by David
By then Bridget had told them about her earlier meeting with Elka, about the death of the police officer in Corrales, and about their decision to split up and go in different directions.
Then Bridget confirmed much of what Lee and Diane knew already about the activities of the terrorists in New Mexico, and Jochen Pfeiffer's death.
"The pieces are all coming together now," Lee said. "But one thing just isn't clear to me. Who is Elka after? Rogers? The President? Me? Someone else? And do you think she'll change her plans now that she's the subject of a statewide dragnet?"
Bridget took a small bite of garlic bread, then pretended to gag. "Garlic bread? No, no, no!"
Lee chuckled, but Diane shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Lee already pulled that one on me."
"Vampires have a unique sense of humor." She took a sip of iced tea before continuing. "In answer to your question, Elka told me it was personal—for her at least. So, no, I don't think she'll back off."
"It was personal for her, but not for you?" Diane pressed.
"All I wanted was the chance to make enough money so I could stop being a thief and never again have to risk getting caught and going to jail. She promised to pay me for killing you, Officer Nez, and more if I helped her kill Paul Rogers. But if it really was her at the motel, then something's seriously wrong. That incident just doesn't make sense."
"You think she may be mentally unstable?" Lee asked.
"I'm no shrink, but I wouldn't doubt that for a minute. She's changed a lot since the Plummers, Muller, and Jochen got killed. When Jochen was captured by the Iraqis and locked up in prison, she was determined to trade the plutonium that was hidden here in New Mexico—stuff that you took and hid elsewhere—in exchange for his life. But that plan ended when everyone she cared about got killed. She's been alive for two hundred years but in two weeks all her family and close friends were dead. Grief does weird things to people."
"And now…" Lee pressed.
"The last time I talked to her for more than a minute we went over her plan, but I know she didn't tell me everything. She doesn't trust me—that's why she offered me money and my freedom if I helped her out now. It was her way of insuring I'd stick around. But again, she wasn't really giving me another option, though it may have sounded that way. If I hadn't agreed to her terms, she would have turned on me. I'm no match for her."
Bridget looked at Lee, then Diane. "Elka said Rogers was her main target, but she was lying about that, or maybe she changed her plan. If her target had really been the CIA man, she could have snapped his neck like a pencil. But to wrestle with him, then let herself get shot… that just doesn't sound like Elka. The cop she killed was just doing his job and she broke his neck like he was nothing."
Diane's cell phone rang just then and they all jumped. Bridget started giggling and Lee couldn't help but smile. Diane scowled at them both, then stood and walked away, speaking in low tones, obviously remembering how good vampire hearing was.
"Is she going to tell whoever it is about me?" Bridget asked, hearing Diane close the bedroom door.
Lee shrugged. She looked vulnerable now, but he didn't know if she was playing him or not. Bridget was innocent-looking and attractive, and undoubtedly knew how to use both of those attributes to her advantage. Remembering Angela, he decided to be extra careful with this particular vampire. Though everything she'd told them so far seemed believable, the best lies were 90 percent truth.
"A couple of questions. Where did you get the pistol, and why are some rounds missing from the second clip?" he asked.
Bridget rolled her eyes. "I followed a guy home from a sporting-goods store, then, when he left the house, broke in and found the pistol. There were two clips, but one wasn't fully loaded. I fired a couple of shots into a hillside later on just to get a feel for the weapon."
Lee thought she might be lying about the gun or bullets, but why? Had she shot someone and they just didn't know about it yet? He looked at her skeptically, letting her know he wasn't buying the story.
"I understand you not trusting me yet. Maybe you never will. But you can return the pistol to the owner and prove I'm telling you the truth. Anything to give me back my life. I promise I had nothing to do with the death of that police officer and I won't try to hurt you or your girlfriend, partner, or whatever she is. I just want the chance to disappear."
