Eve

by Iris Johansen

  “I still am a realist.” She smiled. “I just accept that no one can be sure of just what reality is. Your reality may not be mine … or Bonnie’s.” She changed the subject. “I’ll wash these dishes, you dry. Okay?”

  “Okay.” He turned to face her. “I guess you’re aware you scared me a little.”

  “I know. You’ll get used to it.” She started the water running. “Bonnie will help.”

  He smiled. “Oh, and what—”

  His cell phone rang.

  Eve stiffened, her eyes flying to where he was standing.

  John was tense, too, but he shrugged as he checked the ID. “I don’t recognize it.” But he put it on speaker anyway. “Gallo.”

  “It’s been a long time.” The voice was deep and faintly mocking. “And we scarcely exchanged anything but a few words. Do you recognize my voice, Gallo?”

  “Black?” Gallo asked curtly. “I could hardly forget you since you tried to kill me the first time I saw you. If you hadn’t been an incompetent, I would have been a dead man.”

  “I wasn’t prepared for you.” The mockery was gone, replaced by venom. “It was Queen’s fault that I blundered. He should have told me that you were some kind of freak of nature. I knew I’d gotten my knife in you, but I couldn’t stop you. It was his fault that I ended up with my guts spilling out of me. I’ve never forgiven him for that.” He paused. “Nor you, Gallo. It’s been a constant twisting fire inside me that I couldn’t move on you.”

  “You moved on me.”

  “The little Bonnie? Yes, I did, didn’t I? And that was very satisfying, but it’s not like being able to get at you face-to-face.”

  “Then why didn’t you do it, you son of a bitch?” John asked harshly. “Why not come after me instead of a helpless seven-year-old?”

  “One takes pleasure where one can. I was … hesitant about confronting you at the time. No one had ever taken me down before. I was faced with the possibility of my own mortality. I found I had to rebuild my confidence. Now, of course, I realize that you were no real threat. I would have killed you years ago if Queen hadn’t kept me away from you because he was afraid that ledger would get in the wrong hands.”

  “Then if I’m no threat, come and get me.”

  “But there’s the question of little Cara Clark. It’s not that simple any longer.”

  “You’re using her as an excuse as you did Bonnie. Threaten a kid because you don’t have the nerve to go after me. Did Queen tell you that you needed a negotiating tool for the ledger?”

  “No, the little girl was my idea. I like to deal with children.”

  Eve’s hands closed into fists at her sides at the smug satisfaction in his voice.

  “I thought that Cara could possibly be a good bargaining chip. You might have expended all your sentiment on your little girl. Such a tragic loss. But you’d recently reestablished a connection with Bonnie’s mother, who has a reputation for embracing all lost children. Is she there with you, listening?”

  “Yes,” Eve said. “Is Cara Clark still alive?”

  “Oh, yes. She’s right here on my lap. She’s a little stiff. She won’t cuddle with me. I think that I scare her. What do you think?”

  The horror of that little girl being forced that close to Black made her sick. “I think you should let her go.”

  “That’s my intention. But not just yet.”

  “When?”

  “After we get together. Now to business. Gallo, you’ve been talking with Queen and trying to get him to persuade me to let my pretty Cara go.”

  “Have I?”

  “Yes, and I imagine that you’re trying to get him to set a trap for me. Is that true?”

  “You mean Queen didn’t tell you that, too?”

  “No, he probably isn’t sure which one he’s going to betray. Right now, you’re top of the list. You must have realized that you couldn’t trust him. Why did you decide to draw him in?”

  “Like you, I recognize the end of the game. I want Queen dead. I don’t care whether I do it or you have the pleasure.”

  Black chuckled. “But that’s exactly how I feel. We’re so much alike, Gallo.”

  “I’d cut my throat if I thought that was true.”

