Smokescreen

by Iris Johansen

  “Tell me about it,” she said dryly. He might still want the story, but she was touched anyway. “I’ll call you if I need to ditch them. But I hear Nassem is reliable. If he wants to pull you out of there, go with him.”

  “If you insist…and promise to keep in touch.”

  “Absolutely. When Nassem gets there, let me know. Thanks, Kimbro.” She cut the connection and looked up to see Novak gazing at her. “He says he wasn’t followed and that CIA can be trouble. I agree. But I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt if this Nassem comes through.” She grinned. “Probably not you. You’re too far gone.”

  “Definitely.” He tilted his head. “You’re relieved.”

  “So far. I’ll feel better once Kimbro gives the tapes to your guy. He should be there in another twenty minutes. I want this over.”

  Novak nodded and turned back to his calls. “It sounds as if you’ve got it covered.”

  “I hope I do.” She started to dial Gideon again. “I couldn’t reach Gideon before. While I’m waiting for Kimbro’s call, I’ll try him again…”

  * * *

  But it wasn’t over in twenty minutes.

  No call from Kimbro.

  It didn’t mean anything, Jill told herself. Nassem could have been stuck in traffic or something. Cairo was always a traffic nightmare…

  Another fifteen minutes.

  No call.

  She started to dial Kimbro.

  It went to voice mail.

  Shit.

  Her hand was shaking as she started to punch in the number again.

  “I’ve already tried him twice,” Novak said quietly.

  She went still. “What?”

  “Nassem always has orders to call his superior, Karim Absar, when he makes contact with the subject. He was on his way up in the elevator after he reached the apartment building when he checked in twenty minutes ago. But he didn’t call back after contacting Kimbro.” He paused. “And he didn’t answer when Absar called.”

  “So you called Kimbro,” she said shakily.

  “Twice.”

  “You said that.” She moistened her lips. “Something must have happened. We should call the police or an emergency number.” She rubbed her temple. “No, not the police. Stupid. We just robbed the damn police. The medical-emergency number. I think it’s 123 in Cairo.”

  “My people will be faster. When they couldn’t contact Nassem, I told them to get over to Kimbro’s apartment right away. They should be arriving any minute.”

  “Efficient. You’re always so efficient, Novak.” She was having trouble concentrating on what she was saying. All she could think about was Kimbro. “You called him. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “You were already worried. There was no use making it worse until I was sure that it was necessary. It could have been anything. It didn’t have to be—” He stopped. “We’re still not sure what problem they might have run into. We won’t know until Absar’s team gets there.”

  “But you have an idea, don’t you?” She drew a deep breath. “Of course, we both do. But he didn’t think he was followed, Novak.”

  “And he might not have been. If they had an ID on him after he took the tapes, they might have just gotten his address and been there waiting for him to show. Or his tail might have been very, very good.”

  “He might not have had to be that good. Kimbro was cocky. Piece of cake.” She could feel her eyes stinging. “He said it was a piece of cake.”

  He muttered a curse. “We don’t know, Jill.”

  She nodded. “We have to wait. You’re right, we should find out soon.” Keep control. Novak was being his usual professional self, and she had to follow his lead. But it was so hard. She linked her arms around her drawn-up knees and held them tight. “I told him to hold off, and I’d get him help, but he thought he could do it without any help. Cocky. He’s always so cocky. And he had the deal made before I even knew it. I should have known he’d do something like that. I should have expected it.”

  “Shut up,” he said roughly. “I can see where this is going, and I’m not letting you take either one of us there. It could be okay, Jill. I’ll get a report from Nassem or Absar any minute, and we’ll—”

  His phone rang. “It’s Absar.”

  She stiffened, her eyes flying to Novak’s face as he answered the call. Whoever Absar was, he was spitting out words as soon as Novak answered, not giving him a chance to reply. Her gaze was focused desperately on Novak’s face as he listened, but his expression told her nothing. “The tapes?” he asked once.

  Still no expression.

