The Persuasion

by Iris Johansen

  Then she was watching him stride down the path toward the main gate.

  She stood staring after him, dazed, bewildered. What had just happened? Something full of…wonder.

  Then Caleb disappeared into the darkness.

  He was gone.

  She turned slowly and began to walk back up the hill toward their tents.

  She still felt stunned. All the intensity and desperation and the wildness that was Caleb had been in those words. But she couldn’t be sure whether he had meant them or if they had been born of frustration and anger.

  I’d die for you. Is that genuine enough for you?

  Either way, she knew that something important had just happened and she had to come to grips with it. Providing she could pull herself together to think about it. She wasn’t doing too well at the moment.

  Joe was sitting by the fire, drinking a cup of coffee, and glanced up as she approached. “You saw Caleb on his way?”

  “You could say that.” She poured herself coffee. “I had to see what was wrong with him. He was acting…” She shrugged. “I don’t know. Strange. And no one is cooler than Caleb when he’s on the hunt. But evidently not this hunt.”

  “You straightened him out?”

  “Not really.” She steadied her hand and took a sip of coffee. Then she changed the subject. “I thought you’d be supervising Lisa and Michael putting up the tent.”

  “I stayed out of it. They were having too good a time. It isn’t the time for lessons. They’re both stressed and needed an outlet. They’re good for each other.”

  “Yes, but expect Lisa to be keeping an eye on Michael. You heard Caleb give her orders. She’ll obey him to the letter.”

  “No problem.” His warm smile lit his face. “Why should I object to having her fix an eagle eye on my two kids I love very much? It’s all good.”

  “Yes, it’s all good.” She was silent, staring into the flames. And it was good having Joe here with them. His warm, easy ambience didn’t hide the underlying alertness that was an integral part of his personality. Love and warmth and safety that had protected her since the day she had come to live with Eve and Joe. Yet the contrast between Joe and Caleb was patently obvious, and she felt a sharp jab of pain. Nothing safe about Caleb. Nothing clear or uncomplicated. “Thank you for doing this. I hope that this will all be over soon.”

  “If Caleb has his way, it will be,” Joe said. “I’d judge the reason he’s behaving a little ‘strange’ is that he’s on edge about you being a target. And don’t be ridiculous, you were right to call me. This is where I belong. We both know you should have phoned me when you first ended up in that hospital.”

  “Perhaps. The situation seemed…difficult. And Caleb was here.” She finished her coffee and got to her feet. “But as you say, I’m the target and I can’t rely on him. I could have gotten him killed.”

  “Eve wouldn’t approve of that attitude. She’s been trying to wean you away from protecting everyone in your world for years.” He stood up and brushed a kiss over her cheek. “And you don’t try to pull that on me, Jane. Understand? You’re just as much my kid as Michael, and I’m the one who will watch over you. I have certain privileges and I won’t surrender them.” He turned and started up the hill. “Now let’s go make sure that Lisa is as good as she claims she is and see if I have a habitable tent.”

  “You will. Caleb is right about her being able to do anything.” She followed him up the hill. “But I believe I’ll duck into my tent and pack Michael up while you do your inspection. I did a few sketches for Lady Kendrick and I want to clean them up so I can give them to her in the morning.”

  And she didn’t want to be around Michael or Lisa at the moment, she thought wearily. They were too full of energy and exuberance, and all she could feel right now was fear for Caleb and the sickening panic that she should be doing something to stop Luca. It was all very well for Joe to claim that she couldn’t protect everyone in her world, but she’d never been able to make them see that she had no world without them.

  Joe nodded understandingly. “I’ll try to keep Lisa and Michael busy for a little while so that you can finish those sketches.”

  “It won’t take long.” She headed for her tent. “Good night, Joe.”

  “Good night.” Before she reached the door of her tent, he called out: “Luca said he’d be talking to you again. Did he say when?”

  Luca.