  “But Queen tells me that you don’t know what is true or not. Think about it. We’ve both been killers. You under the guise of patriotism and good of the country. While I’m much more frank and totally without self-deception. I enjoy it. Perhaps if you let yourself explore what you really are, then it might surprise you to look into the mirror.” He paused. “Because you might see me.”

  “That’s a lie,” Eve said. “There’s no one like you. There couldn’t be. You’re a monster.”

  “You’re defending him.” Black chuckled. “He’s lured you back to him, hasn’t he? Would you like me to tell you a few things about him that would make you bolt in panic? You’ve never seen him when he loses control. It would frighten you. I saw him. I watched him do things that would completely destroy any tender feelings you might have for him. Ask me anything.”

  “I want to know where Cara Clark is right now and what we can do to get you to release her.”

  “Oh, very well. I suppose we should get back to the more boring details. Gallo, you want your chance to get the kid … and me. I want my chance to get you, Queen, and the ledger.”

  “If you kill Queen, the ledger won’t be of value to you.”

  “Wrong. I can use the contacts in it, and there’s always the North Korean general from whom you stole it. It won’t be as useful as if I had it to hold over Queen, but some sacrifices are necessary. Queen sent a totally inept assassin to kill me in Samoa. I regard that as an end to our relationship.” He paused. “Queen told me you were at a cabin in the woods. Is it totally private acreage? I believe you’ll agree that we can’t have any interference.”

  “It’s very private.”

  “Then we might as well use that site. I like the idea of wild terrain and deep woods. It fits in with my plans. Naturally, I’ll scout the area to make sure that I have every advantage. When I’ve made a definite decision, I’ll contact you again. Give me the directions to the acreage.”

  Gallo quickly gave him the directions.

  “And we’re supposed to sit here and wait?” Eve asked.

  “No, I don’t imagine Gallo will be sitting and waiting. The cabin would be too easy a target. I’ll let you know when the game will start.” He paused. “But if I see any sign of police or FBI in the area, I won’t wait for the game. I’ll kill the kid immediately and bury her so deep, you’ll never be able to find her.”

  “I want to talk to her,” Eve said. “How do we know that you haven’t already killed her?”

  “Because I’m not a fool. Come talk to the nice lady, Cara.”

  “Hello.” The child’s voice was a wisp of sound. “What should I say? Can you stop him from hurting me?”

  “Yes.” She hoped she was telling the truth. “It will just take a little while. Don’t fight him, Cara.”

  “He … hurt my mama.”

  “I know, baby. But your mama is going to get well. We just have to get you back to her.”

  “Her mother survived?” Black was back on the phone. “She must have a great deal of stamina. I was planning on her living long enough to send a message, then fading away. That goes to show you that you can never be certain if you delay the kill. I may have to go back and do it again.”

  Eve could hear the child sobbing. “Shut up. She doesn’t have to hear that.”

  “But it pleases me. It’s always interesting to see how far I can take it before they break. In this case, she’s no real challenge. Not like her mother. Judy Clark fought me all the way until I pinned her to the table. So don’t tell me not to prod the little darling. I have to stir some life into her.” He hung up.

  Eve drew a shaky breath. “And how is he going to do that stirring?”

  “It’s better not to think about it. Maybe if he’s eager to get on
with the game, he’ll get on the move and forget about her.”

  Eve could only hope he was right. The sound of the little girl’s weeping was enough to break her heart.

  “He said he’d tell me anything, and I didn’t ask anything about Bonnie. All I could think about was Cara.” She shook her head. “All these years of hunting, and I didn’t ask that question.”

  “Because you were concerned about life, not death.”

  She nodded. “And I think I know one answer anyway. All the signs are pointing at Black. I can wait for a little while to be certain.”

  But not for too long, she thought. All the agony and searching that had torn her life apart was at last coming to an end. Soon she would come face-to-face with the man who had killed her daughter. Soon she would be able to bring Bonnie home. The realization was stunning.

  She asked unsteadily, “So what do we do now?”