Bridget looked around the apartment as if someone were listening, lowered her voice, then continued. "For my own safety—and you know why—I'll have to try and escape if you take me to jail or someplace like that. All it takes are a few minutes in the sun and I'm toast."
Diane came back into the room and Lee's eyebrows rose in question, not knowing if Diane wanted to speak in front of Bridget. "Something I should know about?"
Diane nodded. "A confirmation from the source on Elka's attack. She came out from the restaurant and lunged at him from beneath the shade of the walkway, wrestling him to the ground before the security guards could intervene. During the attack she kept screaming that he'd killed her husband and family. She grabbed Rogers's .38 from the holster—but he managed to twist the barrel around and she accidentally shot herself in the side."
"And Rogers wasn't even hurt?" Lee asked.
"He was scratched and his hair was pulled, but thinks he'll get off with just a few bruises," Diane replied.
"Elka was playing with him," Bridget said firmly. "She's strong enough to crush his fingers like they were Cheetos."
"Obviously. So what happened then?" Lee prodded Diane.
His partner continued. "Elka lay there groaning and clutching her side until the EMTs arrived, along with two squad cars. Then they took her away in the ambulance we saw. One more thing. Elka called Rogers by the name he'd used as a CIA case officer."
"Stands to reason," Lee said.
"Rogers admitted that Elka came to him a few months ago to get the Agency's help in freeing her husband. Rogers promised Elka he'd help, then bailed on her. Of course he didn't word it that way. But reading between the lines, my bet is that he was the one who compromised Elka's husband. A short time after that, he got out of the CIA and started working for the DOE as a security consultant. A real fast-track deal. Tomorrow the President is going to be shaking his hand and patting him on the back for service to his country."
"The Peter Principle. Being promoted to your highest level of incompetence," Lee grumbled.
"Never heard of it." Bridget shook her head.
"Before your time." Lee smiled.
Diane and Lee exchanged glances. They hadn't had the chance to discuss what to do about Bridget, much less how much to trust her—if at all. And although well-nourished vampires didn't need much sleep unless they were healing an injury or starved, Diane was yawning almost constantly now.
"You talked to Rogers quite a while, Diane. He open up to you a little? I'd always heard that the CIA and the FBI were mortal enemies, fighting over turf, funding, prestige." Lee was just making conversation now, not wanting to discuss anything really important in front of Bridget until they'd decided what to do about her.
"That's true enough. But maybe Rogers is less paranoid now that he's no longer on the Agency's payroll. Or more likely, he needs any ally he can find," Diane replied.
"He no longer has power over so many lives," Bridget said softly. "Elka said he was a manipulator. I guess it takes one to know one."
Neither Lee nor Diane replied, and the three of them sat there for a few minutes. Finally Lee spoke. "Bridget, I suppose you know Diane and I are going to have to discuss exactly what to do about you."
"I wondered when you were going to bring that up. But like I said, I'm not turning myself in or anything like that. I came to you, Officer Nez, because you're the only one who can really understand my situation. You both know why vampires can't allow themselves to be taken prisoner and locked up," Bridget replied. Her voice was firm, but Lee saw uncertainty and what could be fear in her eyes.
Diane smiled. "Trust is somethi
ng none of us here offer or accept easily. Let's take it one step at a time. Would you mind going into the bedroom for a while so Lee and I can have a little privacy?"
Bridget thought about it a moment. "Well, okay. I don't have any other place to go at the moment." She walked toward the bedroom door, then stopped and looked back at Lee questioningly.
"We won't call the cops or the FBI on you. You have my word," Lee said.
"That's because you are the cops and the FBI." She shrugged, then turned, stepped into the bedroom, and closed the door.
Lee motioned for Diane to join him at the table. "Reminds me of the ancient curse that goes 'May you live in interesting times."
"You've got that right. Now, let's get to the point," she said, her voice low, almost a whisper. "What do we do about Blondie?" She brought out her notebook and pen, writing down one suggestion.
