Double Blind--A Novel

by Iris Johansen

  “Then you should appreciate me as well.” He smiled. “As Lynch told you, this is who I am. And because of that, I just might manage to get your friend Olivia back.”

  Then Griffin stepped to the center of the group and clapped his hands. “Let’s move! See you at the rendezvous point.”

  CHAPTER

  15

  IT TOOK LESS THAN twenty minutes to reach Jessie on the hillside overlooking the mansion, but to Kendra it felt like hours. The vehicles and most of the team stood back far enough so that they would avoid detection by the house’s occupants. Kendra, Lynch, Jessie, and Griffin were met by the mustached SDPD SWAT team commander, Sergeant Davenport. Kendra had met him on two prior investigations and found him to be both smart and experienced.

  “Any luck with infrared imaging?” Griffin asked him.

  Davenport shook his head. “Hell, no. It looks like he’s lined the house with thermal Mylar material. He’d really have to know what he’s doing, though.”

  “He does,” Lynch said. “He’s a highly-trained operative and he has at least one other in there with him. Whatever you do, don’t underestimate those men.”

  He shrugged. “Don’t worry. That’s always a good way to get killed.”

  “There may be a female hostage inside,” Griffin said. “She could be in one of the thermal-shielded areas.”

  “You’re not getting it,” Davenport said. “The whole place has been thermally protected.” He showed them his tablet screen. “All except the garage, changing rooms near the pool, and what looks like a half bath near the front of the main floor. Those are the only areas we can safely rule out.”

  Kendra studied the house’s exterior from their hilltop perch. It was an enormous two-story Spanish mansion that enveloped a massive U-shaped courtyard that opened out to a swimming pool and two cabanas. The courtyard was lined with thick stone columns and centered by a long reflecting pool. Balconies overlooked the courtyard on the three closed sides, cascading with lush, colorful vegetation.

  Davenport nodded down toward the house. “My men are already down there, scoping the place out.”

  Griffin squinted. “I don’t even see them.”

  “Huh. Then I guess they’re good at their jobs.” Davenport tapped his earpiece. “Once they take their positions, this will be your show, Griffin. We’re here to provide support for whatever you need.”

  “Thanks, Davenport.”

  As Griffin huddled with his team, Kendra turned toward Jessie. “Good job.”

  Jessie shrugged. “Would have been a better job if I’d been able to pull Olivia out of there myself. The less people, the cleaner the extraction.”

  “Providing we knew where Olivia was located. You did enough. Thank you.”

  Jessie shook her head uneasily. “Something about this doesn’t feel right.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If Brock is so concerned about protecting this guy and the dirty secrets he has on them, they wouldn’t have just one guy here. They could have a whole platoon. Where are they?”

  Kendra glanced around at the surrounding hillsides, then back to the house. “You think they’re in there.”

  She nodded. “It’s why I didn’t even try to go in myself.”

  Boom!

  An explosion rocked the far side of the house.

  “What the hell?” Davenport raised his binoculars and tapped his headset once again. After a moment he turned to Griffin. “One of my guys hit a tripwire.”

  A man’s horrible, gut-wrenching screams came from the other side of the house.

  “Shit,” Davenport said, still listening to his headset. “He’s still alive, but it’s bad.”

  Gunfire from automatic weapons echoed in the courtyard.

  Griffin waved to his team. “We’re going in. Stay away from the courtyard windows. We’ll circle from the outside perimeter.”

  Jessie muttered a curse as she pulled a small black knapsack from her motorcycle and ran to join the FBI team.

  Griffin called after her. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “Trying to save that poor guy before he bleeds to death.” She nodded toward the screams still wafting from the house. “I was trained as an army medic. If the shock doesn’t get him, the loss of blood will. That man needs help now.”

  “I can’t be responsible for your safety.”

  Jessie slung the backpack over her shoulder. “Did I ask you?”

  “You’ll need a flak jacket.”

  She lifted the lapel of her jacket and showed him the Kevlar lining. “Brought my own.” She took off running down the hillside.

