Shadow Play

by Iris Johansen

  “And you suddenly had a maternal flash of your Jane as a child trying to survive on the streets.” She chuckled. “She did very well, and so did I.”

  “Again, that doesn’t make it right.” She opened the glass door. “And I’ll treat you the way I wish to treat you. Okay?”

  Margaret nodded slowly. “Okay.” Her smile was brilliant. “Like you said, we’ll work it out. I can handle it.”

  * * *

  “There’s Joe,” Eve waved across the terrace at Joe, who had just come into the hotel restaurant. “He made good time,” she told Margaret. “It’s only a little after noon.”

  “Protective.” She ate a bite of her salad as she watched Joe make his way through the tables toward them. “Like Nalchek. He was probably on edge about your being out here without him.”

  She was right, Eve thought. She’d talked to Joe early this morning when he was getting ready to go to the airport, and he hadn’t been pleased with her.

  “Hi.” Joe pulled out a chair and dropped down onto it. “Good to see you, Margaret. Though I could wish that you hadn’t exploded on the scene with such enthusiasm.”

  “You mean recklessness,” Margaret substituted. “And no one would have ever known I went to those woods if Nalchek hadn’t been out there. I would have done what I had to do, then called Eve and told her I was on my way to her hotel.”

  “And she would still have left the hotel and come to pick you up.”

  “I can’t argue with that,” Margaret said. “She’s as protective as you are.”

  “I can argue with it,” Eve said. “Drop it, Joe.”

  He smiled. “It’s dropped. Just wanted to draw her attention to my take on it.”

  “Loud and clear,” Margaret said cheerfully. “Everyone in the world has to take care of Eve, or they’ll be facing Joe Quinn’s wrath.”

  He nodded. “Something like that. And she’s staring very disapprovingly at me at this moment. I think it’s time I changed the subject.” He turned to Eve. “I got word from the Interpol database right before I got on the plane. They may have come up with a match.” He grimaced. “Though it took long enough. Walsh is a fairly common name. I was bouncing back and forth between Interpol and the FBI most of the night. One dead end after another. This one came closest, and the location seems right.” He took out his phone and dialed up the report. “James Bradford Walsh. British subject, fifty-seven, last-known address in Sacramento, California. That’s not his real name but one of his most-frequently-used aliases.” He paused. “No current warrants, but he’s a very ugly customer. His prime area of expertise is as enforcer. He’s worked for various mobs both in London and the U.S. His last-known employer was the Castino Cartel in Mexico City. He fit right in with them. His record reflected burglary, drugs, suspicion of human trafficking, suspicion of murder. In short, he did anything that was demanded of him by the Castino family.”

  “What about children?” Eve asked. “Is there anything about violence toward children?”

  “Some of the human trafficking involved children but not exclusively.”

  “Anything about ‘marking’ his victims?”

  Joe shook his head. “No details. Either he’s not our man, or he’s very clever. I’m searching other European Web sites to see if he’s mentioned.”

  “It’s pretty vague.” Eve’s hands clenched. “You didn’t get anything from any other Web sites?”

  “Only a Paul Walsh who was located in San Antonio, Texas. But he’s been serving time in Huntsville Prison for the last three years. And the FBI came up with Ronald Samuel Walsh who looked promising until I realized he had no history of violence. So were back to James Walsh.”

  “Damn. Photo?”

  He punched a button and pushed the phone toward her. “Looks pretty ordinary.”

  “So did Ted Bundy.” She looked down at the photo. Thin, brown hair, high forehead, full lips. Deep-set, dark eyes. As Joe said, ordinary.

  Or was he? There was something about the set of those lips … His eyes were so without expression they had a kind of blankness, but those lips were …

  She knew from her sculpting experience how they could change, betray, transform. Sometimes she had to struggle to give the lips no expression in her reconstructions. An indentation at the corners, the faintest curl could change everything.

  And Walsh had made no effort to keep his lips from betraying what was beneath his impassiveness.

  Ugliness.

  Which didn’t mean he was a child murderer.