  Then, evidently, he was asked a question because he did answer. “No, don’t wait. Take care of it. It has to be clean.” He cut the connection.

  She sat up straight, her gaze on his face. “Not good,” she said jerkily. “Though I don’t know how I can tell. I never know what you’re thinking. Kimbro?”

  “Dead.”

  She couldn’t breathe. She felt as if she’d been kicked in the stomach.

  “Dammit!” Suddenly Novak was on his knees beside her. His face contorted, his hands grasping her shoulders. “I had to say it fast and hard and get it over with. I know you. I couldn’t play around with it when you knew it was coming.”

  “Yes, I knew it was coming,” she said stiltedly. “I was just hoping I was wrong.”

  “Well, you weren’t wrong.” She was suddenly pulled into his arms, his hand on the back of her head, her face buried in his chest. “Kimbro’s dead. Nassem’s dead. Both found in Kimbro’s apartment. Stop shaking. I can’t take it.”

  Jill couldn’t take it either. She was clutching desperately at him. He seemed to be the only warmth in her world right now. “How?”

  “Will you let me tell you later?”

  “No. Now.”

  “The attack was probably made when Kimbro opened the door for Nassem. It appeared to be an assault from the rear. Absar thinks they might have been waiting in a vacant apartment down the hall for their chance to go after Kimbro. Nassem was almost decapitated by a knife blow to the back of his neck.” He paused. “Or possibly a machete.”

  Machete…

  “Kimbro?”

  “Same weapon. Two blows to the chest and abdomen, one kill blow to the throat. It had to be fast, he would have bled out very quickly.”

  She closed her eyes tightly. “Is that supposed to be comforting?”

  “The only comfort I can give you.”

  “It sucks, Novak.” But she was still holding tightly to him. “The tapes?”

  “Gone.”

  “And machetes are a strange weapon of choice for a thug in Cairo.” She added unsteadily, “But it was Varak’s favorite weapon.”

  “Varak wouldn’t have been the one who did this, Jill.”

  “But he had an entire troop of machete killers in his personal army. Who knows what kind of force he has now? He could have sent one of them to take care of this small job. Nothing much, just killing a reporter who got in his way. A reporter who I put in his way.” She couldn’t stop talking, couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks as she lifted her head to look up at him. “That’s why I was afraid. All those deaths…I thought: What if Varak is still alive and comes back to do it again? And he is back, Novak. I brought him back. I set out bait for the tiger.”

  “The hell you did.” His hands were cupping her face as he glared down at her. He said fiercely, “You know that’s not true. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. I won’t have it.”

  “I don’t feel sorry for myself. I feel sorry for Kimbro, dammit. And I have to accept responsibility for the—”

  “I gave you the assignment. You didn’t even realize that anyone but you knew what Kimbro was up to. And you told me yourself he not only wanted to repay a debt, he wanted the story. If he hadn’t moved too quickly, we could have had someone to protect him from the moment he left that police station. He was careless and overconfident, and it got him killed.”

  “It’s not t
hat easy. I drew him into the web because I was worried about what those tapes would do to Eve and Quinn. You can’t absolve me of blame, Novak.”

  “Then let me share it. Because I sure as hell can’t take watching you like this.”

  He meant it. All the fierceness and the almost brutal intensity that electrified him were naked in his face. It shocked her. She instinctively pushed him away. “You can’t do that, Novak. You have your own problems.” She shook her head to clear it. “And you shouldn’t have to deal with all this angst I’m going through either. You had a man killed today also. Did you know Nassem?”

  For an instant, his face still retained that shockingly fierce intensity. Then it was gone, and he said without expression, “I’d met Nassem a couple times. He was a good operator and supposed to be a good guy.”

  “Very vague. Is your life usually that vague?”

  “It’s safer to keep it that way in my job.”

