Blind Alley

by Iris Johansen

  “I'll have Sontag make the announcement that he's hired Eve tomorrow at a news conference. We should probably give it two days before you arrive at Herculaneum. Tell Eve that there will be media at Naples airport when you get in.”

  “She'll hate that.”

  “She can put up with it. Everyone knows she's media shy but if I'm wrong about Aldo being here I want to make sure he knows she's arrived. And that barrage of publicity will be salt in Aldo's wounds. I'll make sure they run another picture of the bust of Cira in the local paper. I'll try to make sure Eve's exposed as little as possible after that but media exposure is key here. I'm going to meet you in Rome and fly in here with you.”

  “Why?”

  “I want to be seen arriving at the same time. I'm going undercover until then. If Aldo is already here, I don't want him to see me hovering over Sontag and pulling the strings.”

  “Can you still control Sontag? I thought you said he was freaked.”

  “He is, but he has a keen sense of self-preservation and all I had to do was convince him that I could keep him in the limelight. Tell Quinn that I've found a villa on the outskirts of Herculaneum that has some interesting features but I'll leave it to him to hire a security force for protection. He can contact the local police and get recommendations. The backgrounds of the kind of team I'd hire wouldn't meet with his approval.”

  “I can imagine.”

  “No, you can't. You're seventeen.”

  “Will you stop harping on that?”

  “No, I have to keep reminding myself. I've called Bartlett and told him to arrange to fly your Toby to California for your friend, Sarah, to puppy-sit. I know you wouldn't rest if you weren't sure he was well taken care of. Is that okay?”

  “As long as he's safe.”

  “He'll be safe. I'll tell Bartlett to hire a private jet for the pooch if he has to do it. I'll call you after the press conference tomorrow night.” He hung up.

  She pressed the disconnect and sat there for a moment. She felt stunned . . . and scared. She hadn't expected to feel either emotion. She'd thought she'd be prepared.

  She was prepared, dammit. All she had to do was shrug off this weird sense of foreboding at the thought of going to Herculaneum. Events were moving as they'd planned, better than they'd planned. She should be happy.

  No, not happy, but she was beginning to feel a tingle of excitement and anticipation. She stood up from the swing and headed for the front door. “Eve, Trevor called. Pack your bags. We're going to Herculaneum.”

  The two-story stucco villa on the Via Spagnola that Trevor had rented was spacious and charming. It was enclosed by an ornate wrought-iron fence and there were bright geraniums overflowing from the window boxes on the second floor.

  Trevor unlocked the front door and stepped aside. “I'll stay here with Eve and Jane, Quinn. Suppose you go in and check it out. I'd do it, but I don't think you'd trust anyone but yourself.”

  “Right.” Joe moved quickly past them and into the foyer. “Though it should be okay. I've had two security men watching the house since you gave me the address yesterday. Stay here.”

  “I should have known,” Trevor murmured.

  “Yes, you should,” Eve said as she glanced around the marble foyer. “Nice. How many bedrooms?”

  “Four. Two bathrooms. Parlor, study, and library. The kitchen is pretty modern and that's a plus for houses this old.”

  “How old is it?” Jane asked.

  “It was built around 1850. Sontag owns it and I got him to lend it to me when I found out that it's exactly what I needed.”

  “You twisted his arm?”

  “I didn't have to. He'd caved by that time and was doing everything I told him to do. Until the other night when he got his midnight visitor.”

  “It's okay,” Joe said as he came down the stairs. “Eve and I will take the bedroom at the end of the hall. You take the middle bedroom, Jane. Trevor can be on the other side and we'll sandwich you.”

  “A sandwich,” Trevor said. “Interesting idea, Jane. But considering how prickly you are, not very appetizing.”

  “Shut up,” Joe said coldly. “That's not acceptable, Trevor.”

  “I know. It just slipped out.” He started down the hall. “To make amends I'll brew a pot of coffee and fix something to eat while you all get unpacked and cleaned up.”