  And that didn’t mean he wasn’t.

  “Eve.”

  She looked up and pushed the phone back to him. “I don’t believe he’s ordinary. I think he may be the one. I want to know more about him. What made him such a great enforcer?”

  “Total ruthlessness and he trained himself into a top-notch executioner. Guns, knives, explosives; he was an expert with all of them. And he had no trouble with decapitation. Every week or so, one of Castino’s enemies would be seen hanging headless on one of the local bridges.”

  “You say he lived in Sacramento for a while. Can we find out anything from the police department or maybe his former neighbors?”

  “I’m already on it. I called the Sacramento PD after I landed at San Francisco.”

  “I should have known.”

  “May I see?” Margaret asked as she took the phone. “Walsh…” She gave the phone back to him. “I can’t tell anything. Human killers are much more difficult to judge than animals. There are all kinds of signals broadcast by the big cats or rattlesnakes.” She looked at Eve. “Is it okay if I go to the grave site now that Joe is here? I’m not accomplishing anything here.”

  “And we’re boring you?” Eve said. “By all means, I’ll call Nalchek, and we’ll all go.”

  “I’ve already called him,” Margaret said as she got to her feet. She checked her wristwatch. “I told him I’d meet him at the grave site at one thirty.” She smiled. “And you can introduce him to Joe and get them on the same page. That will give me the chance to look around without Nalchek hovering.”

  “You have it all planned.”

  “Not really. I just want to know who was guarding your Jenny and why. It’s been nagging me since last night. May we go?”

  Eve nodded. “I admit I’m curious.”

  “So is Nalchek.” She zipped up her hoodie and started across the terrace. “He was entirely too willing to let me go into his woods again today. I thought I’d have a battle…”

  * * *

  Nalchek was standing by the grave, and he only nodded curtly to Margaret. His gaze went beyond her to Joe. “You’re Joe Quinn. I’ve heard about you. I’m John Nalchek.”

  Joe nodded. “I’ve heard about you, too.” He glanced at the grave site. “Eve says you’re obsessed.”

  Nalchek stiffened. “Does she?”

  “Yeah.” He looked back at him. “But that doesn’t mean anything. She’s obsessed, too. It won’t bother me unless you start causing her problems.”

  “Joe,” Eve said.

  “He should know,” Joe said. “I think I can probably work with him, but he has to know the limits.” He met Nalchek’s gaze. “Got it?”

  “Got it. Understood.” He paused. “And I’ll let you hang around unless you get in my way.” He smiled faintly. “I won’t cause Eve any problems because she’s on my wavelength.” He turned away. “But I don’t promise I’ll work with Margaret Douglas. She’s a little too—” He stopped and muttered a curse as he looked around. “Where the hell is she?”

  “She’s slipped deeper into the woods while you and Joe were exchanging words and sizing each other up,” Eve said. “She warned me she’d probably do it. She didn’t want you around to get in her way.”

  “The hell she didn’t.” He strode toward the trees. “I have no intention of letting her run her own show.”

  “Too bad,” Joe said as he started after him. “Margaret has a tendency to close everyone out. Natural enough, since most peop
le can’t follow where she goes anyway.”

  “Literally or figuratively,” Eve said. “Back off, Nalchek. Give her a chance.”

  He glanced over his shoulder. “Is that an order?”

  “Only if you insist on pushing it,” she said. “I want to work with you. But I have to see if Margaret can put us on the fast track. I’m afraid we don’t have much more time.”

  “Why not?” His eyes were narrowed on her face. “You know something you haven’t told me.”

  “No, I don’t know anything. We may have a few leads that might prove promising.”

  “And you’re dangling them in front of me in exchange for what?” he asked grimly.

  “Cooperation. Help Margaret. Don’t interfere. Then I’ll be glad to share whatever Joe found out about a man who might have killed your deputy.”

  “You’re interfering with a murder investigation.”

  “No, she’s just not helping with it.” Joe paused. “Yet.”

