Cold Vengeance

by Douglas Preston

  “Shall we leave the Habsburgs for another time?”

  “Very well.” Wren began ticking off details on his long, yellow fingernails. “Helen’s grandmother was Mathilde Schmid née von Fuchs. Wolfgang Faust was Mathilde’s sister. The relative they shared was Helen’s great-grandmother, Klara von Fuchs. Note the matrilineal succession.”

  “Go on,” Pendergast said.

  Wren spread his hands. “In other words, Dr. Wolfgang Faust, war criminal, SS doctor at Dachau, Nazi fugitive in South America… was your wife’s great-uncle.”

  Pendergast did not appear to react.

  “I’ve drawn up a little family tree.”

  Pendergast took the piece of paper, covered with scribbles, and folded it into his suit jacket without glancing at it.

  “You know, Aloysius…” Wren’s voice petered off.

  “Yes?”

  “Just this once, I almost wish that my research had been a failure.”

  CHAPTER 47

  Coral Creek, Mississippi

  NED BETTERTON PULLED INTO THE PARKING LOT of YouSave Rent-A-Car and sprang out of the driver’s seat. He walked briskly toward the building, a broad smile on his face. For the last couple of days, fresh revelations had been practically tumbling into his lap. And one of those revelations was this: Ned Betterton was a damn good reporter. His years of covering Rotary luncheons, church socials, PTA meetings, funerals, and Memorial Day parades had been better training than two years at Columbia J School. Amazing. Kranston had started to scream bloody murder about the time he was spending on the story, but he’d temporarily shut the old man up by taking a vacation. There was nothing Kranston could do about it. The old bastard should have hired a second reporter years ago. It was his own fault if he was left covering everything himself.

  He grasped the handle of the glass door, pulled it open. Now it was time to play another hunch—and see if his luck was still holding.

  Inside, at one of the two red counters, Hugh Fourier was just finishing up with a late-afternoon customer. Betterton had shared a dorm room with Fourier during their sophomore year at Jackson State, and now Fourier ran the only rent-a-car place within seventy miles of Malfourche—another nice coincidence that convinced Betterton he was still on a roll.

  He waited as Fourier handed a set of keys and a folded sheaf of papers to the customer, then stepped up to the desk.

  “Hiya, Ned!” Fourier said, the professional smile morphing into a far more genuine one as he recognized his old roommate. “How’s tricks?”

  “Getting on,” Betterton said, shaking the proffered hand.

  “Any breaking stories you’d care to share? A scoop on the spelling bee at the middle school, maybe?” Fourier chuckled at his own witticism.

  Betterton laughed gamely. “How are things in the rental car game?”

  “Busy. Really busy. And with Carol out sick today, I’ve been running around like a one-legged man at an ass-kicking contest.”

  Betterton forced himself to laugh at that one, too, remembering Hugh considered himself the class cut-up. He wasn’t surprised to hear YouSave had been busy—with Gulfport-Biloxi International undergoing some major renovations, business at the local airport had picked up considerably.

  “See any of the old crowd from Jackson?” Fourier asked as he stacked and squared a pile of paperwork.

  They chatted about old times for a few minutes before Betterton got around to business. “Hey, Hugh,” he said, bending forward over the counter. “I wonder if you could do me a favor.”

  “Sure. What do you want? I can get you a great weekly rate on a convertible.” Fourier chuckled again.

  “I was curious whether a certain individual might have rented a car from you.”

  Fourier’s smile faded. “A certain individual? Why do you want to know?”

  “I’m a reporter.”

  “Jesus, this isn’t for a story, is it? Since when did you start doing hard news?”

  Betterton shrugged as nonchalantly as he could. “It’s just something I’m following up.”

  “You know I can’t give you information about our clients.”

  “I’m not looking for a lot of information.” Betterton leaned still closer. “Listen. I’ll describe the guy. Tell you what he was driving. All I want to know is his name and where he flew in from.”

  Fourier frowned.

  “I don’t know about this…”

  “I swear I’ll keep you and YouSave out of the story completely.”

