Smokescreen

by Iris Johansen

  “No, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Jill said. “I can understand how you might feel you had to protect yourself any way you could.” She paused. “As long as it didn’t hurt anyone. Because I realize what you went through. We’re alike in many ways. We’ve both been victims.” She added, “I believe you know that, don’t you? You said Zahra had to go to Varak to help her. You heard exactly what Zahra asked Varak to do to me when she couldn’t get what she wanted from Wyatt.”

  Silence. “She was very angry with you. He told her it would be better to kill you, but she said that would be…awkward, and that they should just hurt you.” Another silence. “I knew what that meant. I was very sad. You should have done what she wanted.”

  “No, that would have been the wrong thing to do.” Jill hesitated, then said deliberately, “Because that would have made me the slave she’s tried to make you, Dalai. You know that if you don’t fight, that’s what happens. I was hurt, but I healed, got to my feet, and started to fight again. I’m fighting now. And that’s what you’ve got to do.”

  “Do I? Even though she said she’s like Kiya, and I was meant to be her slave?” Jill realized there was actually a trace of sarcasm in Dalai’s words, and it only showed how far they had come toward honesty in these last minutes.

  “Bullshit. How do you know that you’re not the one who’s like Kiya? You can be whatever you want to be. Look at you. You’ve already started to fight.” She added dryly, “Though definitely in a manipulative manner. I’m afraid we’re also alike in that quality, and lately, I’ve become very aware how destructive it can be. I’ve sworn off it myself unless it’s an emergency.” She changed the subject. “But it’s time to admit that the only way you’re going to get rid of Varak is through using everything you know about Zahra. Zahra’s the key. It’s too deadly going after Varak. There are too many traps. So you’ll have to give me a way to use Zahra to bring Varak to us.”

  “There’s no way to do that,” she said quickly.

  “I believe we’ll think of a way. We’ll talk, and something will come to us. It probably won’t be as slick and efficient as what you were planning to have Gideon do. But we’ll get there.”

  “You don’t know her.” Her voice was suddenly harsh. “Stay out of this. Let me handle her. I know how she thinks, how she reacts. You could spoil everything. You don’t know what she’d do.”

  “No, but you do. You know everything about her.” It was time to stop pushing. She had to step back and let the decision come from Dalai. “If you’re ready to help us, then find a way to call me. I don’t want to put you at risk again. Let me know, and I’ll somehow find a way to get you out of there so that we can talk more freely.” Her voice took on an urgency that could not have been more genuine. “But we don’t have much time. People will die.” Now add the single plea that might change the story. “Gideon will die.”

  She cut the connection.

  Jill drew a deep breath. It was done.

  Now all she could do was sit here and wait for a call that might not come.

  * * *

  The call came three hours later, when the sun had just started to go down.

  Her heart jumped as she saw the presidential palace ID on her phone. Yes.

  “I will help you.” Dalai’s voice was intense and angry when she came on the phone. “I have no choice. Though you’ll probably be like all the rest of them who care only about themselves. But you mustn’t be stupid or careless. Do you hear me? I won’t be put in that…place again.”

  “Hopefully, I won’t be either of those things,” Jill said. “How can I help you? Should I send someone to the palace to get you?”

  “You’re already being stupid. You’d spoil everything if you did that.” Dalai drew a deep breath. “Besides, I’m already here.”

  Jill stiffened in shock. “What? Where?”

  “Robaku. I knew that’s where you were. Madam was angry enough about it. I decided there was no sense my trying to tell you anything on the phone. I’d have to come there anyway.”

  Jill was stunned. “Just like that? You walked out of the palace and just decided to come here to see me. How?”

  “Madam leaves a car in a garage two blocks from the palace that we use when she goes to see Varak. Most of the time, she likes me to drive, so I have the keys.”

  Jill shook her head in bewilderment. “Then you could have escaped whenever you chose.”