  Nalchek stared him in the eye and didn’t speak for a long moment. “I want that information immediately.”

  “You’ll get it,” Eve said. “As soon as you give me your word that you’ll work with us and not by yourself to try to catch him.” She smiled. “And Margaret gets her chance. I want your word.”

  Another silence.

  He nodded curtly. “Okay. As long as you don’t endanger my men or the investigation. If I see any sign of that happening, no deal.”

  “You won’t see it happening,” Joe said. “We may want that son of a bitch more than you do.” He gestured to the trees. “Now, shall we join Margaret?”

  Nalchek didn’t answer but strode ahead of them into the trees.

  “Not pleased,” Joe murmured to Eve as he fell into step with her. “Can’t blame him. I’d feel the same way.”

  So would Eve, but she couldn’t let it matter. How close was Walsh? Would he come here or go to Carmel? “Nalchek will have to get over it. He can’t have everything his own way.”

  “He’s probably thinking the same thing about us,” Joe said dryly. “Let’s hope Margaret isn’t being too radically Margaret when he reaches her.”

  * * *

  Evidently, Margaret was moving fast, and it was taking Nalchek time to catch up with her.

  It took Eve and Joe another ten minutes before they caught sight of Nalchek. He was standing still in the center of the trail in the densest area of the forest. He turned to face them. “She’s right up ahead,” he said. “She’s sitting by that stream, and she’s not trying to avoid us any longer.”

  “She probably wasn’t trying to avoid us before,” Joe said. “She just didn’t want to have us disturb her concentration.”

  “You sound as if you’re familiar with the way she operates.”

  “He is,” Eve said. “More than I am. He was on hand months ago, when Margaret was trying to find me in the woods. I could have died except for her.”

  “And you believe all of this crap, Quinn?”

  “It’s hard as hell for me. I’m a pragmatic bastard.” He was silent. “Yeah, I believe something is going on with Margaret. I’m willing to go along with her.”

  Nalchek shrugged. “We’ll see.” He moved ahead of them down the trail.

  “Hi.” Margaret smiled at them as they came into view. “Isn’t it pretty here?” She was sitting cross-legged on the bank of the stream as they turned the bend of the trail. “It’s like a secret garden. Not like the one in the book. A sort of misty green haven. I bet you’ve been here before, Nalchek.”

  “A couple times.”

  “I thought so. Since you said it was your grandfather’s land.”

  “Even though he owned it, I wasn’t given any more privileges than the town kids. He treated this forest as open land, and anyone who respected the environment was allowed to use it.”

  “Sounds like a nice guy.” She looked at the stream. “I like it here.”

  “You covered a lot of ground to get here,” Nalchek said without expression.

  “I was tracking. I didn’t know where he was going to lead me.”

  “Who was going to lead you?” Eve asked quietly.

  “Can I make a guess?” Nalchek asked.

  Margaret smiled. “Tell me.”

  “A coyote.”

  Margaret chuckled. “You did take those soil samples.”

  He nodded. “I put a rush on them, and they came back genus Canis latrans. Coyote. Not that it means anything.”

  “No, because it’s not quite accurate,” she said. “Sajan is half-coyote, half-wolf. The two don’t mate very often, but it happened in this case. Though I think Sajan considers himself a coyote. Coyotes are fairly solitary animals. But when he hunts in a pack, it’s with coyotes.”

  “Sajan,” Joe repeated. “Your coyote has a name.”

  “Maybe. In a way. It’s how he thinks of himself. Or how I interpret it.” She looked back at the stream. “He likes it here. He often hunts small rodents and stays here by the stream for days.”

  “When he’s not guarding the grave?” Nalchek asked.

  “You’re having trouble with that,” Margaret said soberly. “So am I. So is he.”

  “Yeah, you said he didn’t know why he was still guarding the grave after Jenny’s bones were removed,” Eve said. “And he didn’t see Jenny die?”

