by Ana Leigh
Dave tried to assemble all these facts as quickly as Mike fed them to him. “So, if the prints don’t match, the man we’re holding could be James McDermott.”
“That’s right.”
“That still doesn’t explain the exact resemblance unless…”
“You thinking what I am, pal?” Mike said.
“Identical twins,” Dave said. “McDermott and his damn disguises!”
All at once everything fell in place. The sign. Deserted house. Dave’s stomach knotted. “My God! Trish!”
“Where’s Trish now?” Mike asked.
“I just left her. I had McDermott within arm’s reach and I left her and Deb alone with him.” He slammed the phone.
To hell with the car. He could make better time cutting across the woods than following the damn road.
He raced through the trees to get back to the house.
Trish loved the old house. It had three floors and her fingers itched to get at it and decorate it. She wished she had seen the house before the Phelpses had. Her mother had left her a sizable trust, and, not that she would ever need a house this size, but it was the very kind of home she’d love to own.
She climbed up to the third floor. There were four more bedrooms and two bathrooms. The house would definitely need new wiring, plumbing and heating, but the rest of the house was a decorator’s fantasy. It had spacious, sunny rooms that could be transformed into a dream house.
The drone of Deb’s and Phelps’s voices carried up from below. Trish went to the railing to call to Deb to come upstairs.
They were downstairs in the foyer. She was about to call to them when she saw Phelps suddenly shove Deb into the hall closet and lock her inside.
Trish stifled a scream and ducked back. She sensed instantly that this had to have something to do with Colin McDermott. This was all a ploy to get her out here in this deserted area. And Dave and the squad were nowhere around.
Trish glanced around helplessly. The rooms up here were completely barren of any furniture. She had left her purse downstairs so she couldn’t even call for help. As if any help could get here in time to do her any good anyway.
Whoever he was, he couldn’t possibly know exactly where she was, but she didn’t dare peek over the railing to see where he was or it might reveal her location.
His footfall sounded on the step, and she could tell he had reached the second floor.
Trish hunkered down and took a chance and cautiously peeked through the balusters on the stairway. Phelps’s back was to her as he looked around and headed toward one of the bedrooms.
She could hear Deb pounding and shouting below, but Trish knew she could never get past Phelps to reach her.
Dammit! Quit calling him Phelps. He had to be someone connected with that crazed McDermott. Or maybe he had escaped. If only she had her purse. Dave, what should I do?
In desperation she glanced out the window. It opened on to the roof, but she didn’t know how she’d get to the ground. Maybe she could make him think she had escaped and he’d go looking for her, or maybe someone or something would cause a distraction and she could free Deb and escape. If only she had matches she could start a fire and trigger the fire alarm.
Right, Trish. Like this old house has a smoke alarm installed.
The open window would be her best ruse. Just as she raised the window, she heard him begin to climb the stairs to the top floor.
Dave, Dave, tell me what to do, she pleaded.
Then his answer came to her as clearly as a spoken word. “Go into the bathroom and lock the door.”
She slipped out of her shoes. Praying that the floor wouldn’t squeak, she picked them up and crossed the floor carefully.
The key was missing in the first bathroom she tried. Precious time was lost when she stole across the hall to the other bathroom. To her horror the key was missing from that lock, too. There was no time to go elsewhere. Nowhere else to hide. She closed the bathroom door quietly and looked around helplessly. She was trapped.
Trish pressed her ear to the door and forced herself not to scream—or to even breathe. The stealthy pad of approaching footsteps on the wooden floor was a more frightening sound than ponderous thuds would be.
It was stifling in the closet. Shouting and pounding on the door was accomplishing nothing except working up a sweat. Deb didn’t know what was going on, but she knew Trish was in danger. That must have been why Dave had appeared worried when he left. But then, he would have insisted she leave with him.