  She felt a sudden ripple of tension. It wasn’t that she had forgotten him; he seemed to always be with her since she had answered that call last night. “No, I’m not holding my breath. Probably whenever he wants to intimidate me.” She went into her tent and stood there a moment in the dark before she lit the lantern. It was done. Michael was safe with his father. Not only was Caleb free to attack or defend himself, but she would have the same freedom. Luca thought she was helpless, some stupid bimbo he could manipulate to fill his precious list. But he was wrong as long as he couldn’t touch the people she loved. Screw you, Luca.

  She sat down on her camp chair and quickly finished the remaining work on the dig sketches. They weren’t bad, she thought critically as she studied them. She had caught the mysticism of Kendrick Castle as well as brief glimpses of the young students actually digging, their expressions lit with enthusiasm and laughter. Who wouldn’t want to come and play in the dirt as she and Michael had these past weeks? Lady Kendrick would be pleased. She started to close her sketchbook but instead impulsively flipped to that last sketch she’d been working on when Lisa had stopped her.

  She felt a ripple of shock as she gazed at it. She didn’t even remember starting the sketch. It had just…come. And Lisa was right, the detail was incredible. And powerful. The storm was whipping the branches of the trees and pounding against the stone of the tower. Yet the round tower looked as if it could withstand any storm and remain untouched…and waiting. She suddenly realized she was shivering. Waiting for what?

  She was being ridiculous. She had been the one who had drawn this scene, and she knew she had never seen that tower before. She had merely loosed her imagination and created this sketch out of thin air because she’d had little sleep and been worried about Michael…and Caleb. She was tempted to tear it up, but then decided against it. The sketch was too good, and she might be able to work with it later.

  Getting to her feet, she closed the sketchbook and put it on the camp chair. Just gather Michael’s belongings as she’d told Joe she was going to do, she told herself. It must be almost time for Michael to get to bed.

  I’d die for you.

  Forget about those enigmatic words that might mean nothing at all.

  But what if they did mean what she’d thought in that first moment he’d said them? Caleb had never lied to her, and they might be the answer she’d been searching for since the moment they’d come together. Search deeper and they might mean everything.

  But put it aside because the hope and promise that had come out of darkness was too much right now. Take it slowly. Go to bed and get to sleep.

  Forget about what Caleb might be doing, or weird sketches that came out of nowhere.

  And, most particularly, forget about Stefano Luca.

  * * *

  Tower House

  “They’re all ready, sir,” Davron said nervously. “Alberto asked if he could be the one to do it. He said he wanted to prove himself to you.”

  “I was planning on being in charge myself.” Luca thought about it. He had enjoyed himself enormously the last time he’d shown these fools how powerful he could be. He remembered the rush, the sensual pleasure, the headiness of those moments. He’d thought the killings would merely be a means to an end, but there was no harm in enjoying the process as well as the result. He was beginning to understand the fascination Alberto felt at those blood fests. All those years ago back in Atlanta when he’d watched Jelak cover himself in blood as he’d murdered those women he chose as victims, he’d felt only curiosity. But now there was something…different.
Yet he mustn’t indulge himself if it was more intelligent to go another way. “But I might permit Alberto to show me how loyal he can be. I admit it would be a rather unusual sacrifice, and it might bring the others more firmly into line.” He smiled slyly. “Unless you wish to do it, Davron? I haven’t noticed you being of much value to me lately. Don’t you want to prove yourself to me?”

  “Not this way.” Davron moistened his lips. “You know I’m not competent at that sort of thing. I wouldn’t please you.” He swallowed. “I thought you might want me to set up another theft for you, instead. That seems far more practical. I could do that.”

  “No, that phase is over. So you’d better study how to help me move on or I might have to leave you behind.” He chuckled as he headed for the door. “And I’m certain Alberto will be eager to keep you company and make sure you won’t be lonely.”

  Luca could feel Davron’s fear as he slammed the door behind him. It was almost as exhilarating as the moist air blowing on his face as he strode across the garden. There was rain coming, and there would be lightning and excitement…and blood.

