“No. I got out of the organization shortly after Lexy and I married. I helped Stephen with Will Donovan only because he was bringing him here and because Ackerman was behind the threat, but that’s it. Lexy had had enough.”
“Well, I’ve had dealings with them both. Stephen trusted them, and that’s why he died,” I added. “I wouldn’t turn my back on either one. Ian seems to be working alone with Peter Hirsch’s support unless he’s picked up an accomplice since I last saw him. James had one man with him at last count, but he’s probably recruited another one or two. I can help you. I can identify them both.”
He clenched his jaws. “Lexy won’t—”
“Need to know. Faking her death was a wise move, but it isn’t going to fool either James or Ian, not if I figured it out. I know you have a contingency plan. So tell me how you’re going to take them down. They will kill us if we leave now, Nathan. I won’t let that happen to my daughter.”
“Lexy never wanted you involved.”
I was having enough trouble dealing with Nathan calling Josie Lexy. “Stephen chose not to tell me—”
“Not Stephen. Lexy. She wouldn’t let Stephen tell you. Lexy knew that if you knew she was alive, you’d insist on seeing her. She refused to risk it, for both your sake and the boys’.”
I found a chair and sank into it. My knees were too weak to hold me up. Stephen wanted me to know.
“Surely she didn’t expect to live her whole life and never see me again,” I insisted.
“She had a fit when Stephen bought that place up here. Said he planned to retire and bring you here to live once he’d settled things, once Ackerman was out of the way.”
All this time I’d blamed Stephen for how screwed up our lives were. And he’d taken it. Never once letting on that it was at least partially misplaced. I pushed back my anger. Telling or not telling me hadn’t been his choice. Or mine.
Damn it, Josie! Who were you to make all the decisions!
Yet Stephen had planned to make it right…after he’d dealt with Nick Ackerman once and for all. So many secrets wedged between us.
“How did you know about Stephen’s death? And that they might be coming after her?” I asked.
“When I didn’t hear from Stephen after two weeks, I checked on the Web. I found his obituary in the Washington Post. That’s when I opened the envelope he’d sent us.”
Of course. He would have left a warning, in case he failed. Why had I thought I’d be the only one to receive an envelope?
“It said to put our plan in motion, that there was a possibility the secret of Lexy’s location would be compromised.”
So Stephen had helped Nathan with his plan to keep Josie safe.
“You arranged for Josie to die in an accident at sea,” I said.
“I hoped they would accept Josie’s death,” he said. “And now you’re here, creating more problems.”
“Don’t try to pull that on me, Nathan. For the first time in all these years, I know what I’m a part of. These are my enemies every bit as much as they are yours. I’m not the problem. I’m the cavalry.” I found myself unexpectedly on my feet.
He smiled.
Damn. How many times had I heard Josie say something similar when we were kids? How many times had she said something like that to him?
“I plan to lead them straight to her,” he said.
The shock must have shown on my face. “You can’t be serious.”
He leaned toward me. “They’re watching the house, waiting for me to make a supply run. She’s been in hiding for weeks now. They’ll assume I’m providing her with fresh provisions.”
“You’re not?”
“No. She’s far from here and she’s stocked with enough shelf-stable food to last a year.”
“You’re going to lead them into a trap.”
“Yes.”
I was certain Josie knew nothing of his plan. She would never have let Nathan go through with it, not alone. Josie was no coward.
“You’ll need help taking them down,” I said.
“No. I don’t want anyone else hurt. This is my battle.”
“And mine. If you don’t have help, they’ll kill you, no matter how well trained you are. I’ve seen these men in action.”
“You need to go,” Nathan repeated.
“You’re not going to get rid of me. Understand? I’ve lost too much in my life to lose Cara, and I will not lose Josie again. Or let her lose you. When is it going down?”
He paused, studying me. I wasn’t moving and he knew it.