  “Sontag appears to be very cooperative,” Jane said as Eve and Joe headed for their bedroom. “He's not upset any longer?”

  “He's upset. He'd like nothing better than to take off with his tail between his legs. It's all a question of control. Try to get a little rest. You had a long flight.” He disappeared through the arched door at the end of the corridor.

  She didn't want to go to her room and rest. She wasn't tired. She was excited and on edge and the different sights and sounds and smells of Italy had almost overwhelmed her. She hesitated and then reluctantly headed for her bedroom.

  “Want to come with me?” Trevor had come back and was standing in the doorway. He smiled. “I thought you wouldn't be able to tamely shuffle off to rest. Come on. Help me.”

  She turned toward him eagerly and then caught herself. “Don't be patronizing. It doesn't take two to make a pot of coffee.”

  “Patronizing, hell. I'm lonely.” He took a step toward her, his hand outstretched. He coaxed, “Come with me.”

  “Come with me. Trust me.”

  No, she wouldn't let her mind play tricks on her just because they were in Herculaneum. The relationship between them was nothing like the one shared by Cira and Antonio. Hell, they had no relationship, only a common goal.

  But it would do no harm to go with him right now. She was feeling unsettled and, yes, a little lonely, too. She took a step forward, then another, and took his hand.

  Her eyes widened. Tingling. Disturbing. Sensual. She started to pull away.

  His grasp instantly closed around hers, warm, strong, safe, and suddenly that sensual disturbance vanished. “See? It didn't hurt a bit. Do you want to make the coffee or do the sandwiches?” He chuckled as he led her toward the kitchen. “Sorry. Those ‘sandwiches' keep appearing out of nowhere, don't they?”

  Three guards at the rear of the house. Two at the front. It would be difficult to get to Jane MacGuire while she was inside the villa.

  Aldo watched the lights go on at the house on Via Spagnola. So cozy. They were probably gathered around the dinner table, drinking wine and chatting about Cira and the reconstruction.

  Did Eve Duncan and Joe Quinn know the serpent they were hugging to their bosoms? That Jane MacGuire and Cira were one? Probably not. No doubt she had worked her magic and made them believe what she wanted them to believe. She wanted to live forever and this reconstruction could ensure that at least her face would be immortal.

  It wasn't going to happen. He couldn't tolerate it. And the longer he stayed here in this city, the more convinced he was that he'd been brought here for a reason. His fear and uncertainty were gradually fading. He'd be shown the way through that army of guards surrounding her.

  Or she'd be led to him like a lamb to the slaughter.

  It's beautiful,” Eve said, gazing out the kitchen window at the winding streets of the city. “No, that's not right. It's arresting. You can't help but remember what happened here.”

  “The citizens of the town make sure you don't forget,” Joe said dryly. “It's how a good many make their living. And I can't wait to get this job done and get out of here.” He turned to Trevor. “I didn't like that circus at the airport. I'm not having Eve go through that again.”

  “It's not going to be necessary,” Trevor said. “There will be at least one more press conference but after tomorrow it's best that she stay out of the limelight as much as possible.”

  Joe met his gaze. “I agree.”

  “When am I supposed to be starting to work on this reconstruction?” Eve asked. “It would be nice to have a little more information. I had to tap dance through all those reporters
' questions this afternoon.”

  “But you did it so well.” Trevor smiled. “I was impressed.”

  “I don't need you to be impressed,” Eve said. “I need you to be smart, efficient, and to get us the hell done with this horror as soon as possible.” She glanced at Jane. “And not to do anything that will give Aldo his chance at her. We agreed to come here because it was a way of ending this nightmare quickly. I'm not planning on spinning my wheels now that we've arrived. Your job was to set up a place where we could trap Aldo. You say you've done it. Is this the place?”

  Trevor nodded.

  “What makes it so special?”

  “The tunnel.”

  “What?”

  “There's a robbers' tunnel running beneath the villa that intersects the network of archaeological tunnels that crisscross the theater excavation. No one really knows how many robbers' tunnels were drilled over the centuries. Sontag discovered this one several years ago and decided to keep its location secret so that he could go down and do a little private excavating for fun and profit.”