  And this one’s for you, Jane. Alberto and the others think it’s for them, but the minute you see it, you’ll know it’s for you.

  * * *

  Mantua, Italy

  “You brought your plane this time,” Palik said as he met Caleb at the steps of the Gulfstream G650. He grimaced. “That’s serious stuff. I hope it doesn’t mean I’m going to have the pleasure of your company for an extended time?”

  “It means I don’t leave until I get Luca, and I’ll go where I have to go to do it.” He was striding toward the tan Mercedes parked beside the hangar. “And you’ll go wherever I tell you to go to lead me to him, and the quicker you move the sooner you get rid of me.” He added dryly, “I’m sure that will give you the needed impetus to get the job done.”

  “It certainly helps,” Palik murmured. “I don’t care for trailing after you when you decide to take over the hunt. You tend to involve me in situations that aren’t as safe as I’d like. I concentrate on being a devout coward at every possibility. It’s bad enough you sent me up to the hills to retrieve those bloody bodies from that cave. Did I tell you that I felt as if someone was watching me?”

  “Yes. But it didn’t stop you from going to Villa Silvano later. So you must not be as devout a coward as you claim.” He got into the driver’s seat of the car and held out his hand for the keys. “So why am I here? When I called and asked where I should start, you told me to come to Mantua again. Why?”

  Palik dropped the keys in his hand. “You told me to go after the second man, Luca’s accomplice. The man who wasn’t ‘there’ as far as that boy Michael was concerned. As far as we could tell, Luca was alone when he was stalking Jane MacGuire here in Mantua, but since he was accompanied at MacDuff’s Run, and at the shooting at Kendrick Castle, I thought I should take a deeper look here.”

  “And?”

  Palik smiled. “I think I found the bastard.”

  “Who?”

  “Oh, that interested you.” He leaned lazily back in his seat. “Suppose you drive me to the San Girano Hotel where I booked your reservations. I might even show you a photo or two of him.”

  “Palik.”

  “Just joking.” He quickly straightened on the seat. “But you’ll be pleased to know that kid was right about Luca not assigning his accomplice any importance. He didn’t take the same precautions to mask his movements as he did his own.” He added softly, “That could be a bonanza.”

  Caleb could see that. “You’re very pleased with yourself. That probably means you’ve already started to discover a few benefits.”

  “More than a few. But I’ve decided you should buy me a fine gourmet dinner while I lay it out for you.” He paused. “Luca didn’t stay at the San Girano, but Davron did.”

  Caleb jumped on the name. “Davron?”

  “Russell Davron.” He tilted his head. “Dinner? I have more to tell you. You drive. It’s only fifteen minutes from here. I’ll call room service to have food ready so that they won’t waste your time indulging my extremely well-earned bonus.”

  Davron. Caleb’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. A lead at last. Evidently Palik had come through with something that might prove invaluable. He had taken a good deal of abuse from Caleb since he’d started this job, and he knew he didn’t want the dinner so much as the sense of power that it gave him. So give him the respect he wanted. He deserved it. “Make that call to room service.” He started the car. “But it better be worth it, Palik.”

  “My thought exactly,” Palik said ruefully as he reached for his phone.

  * * *

  “You didn’t eat a bite,” Palik said as he pushed his chair away from the room service dining table. “Vampires aren’t supposed to eat.” He added slyly, “Does that mean that all the rumors about you are true?”

  “What do you think?”

  “We’ve had a few meals together in the past, so I think I’m safe.”

  “Don’t count on it. That remark isn’t likely to endear you to me. I believe you were trying to push my buttons. For your information, I didn’t eat because I’m too impatient to be hungry. If you don’t start talking, that impatience is going to escalate. I’ll only allow you to go so far, Palik.”

