Blind Alley

by Iris Johansen

  “Not now. I think I'll go out in the garden. I'm restless.” She smiled. “I don't have a Giulia to think about. I'll see you at dinner.”

  “Stay close,” Eve said as she started up the stairs again. “Joe has so many guards around that I suppose the gardens are just as safe as the house, but I like the idea of four walls around you.”

  “I went for walks at the lake.”

  “This place is different. It seems alien.”

  It didn't seem alien to her, Jane thought as she crossed the foyer and opened the French doors leading to the rose garden. Ever since she'd arrived in Herculaneum she'd felt a strong sense of familiarity. Even now the sun warming her cheeks, the scent of roses, the tinkle of the fountain as it fell on the tiles were all strangely comforting.

  “You look very content. I almost hate to disturb you.”

  She stiffened and turned to see Trevor coming out of the house. “Then don't do it. Unless you have a good reason.”

  “I do. I wanted to lay down the house rules now that the game's in play.” His glance traveled around the garden. “This is a pretty place. It's like a garden caught in a time warp. You can almost see ladies in white gowns with bustles drifting down those paths.”

  “At least you didn't say ladies in togas. I'm getting an overload on ancient history.”

  He studied her expression. “You don't look stressed.”

  “I'm handling it.” She looked away from him. “Did you really need to spring that skeleton on Eve? What are the chances of Aldo getting close enough to see her working on it or seeing the reconstruction itself?”

  “High enough. There's no telling if he'll get a glimpse of the reconstruction in the coffin. It was safer. Beside, Eve will be happier working.”

  “And that's why you did it?”

  He didn't answer directly. “I like Eve. It's hard for a woman of her mind-set to sit around doing nothing.”

  “Yes, it is.” And he was very perceptive to realize the need and fill it. “Okay, what are the house rules? Am I supposed to stay away from the garden?”

  “No, just don't wander toward the gate. And you don't leave the villa without Quinn or me.”

  “I didn't intend to leave here. There's no reason.” She paused, her gaze going to the wrought-iron gate. “He's coming to me.”

  “He probably will.” Trevor's gaze followed hers. “But don't play into his hands.”

  “You didn't have to tell me that. I may be a schoolgirl but I'm not stupid.”

  He grimaced. “That really stung, didn't it?”

  “You called it the way you saw it.” She gave him a cool glance. “I am a schoolgirl and I'm not ashamed of it. But being my age and in school doesn't mean I'm ignorant. From the time I was five years old I ran the streets and knew every prostitute and drug runner in south Atlanta. By the time I was ten I'd bet I knew more than you did when you left that orphanage. Yes, it stung, but I thought about it and decided that you didn't know beans about me and that was your loss.”

  “It certainly is.” He smiled. “And I'm feeling it more every minute. Do you forgive me?”

  “No.” Her gaze shifted to the fountain. “You didn't look at me as an individual. That's what I can't forgive. You lumped me in with the rest of my age group and walked away from me. That's okay with me. I don't need you. But, in a way, you're as bad as Aldo. He looked at my face and didn't see past it.”

  “Tampering with a girl of your age is a big responsibility,” he said quietly. “I didn't want to hurt you.”

  “No one hurts me but me. And you didn't want the responsibility. Fine. I don't even know why we're talking about this. It's over.” She stood up. “And it's not as if anything really happened.”

  “Something happened.”

  She knew what he meant and she wasn't going to deny it. “Nothing that I can't forget.”

  He grimaced. “I wish I could say the same.”

  “You shouldn't forget. You fouled up.” She had to get away. She was forgetting anger and remembering the hurt. She turned and started down the path. “Maybe you'll learn something from it.”

  “I already have.” His voice followed her as she reached the arbor. “Don't go too far, Jane.”

  She didn't answer. She desperately hoped he'd leave. The peacefulness of that moment before he came into the garden was gone. She'd thought she'd armored herself against him but, good Lord, she was actually trembling. Was that what sex did to you? Then she could do without it. She wanted full control of her body and didn't like the way it was betraying her. She didn't want to remember how he'd looked with the mellow sunlight turning his tanned skin to gold. She didn't want to remember how it had felt to touch him.