  “Man, this is asking a lot. Confidentiality is really big in our business—”

  “The guy was foreign. Speaks with some kind of European accent. Tall, thin. He had a mole below one eye. Wore an expensive raincoat or trench coat. He’d have rented a dark blue Ford Fusion—probably on October twenty-eighth.”

  A look crossed Fourier’s face, and Betterton immediately knew he’d struck gold. “You remember him. Right?”

  “Ned—”

  “Come on, Hugh.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Look, you can see how much I know about the guy already. I just need this little bit more from you. Please.”

  Fourier hesitated. Then he sighed. “Yeah. I remember him. Just as you describe. A heavy accent, German.”

  “And this was the twenty-eighth?”

  “Guess so. It was a week or two back.”

  “Can you check?” Betterton hoped that, if he could get Fourier to enter the information into his terminal, he might sneak a glance at the results.

  But Fourier didn’t bite. “No, I can’t.”

  Oh, well. “And a name?”

  Fourier hesitated again. “It was… Falkoner. Conrad Falkoner, I think. No—Klaus Falkoner.”

  “And where was he coming from?”

  “Miami. Dixie Airlines.”

  “How do you know? Did you see the ticket?”

  “We ask the customers to give us their arrival flight, so in the case of a delay we can hold the reservation.”

  Fourier’s face had closed down and Betterton knew he’d get nothing more. “Okay, thanks, Hugh. I owe you one.”

  “Yes, you do.” As another customer came in, Fourier turned away with evident relief.

  Sitting in his Nissan in the YouSave parking lot, Betterton fired up his laptop, ensured his wireless connection was good, and then made a quick canvass of the Dixie Airlines website. He noticed they had only two flights into the local airport each day, one from Miami and another from New York. They arrived within an hour of each other.

  He was wearing a fancy raincoat, like you see in those spy movies. That’s what Billy B. had said.

  Another quick check of the web informed him that October 28 had been a hot and sunny day in Miami. In New York, however, it had been cold with heavy rain.

  So the man—Betterton was almost convinced he was the killer—had lied about where he’d come from. Not surprising. Of course, it was possible he’d lied about the airline as well, maybe given a phony name. But that seemed to be carrying paranoia too far.

  Thoughtfully, he shut down his laptop. Falkoner had come from New York and Pendergast was living in New York. Were they in league? Pendergast sure as hell wasn’t in Malfourche on official business, not with blowing up a bar and sinking a bunch of boats on his agenda. And this NYPD captain… New York City cops had a reputation for corruption and for being involved in the drug trade. He started to see the big picture: the Mississippi River, the burned-out lab in the swamp, the New York connection, the brutal and execution-style killing of the Brodies, corrupt law enforcement…

  Damn if this wasn’t about a major drug operation.

  That did it: he was going to New York. He plucked his cell phone from his pocket, dialed.

  “Ezerville Bee,” came a shrill voice. “Janine speaking.”

  “Janine, it’s Ned.”

  “Ned! How’s the vacation going?”

  “Educational, thanks.”

  “Are you going to be back at work tomorrow? Mr. Kranston
needs somebody to cover the rib-eating contest over at the—”

  “Sorry, Janine, I’m going to extend my vacation by a couple of days.”

  A pause. “Well, when are you coming back?”

  “Not sure. Maybe three days, maybe four. I’ll let you know. I still have a week coming to me.”

  “Yeah, but I’m not sure Mr. Kranston sees it that way…” Her voice trailed off.

  “See you.” Betterton snapped the phone shut before she could say anything more.

  CHAPTER 48

  New York City

  JUDSON ESTERHAZY—IN HIS ROLE AS DR. ERNEST POOLE—walked briskly down the corridor of Mount Mercy Hospital, Felder at his side. They were following a Dr. Ostrom, director of the hospital, who seemed polite, discreet, and extremely professional: excellent qualities for a man in his position.

