Chasing the Night

by Iris Johansen

  “You didn’t tell me that,” Catherine said.

  “It wasn’t your business any longer. You turned her over to me. She was mine.”

  “It’s not safe for her. Rakovac hates you. He hasn’t tried to hunt you down since you’ve been keeping a low profile. But he could find out she’s with you and come after her. Send her away. She’s stronger now.”

  “I won’t do that again,” he repeated. “We’ll get through this together. Sometimes you can’t pick and choose. You have to accept the inevitable and make the best of it.”

  “She’s doing so well. I’d hate to have—”

  A gentle ping from Eve’s computer on the console across the room.

  “E-mail!” Eve jumped from her chair and was at the bureau where she’d left the computer in seconds. She flipped open the laptop as she carried it back to the chair. “It’s about time.”

  “The institute?” Joe asked.

  She nodded absently as she pulled up the message. “And it seems to be fairly inclusive by the size of it.” Her gaze was flying over the e-mail. “The twisted tree near the grave appears to be pine. Under intense magnification, they discerned another tree in the background that they’re sure is birch. The earth is slightly damp and suggests either recent rainfall after the exhumation or that the grave is located in a marsh.” She leaned forward. “They’re leaning heavily toward the latter because of the piece of fungus on the left thigh.”

  “The moss?” Catherine asked.

  “Only it’s not moss, it’s lichen. Which is usually a cross between alga and fungal filaments.”

  “And does it exist in a marsh?” Catherine was suddenly beside her, looking down at the e-mail. “Birch and pine are found in marshes.”

  Eve nodded. “There are over twenty thousand different kinds of lichen known, but that gray lichen with orange markings is from a peat bog. And it’s not that common, thank God. It exists in several places in northern Europe, but in Russia it’s been found only near the Caspian Sea and in the marshes of the Ivanova region.”

  “Ivanova,” Kelsov murmured. “Oh, yes, I know those marshes.”

  Catherine’s gaze flew to his face. “And that means Rakovac would know them.”

  “Like the back of his hand.” Kelsov’s lips twisted. “I can still feel the chill of the nights we spent in those marshes. Russia had given refuge to our enemies, the Ossetians, and a large number settled there. We went after them. I killed my first man near there and threw his body into a peat bog. I was twelve, and I had nightmares for years of watching that yellow mud suck him down.”

  “So if Rakovac was going to hide a grave, it could be near there?”

  “Much more likely than the Caspian Sea,” Kelsov said. “But that marshland area extends for miles. The grave won’t be easy to find if he didn’t decide just to throw the skeleton into the bog instead of returning it to the grave.”

  “I think he buried the skeleton again,” Eve said. “He kept taunting me about working on Luke’s skull. I’d have to have access to it if I’m to do a reconstruction. He wants me to find it. Or, at least, he wants to dangle it in front of us. If Rakovac can kill us, then he’ll probably do it, but I think he’d prefer that he stretch it out a bit.”

  “Yes, he would,” Natalie whispered. She was standing in the doorway, carrying a tray, and her face was parchment pale. “He likes to take his time and make you hurt.”

  “I’ll take that.” Joe was on his feet and taking the tray. “Sit down. I’ll pour you a cup of coffee.”

  “No, I’ll do it. My job…”

  Kelsov pushed her into a chair. “You’re officially on vacation.” He poured a cup of coffee and put it into her hands. “But only for the next twenty minutes. Then you’re back on the clock.”

  She lifted the cup to her lips. “I’m sorry.” She took a deep drink of coffee. “You’ve found him?”

  “We’re close. We think we can find the place where he’ll set up an ambush. We might be able to turn it on him.”

  She shook her head. “That’s not good. You’re not sure. You have to be sure with him. I had no plan. I just ran. I should have had a plan.”

  Such simple words but threaded with pain, Eve thought. Through this woman, her vision of Rakovac was becoming vividly alive and hideous. “We’ll have a plan. First, we have to see if we can find that grave.” She looked at Kelsov. “Do you have any contacts in that area who might be able to tell you anything?”

  He nodded. “If they’re not too afraid to talk. Rakovac still has both friends and enemies in that area.”

