Taking Eve

by Iris Johansen

  “I think that was close to an insult,” Zander said softly. “Am I mistaken?”

  Stang shook his head. “It wasn’t an insult. Not if you see nothing wrong with being either of those things. You are what you are.” He started to turn away, then stopped. “Could you stop him from killing her? You were planning on going after Doane before Venable asked you to delay.”

  “But now Doane wants me to come after him.” He shrugged. “That was the reason for the call. He wanted to taunt me to make me angry enough to come and try to get him.”

  “A trap.”

  “One that he’s been planning for a number of years. He even dangled Eve Duncan as part of the bait. I actually think he believed I might be tempted to come and save her. He obviously doesn’t know me as well as you do.”

  “Could you save her?”

  “Possibly. But having him come after me is strategically more sound and less risk. Then I get to spring the trap.”

  “And you said she may die after she finishes sculpting that skull if he’s angry enough at her.”

  Zander merely gazed at him.

  “I know.” Stang said as he went toward the door. “You don’t care. Stay out of your business. Well, you told me to read those dossiers. Why? Because it makes it my business. Maybe you knew I’d react like this and for some reason you wanted me to—” He broke off. “Why did Doane think that you might want to keep him from killing Eve Duncan?”

  “He was never a good judge of character. Maybe he thought the years had softened me, and I’d be as sympathetic as you toward that poor, innocent woman.”

  Stang frowned. “There’s something strange here. You were sure he’d go after Eve Duncan.”

  “He rescued his son’s skull. She reconstructs skulls.”

  “That’s logical, but I—”

  “You just said I had cold intellect,” Zander said mockingly. “What better demonstration?”

  “None. I suppose.” He paused. “But you’d never shared information with me before. Why Eve Duncan and her family? Why this time?”

  Zander’s smile didn’t waver. “I’m tired of talking about this, Stang.”

  “I can’t let it go. It doesn’t add up. I have to figure it out.” He grimaced. “Because I believe that’s what you want me to do. But I’ll shut up about it.” He strode toward the door. “Call me if you need me, Zander.”

  Zander’s smile vanished as soon as the door closed behind him.

  Was he right? Stang was very clever. What Zander had assumed as a random impulse on his own part might hide other motives.

  Good God, he never questioned his own actions or the psychology that drove them, he thought impatiently. He had accepted his character, or lack of it, a long time ago. But on this occasion had he sought to put a barrier between his innate ruthlessness and the fate of Eve Duncan?

  Nonsense.

  He strolled over to the desk and opened the Duncan file.

  Eve Duncan’s face stared up at him. Her expression was thoughtful, alert, intelligent, strong. A hint of sadness in the firmness of her lips. No wonder Stang had been defensive of her.

  He suddenly smiled. But then Stang had not been in the firing line of that scorching tongue. Eve Duncan might be innocent, but she was not helpless, and she was not suffering her imprisonment meekly. He had felt an odd flash of emotion when he had been the target. He still could not determine the nature of that feeling. Surprise? Regret? No, it must have been curiosity, as he had told Stang. It was strange that Doane had believed he’d have a shot at making Zander want to interfere with his plans for Eve Duncan.

  Still, it would do no harm to call Venable and tell him that Doane was definitely on the move. He dialed quickly, and when Venable answered, he said tersely, “Doane called me and identified himself and made threats. I think he wants to signal that the game’s afoot. You might warn General Tarther.”

  “I’ve already done it. I went to see him in Virginia to tell him that Doane has become a loose cannon. I’ve assigned an agent to guard him.” He paused. “I’m surprised you went to the trouble of calling to tell me Tarther is in danger. Did Doane mention Eve Duncan?”

  “I talked to her. I believe the fool thought he might be able to use her for bait.”

  “I’m sure you made it clear that wasn’t an option. She seemed well?”

  “Yes, though I didn’t pay much attention. I’m hanging up now.” He pressed the disconnect and looked back down at the photo of Eve Duncan.

  Could you save her?