  “I believe you shall find this morning’s consultation to be most interesting,” Esterhazy told Ostrom. “As I’ve explained to Dr. Felder, the chances of her manifesting selective amnesia regarding any knowledge of me are high.”

  “I am eager to witness it,” Ostrom said.

  “And you’ve told her nothing about me, or prepared her in any way for this visit?”

  “She’s been told nothing.”

  “Excellent. We should probably keep the actual visit quite short: whatever she does or does not profess to know, the emotional strain will—though most likely unconscious in origin—no doubt be significant.”

  “A wise precaution,” Felder agreed.

  They turned a corner, waited for an orderly to unlock a metal door. “She will almost certainly appear uncomfortable in my presence,” Esterhazy went on. “This of course involves her own discomfort with her suppressed memories involving my earlier treatment.”

  Ostrom nodded.

  “One last thing. At the close of the visit, I would appreciate a minute alone with her.”

  Ostrom slowed, glanced quizzically over his shoulder.

  “I’m curious to learn whether her behavior, once you are out of the room, changes in any way, or if she will maintain the illusion of nonrecognition.”

  “I see no problem with that,” Ostrom said. He stopped before a door—marked like the others only with a number—then knocked lightly.

  “You may enter,” came the voice from within.

  Ostrom unlocked the door, then ushered Felder and Esterhazy into a small windowless room. The only furniture was a bed, table, bookcase, and single plastic chair. A young woman sat at the chair, reading a book. She gazed up as the three entered.

  Esterhazy looked at her curiously. He had wondered what Pendergast’s ward would look like—and was now well rewarded for his curiosity. Constance Greene was very—in fact extremely—attractive: thin and petite, with short dark mahogany hair and perfect porcelain skin and violet eyes that were alert and wise but oddly unfathomable. She looked from one man to the next. When she reached Esterhazy, she paused, but her expression did not change.

  Esterhazy was not worried she might recognize him as Pendergast’s brother-in-law. Pendergast was not the kind of man to keep family portraits around the house.

  “Dr. Ostrom,” she said, putting down her book and standing politely. Esterhazy noticed she had been reading Sartre’s Being and Nothingness. “And Dr. Felder, how delightful to see you again.”

  Esterhazy was intrigued. Her movements, her pattern of speech, her very being seemed to echo an earlier, more dignified era. She could almost have been inviting them in for cucumber sandwiches and rose hip tea. She did not look at all like a crazed baby-killer locked in a mental ward.

  “Please sit down, Constance,” Dr. Ostrom said. “We’ll only stay for a minute. Dr. Poole here happened to be in town and we thought you might like to see him.”

  “Dr. Poole,” Constance repeated as she took her seat. She looked again at Esterhazy, a hint of curiosity kindling in her strange distant eyes.

  “That’s correct,” said Felder.

  “You have no recollection of me?” Esterhazy said, modulating his tone to one of benevolent concern.

  Constance frowned slightly. “I’ve never had the pleasure of making your acquaintance, sir.”

  “Never, Constance?” Now Esterhazy added the faintest trace of disappointment and pity to his voice.

  She shook her head.

  Through the corner of his eye, Esterhazy noticed Ostrom and Felder exchange a brief, significant glance. It was working out just as he’d hoped.

  Constance looked at him rather more searchingly. Then she turned toward Ostrom. “What gave you the impression that I would like to see this gentleman?”

  Ostrom colored slightly, nodded to Esterhazy.

  “You see, Constance,” Esterhazy said, “I treated you once, years ago, at your, ah, guardian’s request.”

  “You’re lying,” Constance said sharply, rising again. She turned to Ostrom once more, confusion and alarm now becoming evident in her expression. “Dr. Ostrom, I’ve never seen this man before in my life. And I would very much like you to remove him from the room.”

  “I’m very sorry for the confusion, Constance.” Ostrom looked quizzically at Esterhazy. In return, Esterhazy indicated with a slight gesture that it was time to leave.

  “We’ll be going now, Constance,” Felder added. “Dr. Poole has asked for a moment of your time alone. We’ll be right outside.”

