Deadly Seduction

by Cate Noble

  “They’re floating the story that Duncan came to in a panic and killed Winchette accidentally. Since the CIA called Winchette in to consult on this case, they’re taking responsibility, but distancing themselves. It appears the initial questions they were asking about Dr. Houston’s father’s ties to Dr. Winchette were simply to get information on her.”

  “That’s a relief.” It had been problematic enough erasing the trail between some old research Erin’s father had worked on decades ago with Dr. Winchette. Abe didn’t want that can of worms reopened. “And Winchette’s files?”

  “His home was sanitized last night. His personal computer and files were swapped with look-alikes so nothing appears disturbed.”

  Abe wondered what other secrets Winchette’s records might yield about personal pet projects or even about certain competitors of Caldwell Pharmaceuticals. Of course, the latter called for even greater discretion as the fiasco with Erin’s father had proven.

  How unfortunate the late Dr. Marvin Houston had recognized a portion of his old research that had accidentally been used verbatim in a study. That the old research had been classified at least made it easier to insinuate that Houston had sold the data himself.

  “Once Winchette’s death is publicly announced,” Tommy went on, “our PR department can issue a condolence statement, acknowledging Caldwell Pharmaceuticals’ R and D relationship with Winchette’s hospital. Everyone else will do likewise.”

  Listening to Tommy calmly outline plans deepened Abe’s faith in him. For the first time in days, Abe felt cautiously optimistic. With Salvador’s promise of financial backing and full access to Winchette’s private records, the future didn’t look as bleak.

  Abe’s private line rang just then. He glanced at the display then back at Tommy. “If you’ll excuse me.”

  Tommy stood and offered the standard “call me if you need me” farewell.

  Abe picked up the line. “Tell me you found him.”

  “Yeah,” Harry said.

  The news that Dr. Rufin had been apprehended had Abe springing up from his seat. “Where is he?”

  “On ice. The heat here is tremendous.”

  “What do you need to get him out?”

  “I’m handling that. The fewer people who know, the less the chance for an interception.”

  Abe paced, resisting the urge to bark a command. Harry wasn’t as compliant as Tommy. He also wasn’t an employee. And at moments like this, the man was irreplaceable. Problem was, he knew it.

  “I have certain resources,” Abe began.

  “Resources you’re going to need for something else,” Harry asserted. “I don’t have much time, so I suggest you let me finish. Apparently Rufin was concerned that the Thai government was going to take him out, so he fashioned his own plan to escape with the data.”

  The news, as sweet as it sounded, was being delivered in a tone that promised another shoe was about to drop.

  Harry went on. “Rufin loaded the information on microchips that he then implanted inside the test subject known as Taz, aka John Doe. In the process, he removed Taz’s tracking beacon.”

  Abe swore. That explained why Allen had picked up only one signal. “And how did Rufin expect to keep tabs on this man?”

  “Taz was being programmed to stay with Rufin and to find him if they were parted. But the process wasn’t completed. As it turns out, Max Duncan may be our ace in the hole. Rufin claims the two men had a way to communicate, even if separated. He swears Duncan can lead you to Taz. Shit! Someone’s coming. I’ve got to go.”

  “Wait! I want Rufin.”

  “Get Taz and we’ll negotiate that point. And don’t get any ideas. Without Rufin to retrieve and transcribe that data, Taz is worthless.”

  The line went dead, leaving Abe furious. Harry just loved to play like he was an arrogant hotshot, holding all the aces.

  Abe punched in Tommy’s number and began snapping orders as soon as he answered. “Get ahold of Allen. Big change of plans. I need Max Duncan captured alive!”

  Chapter 21

  Reno, Nevada

  September 23

  Taz climbed down from the cab of the tractor trailer, backpack in hand. It was nearly 10 p.m., but the Double-D Truck Stop was open till midnight.

  “Sorry to see you go.” Larry, the truck driver who’d picked him up in Bakersfield that morning, held out a creased business card. “I’m in and out of here two, three times a week. Always looking for good help.”