The purse on her shoulder became a wearisome weight. She started to shove it off then paused. Of course! How could she have been so stupid? Waste precious minutes while Trish was in danger? Her cell phone was in the purse hanging from her shoulder.
Even in her distressed state, she had no problem remembering Dave’s number. As long as one could count backward, 9-8-7-6 was easy to remember.
He sounded breathless when he answered.
“Dave, this is Deb. Phelps is a phony. He’s locked me in the closet in the foyer.”
“Where’s Trish.”
“She’s upstairs somewhere. I heard him walking around above me. She must be hiding and he’s looking for her.”
“Deb, I’m almost there. The house is in sight. Call 911 and get some help out here.”
“Okay, but hurry,” she said.
Dave made no attempt to try to approach the house quietly. He wanted to make his presence known to the terrorist in the hope of drawing McDermott away from Trish before he could discover her hiding place.
“Trish!” he shouted when he entered the house. When there was no reply, he felt a rising panic. What if he was too late?
He halted long enough to turn the key on the hall closet and Deb came out looking frazzled but alive.
“Upstairs,” she shouted. “I didn’t hear anyone come downstairs yet.”
Dave took the stairs two at a time. There was no sign of her on the second level, so he rushed up the next flight to the floor above and saw the open window. It had to be a ruse. No one could get off that roof without a ladder.
“Trish,” he called out at the top of his voice. “Trish, where are you?”
His cry of desperation sounded hollow in the empty house. Trish wasn’t there. By the time he had searched every room, nook and cranny in the house, the police had arrived.
They put out an all-points bulletin on the Jeep Liberty and license plate. While they continued to interview Debra, Dave returned to the site where he had left the car. Needless to say the Liberty was gone.
He put in another call to Mike, who had rounded up the squad and gave him an address where to meet them.
It turned out to be a rundown hotel. To Dave’s surprise, Bishop had accompanied the rest of the squad.
“Britany McDermott’s finally talked.” Mike said. “She gave up Colin. Said he was staying here in room twenty-seven. It’s your squad, Dave, so what do you want to do?”
That was Mike’s way of letting him know he wasn’t taking over. Dave was in charge. As soon as they found out the exact location of the room he gathered the men around him.
“Kurt, you and Addison go in through the fire escape. We’ll give you two minutes to get into position. Fraser and I will go in through the door.”
“What about me?” Bishop said.
“Sir, no disrespect, but I would appreciate your returning to your vehicle. This is a job for the team, not the Deputy Secretary.”
Mike gave him a disgusted look and pulled out his weapon. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”
“Okay, Bolen and Addison get going, Check your watches. Two minutes on the mark, then we’re going in.”
The two minutes passed like hours. Dave hadn’t seen any sign of the Liberty on the street, and he held out little hope of finding Trish or McDermott in the room.
The desk clerk had implied he’d seen no sign of McDermott, but the terrorist would hardly parade Trish past the desk. On the other hand, the desk clerk could be an IR
A sympathizer. The wall phone in the hallway indicated there were no phones in the rooms, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t worked out a warning sign if they were working together. The whole damn place could be a hotbed of terrorists.
Bishop’s and Fraser’s eyes never shifted from him as he watched the minute hand on his watch hop to the mark. He nodded.
The two men hit the door just as the window shattered inside the room. The door frame cracked and the door broke loose. Dave dashed in ahead of the two men and saw Bolen and Addison coming through the window.
Just as Dave suspected, the room was empty. A search produced several passports, wigs and other various components of disguise. Incriminating pieces of evidence but no clue where they could hope to find McDermott and Trish.
The fact that McDermott had snatched Trish and not killed her at the time was the only hopeful sign that he might be holding out for Hunter to come through with the money and the diamonds.
Even so, Dave felt that the cold-blooded killer would not hesitate to kill Trish once he got what he wanted.
“Mike, is there any information the CIA or FBI has on this man to give us a clue where we might find him?” Dave asked.