  But there had been nothing safe or vague about him only a moment ago. Forget it. She shouldn’t have even asked the question. Keep away from anything personal with Novak. “I can’t do that.” She got to her feet. “I used to try, but it doesn’t work for me. People pop up, and suddenly there’s a Kimbro or a Hajif or a Gideon.” She was wiping her cheeks with the sleeve of her shirt. “Or even a Novak.”

  “And you get hurt.”

  “It depends on how the story goes. Sometimes I can make it come out right. I’m not sure about this one. I’m beginning to doubt it.” She said unsteadily, “I suppose I should take care of arrangements for Kimbro. He doesn’t have a wife or kid, but he used to talk about his mother in Toronto.”

  “Later perhaps. Not now.”

  Her gaze flew to his face. “Why not?”

  “It’s better if the bodies just disappear for a while. We don’t want the police or Egyptian government involved in this yet. I told Absar to do a cleanup.”

  “What about the evidence? I don’t want it cleaned up. I want the people who killed Kimbro to be caught.”

  “We’ll send in a forensic team. Absar’s already on the job. We’ll find the murderers and take care of it. I promise you.”

  “He was my friend.”

  “Then be a friend to him. Don’t go after the errand boy, go after Varak. They have those tapes now, and all hell may break loose.” He met her eyes. “It’s starting, Jill.”

  She stared at him for a long moment.

  It was starting.

  It had already started when Eve completed that reconstruction. But Kimbro’s death had marked the beginning of the battle to come. There was no turning their backs on the struggle now. Those security tapes would light a fire that could cause a gigantic bonfire.

  Accept it. Stop this clinging and weeping and wailing that wasn’t going to help.

  But Kimbro…

  “All right. Then let’s find Varak.” She turned and headed for the door. She added fiercely, “But you keep your promise, Novak. I’m holding you to it.” She paused at the door. “How quickly can we expect those tapes to explode in our faces?”

  “Not long. I wouldn’t say that either Zahra or Varak have a great degree of patience, and their underlings will know it. It’s possible they could be seeing them in the next few hours.”

  “And then we wait for the explosion.”

  “Or attempt to cause one of our own.” His gaze was scanning her face. “Are you okay now?”

  Her lips indented in a ghost of a smile. “No, but I’ll be better when we figure out how to cause that explosion. I don’t like to feel this defeated. It’s got to change.”

  * * *

  “Michael just called, Eve,” Joe said grimly when he came into the museum. “He was phoning from the dig site in the middle of the day. I believe that constitutes big-time worry on his part.” He shook his head. “Though I managed to stave off any action, Jane might have to face problems later.”

  “Dammit.” Eve frowned as she turned to face him. “How did he sound?”

  “Calm. Reasonable. Just trying to talk me into bringing him here to see you. He’s worried, not panicking. Being Michael.”

  “And even when he panics, we wouldn’t know it,” Eve murmured. “He’d just do what he thinks he should do. Which scares me to death.” Her lips twisted. “And he has perfect timing, doesn’t he? You want me to go to London. He’s putting pressure from his end. I’m caught in the middle.”

  “No conspiracy, Eve.”

  “I know.” She sighed. “I’ll call him back and try to reassure him. But he can read me like a book. Honesty is great except when you have to deal with someone like Michael.”

  “It will help if he just hears your voice,” Joe said. “The vibes are always there between you, but just talk to him.” He moved over to stand beside her. “It always helps me.” His hand reached out to caress her cheek. “Even if you say the wrong thing.”

  “And even the times when you turn a deaf ear.” She held his hand to her cheek for a moment. “But you must be more concerned about him than you’re letting on if you ran here right after you talked to him.” She looked up at him. “Or did you consider it an opportunity?”

  He shook his head. “I wouldn’t use Michael as a pawn, no matter how much I want my own way.”

  “I didn’t think you would, but you really wanted me to get out of Dodge.” Her gaze was searching his face. “What else, Joe? How bad?”

  “Not good. Right after I hung up from Michael, I got a call from Jill. It seems that her friend Kimbro is dead, and the gallery tapes were taken.”

