by Mike Sherer
!
A!freight!train!of!thoughts!rumbled!by,!too!fast!to!catch!a!
glimpse!of!more!than!a!couple!of!words!written!across!the!side!
of!each!car.!Soon,!the!jumble!nothing!but!a!mesmerizing!blur.!
One!stood!out.!
!
“Keely,”!I!said.!!
!
“The!woman?”!
!
I!thought!it!through!out!loud.!“She!was!the!only!one!who!
knew!where!we!were!going.!She!had!plenty!of!time.!I!left!the!
maps! in! the! car! on! the! ferry.! And! we! stopped! for! breakfast,!
giving!them!time!to!come!after!us.!She!was!slow!coming!out!of!
the! restaurant! after.! Probably! checking! in! to! see! where! they!
were.”!
!
“So,!you! were!followed.”!
!
“They!didn’t!have!to.!She!could!have!given!them!the!exact!
location.”!!
!
Reyna!wrinkled!her!nose.!“Who!is!she?”!
!
“Keely!Radcliffe.!Her!sister!was!killed!in!the!lab!explosion.!
She!said!she!wanted!to!find!the!people!who!did!it.!She!said!she!
didn’t!believe!Wink!was!responsible.”!
!
She!peered!at!me.!“Her!sister?!Are!you!sure?”!
!
“Pretty!sure.!Why?”!
!
“Radcliffe’s!not!the!name!from!the!file.”!
!
“Maybe!her!sister’s!name!was!different.”!
!
“I’ll!get!my!laptop!and!see!if!we!can!find!out.”!
!
She! walked! out! to! her! car! and! returned! a! moment! later!
with! a! small! notebook! computer.! She! set! it! on! the! table,!
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plugged! a! cellular! modem! into! a! USB! port! and! booted! it! up.!
When! her! browser! opened! she! typed! Keely’s! name! into! a!
search!box.!!
!
The! search! engine! returned! several! hundred! thousand!
hits.!A!few!scattered!near!the!top!came!from!short!news!pieces!
in! the! entertainment! sections! of! both! San! Francisco! papers.!
The!most!recent,!from!nearly!ten!years!earlier,!documented!an!
apparently! messy! divorce! from! James! Radcliffe,! a! San!
Francisco! investment! banker.! Messy,! the! papers! said,! due! to!
Radcliffe’s!alleged!penchant!for!younger!men.!Keely,!according!
to! the! rumored! settlement,! was! pretty! much! set! for! life.!
Financially,!anyway.!
!
Reyna!scrolled!through!a!couple!of!pages!and!found!earlier!
stories! on! social! events! Keely! and! James! Radcliffe! had!
attended.!Lots!of!philanthropic!events—charitable!auctions!for!
non6profits! groups,! openings! at! new! hospital! wings! and!
museum! galleries—and! the! usual! social! gatherings—
symphonies,!art!galleries,!theaters.!Recent!photos!had!them!in!
groups! of! mostly! same6sex! couples,! standing! slightly! apart,!
wearing! forced! smiles! and! dead! eyes.! Earlier! shots! showed!
them! hanging! onto! each! other’s! arms,! or! holding! each! other!
around!the!waist,!their!smiles!genuine,!expressions!animated.!
!
“There.”!Reyna!pointed!at!the!screen.!!
!
An! older! photo! showed! a! bright6faced,! younger! Keely!
hugging!an!adorably!cute!mongrel!puppy!at!a!function!for!San!
Francisco!Bay!Humane!Friends.!I!couldn’t!make!out!what!had!
caught!Reyna’s!attention!until!I!scanned!the!caption!a!second!
time.! The! reporter! had! listed! Keely’s! name! formally! as! Keely!
Baines!Radcliffe.!
!
“Baines! was! the! sister’s! name?”! It! rang! a! distant! bell.! I!
hadn’t!followed!Wink’s!trial!back!then,!hoping!to!hold!the!guilt!
I!felt!at!bay.!Avoiding!the!newspaper!clippings!my!mother!sent!
had!been!harder.!!
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!
“I! thought! that! was! right,”! Reyna! said.! She! looked! at! me!
over!her!shoulder.!“Jill!Baines.!Part!of!the!reason!her!death!was!
such!a!big!deal!was!that!she!was!Tucker!Baines’s!daughter.”!
!
I!pinched!the!bridge!of!my!nose.!“I!don’t!follow.”!
!
She!gave!me!a!look!that!begged!to!know!what!rock!I’d!been!
living!under.!
!