  More gunfire rained from the house below.

  Lynch turned to Kendra. “Stay here?”

  “No way.” Her eyes were fixed on the front entrance of the mansion. She was catching glimpses of the men firing those shots and she thought that she’d just seen Josh Blake for a tenth of a second.

  “Okay. Then at least bring up the rear. Can you do that?”

  “For now,” she said absently. Blake was no longer in view. She had to get closer …

  “I’ll take what I can get.” Lynch whirled and joined the FBI team moving down the hillside as more shots were exchanged around the house.

  Kendra followed as they made their way across the hill to a residential street two blocks over and began to close in.

  Bam!

  Shots.

  Brock militia were now streaming out of the house into the courtyard.

  Where was Blake?

  “Down.” Lynch jerked Kendra behind one of the huge columns.

  Then he was on his knees crawling toward the cabana that was taking heavy fire.

  There were more explosions and gunfire, but it looked to Kendra as if Griffin and Davenport far outnumbered the Brock militia. It appeared the attack was going well.

  But out of the corner of Kendra’s eye she saw something that was not going so well. Josh Blake.

  He’d been with his men in the courtyard, but he was no longer there. She caught a glimpse of him as he reentered the mansion and disappeared.

  No! Not only was Derek probably somewhere inside, Blake would know where Olivia was being kept in that mansion. There was no chance she could let him find his way out of this rabbit hole without telling her where she could find Olivia.

  She was on her feet and dodging around and behind the ornate Spanish columns lining the courtyard until she reached the arched entrance. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that Lynch was trading gunfire with a shooter at a second-story window. There was no way he’d be able to leave the courtyard now. Then she was inside the mansion, running down a long hall with a multitude of carved mahogany doors leading off it. It looked like the grand hall of a Spanish castle with statues and armor and two rows of columns marching down either side of the hall. There were tall leaded-glass windows bordering the upper second story on both sides, shining down on the dark wood and tile floor below.

  But where was he? Through which one of those damn doorways had Blake slipped?

  Careful. Blake was a professional. He probably was anticipating pursuit. Be alert. Watch for any slight movement of those closed doors.

  And there it was! Two doors behind her there was a narrow beam of light at the bottom of one of the doors.

  She dove for the floor, lifting her gun as Blake came through the door shooting. She aimed for his hand holding his gun as she rolled to one side. Blake screamed as the bullet plowed through the bone in his forearm. He cursed as his gun dropped from his hand. But he was diving for the weapon as Kendra stuck the barrel of her own gun in his stomach. “Don’t move,” she said. “I’m very angry right now, Blake. And I’m very frightened for my friend, Olivia. It wouldn’t take much to make me pull this trigger.” Her eyes were blazing at him. “The only thing that’s on your side is that I think you probably know where she is and can take me to her.”

  “You stupid whore.” He was clutching his arm. “I’m bleeding like a stuc
k pig. I hope Derek cuts your throat.” He pulled back his lips in a feral smile. “Or does the same thing he did to that blind bitch.”

  Her gaze narrowed on his face. “Olivia? Where is she?”

  He nodded at a door at the far end of the hall. “Behind door number one. You want her? Go get her.”

  “I will.” She nudged him with the gun. “But you’re coming with me. You’ve been lying to Lynch and me since the day I met you. This is too important for me to take a chance.”

  “Even if you find her, you’ll probably not be able to save her,” he said maliciously as he stumbled ahead of her down the hall. “That asshole, Derek, is too good and he really wants you to see that he’s beaten you. He spent a lot of time on your Olivia. If I hadn’t had to bow and scrape so much to him, I might have admired his technique. Except he wouldn’t let me rape her. He said the effect he wanted was for her to feel nothing. I admit I would have preferred him not to have been such a purist.”

  “Where’s Derek now?”

  He was silent.

  “Where’s Derek now?” she repeated. “Answer me or I’ll put another bullet in you.”

  He still didn’t reply.

