Dark Tribute--An Eve Duncan Novel

by Iris Johansen

  She opened the door and headed for the kitchen.

  “Is Dad okay?”

  She stopped short as she saw Michael curled up on the couch in the living room. He was barefoot and wearing his blue-and-white-striped pajamas. His hair was tousled, and he looked younger than he usually did, but his expression was grave.

  “What are you doing up, Michael?”

  He swung his feet to the floor and straightened as he said quietly, “I kept thinking about Dad. I knew you were trying to call him after I went to bed. Is he okay?”

  “Sure, your dad is supertough.” She smiled. “It would really take something major to even faze him. He’s just searching very hard for Cara.” She dropped down beside him and slid her arm around his shoulders. “But they may have found a clue to where she might be. That’s good, isn’t it?” She brushed a kiss on the top of his head. “I thought you might have been lying awake worrying about Cara.”

  He shook his head. “I do worry about her. But mostly about Dad.”

  “Why?” she asked gently. “Did you have a nightmare or something?”

  “No, I don’t usually have nightmares. Not scary stuff. Most of my dreams are just puzzles to help me figure things out.”

  “Really? I didn’t realize that.” But she should have, she thought. It was her duty as his mother to question everything concerning him. She couldn’t remember when she’d had to cuddle him when he woke in the middle of the night. When he woke, it was usually with a question. “Then why are you worrying about your dad?”

  “I don’t know. I just am. You were worried about him tonight, too. I could feel it. You said he was somewhere in West Virginia?”

  “Yep, it’s a fairly small state. He should be able to whip right through it looking for Cara.”

  “I looked it up, and it’s really pretty. Mountains and streams and lots of mist, and all the trees are wonderful in the fall. Is Dad liking it?”

  “I think he’s too busy to notice scenery right now.”

  Michael nodded. “I think you’re right. He’ll notice it later, when it’s all over. It will be better then.” He looked up at her. “But you should tell him to be careful, Mom.”

  She went still. “Why, Michael?”

  “Sometimes he forgets to think about himself. He thinks about you and me and Cara and Jane, but he doesn’t think about himself.” He laid his head against her arm. “You should remind him that he’s important, too.”

  “Next time I see him I’ll be sure and do that.” It was an opening she couldn’t ignore. “Which may be soon. I told your dad that I’m—”

  “You’re taking me to Catherine and Luke,” he finished for her. “That’s why you were sad when you came in from the porch. You knew he’d be scared for you.” He gave her a mischievous glance from beneath his lashes. “Honest, I didn’t eavesdrop, Mom.”

  “I wasn’t about to accuse you.” Her gaze narrowed on his face. “No arguments?”

  He shook his head. “I’d only upset you and make you more sad. I’ll work it out. When do we leave?”

  “After breakfast. I’ll call your teachers and get advance assignments. Will you pack, or do you want help?”

  “I’ll do it.” He got to his feet and headed for the bathroom. “It will be nice to see Luke again. He’s cool.” He stopped at the doorway. “But you’ll remember to tell Dad what I said?”

  She felt a little frisson of uneasiness. “I’ll tell him.”

  “Good.” He started to turn away again.

  “Michael.”

  He looked back over his shoulder.

  She had remembered Michael’s words that had so startled her. “I’m glad you don’t have nightmares, but I’m a little surprised. Are you sure there’s nothing you’d like to tell me?”

  He started to shake his head, then stopped. His smile faded. “I always like to tell you things. She says it’s better for you if I don’t this time. But I can’t lie to you.”

  She stiffened. “She?”

  “She says that she knows you’ll never forget her, but there’s a time to move on, and I have to help you.”

  Her hands clenched at her sides. “She?” Eve repeated.

  “Bonnie,” he said gently. “Our Bonnie, Mom. You told me all about her years ago, how much you loved her and that she was taken away from you when she was only seven by one of those bad men who hurt children.” He smiled. “But you didn’t tell me that she has hair the same color as yours, but it’s all curly and stuff. Or that she’s really, really cool.”