“Baines! is! head! of! Ross! Industries,”! she! said.! “Well,! he! is!
now.! Back! then! he! was! in! charge! of! marketing! or! sales! or!
something.!Ross!is!a!big!defense!contractor!based!in!California.!
You!never!heard!of!him?”!
!
“Should!I?!I!mean!I!know!about!the!company,!but—”!
!
“Maybe!not.!Company!got!started!way!back!in!the!’Thirties!
by!a!guy!named!Thomas!Wainwright!Ross.!He!picked!up!a!lot!of!
contract!work!during!WW!II!and!the!business!took!off.!One!of!
those! genius! types! who! helped! create! Silicon! Valley.! Tucker!
Baines! married! the! boss’s! daughter.! Worked! his! way! up!
through! the! ranks.! Took! over! from! Ross! a! while! back,! maybe!
fifteen! years! ago.! The! company’s! big! push! recently! has! been!
remote!warfare.”!
!
It! slowly! sank! in.! “The! contractor! working! on! your!
submarine!projects.!The!one!Kwan!worked!for!before!he!went!
to!SIU.”!
!
She!nodded!slowly.!
!
“No!wonder!Keely!wants!revenge,”!I!said.!“Baines!must!be!
bankrolling!her.!Not!that!she!needs!the!money.!But,!damn,!he!
must! have! been! doubly! pissed.! His! other! daughter! was!
working!with!a!former!researcher!on!his!staff.!And!then!she’s!
killed?”!!
!
Reyna!stared!out!the!window,!preoccupied.!!
!
“What?”!
!
She!gave!her!head!a!little!shake.!“Nothing.!It!might!explain!
the! commando! team! is! all.! They’re! all! pros,! using! military!
equipment.!Hard!for!anyone!to!get!that!stuff!even!on!the!black!
market.!Easy!enough,!though,!if!you’re!in!that!business.”!
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!
“So,! maybe! this! doesn’t! have! anything! to! do! with! the!
Chinese! after! all.! Sounds! like! straight6up! revenge! to! me.!
Langford,! Keely,! Baines—they! all! want! the! same! thing.! The!
Wilsons.”!
!
“Maybe.”!She!didn’t!sound!convinced.!!
!
I!stared!at!the!photo!on!the!screen.!Keely’s!hair!had!been!
long! then,! swept! back! into! a! ponytail! with! the! sides! left!
hanging! straight.! Her! gamin! features! were! set! in! a! serious!
expression,! The! total! trust! and! unconditional! affection! of! the!
little! dog! she! held! softened! it! slightly.! She! looked! less!
careworn,! less! hardened! by! life! than! I! remembered! her! just!
hours!before!across!the!table!at!breakfast.!The!longer!I!stared,!
the! more! the! individual! pieces! of! her! face! stood! out,! until! I!
realized!what!my!subconscious!had!been!niggling!all!this!time.!
The! most! ianthine! notion! I’d! ever! had! filled! my! overtaxed!
brain.!!
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!
!
Chapter&41&
!
!
Langford! waited! twenty! minutes! after! they! finally! left!
before!he!moved!from!the!table.!The!one!thing!he’d!learned!in!
prison! was! patience.! Finally,! he! picked! up! his! empty! glass,!
collected!the!rest!of!the!glasses!at!the!table!and!washed!them!
in! the! sink.! He! dried! them! carefully! and! put! them! away.! He’d!
already!cleaned!up!most!of!the!cabin!when!he’d!returned!the!
night! before,! even! taken! the! garbage! out! in! anticipation! of! a!
quick! exit.! He! hadn’t! been! quick! enough.! But! all! was! not! lost.!
He! knew! more! now! than! he! had! twenty6four! hours! earlier.!
Enough,! perhaps,! to! guess! where! they’d! taken! the! Wilson!
couple.!He!had!to!figure!out!what!to!do!about!Sanders,!too.!But!
for!now,!the!Wilsons!were!his!number6one!priority.!Legs!could!
wait.!!
!
He!worked!quickly!and!methodically,!closing!up!the!cabin!
as!if!leaving!for!the!season,!even!though!summer!hadn’t!even!
officially!arrived!yet.!He!didn’t!know!when!he!would!return,!or!
if.!He!hadn’t!really!given!thought!to!what!he!would!do!with!the!
rest! of! his! life,! only! what! he! had! to! do! now.! He! thought! only!
about!finishing!what!he’d!set!out!to!accomplish!when!they!let!
him!out!of!prison.!The!rest,!if!he!was!still!alive,!would!take!care!
of!itself,!somehow.!
!