“Look, Nathan, I can be a liability or an asset. Take your choice, but you’re not getting rid of me.”
I could see the resolve soften in his face. And something else take its place. Maybe relief.
“Tomorrow night,” he said. “I’ll leave the house shortly after 2:00 a.m. I’ll be carrying two grocery bags. I’ll load the boat with them, and then I’ll head up the channel about eleven miles. There’s an old marine research facility on one of the small islands. It’s completely isolated. It’s been abandoned for about six years.”
“So if there’s gunfire…”
He nodded. There would be no unnecessary casualties.
“You know this place?”
“Every inch. I spent twelve years of my life working there.”
My surprise must have been obvious.
“What? You don’t think a fisherman goes to prep school and college? Marine biology, Stanford University.” He shook his head at me. “Priorities change. My current research is private, financed by my fishing. I live the life I want to live. At least, I have up until now.”
My sister had chosen well. So had I. I just wish I had realized how well before Stephen died. Yet, he had made a major miscalculation by not trusting me. Ultimately his deceit had destroyed our marriage and each of us in turn. He should have told me. Josie need never have known.
I pushed Stephen to the back of my mind. I had to stay focused. Josie’s life was still in danger, as was mine and Cara’s and Will’s. And now Nathan’s.
“Let me take the supplies,” I suggested. “That will free you up to follow behind them.”
“Can Will go with you?”
“I don’t know. He has other business to—”
“I’m in,” Will announced, coming into the sitting room.
“Me, too.” Cara was right behind him.
I looked at my daughter and my heart leaped to my throat.
“What about Cara?” I asked Nathan. “We can’t leave her here alone. They might try to grab her again. But if we take her with us—”
“I’ll take her with me,” Nathan said. “She can drop me near the dock on the island and then conceal the boat where the trees and bushes overgrow the water’s edge. We’ll need it to escape, and she can make sure that happens.”
He turned to Cara. “I’ll leave the radio with you. If things go bad for us, you alert the authorities and get the hell out. If by some miracle some of us survive, you’ll need to bring the boat to pick us up at the shore. Agreed?”
Cara nodded. I could tell she was none too happy to be left out of the fight, but it was necessary for her safety and my sanity.
“I’ve already compromised the lock on the fence that surrounds the compound,” Nathan assured us. “When we get to the island, you’ll see the lights in the building where Lexy is ‘staying.’ That’s where, God willing, this will all play out.”
Chapter 30
Nathan spread a layout of the compound on the kitchen table plus the floor plans of all the buildings.
“I’ve rigged the two main buildings and the Quonset huts that served as labs with explosives, and set live charges at the wharfs. The place has been abandoned for years and is scheduled for demolition. The plan is to lure them onto the island by making them believe Lexy’s hiding there and I’m taking supplies to her.”
Josie, I corrected in my mind.
“I’ll strand them,” Nathan continued, “and then systematical
ly take them out one at a time on my terms. A body here and there in the rubble and the only thought will be they were somewhere they shouldn’t have been when the explosions went off.”
“To do that you’ll have to be able to track their movements,” I said, “know where they are at all times. Will and I can help with that.”
“I can help, too,” Cara added.
“We’ll need you to stay with the boat throughout this operation,” Nathan told Cara firmly. “Once they land, I’m blowing up their boat—and the one Elizabeth and Will go in on. That will leave only one functioning boat, the one you’re to guard. The last thing we need is to find ourselves with no escape route and have to explain to the authorities what they’ll find on that island.”
He didn’t add that Cara might have to defend the boat from James or Ian. That was understood and something I couldn’t afford to think about.
“What are you using to trigger the explosions?” Will asked.
“Remote controls, trip wires and deadfall devices,” Nathan explained.
“What if they find you?” I asked.
“I’ll blast us out of the water and let God sort us out. No one is getting to Lexy.”
“Josie has no idea what you’re planning, does she?” I asked. “If she did—”
“You’ve done what you had to do, Elizabeth, and I’ll do what I have to do,” Nathan said.