  “Can you call them?”

  He shook his head. “I have to see them in person. It’s the only way I can judge whether they’re lying to me. I have friends and enemies there, too. Most of them in the village of Svedrun, near the marsh. I can’t always tell which ones have crossed over to Rakovac’s camp. Time and money change everything. Men who swore that they’d hate Rakovac to the day they died for betraying me are working for him now.” He shrugged. “I think I’d know if they were lying to me if we were face-to-face. I’ll have to see.” He poured coffee into the cups on the tray. “I suggest we drink our coffee and head for bed. We’ll start out for Svedrun in the morning.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Natalie said.

  He shook his head. “Not this time.” He lifted his cup. “I promised you that I’d give you Rakovac, but we’re not close enough.”

  “I want to—”

  “No,” he said. “Don’t argue, Natalie.”

  She opened her lips to protest, then closed them again.

  Catherine turned back to Eve. “Is there anything else?”

  Eve glanced down at the e-mail. “Just references and sources they used. The institute is nothing if not meticulous.”

  “But efficient,” Catherine said. “Why can’t we leave tonight, Kelsov?”

  “I have a few calls to make to prepare the way. I want to switch cars halfway to Svedrun. I don’t believe my vehicle has been traced to me, but I don’t want to take chances when we’re going into what might be Rakovac territory. As I said, he has spies and contacts all over Russia.” He paused. “I know you’re in a hurry, Catherine. But I won’t risk our necks unless I have to do it.” He turned to Natalie. “Show Eve and Joe to my bedroom. Catherine can sleep with you. I’ll bed out here on the couch tonight. Tomorrow I’ll put up a cot in the barn.”

  Natalie got to her feet. “I’ll bring you some linens.” She looked at Eve and Joe. “If you’ll follow me?”

  Eve closed the computer and got to her feet. “Thank you.” She asked Kelsov, “What time in the morning?”

  “Six.” He turned to Catherine. “Is that good enough?”

  “If it has to be.” Catherine moved toward the door. “You go with Natalie, Eve. Kelsov, come and help me bring in our suitcases.”

  “I’ll come out and help,” Joe offered.

  Catherine shook her head. “Get Eve settled. Kelsov is always bragging how strong he got working in that labor camp in Siberia. Let him prove it. I’ll load him down like a pack mule.”

  “I believe she’s a bit irritated because I’m asking her to wait for morning,” Kelsov said as he followed Catherine. “But it’s no punishment. I’m far stronger than any pack mule.”

  “I told you he bragged a lot,” Catherine said as she opened the front door. “I’ll have your cases to you in a few minutes.”

  Natalie stared after her an instant before she opened the bedroom door. “She’s so…strong. Not in body, but in other ways. As strong as he is. He likes that.” She stepped aside and gestured. “I changed the linens when Kelsov told me he was bringing guests. There’s only one bathroom in the house, and it’s off the living room. Tell me if you need anything.”

  “We’ll be fine, Natalie,” Eve said. “Catherine will bring us a toothbrush and anything else we need.” She glanced around the room. It was very simply furnished, with only a double bed covered with a dark cotton spread and an oak nightstand. E
verything in the room appeared spotlessly clean. “It looks very comfortable. Good night.” She turned to Joe after Natalie left the room. “You were quiet at dinner. What were you thinking?”

  “I was thinking I don’t like this damn lack of control.” He made a face. “Kelsov is a little too domineering for my taste.”

  “And you don’t trust him.”

  He shrugged. “He’s an unknown quantity. Catherine trusts him…within limits. I’d just as soon make my own judgments.”

  “You always do. But he seems to be in control at present.”

  “Then it might be a good idea to do something to shift the balance.”

  Eve’s eyes narrowed on his face. “We do need him, Joe.”

  “I’m not saying that I’m ready to eliminate him from the picture.” He smiled. “I’m just analyzing the situation, Eve.”

  But Joe was probing, weighing options, and that often translated into action. She had known when she had first seen Kelsov that Joe would be wary of him. He didn’t entirely trust arrogance or flamboyance, and Kelsov certainly had both.

