those machines, and Cartland called Harriet. He wouldn’t talk to her on the phone. She went down to the lobby to talk to him.”

  “What? Did she leave the hotel?”

  “No, that was what I was afraid would happen. I followed her down to the lobby. She talked to Cartland, then made a phone call and went back to her room.”

  “Could you get close enough to hear the conversation?”

  “No way. They were being supercareful.” She paused. “And when CartIand called her, he didn’t want her to talk on the phone. Does that suggest anything?”

  “That Cartland might be afraid that her phone has been bugged,” Jane said. “Shit.” She turned to Trevor. “She may be on the run. She could take off at any time.”

  “But not yet.” He stepped on the accelerator. “We should be back at the hotel in ten minutes.”

  Seattle

  CATHERINE SILENTLY OPENED the door.

  The sitting room was dark.

  There was no sound.

  But she knew Zander was in that room.

  And Zander knew she was standing there.

  “Really, Catherine, you’re making me feel harassed,” he said. “Though you’re very good. I didn’t even hear the door open.”

  “You’re ready to make a move, aren’t you?” she asked. “I’ve been feeling it all day. And you didn’t want me to follow you. That means you found out something from that contact Slater you talked to last night. You know where Doane is.”

  “No, I have no idea … yet.”

  “But you are ready to move.” Catherine turned toward the corner from where his voice was coming, but she couldn’t make him out in the darkness. “You know something. I’m coming with you, Zander.”

  “You’re not invited.”

  “Too bad.” She glided forward. “Now let’s stop playing hide-and-seek. Turn on the lights.”

  “But you have such a delightful voice coming out of the darkness. Very soft, very mysterious.”

  “If you don’t take me with you, I’ll follow you.”

  “I know you will.” His tone was regretful. “And I can’t allow you to do that.”

  His voice was issuing from about a foot right of the corner of the room, she judged.

  “You won’t kill me. Why should you? I’m on your side, on Eve’s side.”

  “No one is on my side but me. I learned that a long time ago. And you would get in my way, Catherine. That could be a great danger.”

  She could feel her heart pounding. “Okay, but I’m on Eve’s side. That means something to you.”

  “Does it?”

  “Yes. That man Slater told you something. What?”

  “Would I lie to you?”

  “Yes.”

  He chuckled. “True, but in this case I’m not lying.” He added, “And why are you trying to move closer to me? That’s really not wise, Catherine.”

  “I want you to be able to see me, touch me. I want you to remember who I am, all our conversations. I believe it’s much harder to strike down an antagonist you know.”

  “Not for me.”

  “Even you, Zander.” She paused. “You were waiting for me, weren’t you? Cat and mouse?”

  “You’re much more like a sleek, beautiful panther than a mouse. But yes, I was waiting for you. Since you’re my bodyguard, I thought I should tell you something.”

  “I can hardly wait to know what. You haven’t told me anything since I’ve been with you.”

  “Don’t be sarcastic. Pay attention. Judging by your information from Jane MacGuire, once I’m taken, I figure that I’ll probably have from five to eight hours before Harriet Weber shows up to witness my execution. After she shows up, I think that Eve’s survival will be very dicey. In case something goes wrong with my calculations, it might be wise if you find that driftwood cottage. Purely as a backup, you understand.”

  Shock jolted through her. “What the hell are you saying?”

  “I’ve always intimidated Slater. He probably did know where to reach Doane, but he would never deal with me. But he’d put out the word that I was in town and where I could be found … for a price. By this time, Doane should have set up his ambush. I’d bet he’s outside now waiting for me to appear.”

  “And you’re going to walk into it?” she asked in disbelief. “No, that’s a sure way to lose both Eve and you, dammit. I won’t let you do—”

  “I told you, I’m the one in control, Catherine.”

  “Not of Eve. You can commit suicide, but I won’t let you take Eve with you.” She gathered herself to leap. He’d be expecting it, but if she did a half—

  “Find that cottage, Catherine. Just as a precaution…”

  His voice was no longer coming from the corner, she realized in panic just a second before the edge of his hand came down on the back of her neck in a karate chop. He was behind her.