He nodded. Vampires could hear too damn well not to take this extra precaution.
CHAPTER 18
« ^ »
"Last time we left someone alone, they turned into a panther," Diane wrote.
Lee nodded, then added, "Bridget came here on her own and put herself at our mercy. That says something."
"When I moved her car I couldn't find anything inside that would contradict what she'd been saying." Diane put down the pen and looked up toward the bedroom door. Lee had positioned himself beside her so they both had a wall to their back and could see across the room.
He picked up Bridget's pistol and examined it carefully, whispering this time instead of writing. "Loaded, and looks functional. She claims to have stolen the pistol, but she's also fired it more than once, supposedly just checking it out. I got a feeling she wasn't telling me everything about this pistol."
"You think she used it on someone?" Diane's eyebrows rose.
"Unless a body turns up somewhere, we won't know, will we? Maybe I just misread Bridget. If she's really a professional thief, chances are she's not a killer, at least not intentionally. Thieves don't want confrontations. It's bad for business," Lee answered.
"True, and she had the skills needed to break into here. That required picking two good locks."
"Becoming a vampire must have made her a formidable thief, all things considered."
"Yeah, I agree. Vampires would make great burglars. They're quiet, fast, strong, and can jump like frogs," Diane noted as she looked through Bridget's purse again, examining each item, such as the lipstick, to confirm they were not some spy device or weapon.
"Gazelle, deer, graceful cats. Not frogs," Lee corrected.
"I could have said fleas." Diane smiled, examining the purse itself.
Lee picked up the pen and wrote so she could read at the same time. "Let's keep Bridget here for now but watch what we say around her. If she's setting us up for Elka, then we can make Bridget our bait. But this bait can bite back so we have to be ready for anything."
Diane nodded, then stood, folded up the paper, and stuffed it into her pocket. "Let's confirm with Bridget that Elka doesn't know where we live, what we're doing right now, or how to find us. And look for any sign of lying or deception. If Blondie wants to get away from Elka she's going to have to cooperate with us and tells us all she knows about Elka's plans. We aren't going to baby-sit for free."
Lee walked over to the bedroom door and tapped lightly. "Bridget, we have a few questions for you."
Just then Diane's cell phone rang.
Bridget opened the door and peeked out. Lee motioned with his head for her to come out as Diane walked back toward the kitchen area. Although Diane's telephone conversation was too low for even a vampire to hear clearly, he'd managed to make out that the call was about Elka, so the caller was probably Logan.
He smiled at Bridget. "Let's go to the sofa while she's on the phone. I need to ask you a few more questions about Elka."
Lee sat in the chair across from her, not too close. He wanted her to feel comfortable with him. If what she'd said about her background was true, he suspected she'd developed some serious skills as a con artist—many young runaways like her had been forced to play a role in order to survive.
"I know you said something about this before, but think carefully—is there any way that Elka could know or learn about this apartment? Or that you're here? Assuming you're not trying to con us, of course."
Bridget looked up at Diane, who had just come back from the kitchen.
"I'm not trying to trick you or set you up. I decided to turn myself in to you when I realized there was only one other choice. I could either help kill people and risk being killed myself, or put myself in the hands of a 'good' vampire—if that's what you really are." Bridget looked at Lee, but instead of validating that, he simply waited.
Bridget took a deep breath and continued. "When I spoke with Elka this morning I told her that I knew where Diane lived, but I never gave her the address. And since I got the information when I picked the lock on Lee's mailbox a few nights ago, there's no way she could know."
"You're very handy around locks," Diane said acidly.
"One of the things I did for Elka and her family was help gather information about people."
"People who were to be killed?" Diane challenged.
"Or compromised. But I didn't hurt anyone directly."
"How do you two stay in contact? Cell phones?" Lee asked.
"Sometimes, but not on this trip. Elka was worried about being monitored. We use code phrases on E-mails to set up meetings, but crucial information, like names and addresses, are only passed face-to-face."