  In addition to hitching a ride, Taz had ended up working as Larry made deliveries. It got them out of California faster, made being incognito much easier, and earned him a little extra cash.

  The physical activity had helped to clear his head. And strangely, Larry’s off-key singing seemed to hold Taz’s headache at bay. Kill pain with pain, right?

  In the middle of the afternoon he had an epiphany. He’d damn near passed out with it, but after tossing his cookies, it all became clear. He knew exactly where to find Hades.

  And Hades would help him make sense of the other problems.

  “Hey, you go inside the diner and find a blonde with big tits, named Linda,” Larry said. “Tell her I sent you and she’ll treat you right.”

  “Thanks, mate.”

  Inside the diner, a waitress called out, “Seat yourself. Be right with you.”

  Taz climbed into a corner booth and unfolded the map he had just purchased at the attached convenience store.

  Mission incomplete.

  Find Hades.

  Find Rufin.

  He pressed his temples, trying to ease the blurring pain that accompanied the screeching dissonance of his thoughts. Damn if he wouldn’t welcome Larry’s singing right now. Unable to read, he shoved the map aside and fumbled for the pocket knife tucked in the side of his backpack.

  The blade was razor sharp. Like everything else in the pack, it was top quality. The guy he’d stolen it from had obviously been a pro.

  After eliminating Dr. Winchette, Taz had hitchhiked north, to Mojave. He’d had a faint memory of hiking in a nearby canyon as a teenager. He had staked out one of the trailheads and waited until a lone hiker came in.

  Taz attacked the guy and shoved his unconscious body in the trunk after pulling out his gear. Stealing the car was out since the keys were in the guy’s pocket and other vehicles were headed in.

  The pack turned out to be well equipped. While Taz could have survived easily on his own, the clothes and food were a bonus. And the gear gave him legitimacy as a vacationing hitchhiker.

  “You okay, hon?” The waitress had come up and spotted the dark stain of blood on his pants.

  Fortunately, the knife was out of view. Taz tugged the map onto his lap before offering the same excuse he’d given Larry.

  “I cut my thigh on a rock face while climbing. It’s not as bad as it looks, Linda.” He squinted at the blonde’s name tag, pinned between her large breasts. “Dang thing broke open while I helped Larry unload at the last stop.”

  At the mention of a familiar name, she relaxed. “Larry Silvers?”

  “Hi-yo Silver?” Taz’s use of Larry’s CB handle won him a smile.

  “That rascal didn’t come in to say hi? I’ll remember that.”

  “He sent me instead.”

  Linda’s eyes went over him. Again. “You’ll do. What can I get you, hon?”

  Taz ordered the special: double meatloaf. He craved protein.

  As the restaurant emptied, Linda ended up spending more time at his table. Over the course of the next hour, Taz learned she was single and lonely. And judging by the pheromones she threw his way, she was also horny as hell.

  “You’re saving room for pie, right?” she teased when she collected Taz’s empty plate.

  “What kind you got?”

  “Apple, peach, chocolate. Maybe blueberry, but that sells out fast.”

  “That’ll do.”

  She blinked. “You mean…one of each?”

  “With ice cream.”
>
  By the time Taz pushed away from the table, the diner was completely deserted. “Guess I better get moving if I want to hitch another ride.”

  “Where you headed?” Linda asked.

  Taz held up his thumb. “Utah and Colorado.”

  “The highway will be slow till morning with all the road construction they do at night. But I’m headed up to the interstate. Meeting some friends at the Starlite. You could join us. Try your hand at slots. Maybe you’ll get lucky.” She winked as she spoke.

  Taz nodded, recalling the one other thing that would ease pain.

  Hades could wait.

  So could Rufin.

  Linda couldn’t.

  Chapter 22

  Sedona, Arizona

  September 24

  It had been after midnight when Max and Erin reached the outskirts of Sedona. Shortly after leaving the Sunset Inn, they’d hit heavy rain, which had apparently triggered a catastrophic pileup that closed part of the interstate. It delayed them for hours.