  She wouldn't remember. She'd behaved with strength and intelligence and this aftershock would disappear soon. She glanced back over her shoulder. Relief flooded her as she saw that Trevor had gone back into the house. She'd stay here a little longer to regain her composure and then leave the garden and go up to her room. She needed a shower and she needed to see Eve. Not to talk. She wasn't good at confidences, but being with Eve always calmed her. Whenever she was filled with hurt or—

  Her phone rang.

  Probably Eve concerned that she'd been out here too long.

  “I'll be in soon, Eve. You should smell the roses. It almost makes you drunk with—”

  “Are you in the garden?”

  Aldo.

  Shock turned her rigid and she couldn't speak.

  “You're not answering.”

  “Yes, I'm in the garden.” Her voice was uneven and she had to steady it. “Where are you?”

  “Close. I watched you down in that tunnel today. I was almost near enough to touch you. I will touch you soon. Shall I tell how?”

  “I'm not interested. You're being ridiculous. You can't—” She stopped. As much as she wanted to argue with him, it would ruin everything if she actually convinced him she wasn't Cira. Play along with him. Stop protesting and try to set him up. “Suppose you're right and I am Cira. You can't stop me. I'm too close. Eve is doing the reconstruction now and when it's finished, I'll be famous. Even after I'm dead I'll still live forever. My face will be posted on the sides of buses. They'll do documentaries about me. They'll name perfumes Cira. You can make your telephone calls, spit all the poison you like, but it's not going to do you any good. You'll lose.”

  “Bitch.” He was clearly having to smother his rage. “You think you're so safe sitting surrounded by Duncan and Quinn and that bastard, Trevor. None of them can protect you. I'll kill you and then I'll kill them.”

  Her heart jerked and her hand tightened on the phone. “Why kill them? I'm the one you want.”

  “You infected them. They'd never give up hunting for me.” He was silent a moment. “That bothers you.”

  “No, it just seems stupid.”

  “You're trying to deceive me. It does bother you. Perhaps when you draw them to you, it causes you to form an attachment yourself.”

  “If I'm as cold as you think, then you couldn't be more wrong.”

  “But you aren't always cold. Julius Precebio wrote with disgusting detail about your passion. You can be touched. Trevor has touched you, hasn't he?”

  “No.”

  “You lie. I saw him look at you.” His voice turned soft. “And I saw you with Eve Duncan on the porch one night. You were very emotional.”

  She felt a cold chill. “I was pretending.”

  “Maybe. But maybe not. I hear something in your tone. . . .” His own tone was suddenly laden with malice. “At any rate, it's too promising not to explore. Shall I tell you what I'm going to do to Eve Duncan?”

  “No.”

  “She works very hard giving victims back their faces, doesn't she? I'm going to take her face away. I've gotten very proficient at slicing away that evil face of yours. Sometimes those women stayed conscious until the end. I'll go slowly with Duncan and make sure she suffers the full torment she deserves.”

  She tried to kee
p her voice from shaking. “You truly are a monster.”

  “Oh, no, I'm the sword of justice. You're the monster. It's you who twisted my father's mind until he could give me nothing but scorn, it's you who lured Duncan and the others here when Sontag found that skeleton. You knew I'd kill them if they got in my way.”

  “You're not talking about killing them if they get in your way. You're saying that you'll kill them anyway.”

  “Once you started using them, they automatically had to be removed.” He chuckled. “And now that I know it's going to upset you, I may have to plan a way to do it while you're still alive. It will be an added pleasure.”

  “Aren't you getting distracted? I'm your target.”

  “I couldn't be more focused. It's been a pleasure chatting with you. We'll do it again soon. Good-bye, Cira.” He hung up.

  Dear God, she was shaking.

  She reached out and grabbed the wrought-iron post of the arbor to steady herself. Ugliness. Madness. Death.

