Another silence, colder than the last. Very well, report to me as soon as youve located the women.
Right. Fiske hung up the phone and moved quickly toward the dorm where Kesslers assistant, Bob Spencer, lived. Hed tell Spencer he was an old friend of Kesslers, maybe take him out to dinner and pump him. Even if he didnt know Kesslers location, Fiske might be able to find out the lab where Kessler generally did his tests. Find out where the tests are being done, Lisa Chadbourne had said.
No problem.
He knew ? Lisa murmured. My God, he knew, Scott?
Not for sure. My take is that Logan made an educated guess.
And then sent Price to lay the cards on the table. Why?
Scott didnt answer for a moment. A deal. He wants you more than he wants me, Lisa.
What kind of deal?
Im out of the country, out of the picture, some-where with a new identity, if I furnish evidence against you.
Panic rushed through her and she fought to quell it. She had known Logan was smart and that he might suspect her, but shed hoped he wouldnt make the connection with Scott. Hes lying. Theyd never let you off.
Perhaps.
Her stomach clenched. And were you tempted, Scott? Just a little?
For Gods sake, Im calling you, arent I? Does that sound like I want to strike a deal?
No, Im sorry. Im scared. I never thought theyd guess it was you. Jesus, it was all falling apart.
No, it wasnt. She just had to think, to make ad-justments. We can work our way out of this. We may be lucky that they thought you might make a deal. They could have gone to the media.
But weve blocked that route for them.
Did you finish substituting the records?
Right after Price left me.
The panic subsided a little. It was going to be all right. She could see her way clear now. Thank God. Then Ill talk to Kevin right away and start the ball rolling. Its going to be fine, Scott.
Is it?
Of course it is. I promise you.
Youve promised me a lot of things, Lisa, he said wearily.
And havent I given you everything I promised? Youve lived the sweet life all these years.
You think I couldnt have done it without you?
I didnt say that, Scott.
He was silent a moment. Sorry.
He sounded odd, and she knew better than to overlook any change in him. The situation was too delicate. Whats wrong?
Price said something else. He told me about three people whod been murdered quite recently and that the murders conveniently erased problems for you. He asked if I wasnt afraid that Id be killed too.
And are you afraid, Scott? After all these years, are you afraid Id hurt you?
Silence. No, I guess not.
Thats not good enough. Dont guess, know.
He didnt say anything.
She closed her eyes. Christ, not now. Dont let him doubt now. Well talk. Ill prove it to you. But now we have to deal with Price as cleanly as possible to save you.
Not to mention you.
All right, save both of us. Go ahead and meet Price. Ill have Timwick there before you.
And?
Well take Price and try to use him as a bargaining tool for the skull. We have to have that skull back.
You think Logan will deal?
Weve got to try. She paused. Trust me, Scott. I wont let Logan take you down. Not after all youve done for me. She hung up.
Her heart was beating too hard. Breathe deeply, steadily. It was only another challenge.
But it was a challenge she shouldnt have had to meet. If Timwick had done his job with Donnelli, no one would ever have suspected Scott and she would not have had to make this decision. Panic was turning to rage. Logan and Duncan were coming too close and she was losing control.
So gain control. She had a way out. Shed call Timwick and tell him the problem.
But first she had to talk to Kevin and guide him on the path he had to take.
Joe called Eve at eight that evening. Ive managed to get a letter Chadbourne wrote to his sister when their mother died a few months before he took office. I dont think theres any doubt that he licked that par-ticular envelope himself.
Great. How did you get it?
You dont want to know. That would make you an accessory. But I havent gotten the sample from Millicent Babcock yet, and I thought that would be the easiest. Im following her and her husband to the country club this evening to see if I can get my hands on a glass. He paused. How are you?
Fine. Gary is going to be able to get the DNA right away.
Good. Another silence. Is Logan taking good care of you?
She avoided answering. He would go ballistic if he knew Logan wasnt here. I take care of myself, Joe.
I should be there. I should have told Logan to come here and follow that Babcock woman around. I didnt trust him to get the job done, but Im spinning my damn wheels.
Youll get it tonight.
Id better or Ill mug the damn woman and get a blood sample instead. Youre not laughing. I was joking, dammit.
Sorry, nothing seems very funny to me right now.
Me neither. Ill try to be there tomorrow. Take care of yourself.
Joe. She stopped him before he could hang up. Have you called Diane?