  How the hell … The bastard had been throwing his voice and been behind her all the time …

  Darkness.

  * * *

  A COLD, WET CLOTH on the back of her neck …

  She slowly opened her eyes.

  “You’re going to be okay, Catherine.” Stang’s voice was relieved. “I didn’t think that Zander would—But then I’m never sure what he’s going to do.”

  Anger shot through her as she struggled to sit up. She threw the wet cloth on the floor. “Neither do I, evidently.” She glared at him. “Did you know he’d set himself up?”

  “No, he doesn’t confide in me.” Stang took the wet cloth and put it on the coffee table. “But I admit I suspected … something.”

  “How long have I been out?”

  “About fifteen minutes. Zander phoned me and told me to go into the sitting room, then hung up.” He made a face. “Considering what a bad temper Zander has been in for most of the day, I was a little concerned when I saw you lying on the floor.”

  Fifteen minutes. There was no way that she would be able either to catch up or stop Zander. “I can see how you might be. I was an idiot.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I acted like a crass amateur. I wasn’t expecting magician’s tricks.” She said in disgust, “He threw his voice, for God’s sake. Did you know he could do that?”

  “No, but it doesn’t surprise me. He’s an expert, and it would come in handy in his profession. Zander always takes time and effort to study ways to keep himself alive.”

  “Like walking into the lion’s den?” she said. “That’s a weird way to stay alive. Like risking Eve?” Her lips tightened. “He even gave me an estimate on the number of hours Doane would allow him to live if he couldn’t manage to get away from him. Five to eight. That’s all the time he would have, that Eve would have.” She whispered, “Five to eight hours. How’s that for a deadline.”

  Stang tilted his head. “Why would he tell you that? That doesn’t sound like Zander.”

  “Just as a precaution, he said. He told me to find that driftwood cottage as backup.” Her hands clenched into fists. “He probably doesn’t believe Kevin’s cottage e
ven exists. But he saddles me with setting up backup in case he screws up and Doane kills him. Or maybe he just wanted to keep me busy so that I wouldn’t chase after him.”

  “Precaution,” Stang repeated thoughtfully. “I’ve never known Zander to rely on anyone else for backup. He’d regard it as a mistake to trust anyone but himself.” He smiled slightly. “You’re to be complimented, Catherine.”

  “I don’t give a damn about compliments. I care about Eve.” She pulled out her phone and dialed Gallo. “Zander’s gone. I think he’s letting himself be taken by Doane. Or maybe not. What the hell do I know what the bastard will do? He’s put Eve in a spot, and I—” She drew a deep breath. “We have to find that cottage, Gallo.”

  “Are you okay? You sound a little shaky.”

  “I have a sore neck from a karate chop, and I’m angry and scared that Zander has set off a chain of events that we won’t be able to stop.”

  “Karate chop?” Gallo echoed. “Zander? I believe that I need to—”

  “Stop it, Gallo. That’s not important. Where are you and Joe? I’m at the Appleton Arms. I’ll pack and come to you.”

  “No, we’ll come to you. What room?”

  “Two-forty.”

  “Stay where you are. Is anyone with you?”

  “Stang.”

  “That’s no protection. He’s in Zander’s pocket. We’ll be right there.”

  “I don’t need your protection,” she said testily. “Though I was a fool about—”

  Gallo had hung up.

  Stang smiled. “I take it that Gallo doesn’t accept me as a suitable guardian for you. Very perceptive. Now, if the roles were reversed…”

  “You’re employed by Zander. You have a certain loyalty to him.” She dropped down in a chair. “You could be as tough as Rambo, and Gallo would still not trust you.”

  “Rambo. Rather dated but descriptive.” He grinned. “And no one would recognize me with a machete between my teeth. I never wanted to be anything but what I am. An accountant with a talent for the stock market.” He studied her. “Could I get you a glass of water, a cup of coffee? You still don’t look so hot.”

  “I’m fine. I’m just angry with myself.”