  “Stop frowning.” He touched her cheek. “I’m not going to cause any trouble. I’m just going to keep my eye on Kelsov.” He turned toward the bed. “Now I think I’ll stretch out. You use the bathroom first, and I’ll bring you your robe when Catherine comes back with the cases.”

  “We think Catherine Ling has left Atlanta,” Russo said as he came into the study. “Or, at least, Duncan’s lake cottage. Our agent was able to get close again earlier today, and the cottage appears to be deserted.”

  Rakovac leaned back in his chair. “No Duncan either?”

  Russo shook his head. “And he checked with the ATLPD, and Joe Quinn has taken a leave of absence.”

  He smiled with satisfaction. “Then I believe we can assume that Catherine has taken the bait and jerked Eve Duncan into the whirlpool with her. We should be hearing something from our Catherine shortly.” And that meant that the final stage of his personal game had been put in place. But it had to coincide with the grand scheme with Dabala for the timing to be perfect. “Did you check the bank? Has Ali Dabala sent the first installment?”

  Russo shook his head. “He said he and his group want to see proof of your efficiency. It’s a lot of money. How does he know that you won’t disappear and leave him looking the fool?”

  Rakovac scowled. He’d known that Ali would balk at the down payment, but he’d hoped he was desperate enough to come through with it anyway. Evidently, that wasn’t going to happen.

  “What are you going to do?” Russo asked.

  “Give him what he wants. It’s not as if I’m not prepared.” He flipped open his desk drawer and pulled out the schedule. Ten positive hits. Three alternates if those didn’t come through. Two other cities far from the main target area.

  One in Istanbul, Turkey.

  One in Lima, Peru.

  He pondered the two cities. It felt a little godlike to be able to lift his finger and decide if thousands of people were going to die.

  Russo moistened his lips. “Which one?”

  “Either would do. They’re both on different continents from the U.S. and wouldn’t arouse too much outrage. The Americans always claim to be horrified at another country’s disasters, but if it doesn’t touch them, they have a certain remoteness. They wouldn’t recognize it as a threat to them.”

  “Venable would recognize it.”

  “But he wouldn’t be able to convince anyone else.”

  “So which one?”

  His hand hesitated over the Istanbul page, then flipped open the Lima file.

  The face in the photo was of a man his late forties, slightly plump, with silver frosting his temples.

  “Pedro Gonzalez,” Rakovac said. “Gate agent. Vantaro Airlines. Wife and three children. Are we ready for him?”

  “We’re ready.”

  “Then tell Dabala to get one of his men down to Lima, and we’ll have his documents and his flight arranged. All he has to worry about is whether his man has the nerve to pull the trigger. Or, in this case, go to his precious paradise.” His lips tightened. “And the minute it happens, I want a wire in my bank account for the $3 million.”

  Russo nodded and hurried from the room.

  Rakovac closed the file, and his gaze shifted to the photo of Catherine Ling. “It’s starting,” he said softly. “I’d love to stretch our finale out to the limit, but I may be getting pushed. Do hurry along, won’t you?”

  Joe’s eyes flicked open.

  A car was starting outside the house.

  He stared into the darkness, listening.

  Unmistakable.

  He checked his watch—3:05 A.M.

  He slid silently and swiftly out of bed, careful not to wake Eve. He grabbed his gun from his case and moved out of the bedroom and through the living room.

  No Kelsov on the couch. Only a carelessly thrown blanket on the floor beside it.

  Joe was out of the house in seconds.

  But the car was already moving down the road, and he could only see the red taillights.

  His hand clenched on the handle of his gun.

  “Where the hell are you going, Kelsov?” he muttered.

  They had no other vehicle, so he couldn’t go after him, and again he felt that irritating sense of helplessness. It had to stop.

  Was Kelsov betraying them?

  He had no idea, and that made him even angrier. It was definitely a surreptitious and suspicious move, but this was Kelsov’s territory, and sometimes actions weren’t what they seemed. The only thing he could do was wait and be on alert for any danger to Eve and Catherine. But he was going to have a few choice words for Kelsov when he returned.