  “She must feel terrible,” Eve said, sick. “I know she was worried.”

  “She should be worried,” he said. “We should all be worried about those tapes.”

  “Are you blaming Jill?”

  “Why should I blame her?” he said impatiently. “She was only trying to help. I’m the one who left those tapes in the gallery. I should have found a way to get them out of there myself.”

  “Sure, you had so much time, and nothing at all was happening around you,” Eve said. Joe’s first instinct was always to shoulder the burdens. “Forget it. How can we make it right?”

  “It might be too late. As soon as they view those tapes, they’ll go after me, and that will lead to you. The only thing we can do is brace ourselves for the impact. We’re already doing all that’s possible to go after Varak at top speed.”

  Brace for the impact. Eve shuddered at the words. Brace for Varak’s striking out at them like a vicious rattler. Brace for Zahra’s moving forward, sleek and dangerous and totally without conscience. “At the moment, it doesn’t seem like top speed to me.”

  Varak wielding his glittering machete in that schoolroom.

  Varak striking out at those helpless children.

  He likes to kill the children.

  She inhaled sharply as she remembered Jill’s words.

  “No!” Her hands closed into fists. “I don’t have to wonder what else the son of a bitch might do. He uses children, Joe. That’s why he staged the massacre at the schoolroom. He wanted to lure their parents to the school from the village, so he attacked the children. He knew it would be the one sure way to trap them.” She met his eyes. “Because there’s nothing a parent wouldn’t do for their child.” She paused. “There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for Michael. We have to be prepared that one of Varak’s moves might be to go after our child.” Even as she said the words, she could feel the fear and panic rising. “You were so worried about me, Joe. But forget about me. We should be worried about Michael. We should concentrate on keeping him safe.”

  “Slow down. You or Michael? That’s no choice at all.”

  “But it’s always been the right choice for us.” She drew a shaky breath. “First, we have to keep Michael away from Maldara and away from me. We don’t want to draw Varak’s attention to him. Particularly not in connection to me. But we can’t be sure he’s safe at the dig either. Varak probably has all Zahra’s power behind him, and judging by the appea
rance of that sniper at Asarti and Kimbro’s death in Cairo, he must still have his own scumbags at his command. He could send someone to find him.”

  “I’ll tell Jane to disappear with him until this is over.”

  “You know that would only make Michael more determined to go his own way. It’s better to keep him busy. Besides, Jane should be protected, too. And while we’re at it, even Cara’s probably not safe. You’ll have to make sure he can’t touch anyone in the family. But I’m most worried about Michael and Jane. I’ll call Jane and tell her what we’re facing.” She got to her feet and went into his arms. “I believe it’s time for you to call those buddies of yours at Scotland Yard and persuade them to assign him that army of detectives you were going to surround me with.” She laid her head on his shoulder, and said softly, “It was a good idea, just not the right person.”

  “Exactly the right person.” His arms tightened around her. “I don’t suppose I can talk you into going to be with Michael?”

  She shook her head. “I have to stay away from him. Haven’t you been paying attention?”

  “I wish I could tell you that you’re all wrong about this.” He paused. “I might, if I hadn’t gone down and looked at that schoolroom for myself.” Joe’s lips twisted. “Okay, then I suppose I’d better get on the phone again with the Yard. I just spent half the morning harassing them about Oscar Varak.” He gave her a quick kiss before he turned away. “We’d better get ready to defend the gates.”

  “And brace for the impact,” she repeated somberly as she reached for her phone to call Jane.

  * * *

  “Why didn’t you tell me all this before?” Jane asked quietly. “All Joe has been saying is that I should keep an eye on Michael because he might decide to take off and go to see you. That was worry enough, but now you’re telling me that he might actually be in danger on this dig? Not fair, Eve.”

  “I know it wasn’t. I was so grateful to you for giving Michael such a great time, and I guess I was hoping that what was happening here wouldn’t get in the way. I just wanted to keep you out of it as long as I could. That time just ran out.”