  It would be an interesting challenge, but not in accordance with either his work ethic or philosophy.

  Sorry, Eve Duncan. As you said, you’re on your own.

  He flipped the file shut.

  Lake Cottage

  JOE AND MARGARET ARRIVED BACK at the cottage five minutes after Venable drove up to the front door.

  “Talk,” Joe said grimly as he took the steps two at a time to where Venable stood on the porch. “No excuses. No stalling. I’m going to know everything you know, or, by God, I’ll make you pay.”

  “If I hadn’t intended to talk to you, I would have disappeared and not come back. Stop threatening me.”

  “I would have found you.”

  “But maybe not in time.” Venable turned to Jane. “You look a little pale. Why don’t you sit down?”

  “I’m fine,” she said through her teeth. “This isn’t about me. What’s happening, Venable?”

  He shrugged. “Okay, okay. I might be feeling a little guilty that you’re—” He shook his head. “I never thought you’d be a victim. I thought I’d kept it all under control. Doane appeared much weaker than his son, and there was no evidence that he was actively involved in any of the murders. He might have just been a father grieving for his boy. Even when he took Eve, there was a chance that he only wanted to have her do the reconstruction. She might not have been in danger. Hallet, that farmer, is missing, but there’s no proof of violence toward him.”

  “My men are dragging the lake for that farmer now. And there’s a grave out there in the woods that proves differently,” Joe said. “Dukes had his throat cut. He was your agent, your responsibility, Venable.”

  “Do you think I don’t know that?” Venable said roughly. “I realized when we found Dukes that I’d been fooling myself. Doane is as bad as his son, Kevin. Perhaps he’s worse, though that’s hard to believe. I knew I had to put him down no matter whom it hurts.”

  “And whom will it hurt?” Caleb asked.

  Venable glanced at him. “Why don’t you take a hike, Caleb? This isn’t your concern.”

  “The hell it’s not,” Jane said fiercely. “It’s anyone’s concern who is willing to help Eve. She’s the only one who is important.”

  “At last,” Margaret murmured as she leaned against the porch rail. “That must include me. Yes, whom will it hurt, Agent Venable?”

  “You want a list? One, General John Tarther, an honorable man who spent his entire life fighting to keep the country safe. Two, several Pakistanis who will be beheaded or thrown in prison if their countrymen find out that they helped track Bin Laden.” He paused. “And at least five embedded CIA agents whose cover might be jeopardized if those Pakistanis are tortured and reveal information. It will be a chain reaction.”

  “That chain reaction is not going to include Eve,” Joe said coldly. “Because we’re going to get Doane.”

  “I’m not arguing,” Venable said wearily. “I’ve already started to pull our agents out of Pakistan. It will take time. I just hope that Doane is holding off on releasing that disk on the chance he can use it as a lever in case of an emergency.”

  “Disk?” Jane asked. “Dammit, start at the beginning, Venable.”

  “The beginning?” Venable gazed out at the lake. “That was probably the day that son of a bitch Kevin Relling was born.” He shook his head as if to clear it. “No, that’s not what you want to know. Brief and to the point, right? Okay, I was working in the Middle East several years ag
o when I became involved with the group that was hunting for Bin Laden. Kevin Relling had already killed Tarther’s daughter as a gift to his al-Qaeda friends. He sent photos of the kill to all his terrorist group. They were both explicit and brutal.” He paused. “And he also sent the photos to Tarther. It nearly killed him. The only thing that kept him going was the chance to hunt Kevin Relling down and get him convicted of murder.”

  “Kevin Relling,” Jane said. “Joe couldn’t find any record on him. You buried it, didn’t you. Tell us about Kevin Relling.”

  “Yes, I buried it.” He shrugged. “I told you the beginning started with Relling. I’ll try to keep it as short as possible. It’s not pretty…”

  CHAPTER

  15

  “AND KEVIN RELLING’S FATHER HAS this disk?” Joe asked when Venable had finished. “That house where he lived in Colorado has been searched?”