He!still!heard!the!screams!in!his!head!as!if!it!had!happened!
yesterday.!Still!remembered!the!heft!of!the!gun!in!his!hand,!the!
sight!of!her!blood!mingling!with!the!chalky!dust!that!covered!
her! face! and! clothing,! the! smell! of! gunpowder! even! more!
prevalent! than! all! those! released! by! the! explosion! that!
pulverized! wood! and! concrete,! that! bent! and! fractured! steel.!
He!shook!off!the!memories!and!kept!moving.!
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!
They! hadn’t! arrested! him,! or! taken! him! in! after!
questioning! him,! for! the! same! reason! they’d! found! a! way! to!
commute! his! sentence.! They! wanted! to! follow! him.! They!
wanted! him! to! do! their! work! for! them.! He! wasn’t! sure! how!
they!planned!to!keep!him!in!their!sights—a!homing!device!on!
his! SUV,! maybe,! or! a! tail! when! he! left! the! property—but! he!
wasn’t! going! to! give! them! the! chance.! They’d! pushed! him! to!
keep!his!end!of!the!bargain,!freedom!in!exchange!for!whatever!
he!knew!about!the!SIU!bombers.!He’d!balked!long!enough!to!be!
convincing! and! told! them! what! they! wanted! to! hear.! But! he!
was!damned!if!he’d!let!them!put!a!choke!chain!on!him.!He’d!do!
this!on! his!terms,!no!one!else’s.!
!
He’d! already! packed! most! of! the! things! he! thought! he’d!
need.!As!he!closed!up!the!cabin,!he!picked!up!a!few!other!items!
that!might!be!useful!and!stuffed!them!in!a!backpack.!When!he!
finished,!he!collected!the!pack!on!his!way!out.!Stopping!in!the!
doorway,!he!turned!and!surveyed!the!interior,!going!through!a!
mental! checklist! one! more! time.! Satisfied,! he! pulled! the! door!
shut,!locked!the!deadbolt!and!descended!the!steps.!!
!
With!a!growing!sense!of!urgency!he!turned!away!from!the!
Scout! and! strode! around! the! side! of! the! cabin! toward! the!
woods! where! he’d! hidden! from! the! assault! team.! An!
overgrown! trail! led! along! the! forest’s! edge! parallel! to! the!
water.!He!followed!it!for!a!hundred!yards!and!came!to!a!fork!
that!led!a!few!short!steps!down!to!the!water.!Half!hidden!by!the!
low6hanging! branches! of! sumac! growing! at! water’s! edge!
floated!an!old!Zodiac.!Until!recently!it!had!been!in!storage.!Now!
it!was!packed!and!ready!and!sported!a!406hp!outboard!motor!
he’d!purchased!new.!!
!
He!untied!it!and!stepped!aboard,!shoving!off!from!shore!as!
he!climbed!on.!After!donning!a!lifejacket,!he!adjusted!the!choke!
and! throttle! and! gave! the! engine! a! couple! of! quick! pulls.! It!
caught!and!growled!loudly!until!he!throttled!down!and!pushed!
in!the!choke.!It!burbled!merrily!as!he!took!his!seat!and!put!it!in!
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gear.! He! turned! its! nose! to! the! south! and! let! it! idle! out! into!
deep!water,!anxious!now.!!
!
He!wasn’t!sure!how!much!time!he!had.!If!he!was!right,!they!
wouldn’t!kill!the!Wilsons!right!away.!They!wanted!information,!
information!he!knew!now!they!didn’t!have.!When!their!captors!
figured!that!out,!the!couple!was!as!good!as!dead.!He!couldn’t!let!
that!happen.!He!wanted!them!all.!He!wanted!to!make!them!pay.!
And!now!he!had!a!bargaining!chip.!His!hunch!had!paid!off,!the!
stop! he’d! made! on! his! way! back! early! in! the! morning! well!
worth!the!extra!time!it!had!taken.!
!
When!he!rounded!the!point,!putting!the!cabin!out!of!sight,!
he! opened! the! throttle! so! the! little! craft! planed! and! skimmed!
the!surface!of!the!water.!It!wouldn’t!take!long.!The!end!of!the!
peninsula! was! only! about! five! miles! away.! His! parents! had!
stored!the!family!boat!there,!an!old!forty6two6foot!trawler,!in!a!
small!marina.!Dry6docked!until!he’d!shown!up!a!month!before,!
the! boat! now! was! afloat! in! tip6top! shape.! It! was! just! what! he!
needed.!But!he!was!running!out!of!time.!
!