  She jabbed the gun against his ribcage.

  His eyes widened as he looked at her. “You’d do it, you bitch.”

  “Try me,” she said.

  “I haven’t seen him for hours. When he saw we were under attack, he probably went on the run. He’s always got a way out. A boat, a helicopter, a tunnel … I was going to try to find him and hitch a ride when things got hot out there in the courtyard.” His smile was twisted. “But I had to perform my final duty for him or I knew I wouldn’t stand a chance of having him take me along.”

  “Duty?”

  “He said that if anything went wrong, if there was a chance that his little plan for you wasn’t going to be successful, I was to make it successful.” He said softly, “I was on my way to cut your Olivia’s throat. If I’d only had a few more minutes…”

  She knew he was trying to shock and panic her and he was succeeding. Don’t let him see it. “He must have considered you were just one of Vivianne’s errand boys if he set you to do his cleanup work. And you thought you were so important.”

  “I am important,” he said through set teeth. “Do you know how hard I’ve worked to pull myself up out of the ranks and get Vivianne to accept me as one of her team of directors? This should never have happened. Before Derek decided he had to take that blind woman, I was only supposed to supply him with my men to guard this place. But then he told Vivianne he wanted one of her executives to be on site to make certain there wouldn’t be any slipups about any orders he might give those guards. She gave in to him. I thought she just wanted someone here to try to locate those docs he’s holding over her.” He gave her a vicious look. “But it was probably your fault. She was pissed off that you were there when we were dragged into the FBI. She got her nose seriously out of joint. She was ready to give into him on anything that would hurt you.” He had reached the door at the end of the hall and was throwing it open. “He told her that this would do the trick.” His eyes were fixed spitefully on Kendra’s face. “Here she is, Kendra. How much does it hurt?”

  At first, Kendra didn’t know what she was seeing.

  Olivia was lying on a cot across the room. She was pinned to the mattress by four stakes piercing a sheet covering her from her chest to her feet. Her eyes were closed in her pale, still face.

  “What have you done to her?” Kendra whispered. “Is she still alive?”

  “She’s alive. And it was Derek, not me, who did it,” Blake said. “I only assisted when he required it. Actually, I found this method of persuasion rather innovative. He told me he calls it ‘The Butterfly.’”

  Her gaze was fixed in agony on Olivia’s still face. “You’re sure she’s still alive?”

  “Oh, yes. You might say she’s just had a rough couple days. She’s pinned in that sheet he calls her cocoon and she can’t move. And he rubbed some kind of chemical on her body wherever the cloth touched that would completely numb her. He did the same with that tape on her mouth. He left only at the tiniest opening at the corner of her mouth so she could breathe, but nothing that would interfere. The whole point was that she wasn’t to feel anything.”

  Sense of touch gone. Kendra had known it was what he’d threatened, but the reality was hideous. She swallowed. “What else?”

  “He put special sound-proof plugs in her ears to prevent hearing. He did the same with her nostrils to keep her from being able to smell.” He whispered, “When he was through, she was like a wild animal caught in a cage. Only she couldn’t even struggle to get free. I’d never seen such panic. It went on and on until she finally fell unconscious.”

  “And you did nothing,” she said harshly. “You’re almost as bad as he is.”

  “You got in his way, so in the end this is your fault, too.” His gaze was narrowed on her face. “And I see he did hurt you. Good.” He tilted his head and said mockingly, “Do you know, my arm doesn’t hurt nearly as much now, Kendra.”

  “I wish I’d blown your head off.” She was suddenly burning with rage. “It still seems a very good idea if I didn’t have to get to Olivia. I can’t—”

  Blake sprang forward and his uninjured arm lashed out and struck her face. He lunged for her gun.

  Fight! She wasn’t helpless. Remember what Lynch had taught her … She staggered back, grasping desperately at the pistol as she whirled back and punched him with all her strength in his stomach. He gasped as he lost his breath. She gave him a karate chop to the throat that sent him to his knees.