  “No, I couldn’t. She would have chased me down and caught me. It wasn’t the right time. Neither is this, and you keep on asking questions,” she said, exasperated. “I only have a few hours before she’ll be back from that meeting with the British prime minister. I’ve parked down by this brook with the boulders. I’ve come this far. Now you come to me.”

  “I’ll be right there.” Jill was jarred out of the shock as she realized what the consequences were of Dalai’s decision. “How long have you been here? No, you had to have just gotten here, or they would have been all over you. Look, you might have visitors before I get there. Don’t run away. Just wait for me.”

  “Visitors?” Dalai repeated, alarmed. “Not Gideon. I don’t want to see Gideon. I came to see you.”

  “Fine. Just wait for me.” She hung up and called Novak. “Did you get the drone intruder report?”

  “It just came in. How the hell did you know?”

  “She’s no threat. Don’t do anything. Don’t tell anyone you got it.” Dalai had mentioned Gideon, she remembered. “Don’t tell Gideon. She particularly doesn’t want Gideon.”

  “Who is no threat?” he said sharply. “What are you doing, Jill?”

  “Dalai. And I’m trying to get off this phone so that she won’t run away.” She was already striding down the path toward the brook. “But I can see that’s not going to happen unless I let you come. Okay, meet me at the brook. And don’t you let anyone hurt her.” She cut the connection as she rounded the bend and saw Dalai standing beside the brook. She was wearing a black cloak over her top and sarong skirt, and she looked as if she were going to fly away any minute. Jill drew a breath of relief. “I was afraid you’d be gone. It would have been wise of you to give me a little warning.” Jill skidded to a stop before her. “I’m sure you must have picked up information from Zahra and Varak that this place is a virtual armed camp.”

  “No, they’ve never mentioned it.” She was frowning. “Varak doesn’t like having Eve Duncan here, but Madam told him to stay away from Robaku. She didn’t want to cause an incident if—” Dalai broke off, then said impatiently, “And I wasn’t sure I was coming here, so how could I give you warning? I didn’t know if I’d change my mind. But no one saw me.”

  “Except the spy in the sky. Which means Novak saw you.” She looked down the path. “Don’t get spooked. Here he comes. It was easier to bring him here than argue.”

  Dalai froze, her gaze on Novak. “I have to go.”

  “No, you don’t. This is Jed Novak. I trust him. Gideon trusts him.” She turned to Novak. “Don’t you do anything intimidating. She’s here to help us. She’s already literally gone the extra mile. So let me handle it.”

  Novak stopped, staring at Dalai. “She doesn’t appear to be a threat. Though her coming here automatically makes her suspect.” He took a step closer. “And she doesn’t seem to be intimidated, only wary.” He smiled at Dalai. “Maybe we should have a truce to see if either one of us has cause for concern.” His smile faded. “Though I didn’t like it that she didn’t want Gideon here.”

  “I was…ashamed,” Dalai said. “He was kind, and I knew he pitied me.” She looked him straight in the eye. “I used it.”

  “Not good.” He glanced at Jill. “Why is she here?”

  “Because I don’t want to see anyone get blown up by that homicidal maniac. She might be able to tell us how to work around it. She knows Zahra, inside and out.”

  Dalai was still holding Novak’s eyes. “And she says Zahra is the key. Do you believe that, too?”

  “Ji
ll and I are at odds on that score. But I’m always willing to listen to differing opinions.” He was gazing at her searchingly. “Do you think she’s right?”

  “She might be. That’s why I’m here.” She shivered. “Though I don’t want to be. I hate this place.”

  “Because of the children,” Jill said. “I understand.”

  “Yes. No.” She shook her head. “It always frightens me. I want to leave here.” She said impatiently, “But I’m here, so what do you want to know?”

  “Everything,” Jill said. “But you told me when you first got here that you couldn’t tell me anything on the phone. You said you would have had to come here anyway. Why?”

  “Because you think you understand, but you can’t. I knew I’d have to show you.” She whirled on her heel and strode along the bank toward the tall boulders that bordered the north side of the brook. “Let’s get it over with.”

