“But they’re killing people!”
Kane rubbed his knuckles over the strained lines in his face. “Yes. Untraceably. No evidence. That’s why we have to make sure we do this right. They’ll be able to kill a lot more people and get away with it if we rush this investigation. The first step is to try to identify the captives and the men we saw in the sim.”
He reached for my hand and held it gently, searching my face. “Aydan, I know it’s hard, but I really need you to think back to what you saw of the captive in the sim. Can you give us anything at all to go on? Hair colour? Eye colour? Unusual clothing, tattoos, scars, anything?”
I closed my eyes, forcing my shrinking courage to revisit the memory. “Brown hair. Thinning. His eyes were…” I gulped, trying to convince the beef stew to stay put. “…gone.”
Kane’s hand tightened on mine. “It’s okay, don’t think about that. What was he wearing?”
A couple of deep breaths later, my voice started to work again. “Brown deck shoes… with… with white gym socks. Casual pants. Beige casual pants.”
“That’s good, keep going,” he encouraged.
I squeezed my eyes tighter. Remember, dammit. Ignore the blood. What else?
“A polo shirt. I mean, I don’t know if it was Polo brand, but one of those collared T-shirts. White.”
Red by the time I saw it, though.
“Take a breath. Nice and slow,” Kane murmured, and I eased a few pounds of pressure off my grip on his hand and obeyed. “Was he wearing jewellery or a wristwatch?” Kane prompted.
My eyes flew open. “Yes, a watch! It was one of those great big clunky black things with all the dials and gauges on it. And now that I think of it, he had a tattoo on his left forearm just above the watch. It was red, so it didn’t really show up in all the blood…”
This time I took a few deep breaths without being reminded.
“Can you remember what the tattoo looked like?”
“It was really plain. I can draw it.”
Kane passed me a pen and a piece of paper, and after a couple of tries, I managed to steady my shaking hand enough to sketch the simple rectangular tattoo.
Germain sat up, grinning. “That’s a diving flag,” he said. “And it sounds like he was wearing a diver’s watch.”
Kane’s smile crinkled the sexy laugh lines around his eyes. “Good work, Aydan. That’s going to narrow it down. Is there anything else you can remember? Was he wearing any other jewellery? Any other tattoos or scars or marks? Any guesses as to age or height or weight?”
“Um. Height, I wouldn’t know, he was sitting. Weight, he had a bit of a belly, but he wasn’t fat. Age, I don’t know, maybe middle-aged. The skin on his arm looked kind of… weathered, I guess? I don’t remember any other jewellery or scars or anything.”
“That’s all right. You’ve given us a good place to start. Now we know we’re looking for a middle-aged diver with thinning brown hair, average build, who’s either currently missing or else died of a heart attack. If you can start looking through the database, that would be great.”
I sighed. “Okay. Shit! Wait a minute!”
“What?” Kane demanded.
“What will happen to the other prisoner now? If…” I swallowed the tightness in my throat. “If he’s even still alive. You killed off three of Fuzzy Bunny’s men. Who’ll take over? Should I be going back into the sim to see what’s going on?”
“No,” he said firmly. “Not tonight. I think Fuzzy Bunny will be sufficiently distracted by the loss of me and their men that they won’t expend a lot of energy on their remaining prisoner tonight. And you need a break.”
“I’m okay,” I said reflexively.
“Good. Then you can get started on the database whenever you’re ready.” He got up. “I’m going outside. It’s too hot in here.”
I realized I was sweating, too. The icy sensation that had frozen me all afternoon had finally gone away. As Germain followed him out, I got up and peeled off my boots, socks, jacket, and pants. I was padding barefoot over to the sink to refill my water glass when Hellhound stuck his head in the door.
He raised a lecherous eyebrow as he took in my tank top and clingy shorts. “Gettin’ ready for me, darlin’?”
I laughed. “Depends on whether you like an audience or not.”
“What if I say I do?” He grinned and bounced his eyebrows.
I put on a severe expression. “I’d be shocked.” We both laughed.