Before I left Atlanta.
Shell be worried about you. Im feeling guilty enough about involving you. I dont want to send her off the deep end too.
Ill call her.
Now?
Now, dammit. He ended the call.
She put the phone back on the table. At least Joe was safe and behaving with his usual protectiveness. Tomorrow hed be here and shed once more feel that sense of homecoming that was always present when she was with Joe.
Now she had only to wait for Logan to call and tell her he and Gil were okay.
Call her, Joe thought. You promised Eve youd call Diane. Now do it.
He dialed his home number and Diane picked up immediately.
Hi, babe, just thought Id check in. How are you doing?
Where are you, Joe?
I told you, out of town on a case. I should be able to wrap it up pretty soon.
What case?
Nothing youd be interested in.
Oh, I think Id be interested. Her tone was hard. Do you think Im stupid, Joe? Im tired of pre-tending Im blind. All this stuff on television. Its Eve, isnt it?
He was silent. He knew she wasnt stupid, but hed hoped shed pretend the problem didnt exist, as she usually did with issues that made her uncomfortable.
Isnt it?
Yes.
Its gone too far, Joe. Her voice was shaking. How long do you think I can put up with this? We have a good life and youre risking everything we have for her. Is she worth it?
You know I cant turn my back on her.
Oh, I know that. Nobody knows it better. I thought I could take it, but she dominates your god-damned life. Just why the hell did you marry me, Joe?
Youre upset. Well talk about this when I come home.
If you come home. If she doesnt get you killed. Diane slammed down the phone.
Jesus, hed made a mess of it. Why had he thought the marriage would work? Hed given her everything he could, everything hed thought she wanted. Hed tried to balance honesty with kindness, but Diane had pride, and no matter how he tried to avoid inflicting pain, it was inevitable. Everything Diane had said was true. She had every right to wonder why he had married her.
He hoped she never found out.
EIGHTEEN
The scent of the damp, mossy riverbank hit Logan as soon as he got out of the car. The smell of earth re-minded him of the cornfield in Maryland.
Not a particularly happy memory, Logan thought. A successful diversion, but he still remembered Eves face when she found out hed used her as bait.
Smells good, doesnt it? Gil breathed deeply as he started to walk toward the river. Reminds me of home.
The area appeared deserted and,
at least, Gil had chosen a meeting place with no trees or cover. The gulf? Youre from Mobile, arent you?
A little town outside Mobile.
Deep South.
Where else did you think I learned to love Garth Brooks?
Logans gaze raked the bank. It should be therehellip; God, he wished there were moonlight. But you tell me country is universal.
But every universe has to have a home planet. He glanced at Logan. Relax. Its going to be okay. No one can approach us without us seeing them. If anyone but Maren shows we can take off.
And if were cut off from the car?
We can always swim.
Ive got a better idea. He breathed a sigh of re-lief as the moon came out from behind the clouds and he saw the gleam of stainless steel. I rented a speed-boat and arranged to have it brought downriver and staked out over there.
Gil started to laugh. I knew you would. God, youre anal, John.
Its better than swimming.
Do you think I wouldnt have done it myself if I hadnt known youd provide?
How the hell do I know what youd do? You arranged this damn-fool meeting. Why couldnt you just have him call you?
Because he may need more persuading. Its too easy to hang up a telephone.
And you have a death wish.
I have a death wish? The risk isnt as great for me as for you. Ive already taken one bullet this month. I figure that puts the odds on my side. You should have stayed in Georgia and let me handle it.
Logan didnt answer.
Of course, I realize that you were afraid some-thing might happen to me. Gil gave him a sly glance. Naturally, you didnt want anything to happen to a man of my brilliance and charisma.
No?
And besides, you dont have that many friends who are willing to put up with your lack of appre-ciation for the finer things of life. Yes, I should have known youd hop on a plane for purely selfish reasons.
Purely selfish.
Ah, you admit it.
You bet I do. I couldnt stand another day at Bainbridge. The only thing I could get on the radio was Hank Williams Jr. and that damn song Feed Jake.
Gil chuckled. God, really? Thats got to be my kind of town.
I agree. Ive got an airline ticket in my pocket for you. His lips tightened grimly. If you survive tonight.
Gils smile faded. This is worth the chance, John. I managed to shake Maren. I could see it.
Then, where is he?
Were early. I think hell be here.