He’d like to survive this, but he’d go down protecting Josie and his sons if that was what it took. He’d stepped right into the same trap as Stephen.
“We can’t afford to lose you,” I insisted. “This won’t be the only battle.”
“No, but it’s the one we’re fighting now,” he reminded me.
“When it’s over, Ackerman will still be alive,” I reminded him. “You don’t know Nick. You’ve never stared into those cold eyes. Losing men won’t bother him. Money will just buy more.”
“Then we’ll take them out, too.”
“It’s going to be dark as hell out there,” Will reminded him. “How are we going to be able to see them?”
“We have night-vision glasses, and spotlights are mounted in two areas—the water tower and ringing the roofs of each of the brick buildings.” Nathan located each of them for us on the map. “When we were doing sensitive work for the government, state-of-the-art security was installed.”
“State-of-the-art from the Stone Age,” Will pointed out. “That was what? Twenty years ago? Motion detection and what else? Sirens? Any of it still work?”
Nathan shrugged.
“Great. A security system with no security,” Cara said. “Now that ought to scare the bad guys.”
“What exactly does work?” I asked, sending Cara a behave-yourself look.
“The lights do, at least they did a few weeks ago. I checked the day I confirmed Stephen’s death.”
“You say you plan to entice them to where the charges are set by turning on lights in the buildings by remote,” Will said.
“Yes. They’ll come to check it out.”
“Hate to tell you,” Cara said, “but I suspect these guys learn a hell of a lot faster than lab rats. After that first big boom, they’ll be on to your little game with the lights.”
I shook my head. “Cara’s right. It won’t work past the first blast. I like Will’s plan using him and me to lead them into the buildings. They’ll think we’re setting the devices.”
“I don’t like it. It’s too risky,” Nathan said.
“Where are the trip wires?” I added.
“At the entrances to the Quonset huts,” Nathan said.
“Okay. That means you’ve got two dead. Think that will do it?” Will asked.
Will had made his point. Nathan’s plan was too simplistic, but then, he’d put it together when he thought he’d be in this fight alone and hadn’t expected to survive.
“James has allies,” I reminded him. “And then there’s Ian. He may have men with him, too.”
“You’ll need Will and me as human lures,” I insisted. “Without us, it won’t work. You can’t be all over that island by yourself. You need to be able to set off the explosives.”
I could tell Nathan was frustrated, but he was past arguing. “If you go in, turn on the lights, and let them see you there. I’ll set the charge, but I won’t be able to make sure you’re clear of the area unless I get a visual on you. You don’t show and that sucker still goes up in under four minutes.”
“I can live with that,” Will agreed. “You?”
I’d learned to live with a lot of things I never thought I could. I nodded.
“Then it’s agreed. We take them all out,” Nathan said. “Tonight.”
We left soon after the strategy session and made our way back to where we were staying. I reasoned Will, Cara and I would be safe only because anyone watching wouldn’t want to tip their hand to Nathan with Will’s kidnapping or a couple of dead bodies in a very public place. For some reason, Ackerman seemed to want Josie almost as much as he wanted Will. If we were lucky, that would be his downfall.
We made our final preparations, changing our clothes and gathering supplies.
Close to one-thirty in the morning, we drove back to Nathan’s place. Will was itching for a fight, so antsy he could hardly sit still.
“Calm down,” I warned, pulling the car into the driveway. We were all dressed in black, with stocking caps and gloves in pouches at our waists.
We slipped into the dark house. Nathan had left the door unlocked. He met us just inside and handed Will and me each a paper grocery sack. No one said a word, but Nathan did lean over to give me a kiss on the cheek. “For luck,” he whispered, and I saw just a glimpse of the gentleness that had won Josie’s heart. Cara’s hand squeezed my arm and then she disappeared into the dark behind Nathan. We’d already said everything we needed to say to each other. She knew exactly how much I loved her.