“You know everything we do, Dave. His brother’s clammed up and is not saying a word. His sister-in-law gave us this address. All the Agency can do is go back and squeeze them some more. I’m going back to Langley now and see what I can do from there.”
Before leaving, Mike came over to Dave and put a hand on his shoulder. “I know how you feel, Dave. Keep the faith, pal. We’ll find her.”
Dave tried to figure out what to do next. The damn chameleon could be anywhere. The only probable link to the man was Henry Hunter. He was the only hope Dave had.
He dialed Hunter’s office. His secretary informed him that Mr. Hunter could be reached at his home.
“You guys hang loose,” he said to the squad as soon as he hung up. “I’m going to speak to Trish’s father.”
“Do you want company?” Kurt asked.
“Not now. I’m hoping I can get a lead from Hunter. I’ll call you if I find out something definite.”
Kurt nodded. “We’ll go to Langley and wait for word from you.”
Chapter 15
Dave drove to Georgetown. Julie the maid answered the door. He pushed his way into the house.
“Where is he?”
“Mr. Hunter’s in his study, Mr. Cassidy.”
Dave strode down the hallway and Julie chased after him. “Wait, sir, he’s on the telephone.”
Dave burst through the door just as Hunter hung up. He grabbed the man by the shirtfront and slammed him against the wall.
“You son of a bitch! McDermott’s got Trish. If he harms one hair on her head, I’ll kill you myself, Hunter.”
Dave released him, and Henry adjusted his clothes. “That will be all, Julie.”
“Shall I call the police, sir?” the startled maid said.
“No, that won’t be necessary. Please close the door on your way out.”
She gave Dave an apprehensive glance then departed.
“That was McDermott on the phone,” Henry said. “I have two hours to give him the money and diamonds, or he’s threatened to kill her.”
“Where is he?”
“He said he’d call back in an hour. I can raise the money, but I swear, Dave, I don’t have the diamonds.”
The telephone interrupted them, and after a short exchange, Henry handed him the phone. “It’s Bishop. He wants to talk to you.” Dave snatched the phone from him.
“Dave, we’ve got a tap on Hunter’s phone and heard the whole conversation. We’re on our way there. Don’t let Hunter leave.”
Dave had all he could do to keep from strangling Hunter until Bishop and the squad showed up. Bledsoe and Williams were with them. Dave was relieved to see the two guys up and around, but all he could think of was Trish’s welfare.
“First thing, Mr. Hunter, you are under arrest,” Mike said. “There’s a federal law against aiding and abetting terrorists. I want the full story from you, and I won’t lie to you, you’ll have to serve time. I can’t promise amnesty, Mr. Hunter, but the more you cooperate with the Agency, the more likely your sentence will be lighter.”
“I’ll do whatever I can to help. I don’t care what happens to me, Mr. Bishop. My daughter’s welfare is my only concern.”
“A little late for that, isn’t it, Henry?” Dave lashed out. “Just tell us where we can find her.”
Mike gave him a disgruntled look. “Dave, back off and let me handle this.”
“You can get his confession later. Trish’s life is at stake here.”
“I’m aware of that, Dave. We can’t do anything until McDermott calls back. So cool it. Let’s hear what you have to say, Mr. Hunter.”
“I admit that Robert Manning and I had dealings with Colin McDermott. Robert’s trip to Morocco was to exchange two million dollars for the uncut diamonds. It would appear that the night your men raided bin Muzzar’s palace, Robert saw an opportunity to…shall we say, go into business for himself. He told me the money and diamonds had been left at the palace. I believed him until the night Robert was murdered. McDermott came here, roughed me up a bit and said he now wanted not only the money, but the diamonds back as well.”
The desperation in his voice left little doubt that Hunter was telling the truth.
“McDermott didn’t believe that I wasn’t in on double-crossing him,” Henry continued. “A couple of days later he called and admitted he had murdered Robert, and my daughter would be next if I didn’t come up with the money and diamonds. I told him I’d give him the money, but swore to him I didn’t have the diamonds.”