He!opened!the!throttle!as!far!as!it!would!go.!
*!*!*!*!*!
!
Reyna!looked!at!me!curiously.!
!
“She’s! not! Baines’s! daughter,”! I! said,! the! purple! notion!
expanding! and! popping! like! a! sticky! sphere! of! grape!
bubblegum.!
!
Reyna!stiffened!as!if!zapped!with!a!stun!gun.!“What?”!!
!
“Keely’s!not!Baines’s.”!
!
She! chewed! her! bottom! lip.! “Have! you! ever! met! Baines?!
Seen!a!picture!of!him,!even?”!
!
I!shook!my!head.!“Doesn’t!matter.!You!were!the!one!who!
said!there’s!something!odd!about!this!whole!thing.!I’m!telling!
you!I!don’t!think!Baines!is!her!biological!father.”!
!
After! considering! me! for! a! moment! she! finally! said,! “So!
what?”!
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!
“I! don’t! know! what.! It! just! changes! things,! that’s! all.! It!
might! explain! her! obsession! with! finding! out! who! was! really!
responsible! for! killing! her! sister.! If! Daddy! favored! Jill,! then!
maybe! Keely’s! motive! is! a! little! different.! Maybe! she’s! doing!
this!to!win!her!father’s!love,!respect,!whatever.”!!
!
Her! face! pinched! with! worry.! “You’re! losing! your! focus!
here.!Why!the!psychoanalysis?”!
!
“I’m!not!trying!to!‘shrink’!her.!I’m!just!trying!to!figure!out!
what!the!hell�
�s!going!on.”!!
!
“I’m!not!sure!it’s!important.”!
!
I!spread!my!hands.!“Look,!I!don’t!know!how,!but!I!think!it!
is.!I!need!to!find!out.”!
!
Reyna’s! eyes! flashed.! “How! the! hell! are! you! going! to! do!
that?”!
!
I!shrugged.!“Talk!to!the!mother.”!
!
Her!mouth!hung!open.!“Are!you!always!this!impulsive?”!
!
I!shifted,!feeling!her!gaze.!!
!
“You’re! crazy,! you! know! that?”! she! said.! “You! think! this!
woman!will!even!speak!with!you,!let!alone!suddenly!confess!to!
an!illegitimate!daughter!from!a!forty!year6old!affair?”!
!
“Why!not?!Probably!been!eating!at!her!for!years.!Thought!
she’d!managed!to!keep!it!secret,!but!has!been!looking!over!her!
shoulder!all!this!time,!wondering,!worrying.!I’d!think!she’d!be!
glad!to!get!it!off!her!chest.”!
!
“You’re!serious.”!She!stared!at!me,!wide6eyed.!
!
“What!else!am!I!going!to!do?!Keely’s!in!the!wind.!The!FBI!
has!Wink.!And!somebody—maybe!Keely,!maybe!even!Baines—
has!Clayt!and!Connie.!You!got!any!better!ideas?”!
!
She! inspected! a! pale! pink! fingernail,! brought! it! up! to! her!
mouth! and! nibbled! it.! She! dropped! the! hand! into! her! lap! and!
sighed.!
!
“Okay,!you!do!what!you!have!to.!I’ll!work!it!from!this!end!
and!see!if!there’s!any!buzz!about!the!nanotechnology!now!that!
the!Wilsons!have!been!grabbed!up.”!
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!
“Only!one!problem,”!I!said.!“Drucker!and!Taylor!must!have!
cops!out!looking!for!me.”!
!
Reyna!sighed!again.!“Me,!too.!They’re!not!very!happy.”!
!
“Because!you!let!me!go?”!
!
“They! couldn’t! prove! it,! so! they! let! me! out! of! there.! But!
they!threatened!me!with!aiding!and!abetting.!Drucker!put!in!a!
call!to!NMIC.!My!boss!trusts!me,!but!if!they!find!out!I’m!helping!
you,!I’m!out!in!the!cold.!I’m!on!my!own.”!
!
“What!do!we!do?”!
!
She!pushed!back!from!the!table!and!paced!the!length!of!the!
small!living!room,!eyes!downcast,!raven!wings!of!hair!curving!
over!her!cheeks.!She!stopped!and!looked!up.!
!
“I!know!a!guy!may!be!able!to!help,”!she!said.!“I’ll!see!if!I!can!
reach! him.! Why! don’t! you! see! what! you! can! find! out! about!
Baines’s!wife?”!
!
I!nodded!and!slid!into!the!chair!she’d!vacated.!She!pulled!a!