Will and I were quickly back outside, down the steps and at the car. We laid the bags on the backseat. Then I threw the transmission into Reverse and swung backward onto the road.
The boat, a small outboard with the keys in the switch, was where Nathan had promised it would be, the second slip from the end of the dock. We climbed in, each carrying a bag, and drew on our caps and gloves. Holding a penlight in my mouth, I examined the map that Nathan had left by the front seat. Red lines and circles told us exactly where to go. It was a good ruse to give James or Ian time to catch up, not that I thought either would need it. In the hours following our confrontation with Nathan, I’d used the maps Nathan had given us to memorize every turn, every bend of the water around those islands, every placement of every building.
Will cranked the engine and we were off, speeding into the darkness.
The island was lush with vegetation, shutting out the moonlight that shimmered on the water and wrapping most everything beyond the water’s edge in twisted, menacing shadows. My heart picked up a staccato beat. I felt as though I’d entered a surreal world, and the opening I’d come through was rapidly sealing behind me.
We tied the boat to the small pier. The only sounds were water lapping against the dock and insects heckling us from the woods.
Through the trees I could make out artificial light off to my left, coming from windows some two hundred yards away. It shone like a beacon, leading us toward the compound. If I were looking for Josie’s hideout on that island, that was where I would go.
We stopped at the gate of the wrought-iron fence that rose some twelve feet into the air with spikes on the top of the rails.
Neither Will nor I spoke a word. I glanced over my shoulder and saw nothing. They were out there, somewhere in the water, just beyond sight and hearing. My skin prickled knowing they were watching us, waiting for us to get enough ahead of them before they docked.
The pier was the only safe place to tie their boat. The inlet was too treacherous otherwise, so they had no choice but to wait until we cleared the area—at least, that was Nathan’s reasoni
ng.
My pistol lay heavy against my hip, an uncomfortable reminder that I might actually have to shoot someone. I shoved the thought to the back of my mind and prayed that I’d have the strength to do whatever I had to do.
My pepper spray, as always, was wedged in my right pocket, not that I expected to get close enough to anyone to use it. If I did, our plan would have gone terribly wrong. James would know that I had it. This time I wouldn’t catch him off guard, assuming he didn’t simply shoot me dead if he got the chance.
Will was armed with a .45. I suspected there was a knife in his boot. Unlike me, he was itching for this fight, but neither of us was trained like the men we were up against. We had only two things going for us: a personal investment, which was sometimes, God willing, worth more than training; and an unshakeable determination.
In the clearing just beyond us, the yellowy brightness of the moon bathed the abandoned facility in a strange light. We pushed against the gate and it opened, just as Nathan had assured us it would. Vines had grown up and over the fence, threatening to reclaim the whole area, but those on the gate, cut from their roots, crumpled in my gloves. We stepped through.
There were only two brick buildings, yet the compound seemed massive, with half a dozen Quonset-type huts off to the right. The bricks of the large buildings had been brought from the mainland. Expensive but worth it to anyone stranded here in the middle of a storm.
Nathan had also warned us about the pools covered by tarps. Three large tanks, some twenty feet long by fifteen feet wide and designed to hold large marine specimens, lay directly in front of the brick buildings, invisible in the dark. Despite the tarps, they would be filled with water from the rains.
The location of those tanks was etched in my mind. One wrong step meant, at the very least, a broken leg or ankle. For me, it would mean much more. Unlike Cara, who took after her father and swam like a fish, I shared Josie’s terror of water even in daylight, even in the calm of a public swimming pool. I shook off my thoughts and strove to get my bearings.
The dormitory lay, as Nathan had said it would, to the left as we headed forward. That was where the light was coming from. It had been burning for weeks now, running off a generator ever since Nathan had confirmed that Stephen had died and Josie’s secret might have been exposed.
No Safe Place Page 20