  Jill was running after her. “Where are you going?”

  “The boulders.” Dalai was hurrying down the path. “Now don’t talk to me. I’m nervous about this, and I’m afraid I’m doing the wrong thing. I’ve never trusted anyone but myself before. I still don’t.” A moment later, they’d reached the edge of the creek, and she was skirting around it until she reached a group of tall boulders that bordered it to the south. “The third one…”

  Then she fell to her knees and was digging at the dirt at the base of the boulder. “Yes.” She had revealed a nine-inch-square keypad. Then she froze, gazing down at it. “Give me a minute. I’ll be all right in just a minute.”

  “What the hell is this?” Jill fell to her knees beside her. The girl was clearly terrified. She reached out to take her hand. “What’s wrong? Let me help you, Dalai.”

  “No one can help me.” Dalai was staring down at the keypad. “That’s what she said. No one can help you, Dalai.”

  “Zahra?” Jill was frowning in confusion. “She was the one who said that to you?” Then she stiffened. “Zahra was here?”

  Dalai drew a deep breath. “Of course she was here. She’s always been here. She regards Robaku as her special place. She brought me here several times a year from the time my father sent me to her. Usually at night, when she considered it safe.” She pulled her hand away from Jill’s. “And she hated it when you got in her way.”

  “You mean when she built the museum?”

  “No, she thought that was a triumph. It was all your stories and keeping those villagers from being moved.” She was looking down at the panel, bracing herself. “There’s a code.” She was punching in a four-letter code. “She gave it to me when she first started training me to help her take care of this place. She waited almost a year before she trusted me with it.” Her lips twisted. “When she thought that I’d been taught to obey every rule she’d set out for me as a slave should.” She paused. “And the consequences if I failed in any way.”

  “Dalai, what are you talking about?” Jill asked quietly.

  “You wanted to know about Zahra Kiyani. I’m telling you about her.” She met Jill’s eyes as she punched in the final letter. “This is who she is. Shall I tell you what the four letters of the code are?”

  Jill was beginning to make a wild guess.

  Then she heard a click, and the rocky ground around the boulder appeared to shift. The next instant, it slid open to reveal a trapdoor with a metal ladder.

  She heard Novak mutter a soft oath behind her.

  “The ladder is very sturdy and safe,” Dalai said. “So is the cavern below. It was built by Zahra Kiyani’s great-grandfather, but the Kiyani family kept it updated and repaired through the years. You can understand why she didn’t want the village disturbed in any way.”

  Jill was gazing down into that darkness. “You’ve known about this for years?”

  “She needed someone to come with her to check and make certain all was in order. She trusted me. She made certain I could be trusted.” She reached in her cloak and pulled out a flashlight and thrust it at Jill. She made an impatient gesture toward the ladder. “Go and see for yourself. I can’t go down there yet.”

  “Stay here, Jill,” Novak said. “It could be a trap.”

  “She’s still shaking. Just look at her,” Jill said. “For heaven’s sake, it’s no trap. I’m going down, Novak.” She turned on the flashlight. “You can keep an eye on her if you want—” Novak was already climbing down the ladder. “It’s okay, Dalai. You can wait for us here.” Jill headed for the trapdoor and started down the ladder.

  There were over twenty steps, and she saw Novak standing on the ground beside the ladder. She jumped from the fourth rung and caught hold of him to steady herself. The earth was soft and mushy beneath her feet, and the smell was a blend of earth scents and rotten vegetation. And something else that was causing Jill’s stomach to tense. She moved the beam of the flashlight to pierce the darkness. Stone walls, a path leading south, away from the creek.

  “I think we know what that code is.” Novak had pulled out his pen flashlight and was looking around at the stone walls. “She gave us enough clues.”

  And he’d already figured it out, she thought. He’d probably done it before she had. That intelligence and the amazing ability to put puzzles together…“I need to be sure.” Jill started down the narrow, rocky path.