“Ya wanna come out for a walk?” He leered suggestively. “We could go… commune with nature for a while.”
I looked him up and down. “Tempting. Except for the mosquitoes. But I need to get started on this database. I have a feeling it’ll take a while. Germain said he’d narrowed it down based on what I gave him, but there are a lot of pictures in the shortlist.”
“Ya don’t know what you’re missin’.”
I sighed. “Sadly, I do.”
Chapter 23
I had just gotten started with the database when Kane stuck his head in the door of the RV. “I contacted Webb,” he said. “I’ve asked him to see if he could get a copy of the guest list from the party, just in case the man they killed was one of the guests. Then we can cross-reference that with anything he can dig up from the dive club memberships.”
“How long do you think it will take?”
“I haven’t a clue. He’ll call as soon as he has something.” He withdrew, and I turned back to the database.
The sun was setting by the time the men stepped into the RV again. They had left me to my work, but I’d heard the rumble of their voices outside while they strategized.
“Any luck?” Kane inquired.
“No.” I blew out a sigh. “Slow going.”
“It’s all right. These things take time.”
“But we don’t have time!” I protested. “We need to -”
I was interrupted by a buzzing from Kane’s pocket, and he pulled out his phone, his frown clearing as he glanced at the call display and punched the talk button.
“Webb,” he said in greeting. “What have you got?”
We all eyed him tensely as he nodded slowly, frowning again.
“Right. Okay, thanks.” He hung up and blew out a tired breath, massaging his forehead. “There was no record of anybody with that tattoo in the law enforcement system, so he wasn’t a criminal. Webb’s sending a list of possibilities from the dive club memberships, filtered by age. He doesn’t see much chance of getting a list of party guests. The only way would be to hack into Harchman’s computer system in hopes of finding it. He already tried, but it’s secure and encrypted. And if Webb can’t get in, I’m willing to bet nobody can.”
Kane looked at his watch. “It should be dusk in about half an hour. That’d be a good time to go back and get my bike. We need to get surveillance up again, too.”
“Are you nuts?” I demanded. “If they catch you…” My stomach lurched, and I gulped it down. “If they catch you again, they’ll torture you for real! You really want to live the rest of your life blind and burned and crippled and drinking all your meals through a straw…” I realized my voice was rising rapidly and shut up. I clenched my hands in my lap to hide their shaking.
There was a short silence while Germain and Hellhound regarded the two of us uneasily.
Kane sighed. “Aydan, this is my job.”
I took a deep breath and spoke evenly. “I realize that. I’m not trying to convince you otherwise. But don’t take pointless risks. The bike’s not worth it.”
Germain broke in. “Aydan’s right. We need to set some priorities here.”
“Keep in mind that if they did catch me, they likely wouldn’t escalate the violence that quickly in real life,” Kane said. “If they did, they’d have a dead captive on their hands in short order, and no information. And they’re going to want information from me now more than ever.”
“Assuming they read the Torturer’s Handbook and they follow the industry best pr
actices,” I interrupted sourly.
“They’d also be hampered by the location,” he continued. “They wouldn’t be able to do anything in the guest house. Too many other guests wandering around. Too much noise and mess.”
“Goody.”
“I’m not trying to argue that I should go over there tonight,” Kane said patiently. “I’m just saying you’re probably overestimating the actual risk. Effective torture is mostly psychological.”
Germain shook his head, frowning. “Hellhound and I will cover surveillance for tonight,” he said. “And we can bring the bike back, if it’s still there.”
“If I was Fuzzy Bunny, it’d still be there, all right,” I said. “It’s called bait.”
Kane nodded. “I thought of that, too. But we have night vision and infrared scopes. If they have it guarded, we’ll be able to spot their people easily.”
“True,” I said slowly. “But if I was Fuzzy Bunny, I wouldn’t put a guard on it at all. After your performance today, I’d assume you were both smart and well-equipped enough to detect that. I’d route my patrols far away from it so you could get in easily. And I’d put a transmission device somewhere on the bike so I could track you down at my leisure.”