  That seemed to have done it. But she was breathing hard as she turned back to Olivia’s cot. “I don’t have time for you. I need to take care of my friend. If you give me any more trouble, I’ll kill you.” Then she ignored him as she ran across the room to Olivia’s cot. The closer she got the more frightened and angry she became. Her hands were unsteady as she yanked the sheet off Olivia. “You’re not a damn pinned butterfly,” she said fiercely. “Do you hear me? They can’t do this to you, Olivia.” She tore the tape off her lips. “Open your eyes and tell me—”

  “She can’t hear you.” Blake had recovered enough to begin lurching toward the cot. “You stupid bitch, I told you that. And you won’t be able to—” He stopped, staring at the gun Kendra was training on him. Then he said with disgust, “Screw it. I’m through with this. I’m not Derek’s slave. I’ve done enough of his dirty work for one day. I’m getting out of here.” He turned, strode out of the room and slammed the door.

  She scarcely heard him. Her gaze was fastened on Olivia’s face. Why hadn’t she opened her eyes?

  Her ears …

  Kendra’s hands were shaking as she carefully removed the ear plugs. “Olivia?”

  Nothing.

  She extracted the nose plugs.

  Nothing.

  “Stop this, Olivia,” she said unsteadily. “You’re scaring me. You know I was never as brave as you.”

  Then Olivia’s chest moved as she took a deep breath.

  “Good.” Kendra was drawing a relieved breath herself. “Now open your eyes.”

  Olivia’s lids slowly opened to reveal those huge brown eyes. “What’s that … supposed to prove?” she said hoarsely. “You’re not making … sense. You know I can’t see.”

  “I’m making perfect sense.” Kendra’s arms slid around Olivia and she was hugging her with all her strength. “It means he didn’t do anything else bad to you. It means you’re okay.”

  “Not so … okay. I can’t feel you yet. I’m still numb all over.” Olivia closed her eyes again. “And you’re here and he got what he wanted. You shouldn’t have come, Kendra. I prayed you wouldn’t come.”

  “Of course I came. It’s my fault you’re here.” She lifted her head. “And don’t we always hang out together?”

  “Not this time. You should have let me go it alone.” Her lips were trembling. “It was
bad … what he did to me. I’ve never felt anything that bad before. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t do it. And I couldn’t stop shaking and yet it was like being … dead. But I knew it would be worse if you came. I can’t watch him do that to you.”

  “Don’t think about it,” Kendra said quickly. “He’s just a coward who thinks all that killing and pain make him powerful when it only proves how weak he really is. We’ll deal with him together. The way we do everything else.” She smiled. “And we’ve got a head start. Can’t you hear all that racket in the courtyard? Lynch and Griffin’s men are probably wrapping up Brock’s scum as we speak.”

  “You’re not alone?” Olivia closed her eyes. “Thank God.”

  “Don’t act so relieved. It’s not as if I wasn’t very efficient in dealing with that asshole, Josh Blake. Lynch would have been proud of me. Or maybe not. I was aiming for his gun hand and I hit his forearm instead.”

  Olivia’s eyes flicked open. “Derek?”

  “We haven’t located him yet.” She could see Olivia start to tremble and said quickly, “Blake seemed to think he might be on the run.”

  “I don’t think so.” Her voice was scarcely above a whisper. “He wouldn’t run away. Not until he got what he wanted. He’s like a monster who just keeps coming, devouring everyone around him, until there’s nothing left. We have to find him.”

  “And we will.” She was shivering herself as she realized what Olivia must have gone through with that monster during these last days. “But I think we’ll just get you out of here for the time being. Let’s go to the courtyard and see if we can find Jessie.” She straightened and took off her denim jacket. “But since I got rid of your ‘cocoon,’ I think I’d better give you something to cover you up before you catch cold.” She slipped Olivia into the jacket and buttoned it. “Very stylish. You always look better in clothes than I do.” She frowned. “But you’re still shaking.”

  “I can’t seem to stop … it just comes.”