  “We get the tent and sleeping bags from the cellar and leave the cabin as soon as possible. Black is right; it’s an easy target. We’ll keep on the move while Black does his reconnoitering. We have to keep one step ahead of him until he gets back to us.” He strode toward the door in the back of the room. “And while we’re doing it, I’ll teach you everything I can squeeze into the time we have about how to get around in my woods.”

  His movements were alert, swift, almost electrified. He was charged by the battle to come.

  She realized she was feeling that same sense of vigor and grim anticipation. How could it be otherwise?

  The waiting years were almost at an end.

  CHAPTER

  18

  YES.

  Catherine turned off the listening apparatus of the Celltec and carefully adjusted the calibration.

  This version of Celltec was fantastic, she thought. The spy equipment had been around a few years, but the CIA had refined and improved it beyond recognition of the first one she had used. The software enabled her not only to tap into Queen’s conversation with Black, but latch on to Black’s line and transmit a virus into his phone. It amazed her that, even as BlackBerrys and iPhones and other smartphones had become as powerful as many desktop computers still in use, they still lagged so far behind in antivirus technology.

  The Celltec system contained malware code that could infect many of the most popular phones. Once implanted in the phone’s operating system, the virus could take location info from the phone’s GPS chip and continuously relay it back to her Celltec handheld unit. But if Black was using an unfamiliar or unsupported phone, she would be totally out of luck.

  Please let him be using one of the smartphones Celltec could access.

  Time to see if it worked.

  She held her breath as her finger hit the red button.

  Come on …

  The red light came on!

  And it was beeping.

  And there was a square indicated on a map that had come up on the Celltec.

  She had him.

  And then he vanished from the screen!

  Calm down. He had probably only passed out of the cell-tower area. If she drove where she’d seen the last indication, she’d probably pick it up again.

  Now what to do with it. Let it lead her to Black right now.

  Or wait until he was in a position where he could more easily be taken? Cara’s life could be in the balance.

  Catherine couldn’t judge until she found out what had transpired in that call of Black’s to Gallo.

  She quickly dialed Eve. “You heard from Black. Did he try to make a trade?”

  “He’s in the process. He’s going to check out the acreage around the cabin and make sure it suits his purpose … and is free of traps. How did you know we’d heard from him?”

  “I managed to get a fix on his phone when Queen contacted him a little while ago.”

  “The miracle of technology,” Eve said. “A fix. Can you spot his location?”

  “There’s a good chance. This miracle isn’t foolproof. It can go in and out depending on signal dropouts between cell towers. But I think he’s on the move.”

  “John and I are hoping he will be. It may distract him from doing any harm to Judy’s daughter.”

  “I could distract him,” Catherine said grimly. “Just give me the chance. I’ll cut his heart out.”

  “Only if you can find him, and you said that it was an iffy proposition.”

  “So you want me to hold off until I have a clearer focus at him? Okay, I’ll do it. But I don’t want to put it off too long. You didn’t see what he did to Judy and her mother. He liked what he did, and that kid isn’t going to be safe until he’s dead.” She was moving toward her rental car in the parking lot as she spoke. “I’ll see you in a couple hours. If Black is heading your way, then I’m going to be right behind him or ahead of him.”

  “We’re not in the cabin any longer. John said we’d be safer moving from site to site in the woods.”

  “I’ll find you. I’m good in the woods. I spent the last three years chasing drug smugglers in the jungles of Colombia.” She had reached her car and took out her keys. “Just make sure Gallo is certain who’s tracking him before he goes on the attack.” She hung up.

  The car door swung open before she could unlock it!

  She ducked to one side, drawing her gun.

  “Yes, it’s always wise to know who’s the enemy,” Joe said. “I seem to be included in that number. Get in the car, Catherine.”

  Oh, shit.

  She went around the car and got in the passenger seat. “I don’t have to ask who told you I was here. Venable?”