  “Do you honestly think Aldo will try to gain entrance to the villa through that tunnel?” Joe asked. “He'll know we're waiting for him. He may be nuts but he's canny as a fox.”

  “You're right,” Trevor said. “There's no way he'd try to gain entrance to the villa. So we have to draw him down to the tunnel and then go after him. The Via Spagnola tunnels have as many off-shoots and twists and turns as Precebio's tunnel.”

  “You said that Aldo knew the tunnels like the back of his hand when he was a boy,” Jane said.

  Trevor nodded. “The one advantage we have is that Sontag is the only one who ever mapped this particular network of tunnels. Aldo wouldn't be familiar with them.”

  “We hope,” Joe said. “And if the tunnel is that complicated we may be as lost down there as he is.”

  “I've got Sontag's maps and I've been checking out the tunnel every night since I found out about the villa. Besides, with any luck we won't have to know much about the tunnel. We'll set up the trap and let Aldo come to us.”

  “And I suppose you've already done that,” Eve said dryly.

  “Pending your approval.” He took a notebook from his back pocket and flipped it open. “There's only one place that's really possible for an ambush.” He put the notebook on the table. “I know it looks like hen scratching but this is the tunnel that leads to the archaeological tunnels. You take the branch that leads off it here.” He drew a line intersecting. “This branch leads to the vomitorium but about halfway you run into an offshoot passage that twists around and then comes back from a different angle. There's a ledge about thirty feet up that will give you a clear shot, Quinn.”

  “Cover?”

  Trevor nodded. “You won't have a problem. The face of the wall looks like a solid sheet with only a small opening off the ledge.”

  “Vomitorium,” Eve repeated. “Is that what it sounds like?”

  “Yes and no,” Trevor said. “The exits from public places were generally called that. For years the guards told gullible tourists that the Romans gorged themselves and then made themselves throw up to eat more.”

  “Charming. And this vomitorium was an exit from the theater?”

  “It could have been. The Via Spagnola tunnel winds around so much that this could have been an exit for another public building or residence. At any rate, it's damn convenient for us.” He glanced at Joe. “And there are three tunnels leading off that vomitorium. Aldo will probably be hiding in one of them if we can set him up.”

  “And the vomitorium is the target area?” Joe asked. “Exactly where is it?”

  “A short distance farther along the tunnel. After you pass the offshoot passage that you'll be taking, you come to a wider area that was evidently the treasure trove the thieves were after when they dug the tunnel. The vomitorium evidently contained several large statues that were stolen. Only the bases are left.”

  “How's the light?”

  “Better have an infrared scope. I'll have four torches scattered on the walls around the area. That's all I can promise you. It's just as important that he doesn't see you as it is that you see him.”

  “And what's going to bring him to the room?”

  “Jane.” His glance shifted to her. “And Cira.”

  Joe shook his head. “Are you going to send him an engraved invitation for the event?”

  “I hope we don't have to. If he calls Jane as he did before she left Georgia, she can set him up. There's a good chance that will happen.”

  “And if it doesn't?”

  “We have a backup.” He continued, “We're announcing that the coffin containing the remains is being transported day after tomorrow from the tunnel where she was discovered to the lab here at the villa for forensic examination and reconstruction. I've chosen two well-known forensic experts who have the reputation of not being assholes like Sontag and I'll hand out their names to the media to verify.”

  “How?”

  “That's up to you, Quinn. I don't care if you persuade or threaten them. Just get them to lie through their teeth and go underground for the few days they're supposed to be at the villa.”

  “We're just going to let Aldo follow us to the villa?”

  “Right, he's going to follow us through the theater tunnel to the robbers' tunnel leading to the villa.”

  “What?”

  “It's the kind of flamboyant showmanship Sontag would pull. Dramatically revealing the place where the skeleton was found to the media and then leading them through the darkness to the place where Cira's identity was going to be discovered. Or rather to the point where we have the local police barricade the tunnel to keep the media from going any farther and knowing where we exit.”