"You have a laptop, then? Where is it?" Diane asked. "I didn't see it in your car."
"It's under the spare tire in the trunk. I can give you the codes we use, I suppose, and how we get in touch," Bridget said.
"Keep telling Lee all you can, but I'm going to have to go out for a while," she said, reaching for her jacket. "Logan wants to meet me at Elka's apartment—the address Bridget gave us earlier," she told Lee. "She wasn't there, of course, but apparently there's some evidence he'd like me to examine."
"Anything about me?" Bridget asked, her tone betraying her uncertainty.
"Not that he mentioned. You've never been there, right?" Diane asked.
"No, she gave me the address just before we separated in Corrales. After the officer was killed I decided it was time for a change in plans. There was no way I wanted to become linked to his death—or yours either. So I came here. You know the rest."
Diane nodded.
"I'll stay here with Bridget. Call if you need something," Lee said to Diane. "You might want to get that laptop out of her car on the way back, though."
"Okay. Stay safe. I'll be back as soon as I can," Diane said, then let herself out.
Lee went to the window and watched until Diane drove away. Locking the door, he walked back to Bridget, who had remained on the sofa.
"You two are more than partners. I can see the way you look at each other," Bridget said. "Elka's husband, Jochen, who was killed by the Iraqis—he wasn't a vampire. Did you know that?"
Lee shrugged. "I figured as much, him being an assassin and going into a country with so much sunshine. What else did you find out about them during the time you were together?"
"Well, I was treated like hired help, so they never told me much more than I had to know to do the jobs they gave me, and one of them always went with me. Elka is… was the leader, and until recently has always been really cold and analytical."
She stopped, then abruptly changed the subject. "Have you and Diane ever thought about making her a vampire?" Bridget asked.
He was thinking about how to answer that when the telephone rang. Lee walked over to the wall unit. It probably wasn't Diane or one of their supervisors, Lieutenant Richmond or SAC Logan. They would have dialed his cell number.
"Yes." Lee decided not to identify himself. He'd forwarded all his business calls here and was using two different names in addition to his real one. He couldn't afford a slipup that might cost a
life.
Lee recognized Stump's voice. "We've decided to move up the delivery time. Bring the cash and meet me on the east end of the bridge closest to our last meeting place. Be there in a half hour or the sale is off."
Lee's thoughts raced. The Silver Eagle skinwalkers were throwing him a curve ball. Had Angela talked, or were they just paranoid after Raymus's death? Stump was still being cryptic, as if the call was being monitored. It was, of course.
"Can you give me an hour? I'm way up in the Heights, and the money is in our office downtown. We weren't planning on delivery so soon, and your call was forwarded to our home." Lee needed to stall until Diane returned. They were planning on taking the skinwalkers down hard and the plan called for her backup.
"Forty-five minutes. Or no deal."
"That might be enough time. One more thing," Lee added.
"Now what?" Stump grumbled.
"Which side, north or south?" He knew that Stump was referring to the Alameda bridge, closest to Corrales, but there were really two bridges side by side.
"Just go under the eastern end. We'll find you." Stump hung up.
Lee turned and noticed Bridget had been listening. It was expected, especially because she probably didn't trust them very much yet either, for good reason.
"Sounds like cop work. Nothing about Elka?" Bridget crinkled her nose, a flirting gesture that could have disarmed most men, even a hardened policeman.
"I've got some cop work to do tonight." Lee checked his pistol and spare ammunition automatically. He left his backup .45 and commando dagger untouched, not wanting to give out too much information to the young vampire on the sofa. He also scooped up her pistol and ammunition from the table, but left the knife. Unless he took the entire silverware drawer with him, she'd still have a weapon anyway.
She saw what he was doing but didn't protest. "And Diane's not going to be here either? Don't I get a baby-sitter?" she teased.
"That would probably only complicate matters. Stay here and avoid any chance of being seen. Got that?"