  “Am I an idiot?” Venable asked sarcastically. “It was the first thing I ordered done when we realized Doane had split. Nothing has been found. The second thing was to set a team of agents to try to find him.”

  “Zero there, too,” Joe said coldly. “And you wouldn’t give me all the information I needed to go after him myself.”

  “You’re getting it now. I couldn’t justify endangering that many innocent people until I was certain that Doane actually presented a danger and that there was no way we could snare him ourselves.”

  “And if you’d been able to do that, would you have sent him back to his safe house and just tried to reinstate your deal?” Jane asked.

  “There’s a possibility if I thought Doane wasn’t a real threat and controllable.” Venable saw the expression on their faces and said harshly, “I won’t make excuses. My life is all about compromises and control. That disk is important. I need to take Doane alive and take it away from him. It’s life or death for too many people not to try to grab it and keep it safe. It’s worth taking a risk.”

  “Not if it’s Eve’s risk,” Jane said jerkily. “Screw your control. And there won’t be any compromises where Eve’s concerned. If there are I’ll—”

  “Easy.” Joe put his hand on her arm. “I feel the same way, but we have to work together.” His glance at Venable was icy. “We have to use him for the time being. Afterward, it may be a different matter.”

  “So use me.” Venable’s lips twisted. “I never thought I’d say that. It should tell you how much I want you to find Eve.”

  “If it doesn’t get in the way of CIA business,” Jane said. She held up her hand. “I know, Joe. I’m not being cool and logical. I’m just so damn mad.” She added in a whisper, “And so damn scared.” She drew a shaky breath. “All right, I have to get everything straight in my head, Venable. It’s all been hurled at us in bits and pieces. This Kevin Relling was a monster of the first order. He was in the Special Forces and became an expert assassin. He was also some kind of megalomaniac who was trying to grab power by joining the terrorists who were protecting Bin Laden.”

  “The children,” Margaret whispered. It was the first words she’d spoken since Venable had begun his narrative. Her face was pale and stricken. “Those poor children.”

  “The fact that he was also a child killer was merely his casual entertainment,” Jane said. “Venable wouldn’t regard it as important as political ramifications.”

  Venable flinched. “Not fair, Jane.”

  “I don’t want to be fair. It’s going to take a long time for me to forgive you.” She added, “But that’s not important right now. General Tarther was authorizing illegal action in Pakistan to catch the terrorist group who was protecting Bin Laden. Kevin Relling killed Tarther’s daughter as revenge, but the general went on the hunt and brought Relling in to face a criminal trial. When the charge was dismissed on a technicality, Tarther couldn’t believe it. When Relling escaped, the general almost went crazy. He hired a contract killer to find and kill Relling. He accomplished his mission, and that was the end of Kevin Relling.” She glared at Venable.”Do I have it right?”

  “But it was the beginning of your dealing with Doane,” Joe said. “What the hell were you doing protecting him?”

  “Doane came to us and demanded we protect him from his son’s former al-Qaeda buddies. He said he’d lost his son and all he wanted to do was start a new life. He wanted to be placed in a witness protection program.”

  “And you did it?”

  “He also said that he had a disk his son had given him and told him to use it if he felt threatened. He didn’t want to use it, but he had to protect himself if we couldn’t do it for him.”

  “And you believed him?”

  “I’m a cynical bastard, but there was a chance he was telling the truth. He was very, very good. He seemed so sincere, a grieving father who’d had no idea his son was anything but a soldier serving his country.” He looked at Jane. “You drew that sketch of him from Ben Hudson’s description. He looks like a nice guy, sympathetic, kind. He’s even more convincing in person. He strikes just the right note. It’s incredible. I researched him thoroughly, and I couldn’t connect any of Kevin Relling’s crimes to his father. It was worth a chance if I kept him under close surveillance. I set him up in a small town in Colorado.”

  “Why didn’t you just have someone break in and go after the disk?”

  “We searched his house four times in the last five years. No disk.” He lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “And Doane appeared to be living the life he told me he wanted. Involved with the neighbors, volunteer at the local high school. Everyone liked him.”