Only forty minutes early. But there was no sign of movement on the bank of the canal or the river. If there was a trap, he couldnt see it.
Maybe Gil had succeeded in convincing Maren. It was possible. Perhaps in a hour all this would be over and their work on Bens skull would be of sec-ondary importance.
Lord, he hoped so.
But where the hell was Maren?
The security guard looked up from talking to the clerk at the information desk. Good night, Dr. Maren, he said, smiling. Late night.
Paperwork. Its the bane of my existence. Good night, Paul. He went out the glass doors and headed for his reserved space, where his classic 1957 Corvette was parked. The timing was right. Thirty minutes and hed be at the canal.
He pulled out of the lot and turned left. With any luck, it would be over before he got there. Timwick didnt really need him to act as bait to catch Price.
So why was he going? Was it truly Price who was to be caught in the trap?
The poison Price had injected was eating into him. Lisa. Death.
Stop it. It wasnt true. Price had given him suppo-sition, not proof. Lisa and he were bound together. She knew it as well as he did.
A red traffic light flashed on the cross street ahead.
Symbolic?
It wouldnt hurt to be cautious. He wouldnt go to the meeting with Price. Hed go to his house and wait for Lisa to call him and tell him what had hap-pened. The tension immediately left him with the decision. Hed turn right at the next intersection and in ten minutes hed be home and safe.
He braked as he neared the red light.
Nothing.
He pumped frantically.
The Corvette moved toward the intersection.
It was late. Maybe the traffic
A garbage truck was heading for the inter-section. Huge. Fast Oh, God, it was moving too fast to stop.
The truck hit the drivers side of the Corvette like a tank, driving the small car sideways into the street-light on the corner. It tore through the fiberglass, through flesh and bone and muscle.
Lisa.
The man coming toward them had Marens tall build and he was alone.
I told you I got to him, Gil murmured.
A low throbbing to the south.
Logans heart jumped. The hell you did.
The air.
Why hadnt he thought about the air? Logan thought, even as the brilliant blue lights of the heli-copter speared down at them out of the darkness.
Run for the boat! Keep low.
Gil was already streaking for the speedboat.
The man theyd thought was Maren was running toward them.
A bullet whistled by Logans ear.
Son of a bitch.
Gil was in the boat, untying the line from the stake.
The damn helicopter was almost on top of them, flooding the boat with cold blue light.
Logan jumped in the boat and turned on the throttle.
The water ahead of them was sprayed with bul-lets from above.
Stay low. Logan started zigzagging the boat across the water, trying to avoid the cone of light. If we can make it to that inlet, were home free. Theres a thick tree cover, and there are too many residences for them to keep shooting. Well ditch the boat and
Another spray of bullets, closer.
Too close.
Christ, that beam was like a spotlight. How could they miss?
Unless they wanted to miss.
Unless they were more valuable alive than dead.
The skull. Jesus, they needed the skull.
The speedboat tore into the inlet and was en-gulfed in shadows from the overhanging trees.
Not safe yet. Not as long as they remained in the boat. He pulled the boat close to the bank and cut the motor. He jumped out and grabbed the lead.
He could hear the helicopter overhead. Come on, well go up to the house and see what kind of transport we can
Gil was staring at him, his eyes glittering.
Gil?
Why hadnt Logan called?
Eve rolled over in bed and looked at the illumi-nated face of the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was almost three in the morning. Surely he could have picked up the damn phone and let her know he and Gil were safe.
If they were safe. If the trap hadnt been sprung.
Go to sleep. They were hundreds of miles away. She couldnt help by lying there, staring into the darkness.
And wishing she hadnt been so curt to Logan be-fore hed left.
My God, she was having all these morbid regrets, as if he werent on his way back to her.
Back to her? Back to Ben and the forensic testing, back to their joint purpose.
Never back to her.
Kessler knocked on her door at seven-thirty the next morning. Theres something you should see. He came into the motel room and switched on the televi-sion set. The Presidents press secretary just issued a statement. CNN is repeating it now. When a picture of Kevin Detwil appeared on the screen, Kessler mur-mured, Look at him. Even knowing its not Chadbourne, I still cant
The shot immediately switched to the group of reporters firing questions at Jim Douglas, Chadbournes press secretary.
It wasnt John Logan in the fire?
So Ive been told. The man who burned to death at Barrett House was Abdul Jamal.
And you think an assassination conspiracy is a possibility?
The Face of Deception Page 26
