The White Iris

by Susanne Matthews

  “I have an idea I want to run by the mayor. Here’s what I plan to do, assuming he agrees...”

  Thirty minutes later, with everything sorted out and in place, Trevor was ready to make the call he couldn’t put off any longer. The mayor’s press conference was in a little over an hour, and that didn’t give him much time. Rob, Lilith, and Jacob had landed in Hawaii around nine their time last night, opting for a layover to make the journey easier. Ten in the morning in Boston was four in the morning there. Not an auspicious time for a phone call, but he didn’t have any choice. There was no way Lilith could come back to Boston, and she wasn’t going to be happy about that, but he was pretty damn sure Jacob would agree with him.

  He punched in the number for Jacob’s cell phone.

  “Hello?” The voice was sleepy, disoriented.

  “Jacob, it’s Trevor. I’m sorry for calling this early, but I have to speak to all of you and it can’t wait. Can you get everyone together and call me back in ten minutes?”

  “That urgent? What happened?” he asked, all trace of sleepiness gone from his voice.

  “He struck again.”

  “I’ll call you in less than ten. We’re all here in a suite. I’ll just wake the others.”

  No doubt, Lilith was in the bed beside him, but it was gentlemanly of Jacob to imply that she wasn’t.

  Staring at the cell phone in his hand, Trevor wished he could call Julie, just to hear her voice again, but it was only six in Alaska, and he didn’t think she’d appreciate the call, especially when he had no news to give her. God, what he wouldn’t give to be able to put his arms around her right now, but even if she were in the next room instead of more than 3,500 miles away, he couldn’t do it. He didn’t have the right.

  The dead girl in the freezer had been the last straw. Things had to change. He opened his computer and went directly to the e-mail program. As he’d promised, Declan had sent the images he’d taken of the note. Trevor reread it, copied it down on a sheet of paper, breaking it into seven sections.

  Insults? That’s beneath you.

  When had he ever insulted the Prophet? He’d been careful to keep the comments he made to the press as professional as possible. It was true he’d been less than complimentary yesterday when he’d spoken to L.D., and on the phone when he’d talked to Julie…

  The Creator can’t and won’t stand for incompetence.

  Something about that line bothered him. It sounded familiar, as if he’d heard it or maybe even said it himself recently. Somehow these guys had screwed up. Talk about a tough employer.

  These men failed and paid the price.

  Who were these men and how and when had they failed? More importantly, why hadn’t they fought back? And who was the fourth? Amos’s comment about scopolamine was the only thing that made sense. The fourth had to be the killer, so hopefully they’d find his DNA in the sheets.

  Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

  There was still a mole somewhere, and he was sure of it now. Somehow the Prophet had learned about the cremations. That information could’ve been leaked by someone at the crematoriums since the bodies hadn’t all been sent to the one, although they’d been incinerated under police surveillance. Did he know about the exhumations, too? And if he did, would he know about the missing body?

  You have one month to return my children to me. Keep the rest.

  Keep the rest—to whom was he referring? The mothers and the settlers, the young men facing charges of treason? This sounded like a negotiation, not that Trevor would discuss any kind of compromise with a killer-terrorist.

  The only other one I want is the jezebel, Mariah.

  That was clearly a threat directed at Lilith. Mariah had been her name when she’d gone undercover to try and rescue Senator Kirk’s granddaughter from the Faithful Followers of the Word, the cult led by the Prophet’s oldest son. A jezebel was a rude, shameless, amoral woman. The Prophet probably blamed her for Simon’s death. Well, there was no way in hell he was getting within a hundred miles of Lilith.

  Flowers are fragile. Consider the iris and the rose.

  That statement was self-explanatory and had all the hairs on his body on end. The Prophet knew about Rose, and he probably knew Lilith was Mariah, too. Pierce must’ve contacted him and told him, but how would Pierce have known about Rose? The Prophet would want revenge for his son’s death and was ready to bargain with a fifteen-year-old’s life to do it. How much lower could the bastard sink?

  Chapter Fifteen

  Trevor’s phone rang. Seven minutes. Not bad.

  “Hello.”

  “Trevor,” Jacob said, his Australian accent not hiding his concern. If he was worried now, he was going to be gnashing his teeth in a few minutes. “We’re all here. I’ll put you on speaker.”

  “I’m sorry for calling so early. I’ve just come back from the site of the third plague.”

  “We can get back to Boston today. Jacob can contact the pilot right away. We’re using a private jet, and I’m sure it’s been fueled by now,” Lilith said, assuming the lead, as the main agent should.

  “Under no circumstances are you to come anywhere near Boston, Lilith. That’s an order, not a request or a suggestion. I know how stubborn you can be, but believe me, if you show up in this city, I swear I’ll have you arrested, clasped in irons, and shipped right back to Australia, and it won’t be a luxurious flight.”

  The words he’d uttered struck him, as did the silence at the other end of the line. Lilith had been imprisoned, tortured, and handcuffed, not once but twice by that maniac Pierce. The last thing he wanted to do was dredge up the very memories she’d been trying to forget.

  “Damn, Lilith, that’s not what I meant…”

  “What did the note say? I’m assuming there was a note, one that mentioned me specifically,” Lilith said. “Otherwise you’d know better than to issue an ultimatum like that one.”

  The piss and vinegar he expected from her was back in her voice, and he relaxed. She’d accepted his concern, just as he’d understood her unspoken “I’m coming anyway.”