  Terror.

  Her heart was beating hard, painfully hard.

  Eve. Joe. Trevor.

  God help her, Eve . . .

  “Jane?”

  She looked over her shoulder to see Trevor coming down the path from the house.

  “What's wrong?”

  She shook her head.

  “What's wrong, dammit?” He reached out and grabbed her shoulders. “I was keeping an eye on you from the house and I saw you reach out and grab that fence as if it were a lifeline.”

  “Phone call,” she said numbly. “Jesus, Eve.”

  “The call was from Eve?”

  “Aldo.”

  He stiffened. “What?”

  “He said he'd call me. We were expecting it. I just didn't—” She tried to pull away. “Let me go.”

  “When you finish telling me what the hell's happening.”

  “Aldo.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Too much.” She moistened her lips. “He's really nuts. And I'm worse. I fouled up. I was going to try to set him up but then I lost him. I let him see . . . I blew it. I got so scared and he could tell.” Her hands clenched into fists but she couldn't stop the trembling. “He could tell and now he'll do it. But I can't let him. It's my fault. I won't let him near her, not a—”

  “Jane, shut up. Do you want me to slap you?”

  She looked up at him in shock. “You do and I'll kick you so hard in the nuts, you'll be a soprano.”

  “Okay, you're back to normal.” His hands loosened on her shoulders. “Come on and sit down on the bench and get your breath.”

  She'd already gotten her breath back but she still couldn't control the shaking. She sat down and crossed her arms over her chest. “I'm not back to normal. I'm scared and sick and I want to be alone. Go away.”

  “The hell I will. When you're ready to talk to me, I'm going to be here.”

  Oh, let him stay. It didn't matter. Give him what he wanted. She took a deep breath. “He's going to kill her. It doesn't matter if he kills me first. He's going to kill her anyway.”

  “Eve?”

  “Eve and Joe and you. But he got a good deal of pleasure out of telling me how he was going to kill Eve.” Her nails dug into her palms. “I won't let him do it. I'll keep her safe.”

  “Jane, Eve knew there was a certain amount of danger when she decided to come here. You knew it too.”

  “But I didn't know that he'd make her a target. I thought he'd focus on me. All his other victims were women with my face. How was I to know he'd decide everyone I was close to had to die? He even wants to kill you.”

  “I'm flattered he thinks you'd care, but he had his reasons to kill me before you came on the scene.”

  “He had no reason to kill Eve or Joe.”

  “Aldo's phone call actually changed nothing, Jane. He made a few threats and tried to panic you.”

  “He did panic me.” But the terror was beginning to ebb and she could think again. “And he enjoyed it. He caught me off guard and I let him see how much he could hurt me.”

  “Okay, but you didn't blow it completely. Right? You didn't set him up, but he's going to call again?”

  “He said he was.” She added bitterly, “He enjoyed it so much that he probably won't want to wait to do it again.”

  “Then you can see that this call basically changed nothing.”

  “You're wrong. I didn't realize to what extent I was risking Eve and Joe. I do now. And I made it worse for them by letting Aldo know how much they meant to me.” Her lips tightened. “And that makes everything different. We've got to keep Eve and Joe safe.”

  “We'll do our best.”

  “That's not good enough.” She stood up. “You were right to treat me like an idiot schoolgirl. I should have been able to fool him, turn him in another direction. But I didn't. I was so scared that I couldn't think fast enough. I'm not waiting around for him to come after Eve.”

  “Eve won't be down in the tunnel with us and she'll have protection here at the villa.”

  She whirled on him. “And what if he kills me? Do you guarantee that he won't get past her security and slice her to ribbons? He's not going to hurt Eve. He's not even going to get close to her,” she said fiercely. “Do you have any idea how much I care about her?”

  “I think I do,” he said gently.

  “Then you should know that I'll never let that piece of filth within a mile of her. So if you want Aldo, you'd better make me a promise. No matter what happens, you're going to keep Eve and Joe from being hurt. I don't care if Aldo gets away. I don't care if you think I'm in danger. Nothing happens to them.”