  He sighed. “It was enjoyable while it lasted. I admit I did get a little heady with power.” He threw his napkin on the table. “Russell Davron.” He reached in his pocket for his phone and threw it to Caleb. “It’s dialed up to the photo that we got from the lobby lounge. Russell Davron registered the same day Jane MacGuire did. He insisted on a corner room that coincidentally was on the same floor and allowed him a perfect view of her when she was on her private balcony. He was never on that fourth-floor lounge balcony where Luca took those photos of her. Never made contact with her at any time during her stay. Never made contact with Luca, either.” He paused. “But on the third night of his stay, the video cameras were inoperable in the hallway where his room was located. Only for a period of six hours, and then they resumed filming. The hotel thought it was a temporary glitch. So Luca would have been able to climb the emergency stairs to Davron’s floor and take all the photos he wanted of Jane from his suite.” He added, “Which, by the way, was this room. I thought you might want to look it over.”

  “Correct. And how did you know that he was Luca’s contact if he was never videotaped with him?”

  “We had videotapes of Luca from different shop security cameras as he moved around the city following Jane. We caught him twice at the same outdoor café as Davron. They weren’t sitting together, but they were seen talking for a few minutes—and the conversation was not casual. Then we did another scan of hotel guests and came up with Davron.”

  “The name could be phony.”

  “Surprisingly, I don’t believe it is. Davron isn’t your usual gangster scumbag. I think he might be a front man for Luca’s alter ego as an art thief. Luca wanted everything about Davron to be as genuine and checkable as he can make it appear.” He added softly, “And he made it look like that to Interpol and practically everyone with whom he came in contact. No criminal record. He’s an art dealer and antiquities expert who has a very respectable reputation all over the world with galleries and collectors.”

  “So how is it that he’s fronting for a bastard like Luca?”

  “Money. Laziness. Blackmail. Intimidation. Who knows? Maybe Luca has just managed to persuade him to go his way. Persuasion can be everything.” He shrugged. “You’ve taught me that, Caleb.”

  “Have I?” Caleb asked absently. “Okay, so Davron was probably the person who set up the thefts and then the reselling of the paintings. But somewhere along the way, he became willing to actually assist and let Luca involve him in the murders he committed at the museums. So he’s not innocent, merely weak and cowardly. But that might be enough to use to find Luca and bring him down. No one could find out anything much about Luca’s personal background. W
hat do we know about Davron’s?”

  “He’s in his forties, grew up in Rome in a middle-class neighborhood. Mother was a dress designer, father worked as an art expert for the Socci Museum where Davron was hired as an intern while he was still at the university. After he graduated, he was hired by the museum, worked his way up, gained respect, and eventually quit to open his own art gallery. Evidently he didn’t make enough money or acquire enough prestige to suit him. Because it was about that time that there was a theft at a museum in Venice that bore Luca’s stamp. Shortly after that, Davron began cutting down on his more legitimate work.”

  “Because Luca owned him,” Caleb said. “Personal. Give me something personal that I can use.”

  “Davron’s parents are dead now. But he has a longtime lover. Nicco Barza. Barza’s a male model in the couture house where Davron’s mother was employed, and they’ve been together for the last five years.” He shook his head. “Not really together. Barza is a man who’s ambitious, likes frequent changes of menu and nice gifts. At present he’s living in Rome and his bills are being paid by Julio Santo, a crime boss who requires Barza to give him total attention.”

  “And is he getting it?”

  Palik shook his head. “Davron has paid Barza several visits in the last year. He must care something for him if he’s willing to risk getting chopped by Julio Santo.”

  “Or if he took the opportunity to leave Stefano Luca occasionally and go back to his lover. Luca must not have been totally dominating Davron’s attention during that time.” His lips twisted. “But Davron showed guts trying to balance what he wanted against the two of them. When was the last time he saw Barza?”

  “As far as I can trace, two months ago.”

  “Then Davron will be eager to see him again. I think we need to make a visit to Rome in the morning.” He got to his feet. “And you need to find out what I need to know about Julio Santo and any men he has watching Nicco Barza.”