  “We’ve worked together many times before and have an understanding.” He added grimly, “And the understanding is that I’ll break his neck if he holds out on me about anything connected with Eve. You might take heed of that understanding, Catherine. I’m very close to that point at the moment. I thought I could trust you.”

  She could see how near Joe was to violence. She had seen that tension before, tension that could erupt in lethal explosiveness. It had just never been aimed at her. “You can trust me. That doesn’t mean that I won’t do whatever I have to do to help Eve. After St. Louis, I had to be sure that she’d work with me.” She met his gaze. “And she wouldn’t do it if you’re part of the deal. No risk for Joe Quinn. You mean too much to her. We both know that’s true.”

  “Do we? It’s hard for me to embrace the concept since I’ve been feeling like the invisible man.”

  “Joe.”

  “Okay, I may know why she’s doing it, but it still sucks. It can’t go on. I have to be able to be near her, protect her.” His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “I want to break something, someone. Hell, I want to smash the entire world.”

  “Oh, that’s going to help.”

  “Dammit to hell, what do you expect me to—” He stopped and drew a deep breath. “I didn’t say I was going to do it.”

  “Well, that’s a relief. At least you’re going to limit the damage.”

  “I’m counting to ten,” Joe said. “And then you’re going to stop being a smart-ass and tell me where Eve is right now. Then you’re going to tell me exactly what’s going on.”

  She thought about it. “The problem still exists. You’ll block my ability to take care of Eve if I get you closely involved. She’ll shut me out, and she’ll shut you out. Solve the problem for me, Joe.”

  “I don’t want to solve—” He stopped. “You tell me where she is, and I promise not to go to her. She doesn’t even have to know I’m in the vicinity. I just won’t let Black near her. Is that good enough?”

  “It’s going to bug the hell out of you.”

  “You’ve got that right. But I’ll do it. The alternative is to choke you until you tell me what I want to know. That’s tempting, but I don’t think that you’d break, and I’d be wasting my time.”

  “Heaven forbid you waste your time, Joe.” Why was she hesitating? Joe would keep his word, and all her sympathies were with him in this helli
sh situation. She had hated having to close him out. Other than her husband, she had never worked with a partner, but Joe would have been her first choice. “It may not be too difficult keeping your distance. Eve and Gallo are luring Black up to Gallo’s property in the woods.”

  Joe’s gaze was immediately narrowed on her face. “Place. Conditions. Situation. Talk, Catherine.”

  * * *

  THE LAKE WAS STILL, THE WIND barely causing ripples on the dark surface.

  “See the pretty water, Cara?” Black said as he got out of the car. “It looks deep, doesn’t it? I may let you go into the lake later.”

  “I can’t swim,” Cara whispered. “Mama was going to teach me.”

  “That’s only a small problem. But I’ll have to consider whether I want to do it. Even deep lakes can’t always be trusted with treasures like you.”

  His gaze wandered over the low hills surrounding the lake. Thick shrubs, tall pines, and evergreens, and no sign of habitation except for the small cabin a few miles to the west. Gallo would not have remained in that cabin, so he must be somewhere in the woods.

  Did I chase you out into the night, Gallo?

  I know about hunting prey in the wild. I’ve played this game in a good many countries with prey like little Cara. How good are you? Black wondered.

  Not good enough. He had gotten smarter, stronger than when Gallo had come close to killing him that day in Pakistan. Black was ready for him now.

  He turned back to the car and jerked Cara out of the car by the ropes he’d tied about her wrists. “Come on. I need to find a place for you, then I need to look around.” He paused a moment, his gaze on the lake. Still, deep, welcoming. “No, I can’t trust you to the lake. There are other places…” He reached for his phone. “But now I believe we need to invite some company to this lovely wilderness. Shall I call my good friend, Queen? He was most upset that I took you from your nice safe home. But he’s such a practical man. Be very quiet, and I won’t be angry with you.” He dialed Queen. “I’ve done as you suggested and called Gallo. Now we only have to set the trap. Where are you?”

  “Still in Milwaukee.”