Kane gave me a piercing glance. “I’d also followed that train of thought,” he assured me after a second. “We’ve got a handheld sweep device. I wouldn’t move the bike without making sure it was clean.”
“Here’s another question, though,” he added. “Do they even know the bike is there? And if so, do they know it’s mine? I told the guards I was on foot. The patrols haven’t been going anywhere near that far out. And it didn’t look like they were on high alert. I didn’t even run into a patrol when I left this afternoon.”
“Why do you want the bike back so badly?” I asked.
“I don’t like being one ride short,” Kane replied. “It compromises our mobility. Besides,” he added reluctantly, “It’s my own bike. That 750 cruiser of yours just doesn’t have the power and handling that I’m used to.”
“Now the truth comes out,” I teased.
He gave an unrepentant shrug. “The truth, yes, but I wouldn’t risk a mission for it. I stand by my reasoning. If we don’t retrieve it, we’ll need to get another bike.”
“Okay,” Germain agreed. “Hellhound and I will take the Yamaha over. We’ll check out the area with the scopes. If there’s no guard, we’ll go in and sweep the bike, make sure it’s clean. If it all checks out, we’ll bring it back. Otherwise, we’ll leave it there.”
“I’ll take the first watch,” Hellhound volunteered. “Germain can spell me off around two, an’ we can swap again in the mornin’.”
“What do you think about keeping a watch here at night, too?” Germain asked. “It overextends us, but with the extra activity over at Harchman’s, we might want to be cautious. Especially with Aydan here.”
“Good point,” Kane agreed. “All right. You two handle Harchman’s. I’ll watch here.”
“We’ll take shifts,” I corrected. “You guys are tired already. I can pull my weight.”
Kane assessed me, and I met his eyes steadily. He’d looked tired when I arrived earlier in the day. Now he looked like death warmed over. He wouldn’t admit it, but I knew his experience in the sim had taken its toll.
“All right,” he said finally. “Let’s do it.”
“Wait,” I said. “One more thing.” They all turned to look at me. “Arnie needs some more information.”
“We’ve already been over this,” Germain said. “I have a direct order not to disclose.”
“Everyone please note Carl has followed orders to the letter,” I said. I turned to Hellhound. “You need to know that-”
“Aydan, there are serious consequences if you breach your confidentiality agreement,” Kane interrupted.
“And there are serious consequences if he goes in uninformed,” I retorted. “Arnie, the people you’re watching at Harchman’s are using a form of mind control to torture people. If you get captured, you need to remember that what’s happening to you isn’t real. It will seem very real, but it’s all being done in your mind. Your body won’t actually be damaged. That probably won’t help much, if it comes to that, but…”
“Believe me, it helps,” Kane muttered.
Hellhound nodded slowly, and I could sense the wheels turning. I knew not to underestimate him. The dumb-biker image disguised a brilliant mind and a photographic memory.
“That explains a few things. Thanks, darlin’,” he said.
I turned to Kane and Germain. “I don’t think I’m in breach of my contract. But just in case, I beg forgiveness. As opposed to asking permission.” I raised my chin and looked Germain square in the eye.
His tense face relaxed and he laughed. “If this is you begging, I’d hate to see demanding.” He sobered. “Thanks for covering my butt.”
“You’re welcome.”
Germain and Hellhound put on their riding leathers, and we all trooped out of the hot RV into the cooler outside air. Germain swung astride his Yamaha and Hellhound grimaced.
“Shit. Can’t believe I’m gonna hafta ride on the back a’ this fuckin’ piece a’ Jap crap. Lucky it’s gettin’ dark so nobody’ll see me. Why don’t ya get a real bike?”
“It’s better than that bone-rattling piece of shit you call a Harley,” Germain retorted good-naturedly. “They’ve been making bikes for how long, and they still can’t make one with a decent muffler?”
Hellhound perched precariously on the back, struggling to hoist his boots up onto the passenger pegs. “Why the hell d’ya wanna ride one a’ these goddam crotch rockets anyhow?” he groused as he groped behind him for handholds. “Ya like bustin’ your fuckin’ nuts on the tank? Maybe ya ain’t usin’ your junk anymore, but I still wanna use mine.”