  “Bonnie is a little hard to describe,” she said shakily. “Apparently, you’ve found out for yourself.” She paused, then said carefully, “Just how would you describe her, Michael? A dream?”

  He shook his head. “Maybe. Whatever she wants to be. But mostly my friend. And sometimes she teaches me stuff.” He tilted his head curiously. “Why do you ask? You know all about Bonnie.”

  And clearly so did Michael, she thought. He accepted Bonnie as a spirit and thought no more about it than if she were Cara or Jane. She should really not be surprised. Michael himself was something of a mystery. “Different people have different viewpoints. I wanted to make sure you weren’t confused. How long has she been coming to see you, Michael?”

  “A long time. I think … from the beginning.”

  She remembered the night Michael was born, and she had been certain that Bonnie was there. “I think that’s very likely. But she hasn’t paid me a visit for a long time. I believe I’m jealous. I’ll have to have a word with her.”

  “She only wants you to be happy, Mom.”

  “I am happy.” It was true. The idea that Bonnie had always been present, easing Michael’s way in the world, was comforting. But Eve had missed those visits, dammit. “But Bonnie might be trying to manipulate me the way you were trying to do. How do we know just because she’s a spirit that she knows everything? And she should realize that being happy doesn’t necessarily mean forgetting about her.”

  “Are you angry with me?”

  “No, I’m happy for you that you’ve been able to get to know Bonnie. I just wish that you’d shared the experience with me.”

  “Okay, I’ll talk to her about it next time,” he said gravely. He gave her his luminous smile and disappeared into the bathroom.

  She ruefully shook her head as she turned away from the door. She was still trembling with shock, she realized. She had never expected, nor dreamed, that the answer she’d get from Michael would be about Bonnie.

  First, that weird insistence about cautioning Joe. Then the acknowledgment that Bonnie was very much in Michael’s life. Not that one had to have anything to do with another, she thought quickly. Probably no connection at all. She was the one who had brought up the subject of nightmares. As far as Michael was concerned, it was all about Joe.

  Therefore, there was no reason to be uneasy. Michael had been absolutely no trouble about her going to be with Joe, given her nothing but cooperation when she’d asked.

  I’ll work it out.

  What was he going to work out?

  And why had he been so worried about Joe when the threat was to Cara?

  Just accept that he was just being Michael, and she would eventually know all the answers. She wasn’t about to try to cross-examine him at the moment. She was too worried about Cara to delve into what Michael was thinking or planning. She just had to trust that his basic goodness of heart would keep him from causing her problems at this crucial time.

  So stop fretting and just get ready to go.

  But first grab a strong cup of coffee and say a couple prayers. The way she was feeling now they might both be needed to get her through the day.

  CHAPTER

  6

  LOST CANYON 5:04 A.M.

  There were two men at the camp nearest the top of the cliff …

  Jock crawled closer on the ridge above the encampment. One guard was curled up in a sleeping bag, the other leaning against a tree, with his automatic on his knees, starin
g into the fire. He was awake, but just barely. It would be no problem at all to maneuver close enough to cut his throat without waking the other guard.

  There had also been two guards at the other encampment he had spotted from the twisting trail sixty feet below this ridge. Svardak evidently didn’t trust single guards on watch, which meant he was smart and wary. Not wary enough. The guards at the first encampment had been even less alert than these two.

  But there had been no sign of Cara at either encampment.

  Was there still another encampment higher up on the cliff? His gaze searched the twisting path that led to the brush-and-tree thicket that started forty or fifty yards from the ridge where he was lying. Entirely possible. Svardak might have set up a series of barriers to keep rescuers from approaching or Cara from escaping.

  It would take him only minutes to reach that thicket and get his answer.

  But it was getting light, and he’d be exposed on this ridge in another fifteen minutes. He needed to get down into the heavier pine brush on the lower plateau unless he wanted to start the action now.