  “Aldo would be insane to be in the middle of that mob of reporters.”

  “He won't be in the middle. But he'll be there somewhere in that network of tunnels keeping an eye on what's going on,” Trevor said. “And he'll go back and explore later. We won't make it too hard for him to find the Via Spagnola tunnel.” He added to Joe, “Have you made sure the tunnel where the skeleton was found was put off-limits by the local police and guarded twenty-four hours a day?”

  “Of course, it made sense. I just suggested it would be wise to protect the area from thieves who might contaminate the excavation site. They were eager to please. There's a good deal of American money being poured into that hole in the ground. So what's going to draw him to the vomitorium if the reconstruction is going to be done at the villa?”

  Trevor smiled. “Because we're going to let Aldo believe that Sontag is going to have a news conference down there for the great unveiling of the reconstruction.”

  “My God,” Jane whispered.

  “Again, it's the kind of flamboyant thing Sontag would pull. Leading the reporters through the darkness to a mystery destination, the vomitorium.”

  “And we draw Aldo down there instead. He'd want to destroy the reconstruction before the media got to it,” Jane said slowly. “How do we do it?”

  “You challenge him, taunt him, make him think you're taking him on one on one. He's a supreme egotist besides being nuts. You find a way to exploit his weakness.”

  She frowned. “It could work.”

  “It better.” Trevor turned to Eve. “Everything okay?”

  She thought about it. “No. How is Aldo going to know about the vomitorium?”

  “Once he discovers the Via Spagnola tunnel, he'll reconnoiter and the vomitorium is fairly easy to find for someone used to negotiating tunnels. Once he finds it, he's not going to go any farther.”

  “Why not?”

  “He'll know it's the place. I've set it up. I've got lamps, batteries, and photo equipment all over the place down there. He won't be able to miss what's going to happen.”

  “How can you be so sure he'll even find it? It's a hell of a lot to assume.”

  “You're right. That's why I set up a video camera on the ledge where Joe
's going to be waiting. It's pointed directly down at the vomitorium. If Aldo's exploring down there, we'll know it. Trust me.”

  “I don't trust anyone where Jane's safety's concerned. And I hate the idea of using her as bait.”

  “Eve, you knew that this was the only way we could do it,” Jane said quietly. “And Joe is going to be there to protect me.”

  “And I'll be there, too,” Trevor said. “I'm taking her down to the vomitorium that night. You go down ahead of us, Quinn. I'll scout out the tunnel before we take her down and be with her as far as the offshoot passage before I join you at the ledge. I'll guarantee she'll be safe until she gets to the vomitorium. After that it's up to all of us to make sure she stays safe.”

  “Why can't we bring more security down there?”

  “The minute he'd see them, he'd flit. As long as we don't let him get near Jane, she'll be safe. He never uses a gun. He wants ritual. It's important to him. We don't give a damn about ritual; a rifle bullet will suit us just fine.”

  “This had better work, Trevor,” Eve said grimly.

  “Lord, what's a man got to do? I'm open to suggestions.”

  “You'll get them if we see any signs that this damn plan is disintegrating.” She turned and headed toward the doorway leading to the hall. “And in the meantime I'm going to bed. I'm beat. Joe?”

  “I'll be there in a minute.” Joe finished his coffee. “I'm going to check with the security boys and see if they've noticed anything.”

  “It's too early,” Trevor said. “Aldo's not going to make a move yet.”

  “It must be wonderful to be able to see into a crystal ball,” Joe said sarcastically as he opened the kitchen door. “Personally, I've always found that it's better to expect the unexpected.”

  “So have I,” Trevor murmured as the door closed behind Joe. “Usually. But Aldo is different. . . . I feel like I know what he's thinking—it's different.” He picked up the cups and plates and took them to the sink. “And maybe I'm wrong and Quinn is right on target. Having two varying viewpoints only makes it safer for you.” He turned to face her. “You were very quiet while I was sketching in my ‘master plan.' Don't you think it will work?”