  “And then he took off?” Joe said. “Where the hell was his surveillance?”

  “Too complacent. For five years, he’d watched Doane being the great guy next door. I’m sure Doane knew my agent’s schedule and worked around it.”

  “So he was lulling everyone into thinking he was something he wasn’t,” Jane said. “Five years is a long time to waste building up a false image. Or did he just suddenly, impulsively break out?”

  “He wasn’t wasting time,” Venable said. “I think he must have been very busy.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Getting ready to go after the men he blamed for killing his son.”

  “Five years? Why didn’t he go after General Tarther right away?”

  “I’d bet he wanted the whole package. He might be able to kill Tarther, but what about the hired gun who actually pulled the trigger? He didn’t even know his name.” He grimaced. “Though Doane did ask me if I knew who did it when we started negotiating his protection.”

  “And that didn’t set off any alarms?”

  “I told you, he was very good. There was no anger, tears were running down his cheeks. A bewildered father trying to find answers.”

  “And do you know who killed Kevin Relling?”

  “Yes. Tarther told me.” He was silent a moment. “Though I made a deal with him that I wouldn’t reveal his name to anyone in exchange for his not going after Doane to tie up loose ends. I tried to keep my word, dammit.”

  “You told Doane?”

  “Hell, no. But I’m going to tell you. I have to do it. It’s too dangerous not to do it now.” He paused. “Lee Zander.”

  Joe frowned, going over the name in his memory for any reference. “I’m familiar with the names of a lot of professional hit men. I’ve never heard of him.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me. That’s why Zander’s lasted all these decades without being killed or captured. He’s very particular about his targets, and he’s as close to being the perfect killing machine as I’ve ever come across. He’s also incredibly expensive, and he only has to emerge from seclusion occasionally. You might say he’s unique.”

  “I might say he’s a murderer. You shouldn’t have worried about keeping your word to him.”

  “I was more worried about keeping myself alive,” he said dryly. “Zander was hard to persuade not to go after Doane, and he doesn’t like people who don’t keep their word. As it was, he
thought he was running a risk, and Doane was going to cause him trouble.”

  “And he was right?” Jane asked. “But he’s causing more trouble for Eve than Zander. Why?”

  “He spent a long time finding out who killed his son and making his plans. She’s evidently part of the entire picture.”

  “The reconstruction?”

  He was silent a moment. “I’m sure that’s one of the pieces.” He went on quickly, “And since he went to a good deal of trouble to get her, we have to include her in any long-range plot Doane concocted. We have to assume she’ll be on his list.”

  “List?”

  “Kill list,” he said simply. “Tarther. Zander.” He paused. “Eve.”

  “No,” Jane said hoarsely. “He had reason to kill Tarther and Zander. Not Eve.” She shook off Caleb’s hand as he reached out to touch her shoulder. “But since when do maniacs have to have reasons?” she asked unevenly. “He killed Dukes and probably that farmer. Okay, I’ll accept that it’s only a matter of time before he decides to kill her. Now we have to keep him from doing it. If he’s going after Tarther and Zander, then we have a chance to capture him when he shows up.” She rubbed her temple. “If he keeps Eve alive that long. We’d be much safer trying to find out where he’s keeping her. You have no idea, Venable? Something you haven’t told us? If you had an agent watching him all those years, he should have been able to report where he went when he left the property.”

  “He did, and we checked them all out. That doesn’t mean that he couldn’t have slipped away from him some nights.” He made a face. “Complacency, again. He wasn’t considered a danger. He also had a computer that he’d wiped clean. We’re digging into that memory.”

  “And Blick,” Joe said. “He had Kevin’s friend, Blick, on the outside, doing his research and dirty work.”

  “Doane drove his car into the lake,” Margaret said suddenly. “Was he worried that you might find something on or in the car? He could have gotten rid of the body of the farmer anywhere.”

  “We’ll find out soon,” Joe said. “If your damn cat isn’t telling you stories.”