“Don’t they make a cute couple?” I observed loudly to Kane.
“Hey, Germain,” Kane called. “That’s got to be the ugliest girlfriend I’ve ever seen!”
Hellhound flipped him a stiff middle finger, and we laughed as they rode out of sight.
I turned to Kane. “I’m going to go and poke at that data a bit more, until Carl gets back and wants to go to bed. Why don’t you call it a night? I’ll take the first watch.”
“You don’t have to do that. It’s not your job.”
“So, what, you’re going to stay up all night? And all day tomorrow? No thanks. I’d rather you stayed alert. I might need you to save my butt.” I grinned up at him.
He chuckled. “All right. Point taken. I’m going to wait for Germain to get back, too. But I can take the first shift.”
“I’d rather take it, if you don’t mind. I need some time to think.”
He eyed me seriously. “If you’re sure.”
I nodded. “Very sure.” I went back into the RV and got back to work, my nerves on edge. I flipped through the photos with less attention than before, wondering what Germain and Hellhound were getting into over at Harchman’s. Memories of blood and scorched flesh kept intruding at the edges of my mind.
I’d narrowed the list down to a half-dozen possibilities by the time I heard the quiet idle of the returning Yamaha, and the headlight flashed through the trailer as Germain pulled up. A couple of minutes later, he and Kane stepped into the trailer.
“So the bike’s in the clear?” I asked.
He nodded. “Nobody around, and the sweep came up clean. We moved it to the second observation point, and Hellhound’s settled in for the duration. He’ll bring it back. And there doesn’t seem to be any extra guard activity. Everything’s the same as before.”
“Bizarre,” I said.
He shrugged and nodded. “I’m going to call it a night.”
Kane turned to me. “We can make up the dinette into a bed for you.”
“I don’t see why. Only two people are going to be sleeping at a time. Two beds, good enough.”
“If you don’t mind sleeping in somebody else’s sheets.”
“No biggie. A bed’s a bed. And we need as much space in this RV as we can get.”
I reached into my backpack and pulled my baggy jeans and a T-shirt over my shorts and tank top. I grabbed my fleece hoodie and jacket before delving into the backpack again to extract an apple, my water bottle, and a handful of cereal bars.
I looked up to see Germain’s eyes crinkle in amusement. “How much food have you got in there, anyway?”
“It’s mostly food,” I admitted. “I don’t carry a big wardrobe when I’m camping. So if you were thinking of asking me to the prom, forget it.”
He laughed and headed for the bathroom while Kane briefed me. “Stay within arm’s reach of the trailer at all times. Your only role is to watch. If you see anything suspicious, anything at all, thump on the outside of the trailer. Then run away and hide in the woods. Don’t try to help us. Understood?”
“Got it.”
“I’ll spell you off when Hellhound and Germain switch shifts. But if you need to quit before then, just come and get me. You’re sure you’re okay with this?”
“I’m fine. I like being outside at night. Get some sleep.”
I went out the door and settled into the folding chair beside the trailer. I heard the men moving around inside the trailer for a short time before the lights went out. I relaxed into the silent darkness, my eyes adjusting so that the trees showed as black silhouettes against the paler sky in the west.
I let my mind drift while the sky darkened over the mountains. Coyotes howled in the vicinity of the small creek about a mile away. Stars gradually appeared, and I heard an owl’s hoot.
The air slowly chilled and I leaned my head back, watching the comforting blanket of stars wheel overhead. The moon rose over the horizon, silvering the trees.
I huddled into my jacket and ate a cereal bar, listening to the quiet night noises. In that safe, silent place, I took out the day’s memories and examined them again as dispassionately as possible, working to reduce their impact.
My watch was so old it had no illumination, so I marked time by the position of the moon. When it had advanced over about a quarter of the sky, I heard movement from inside the trailer. In a few minutes, Germain stepped out, leather-clad.
The Spy Is Cast Page 17