  Wanted? He craved it.

  He closed his eyes as he fought the hunger that had been devouring him since he’d found that first camp. Cara had to be close if Svardak had set up these guard posts. It would be so easy to take them out and interrogate …

  But it might be a trap. He didn’t know enough yet. He couldn’t take a risk that could get Cara killed.

  He would think of another way.

  But he had to verify that the sleeping guard was who he thought he was. He lifted his binoculars to his eyes again and waited for a clear look. He had caught a quick glimpse a few minutes ago before the guard had burrowed his face in the blanket. Not enough. He had to be sure. He waited.

  One minute.

  Two.

  Three.

  The guard stirred restlessly.

  He saw his face.

  Yes!

  He put the binoculars away.

  He hesitated. It would be so easy …

  He took one last longing look at the two guards.

  No! He couldn’t do it.

  He started to crawl down the ridge.

  * * *

  “You’re sure that guard was Ron Edding?” Joe asked eagerly, his gaze on the cliff. “No mistake?”

  “It was Edding,” Jock said impatiently. “I showed you the photo Kaskov gave me of the man Svardak hired to get him out of Bermuda. I went up there looking for him, and I double-checked before I came down. I had to make certain we were on the right track.” His lips twisted. “Besides, you’re such a doubting Thomas that I had to put your mind at ease.”

  “Which was the intelligent thing to do. I like to be sure there’s a fire before I bring out the hose.” Joe’s gaze was fixed on the cliff, which was still wreathed in early-morning mists. “Let’s go back up there. We’ll take the camps one at a time at time, then—”

  “And what about the encampments on the mountainside that you ran across? All it would take would be a casual glance from someone with binoculars, and Cara’s dead. And maybe she’s being held on the mountainside.”

  “But you don’t think that’s true,” Joe said. “Neither do I. Those camps I ran across were moving camps, the men there were scouts, whose aim was to make certain no one came too close and to know about it if they did. The ones you described were permanent. They’re set up and ready for action. You said that you believed you’d have seen her if she was there.”

  “Aye, but I’m going to be damn sure. Any move we make has to be a surprise.” He added grimly, “And not for us. We’ll go in tonight, and we’ll know everything we need to know.”

  “That means he’ll have Cara for another full day. I don’t like it.”

  “Do you think I do?” Jock said savagely. “I came within a heartbeat of—” He turned away and moved down the trail to where they’d hidden the car in a dense forest off the access road. “We’ll catch a few hours’ sleep and come back and take another look in the afternoon. You need to get close enough to those camps on the mountain to make sure Cara’s not there instead of in that thicket at the top. I’ll go up the cliff trail and see if there’s any possible way I can get her out of this canyon without being target practice from three directions.”

  “You’d have to strike it very lucky to be able to do that.” Joe paused. “I talked to Eve while I was on the mountain. She’ll probably be on her way here today. She told me to get her a room at a hotel.”

  “Why aren’t I surprised? Your responsibility, Joe.”

  “I wish it was. This is Eve.”

  “I repeat, your responsibility. I’m going to be too busy today to worry about anything but that cliff. I need every minute to—” His cell phone vibrated and he glanced down at the ID. “An email from Palik. It’s not six yet, evidently he took me at my word.” They had reached the car, and he got in the passenger seat. “You drive. I need to read this.” He accessed the email. “The Canadian real-estate company that handled the lease on the canyon was acting on behalf of a company in Estonia. That’s information we no longer need now…” He was scrolling down the email. “But we do need this info. He sent us several maps of the canyon and surrounding terrain.” He was flipping through the maps. “I need to see that thicket on top of the cliff. I couldn’t see anything through those trees. But it doesn’t seem to be—” He broke off as he flipped to a new page. “Yes.”

  “It’s pretty crude.” Joe was looking over his shoulder. “Just some kind of basic structure and a road leading down through the thicket on the other side of the cliff.”