  “I don’t suppose you’ll let me go ahead, Jill,” Novak said.

  “No. My story.” She gave him a smile over her shoulder as she moved faster. “I brought you here. Are you trying to cheat me?”

  “Perish the thought. I just wanted to be sure there weren’t any snakes down here.”

  “Keep an eye out. But I don’t think Zahra would permit that. I’m sure she always sent Dalai down to check it out.”

  Then she made the turn in the stone path.

  She stopped and inhaled sharply.

  “It’s true…” She had to gather her composure before she glanced over her shoulder at Novak again. “Now you can tell me what four-letter code Dalai punched in at that boulder.”

  “Kiya,” he said softly. His gaze was traveling around the sizeable room and all the treasures it held.

  “Too easy.” She was dazzled as the beam of her flashlight fell on wonderful vases, trunks overflowing with gold and precious jewelry. And several truly superb gold statues. “If Zahra hadn’t been so arrogant, any security expert would have told her that was the least safe password she could have chosen.” She crossed the room and touched one of the statues. “Well, we found where Zahra grabbed that wonderful statue she gave to Dobran. But none of those statues are as fantastic as the Great Beloved Wife.”

  “Amazing.” Novak was examining one of the engraved gold coffers. “There’s so much here. I know that it was supposed to be a wagonload of treasure. But that was a long time ago. You would have thought the family would have gradually let some of it go.”

  “Family tradition,” Jill said. “Gideon said that Zahra was an absolute fanatic about family history and tradition. Evidently, it was a trait passed down through the ages.” She drew a deep breath, then wished she hadn’t. That sickeningly familiar scent…

  “Jill?” Novak’s gaze was on her face.

  “I’m fine. I just want to get out of here. We should get back to Dalai.”

  “I’m here.” Dalai was standing behind them. Her face was chalk pale. “I told you I’d only be a minute.” She pulled the cloak closer about her as if to ward off a chill. “Have you seen enough?” She was gazing searchingly at Jill’s face. “Maybe more than enough. You’re very clever, Jill. I believe you see things that others wouldn’t see.”

  “I see that you look ill.” Jill moistened her lips. “And frightened. Why are you so frightened to be down here?” She was thinking back, trying to put together everything she knew about Dalai. “Gideon said that you were terribly afraid of Zahra.” She was trying to remember. “He said you said something about the place with no air.” Her gaze flew to Dalai’s face. “Is that this place, Dalai?”

&nbs
p; Dalai nodded. “I can’t breathe down here.” She swallowed. “I know it’s my imagination, but it doesn’t make any difference. My heart starts to pound, and I want to scream.”

  “Just being underground?”

  “What?” Dalai looked at her as if she were crazy. “No, it’s the cage.” She moved jerkily across the room to a row of large, gold, bejeweled chests against the far wall. “That’s what Madam called it, the night she made me get into it.” She paused beside an elaborate gold chest whose top was thickly patterned with a beautiful, closely woven, openwork design. She threw open the chest, and Jill saw that it was empty. “It was that first year she brought me here, and she had to make sure I was broken enough that I’d never betray her.” Her voice was trembling. “So one night she made me climb into this chest, and she locked it. It wasn’t quite airtight, but I thought it was. It was dark and I couldn’t breathe and I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest. I screamed, and I couldn’t stop screaming. I heard her laughing. She said she was sure Kiya had punished her slaves this way, and I had to learn that every time I failed her, she would put me in this cage. If I was lucky, she’d remember to take me out.” She was looking down at the coffin-like interior. “She remembered in thirty-two hours.”

  Dalai couldn’t have been much more than a child, Jill thought in horror. An experience like that would have scarred anyone, much less a vulnerable girl totally dependent on that monster. It was a wonder that she had not been totally crushed. “I don’t know what to say,” she said gently. “You’ll never be able to keep from remembering that time, and I can’t help what happened to you.” She added with sudden harshness, “But I’ll be there to lend a hand when you’re ready to throw that bitch into her own cage.”