Dave had been pacing the floor as Henry spoke. He came to an abrupt stop when Bishop asked, “Was your daughter in on this?”
“No, of course not. She had no idea what was going on. She went to North Africa with Robert because he agreed to give her a divorce if she did. Robert had lied to me and indicated they were going to reconcile, so I encouraged her to go.”
“It didn’t occur to you to ask her if he was telling the truth, did it, Henry?” Dave lashed out.
“I knew Robert wouldn’t hurt her, so I didn’t see what harm it would do.”
“Wouldn’t hurt her! You lousy bastard!” Dave lunged for him, but Kurt and Don grabbed him and held him back.
The telephone rang and Bishop said, “If that’s McDermott, keep him on the line as long as you can so we can get a fix on his location. Let him think you have the diamonds.”
Henry nodded and pressed the speaker button on the phone. “Hello.”
McDermott’s voice came over the speaker. “You got the money?”
“How do I know my daughter’s okay?” Henry asked. “I want to talk to her.”
“There’s not time for that,” McDermott said.
“I want to talk to her,” Henry declared. “I don’t trust you.”
McDermott let out a string of vile obscenities, and after a few second’s pause, Trish said, “Dad.” Dave’s heart leaped to his throat.
“Baby, are you okay?”
Dave had to force himself not to snatch the phone out of Henry’s hands.
“Everything’s going to be okay, baby,” Henry said.
“Okay, you satisfied?” McDermott snarled. “Now get in your car and head northwest on the George Washington Parkway. I’ll call you in ten minutes. And if you’re followed, you won’t see your daughter alive again.”
“I’ll come alone. I swear it. Just don’t harm her.”
“Ten minutes,” McDermott said, and hung up.
Bishop pulled out his phone and dialed the Agency. “Did you get the trace? Good,” he said, and hung up after writing down an address.
“The call was transmitted from Fairfax County in the vicinity of—”
“Great Falls, Virginia,” Dave exclaimed.
“Yes,” Mike said.
“He’s doubled back to the same house wher
e he snatched her. We’re out of here.”
“Good luck,” Mike said as the men hurried to their car.
“What should I do?” Henry asked.
“We’ll put a wire on you, and then you’ll follow McDermott’s instructions. If Dave is right, the team will get there and be in place before we arrive.”
“Are you coming with me?”
“Of course,” Mike said.
As the team approached the house through the surrounding woods they discovered the stashed Liberty.
Dave’s problem now was getting to Trish before McDermott knew they were there. It would be easy with the manpower he had simply to rush him, but the cold-hearted SOB would probably kill her before they could take him down. He had to get inside the house before Hunter arrived.
Logically, McDermott would remain on the first floor. Dave gave the squad their orders and then he moved around to the side of the house. He saw an entry—an open window on the third floor.
This was an operation the squad had trained for often, even with full packs strapped to their backs. They formed a pyramid. Bledsoe, Williams and Fraser formed the bottom row. Bolen and Addison stood on their shoulders and formed the second row. Dave climbed up to form the peak and was able to grasp the gutter.
He could only hope it would take his weight so he could pull himself up on the roof. If the gutter broke loose, McDermott would probably hear it.
Luck was with them. With an extra hoist from Kurt and Justin, Dave succeeded in swinging himself onto the sloping lower roof.
He then crawled up to the open window on the upper roof. His gun fell to the ground in the process and there was no time to retrieve it. He would have to go in without a weapon.
Dave gave them an all-clear sign, and the men scattered to their positions.
Once inside, from the sound below he could tell that McDermott was in the living room. That meant Trish would most likely be there, too.
He stole down the stairs undetected and reached the first floor just as a car drove up to the house.
Clutching an AK rifle, McDermott hurried to the window.
It was enough of a distraction to enable Dave to cross the foyer unobserved.