  “It’s what I needed to know,” Jock said. “He has an escape route if he needs it. That road disappears into the forest on the north side of the cliff, and we might have a hell of a time tracking him.” His finger was tracing the curve of the cliff close to the canyon. “And there’s another trail here that would allow those guards from the mountain to come running if Svardak called. He must have been planning this for a long time. He was doing everything he could to keep from being surprised. Two separate trails down to the canyon and a convenient back door.”

  “We’ll find a way to get around it.”

  Jock looked up at the thicket on top of the cliff. Cara was there, and all he had to do was to get to her. All? There was also the small matter of getting her out alive. “We’ll get around it.” He was flipping through the other maps. “It’s just going to mean that the day is going to be even busier than I thought.”

  “But you’re still going to go to Kaskov’s at seven to take a look at Svardak’s Skype?”

  “Did you actually think I’d change my mind?” he asked harshly. “Like you said, he’s going to have a full day to do more damage to her. I have to know if he’s taken advantage of it.”

  LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY 9:10 A.M.

  “You’re sure you don’t mind, Catherine?” Eve asked as she took Michael’s duffel out of the trunk. “I’m feeling guilty about just tossing my son at you. You’re usually so busy, you don’t have that much quality time with Luke.” Catherine Ling had been a CIA operative since she’d been a young girl, and she managed to balance a career and motherhood effortlessly, but Eve still felt a bit guilty giving her any additional burden.

  Catherine smiled. “Toss away. It will be good for Luke to have Michael here. He gets impatient with most of the kids his own age. He led an unusual life for his first eleven years, and it’s always been hard for him to bond. Michael may be younger but he’s…” She hesitated. “Different.”

  Eve laughed. “Very delicately put.” She looked at Michael, sitting on the front steps talking with Luke. No, it was clear the two had no problem bonding. “Though I’m certain Luke also has to be very patient with Michael. Michael tends to have an insatiable curiosity. I’ll call you when I get in and check on him.”

  “If you like.” Catherine’s smile disappeared. “But it sounded to me like you might be busy. I’ll take care of Michael, Eve. You do what you have to do.�
��

  “Thank you.” She turned and gave her a quick hug. “I’m praying I won’t be long.”

  “So am I. I’d like to go with you. I’m sick about Cara.”

  “I know. We’re all practically out of our minds.” She looked back at Michael. “But it helps to know that he’s being well taken care of.”

  “Our pleasure.” She gave her another hug. “Now get on the road. I know you’re anxious.”

  She nodded. “That I am.” She called to Michael, “Come and say good-bye to me.”

  Michael jumped to his feet and ran over to her. “You’re leaving?” He went into her arms. “Will you call me tonight?”

  “You know I will.” She gave him a bear hug. “I have to check and see if you’re giving Catherine a hard time.”

  “I won’t.” He grinned at Catherine. “She might turn me in to the CIA.”

  Catherine smiled back at him. “It depends on what you and Luke have been planning. I saw that you had your heads together.”

  “Nothing scary. Luke’s just going to take me over to Hu Chang’s lab and show me the stuff he’s been working on.”

  “That could be very scary,” Eve said. “Some of Hu Chang’s experiments aren’t for general consumption.” She was joking. Catherine’s friend Hu Chang was brilliant, and his philosophy was far from the norm, but he would never do anything that would harm anyone close to Catherine. “Don’t let him lure you to the dark side.”

  “I like him,” he said simply. “So do you.”

  “Yes, I do.” She pressed a kiss on his forehead. “Be good. Don’t give Catherine any trouble.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Catherine said. “And Hu Chang will keep both of them busy.”

  Eve gazed down at her son. “Michael?”

  He nodded gravely. “It’s okay, Mom, don’t worry about me. There’s still time.” He gave her another hug, and when he lifted his head, he gazed up at her with those shining amber eyes, and whispered, “Dad.” Then he was gone and running back to Luke.