  Max had ended up pulling into a crowded rest stop near Sedona so they could grab a few hours’ sleep. Erin wasn’t eager to stop at a motel again, which was evident in the way she volunteered to climb into the backseat.

  The cave Max was headed to was near the Red Rock–Secret Mountain Wilderness area. More childhood memories of exploring caves with Stony surfaced as they drew closer. But each seemed hard-won.

  The more Max considered the ramifications of what had been done to him and Taz, the more infuriated he got. That none of his thoughts were complete didn’t help. The feeling that he was missing something made him doubt and second-guess every single thought.

  They awoke six hours later and cleaned up in the public bathrooms before heading off in search of food. Max found a small diner that had great food and coffee.

  “Tables. Silverware,” Erin joked. “If I never see another drive-through or have to use another spork, it will be too soon.”

  They lingered over breakfast. Erin sat across from him, reading a newspaper, while Max made notes from the phone book he’d borrowed from their waitress.

  “No wanted posters,” she said when she’d finished reading.

  Max nodded at the newspaper. “It’s unlikely you’ll find news in there about Winchette’s death. That’ll be kept under wraps for as long as possible.”

  “I know.”

  The disappointment in her voice tugged at him. “After we check this cave, we’ll try calling Dante.”

  “You don’t sound convinced Taz will be there.”

  “If he’s not, I’ll leave a message, but—”

  Max sat forward, almost like he’d been bumped. There were moments, like just now, when he swore he’d felt a connection with Taz. Something more than the perpetually echoing remember our plan.

  And this connection felt…troubled.

  Max closed his eyes, focusing inward as he tried to send a mental image to Taz. Once again the attempt backfired, ratcheting up his ever-present headache.

  “Max! Are you okay?”

  Erin had slid into the seat beside him but it wasn’t close enough. He wanted to pull her into his lap and—

  “I’m fine.” He blinked rapidly, trying to ease the sudden sensitivity to light.

  “Liar.” She reached for his wrist.

  He started to pull away, but didn’t. He wanted her touch. Even if it came wrapped in sympathy.

  “My pulse is elevated, Erin,” he said. You do that to me. “Already it’s leveling out. It was nothing.”

  “You blacked out, Max. I called your name twice and you didn’t respond.” She reached for his chin, her voice low but firm. “Look at me. You have no business behind a wheel. It’s one thing to be reckless with your own life. But what about the other innocent people on the roads? What about me?”

  He wrapped his fingers around her hand. In her anger she had a death grip on his jaw.

  “I’d never hurt you,” he said. “And I did hear you call, but I ignored you because I was getting a memory.”

  Her expression softened. “What was it?”

  “Nothing useful,” he lied.

  She tapped the phone book. “What were you looking up?”

  “This particular cave is off the beaten path. If you’re serous about hiking in with me, we need some gear.”

  “I do want to go, if for no other reason than to keep an eye on you.”

  He’d like more than her eyes on him. “Then let’s get moving. We’ve got a few stops to make before we hit the trail.”

  They ended up finding clothes, boots, and a decent backpack at a secondhand shop, which conserved cash. They picked up a few provisions, then made a brief stop at the public library so Max could download a current topography map. He also got online to set up a free e-mail account using a false name.

  “If Taz isn’t at the cave, I’ll leave him this e-mail address,” Max explained. “We had agreed to use e-mail because it’s anonymous.” And if Taz had arrived first, he may have left a similar message for Max.

  After consulting the map, Max drove out of Sedona, heading northwest. Yavapai County was awesome this time of year. He loved the red hues of the lower Rockies, the flat-topped mesas.

  As if reading his mind, Erin made a sweeping gesture with her hand. “It’s even more gorgeous than I’d imagined. The different rock formations are fascinating. Beautiful, yet barren.”

  He slowed. “I take it you haven’t been here before.”