  “No, only afterward, when her killer was digging the grave and placing her in it. I believe he felt … drawn. It confused him. He didn’t know why he was there. And afterward, it would have been natural for him to just wander away.” She shook her head. “That didn’t happen. He stayed close to her. He protected the grave. He thought it might have something to do with the man, the killer.”

  “What?”

  “Because he kept coming back here.”

  “To the grave?”

  “Yes. It went on for years. He wouldn’t come for months at a time, then he’d be back.”

  “No other reason? He was just checking on the grave?”

  “Yes, it made Sajan nervous. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do if the killer started to disturb the grave. But he never did. That’s it. I’ve told you all I know. All he knows.” She made a face. “It’s not much, is it?” Her gaze shifted to Nalchek. “But it might tell you why Jenny’s killer was nervous about your wandering around the woods looking for evidence and was keeping an eye on you.”

  “You’re saying he might have not been sure that he hadn’t lost something that might have incriminated him?” Nalchek said.

  “I’m not saying anything except that he was on guard while he was in those woods. Perhaps he was worried you might find something that would have given you a hint about Jenny’s identity.”

  “Then he might be back,” Joe said. “Maybe all we have to do is wait.”

  Eve shook her head. “We don’t know what he’s going to do. That might not be at the top of his agenda.”

  “The little girl…” Margaret said. “You believe he’ll go after her first?”

  “What little girl?” Nalchek said sharply. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “I’ll tell you in just a minute,” Eve said. “It’s part of—”

  “Tell me now,” Nalchek said fiercely. “I’ve played your game. Now you play mine. Talk to me.”

  Eve could understand his anger and frustration, and it wasn’t fair not to concede. He had certainly gone beyond the limits with Margaret. But it would have to be in a way that he would accept. Okay, dive in and go for it. “I’m not arguing. You’re right, it’s time that you know everything that we know. We found a confidential informant who gave us certain additional information regarding the name of Jenny’s possible killer…”

  CHAPTER

  7

  “Walsh,” Nalchek repeated after Eve had stopped speaking. “The whole thing sounds flimsy as hell to me. What’s the name of your informant?”

  “Confidential,” Joe said. “But reliable, very reliable. Very close to Walsh.”


  “Then let’s go pick him up and question him.”

  “And put my source in danger?” Joe asked. “Not likely. But I’m checking with both Interpol and the FBI and gathering other information.”

  “I want the name of your informant.”

  “No way. Will you trust me when I tell you that there’s nothing you could find out from the informant that we haven’t already learned?”

  “I’m not big on trust.”

  “It’s true, Nalchek,” Eve said. “I promise you.”

  He gazed at her. She could see his frustration. “You’ll tell me if you learn anything else?”

  She nodded.

  He turned away. “Then I’m going to start a search in local records for anyone of that name. He may be a British citizen, but we may still have something. Right now, I’ve had enough, and I’m going back to my office.” He looked back at Margaret. “I only half believe you, and I’m not going to tell you to keep me informed. Coyotes aren’t my idea of confidential informants, either.”

  She smiled. “I believe we won’t hear anything from Sajan unless Walsh comes back here. I’ll keep tuned in to him for you.”

  He grunted, and the next moment, he’d disappeared around the bend.

  “Poor guy. It’s very difficult for him.” Margaret jumped to her feet. “Too bad. I like him.” She looked at Eve. “I told him the truth. There’s nothing much I can do right now with Jenny’s coyote. What else do you want me to do?”

  “Stay close. You’d know if Walsh returned to these woods?”

  “Sajan would know, then I’d know.”

  “Then stay at the hotel and monitor him while Joe and I go to Sacramento and see if we can find out anything about Walsh.”

  “And that’s all I can do?” she asked, disappointed.

  “That’s more than enough. You’ve done your job. You’ve told us that it wasn’t over for Walsh when he’d made the kill. That he was on guard and worried that she might be found. Or that something else might be found to tell us her identity.”

  “Evidently you knew that already.”

  “You confirmed it. Now we have to find out why that was so important to him. We’ll drop you off at the hotel on our way out of town.” She turned to Joe. “Let’s go.”