  No, he was too pissed for words. Action. Definitely action.

  The decision caused the adrenaline to start pumping through his body. He felt alive and purposeful for the first time since they had landed at that airport. He’d check the barn and surrounding woods to make sure there weren’t any surprises waiting. Then he’d stake out the cottage and wait for Kelsov.

  He turned on his heel and went back into the house to get dressed.

  Chapter

  10

  The first dim light of dawn was starting in the east when Joe saw the headlights of Kelsov’s Mercedes.

  One car.

  No one following him.

  But he had been gone almost two hours.

  Forget it and approach him diplomatically at a later time?

  Hell, no.

  He faded into the shadows beside the door.

  The car slowed and came to a stop in front of the cottage.

  Kelsov got out and came around the front of the car, but didn’t come toward the door. Now he was beside the passenger seat and moving—

  Someone was in the backseat!

  Joe leaped forward and brought him down.

  Kelsov rolled over and was reaching inside his jacket.

  A knife.

  “Oh, no.” Joe flipped him over and his arm encircled his neck, using him as a shield against whoever was in the car.

  “Let him go.” The muzzle of a gun was pressed to the back of Joe’s head. “Hurt him, and I’ll shoot you.”

  Natalie. Her voice was shaking but the gun she was holding was not.

  “No. Put down the gun. I won’t break his neck if he stops struggling.”

  “Screw you,” Kelsov said.

  “Stop it.” The back door of the car swung open. “All of you. Stop it. Joe, he’s not doing anything wrong. Let him go.”

  “Kelly?”

  The girl got out of the car. Her face was pale and she was shaking. But she was standing with hands clenched, her gaze on the other woman. “And you, you’re shaking so badly that you could blow his brains out by accident. Kelsov, tell her to put it down.”

  “Some accidents are sent by God.”

  “And how would she feel?”

  He was silent. “Put it down, Natalie.”

  She did
n’t move.

  “Joe,” Kelly said.

  He reluctantly released Kelsov.

  Natalie stepped back, but she didn’t lower the gun.

  Kelsov sprang catlike to his feet and whirled on Joe.

  Joe blocked the first karate chop and kicked Kelsov’s legs out from under him.

  “No!” Catherine was standing in the doorway, an automatic weapon in her hand. “Freeze. Or I’ll shoot you both in the knees. It’s not something I want to do since I may need you, but I’ll do it.”

  Natalie swung the gun in her direction.

  “No, Natalie!” Kelsov dove forward between her and Catherine. He took the gun away from her. “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not okay,” Catherine said. “What is happening here?” Then her gaze fell on Kelly standing beside the car. “Oh, for Pete’s sake.”

  “Hello, Catherine,” Kelly said.

  Catherine whirled on Kelsov. “What’s she doing here?”

  Kelsov shrugged. “Venable called me tonight just after midnight and told me she was on her way and to pick her up at the airport.”

  “Dammit, why didn’t you tell me?”

  “He told me you wouldn’t like it.”

  “But you did it anyway.”

  “It’s a tough world. Venable is valuable to me, and he doesn’t like me helping you. I have to strike a balance. I do a few things he considers as favors, and he turns a blind eye to a few things that tend to annoy him. It didn’t seem much of a favor just doing a pickup and delivery.” He turned and glanced at Kelly. “But he didn’t tell me she was just a kid.”

  “But, again, you would have done it anyway.”

  He nodded. “It’s a tough world,” he repeated. His expression hardened as he looked at Joe. “What the hell do you think you were doing?”

  “Taking down a threat. What was I supposed to do when a prick like you sneaks out of the house in the middle of the night? Catherine may trust you, but should I?”

  Kelsov glared at him. “It doesn’t matter. It’s my—” He stopped. Then he slowly shook his head. “Not unless you’re a fool. Put away the gun, Catherine. I’m not going to kill him tonight.” He took Kelly’s wrist and pulled her forward. “Here’s your package from Venable. Delivered as promised.” He turned to Natalie. “Suppose you go in and make us coffee. The task is a little mundane and tame compared to bluffing Quinn with a threat to send him to meet his maker, but we could all use—”