  “I grew up in Virginia, went to school in Maryland. A trip to the mountains meant driving to the Smokies. Did you spend a lot of time here? And if I’m asking too many questions, say so. It’s not my intention to trigger a headache.”

  “Actually, the casual conservation, the speaking without much thought, helps. I’m kind of surprised by what flows out sometimes.” He looked at her. “I probably jinxed myself saying that.”

  “Superstitious? Just knock on wood.”

  “Me? No. Stony was, though. He was obsessed with retracing his father’s footsteps in the exact sequence.”

  “You said you moved around a lot. Where did you go to school?”

  “Middle school was mostly on the Navaho reservation. As soon as school was out, we’d pack up and take off for a summer of mining. Later, Stony got a cabin in southern Colorado. We’d base out of there and divide our time between Utah, Wyoming, and Arizona. I graduated high school in Durango.”

  “Was your uncle ever successful?”

  “Finding gold?” Max shook his head. “Not really. Just enough to keep him going. He was always so certain the next one would be the big one.”

  “Your voice lightens when you talk about him. You must have been very close.”

  “In every important way, Stony was a father to me. He was also the world’s greatest uncle. We fished, we hunted, we camped, we explored. He knew stories about everything. Stony was fun.” He glanced at her. “You haven’t mentioned your father much. Does your voice lighten when you talk about him?”

  “My father was…serious. Studious. A research scientist. Camping out meant sleeping on the sofa in his office while he worked late. In his own way he was fun. I miss him. Does that ever get better?”

  Max sensed an underlying regret and something more, but he didn’t pry. Only because he couldn’t. “It never goes away, but it does get easier.”

  She nodded as he slowed and turned onto an unpaved road. “This is it?”

  “The trailhead is not too far ahead. From there we’ll hike in about four and a half miles. I’m taking a pack with food, water, and some emergency supplies, but I plan to be back out before nightfall. We don’t have camping gear, though we wouldn’t perish if we got stuck overnight. You good with all that?”

  “I am.”

  Max steered around a deep rut in the road and stopped. “We’ll leave the car here.”

  They had changed clothes in the library bathroom. Erin bent over to adjust the ties of her lightweight hiking boots. The jeans she wore hugged her ass
, making Max wish she were leading their expedition.

  Hoisting the backpack onto his shoulders, he adjusted the straps. The strong certainty he’d felt yesterday that this was the place to meet Taz seemed to have lessened.

  Am I wrong to think this is where we’re meeting? he wondered. He closed his eyes.

  “It’s important! Repeat after me.” He had an image of him and Taz fighting—slugging each other as hard as they could. “Repeat after me!”

  “Max? Are you getting something?”

  He opened his eyes and nodded. “Taz and I were fighting, but it felt forced. Unnatural.”

  “Like you were being made to fight one another?”

  “No. Well, maybe. Either way, it doesn’t make sense.”

  “If you’re recalling something out of context, it might not make sense now. Give it time. That you’re getting more memories back is a good sign.”

  “You’re sounding like a doctor again.”

  “Yeah, well, telling me to not sound like one is like telling a duck not to quack. It goes against the grain. Get over it.”

  He admired her spunkiness. “Then let’s go. I’m eager to see if I remember the path.”

  The trail was easy at first, meandering along a dry creek bed. Erin found herself wanting to stop, to take it all in, but Max set a steady pace. The valley started off wide with lush spots of grass and yucca plants. As it narrowed, the canyon walls dazzled her eyes with layers of sandstone that swept up hundreds of feet.

  After a couple miles, they followed another streambed into a smaller canyon. She’d been warm earlier, but in the shadowed canyon, her long sleeves felt good.

  “Watch yourself here,” Max said as they ascended a narrow bypass. A few minutes later they stopped.

  He handed her a bottle of water. While she drank, he pointed to one of the cliff faces. “See that gray sandstone in the shape of a bird?”

  Erin squinted, and then nodded.

  “About a half mile beyond it is a waterfall. We’ll go off path then, for maybe a mile and a half. It’ll be rockier terrain, so you’ll have to watch your step.”