  “But—” Constance began, then fell silent. She shot a glance toward Esterhazy. He was momentarily taken aback by the hostility that freighted her gaze.

  “Please be quick, Doctor,” Ostrom said as he unlocked and opened the door. He slipped outside, followed by Felder. The door closed again.

  Esterhazy took a step back from Constance, dropped his hands to his sides, and adopted as nonthreatening a stance as possible. There was something about this girl that set off warning bells in his head. He would have to be careful—consummately careful.

  “You’re right, Miss Greene,” he said, his voice low. “You’ve never met me before in your life. I’ve never treated you. That was all a deception.”

  Constance just stared at him from behind the desk, suspicion radiating from her in tangible waves.

  “My name is Judson Esterhazy. I’m Aloysius’s brother-in-law.”

  “I don’t believe you,” Constance said. “He never mentioned your name.” Her voice was low and utterly neutral.

  “That’s just like him, isn’t it? Listen, Constance. Helen Esterhazy was my sister. Her death in the jaws of that lion was probably the worst thing that ever happened to him—except maybe the deaths of his parents in the New Orleans fire. You surely know him well enough to know he is not one to speak of his past—especially a painful one like this. But he asked me to help—because I’m the only one he can really trust.”

  Constance said nothing, merely staring at him from behind the desk.

  “If you doubt me, here’s my passport.” He removed it, opened it for her. “Esterhazy’s not a common name. I knew Great-Aunt Cornelia, the poisoner, who lived in this very room. I’ve been to the family plantation, Penumbra. I’ve gone shooting in Scotland with Aloysius. What more proof do you need?”

  “Why are you here?”

  “Aloysius sent me here to help get you out of this place.”

  “That makes no sense. He arranged for me to be here, and he knows I’m perfectly content.”

  “You don’t understand. He didn’t send me here to help you—he sent me here because he needs your help.”

  “My help?” Constance said.

  Esterhazy nodded. “You see, he has made a terrible discovery. It seems his wife—my sister—didn’t die accidentally.”

  Constance frowned.

  Esterhazy knew that his best hope lay in keeping as close to the truth as possible. “Helen’s gun was loaded with blanks on the day of that lion hunt. And now Pendergast has embarked on a mission to find whoever was responsible. Only events have spiraled out of control. He can’t do this alone. He needs the help of
those he trusts the most. That means me—and you.”

  “What about Lieutenant D’Agosta?”

  “The lieutenant was helping him. And got shot in the heart for his trouble. Not dead—but badly injured.”

  Constance started visibly.

  “That’s right. I told you events have spiraled out of control. Pendergast is in over his head, he’s in terrible danger. So I took the only steps I could to contact you. I pretended to have knowledge of you and… your case. Obviously it was all a ruse.”

  Constance continued to stare at him. The hostility had largely disappeared, but uncertainty remained.

  “I’m going to figure out a way to get you out of here. Meanwhile, please continue to deny knowing me. Or you could feign a growing recollection—whatever you feel more comfortable with. Just play along. All I ask is that you help me get you out of here. Because we’re almost out of time. Pendergast needs your quick mind, your instincts, your research skills. And every hour counts. You can’t imagine—and I haven’t the time at present to explain—the forces that are now arrayed against him.”

  Constance continued staring, her face a mixture of suspicion, concern, and indecision. Better to leave her now, let her mull it all over. Esterhazy turned and rapped lightly on the door. “Dr. Ostrom? Dr. Felder? We can go now.”

  CHAPTER 49

  Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

  THE EIGHTEENTH HOLE AT PALMETTO SPRAY GOLF LINKS was one of the most infamous on the East Coast: a par-5 five-hundred-and-sixty-yard drive with a wicked dogleg and half a dozen wide bunkers tightly bracketing the fairway.

  Meier Weiss rolled his wheelchair up to the tee, plucked the blanket from his ruined legs, grabbed the crutches that hung from his golf bag, and hoisted himself up to a standing position, locking the joints on his leg braces. “Mind if I give some more advice?”