  “That's a difficult promise to make but I'll do my best.”

  “Promise me.”

  “I promise.” His smile was twisted. “And I guess I should feel fortunate you don't care enough about me to demand the same promise about my safety.”

  “You can take care of yourself. You weren't pulled into this like Eve and Joe. Besides, it's all about Aldo with you.”

  “Of course. What else? It's all about Aldo.”

  What's wrong with her?” Bartlett asked as he met Trevor at the French doors. “She looked like she'd run into Godzilla.”

  “Close. She got a phone call from Aldo.”

  Bartlett's eyes widened. “Indeed.”

  Trevor nodded jerkily. “And he scared the hell out of her.”

  “That doesn't really compute,” Bartlett said. “Jane doesn't scare easily.”

  “She does when it concerns Eve and Joe Quinn. Evidently Aldo's threats were specific and very ugly.”

  “I see.” Bartlett nodded gravely. “Yes, that would tip her over the edge. She's very wary of most people but Eve and Joe are her entire world.”

  “She made me promise to keep them safe. How the hell am I going to do that in a situation like this?”

  “I'm sure you'll find a way. Ever since we met, you've been juggling ideas and possibilities and twisting events to suit yourself. It's automatic with you.” He smiled. “I find it quite exhausting to watch since my mind doesn't have that capability. But whatever you decide I'm going to have a part in it. I notice that I've been left out in the cold in all this planning that's going on. It hurts my feelings.” He added quietly, “I won't get in your way but I'm tired of hovering on the edge. I have to help.”

  “I told you that you were to stay here and protect Eve.”

  “Quinn's arranged security for her that's much more qualified than I am.”

  “According to Jane, she can't have too much.”

  “I'm going with you.”

  “Bartlett, I don't need you to—” He stopped and shrugged. “Come ahead. Why shouldn't I risk your neck, too? I'm putting everyone else on the chopping block.”

  “Dear me, you are having guilty twinges, aren't you? May I point out that I'm a grown man with free choice? And you told me that it was Jane who concocted the plan to use herself as bait.”

  “But I gave her the rope to st
ake herself out for him.” He turned on his heel. “Oh, what the hell. Why should a bastard like me give a damn? Do what you like.”

  The red velvet cloth lay on the rocky floor waiting in the darkness.

  Waiting for her.

  The beam of Aldo's flashlight played over the gleaming marble bases, the photography lights and battery, and then beyond them to the tunnels leading off the vomitorium. He was tempted to go and explore but there was no telling what traps the bitch had laid for him. It was bad enough she'd managed to find this tunnel of which he had no prior knowledge. It had come as a complete surprise to him when he'd seen them carry the coffin down an unexpected turn. He'd followed them to the ladder leading to the Via Spagnola before he'd doubled back. It was only after he'd phoned Jane MacGuire later that day that he'd come back down and started to reconnoiter in depth.

  And then he'd found this cloth, red as blood, living blood.

  Waiting for the coffin. Waiting for her.

  I've got you, bitch.

  Did you think that you could find a place in this city where you'd be safe from me? There were ways to find out what he needed without risking being caught in her trap.

  He bent down and touched the velvet with his fingertips and a thrill went through him.

  Soft. Smooth. Cold.

  Like the flesh of a dead woman.

  You're almost finished.”

  Eve glanced at the doorway of the study where Joe stood watching her. She nodded. “Close. I started the final molding.”

  “And you're eager as hell. You've been working full steam ahead.” He walked over to the pedestal to stand beside her. “Why? We're setting the pace. Aldo's not going to be moving until we do.”

  “I want to be done with it. It feels strange making this skull with Jane's features. It's almost like a betrayal.” She smoothed the clay at the temple. “I'm glad I'll be able to make it up to Giulia later.”

  “Maybe if she knew she'd be glad that she was helping to save Jane.” Joe smiled. “I should have known you'd become involved with her.”