  Over my dead body.

  Trevor read the message he’d written down, breaking it up for them as he had a few minutes earlier, and then he described the crime scene, being particularly graphic about Iris O’Connor’s body. Lilith needed to know what she was up against. The Prophet could have her executed as he had those who’d failed him, or he could entomb her in a freezer, but she’d be lucky to get a shot of scopolamine to ease the experience. Knowing how terrified she was of the dark, Trevor was sure that possibility had struck home.

  “Bloody hell,” Jacob yelled, and Trevor moved the phone away from his ear as Jacob continued to curse the Prophet.

  Trevor put the call on speaker. Another scream like that, and he’d have to have his hearing checked.

  “And that’s why you can’t come to Boston, Lilith,” he continued the minute Jacob stopped ranting. “I’m not letting him or anyone else get their hands on you—not again.”

  “I agree,” Rob said. “We almost didn’t get her out alive the last time, and if he’s back to drugging his victims…”

  “Back off, He-Man,” Lilith said, using the term Trevor had heard Faye use whenever Rob got “overbearing,” as she put it. “No one tells me where to go or what to do. I make my own choices. If I decide to avoid Boston, it’ll be because I want to, not because you decide you know what’s best for me. That bastard won’t control me the way Pierce did, and Jacob, don’t you even think of trying to convince me otherwise. He’s not only threatened me, he’s threatened Rose, which means he knows where she is.”

  She sounded like a she-bear with a cub to protect. Finding that child was Lilith’s Holy Grail, and she’d endure anything to save her.

  “Maybe, or he knows we’re looking for her,” Trevor said. He explained what Tom had told him about the Templars of Mary. “I mentioned it to L.D. Hamilton, the president’s advisor on domestic terrorism, since his company took over the
facility. And Homeland Security is looking into the lawyer. If they’ve been making waves, stirring things up, he might have heard about it through his grapevine. Lilith, if the Prophet had Rose, he’d have said so and used it as leverage to get you to turn yourself over to him. He hasn’t found her, and hopefully we will find her first. I know you’ve been searching for fifteen years without any luck, but we have a real lead here.”

  The one thing nagging at Trevor was the actual use of the name Rose. How on earth had the Prophet made that connection? He had to have someone digging into Lilith’s past, and today, that meant an Internet search. If you did anything online, you left a digital imprint. He’d get the FBI cyber unit to look into that right away.

  “He’s given us a month.” Lilith’s voice was hard and determined. “That’s how long we have to find my niece before he does. I’ll stay away from Boston if I can go to Nevada.”

  “I’m staying with Lilith,” Jacob said, and Trevor knew he’d brook no argument.

  “That’s what I was going to suggest,” Trevor agreed. He’d sleep better knowing she was on the next plane to Australia, but that was a pipe dream. She’d insist on being involved in the search for Rose. “But for God’s sake, watch your back. I’ll contact Susan and Micah. They’re in Utah, and I’ll have them join you in Reno instead of coming back to Boston.”

  “Don’t worry. I have four private security experts with us as well. I noticed he didn’t mention a fourth plague.”

  “I saw that, too, and I think I know why.” As succinctly as he could, he explained about Julie, glossing over their personal relationship as he had with Tom. “Right now, she’s on the Unites States Coast Guard base, ISC Kodiak in Alaska.”

  “And you think Dr. Swift can stop the virus if the Prophet unleashes it?”

  “If anyone can, it’s her.” He relayed what Julie had told him about the cytokine storms.

  “Is there anything else we need to know?” Lilith asked.

  “Not really. I’m going to join her in Alaska as soon as I can get a flight out. She’s too important to leave unprotected.”

  “Unprotected.” Lilith laughed. “With all those yummy Coasties around?”

  Trevor ignored the flash of jealousy and her comment.

  “Rob, are you sure you’re up to coming back?”

  “My shoulder’s fine. I’ve got a nice scar to remind me not to offer aid to any of the Prophet’s henchmen or henchwomen. While I didn’t really want to leave Faye, I think the four gorillas Jacob has watching the place can protect five women and three kids.”

  “Gorillas?” Trevor asked.

  “They aren’t apes but they are rather large mates,” Jacob said. “They work for the Guardians, that private security firm I hired. I specified I wanted the biggest and the best. Since the owner can’t stop apologizing over the screw-up when Lilith was taken right out from under their noses, he’d give me the sun and the moon if he could. There’s a half-dozen of them at Evergreen, too. I brought the least noticeable ones with me.”

  Lilith guffawed. “Right, nobody’s going to notice them. Trevor, think Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dwayne Johnson, and Vin Diesel.”

  “When we get there, you won’t even see them, but they will have our backs.”

  “Faye wasn’t happy staying behind,” Rob continued, ending the discussion. “But I’m damn glad she did. What do you want me to do?”

  “I want you to take over as team leader. You’ll be working with Lieutenant McNamara. You’ll need to downplay it somehow, get the press to back off. The more publicity the Prophet gets, the more it fuels his ego. If they realize there are seven men missing, any one of them the potential killer, keeping the press under control will be harder than herding cats.”

  “I agree,” Rob said. “How will you spin it?”

  “The girl’s death we have to lay at the Prophet’s feet. He’s given us no choice there. He only killed one this time, but he chose well, because all of Boston’s leadership is screaming for my head. The executions we’ll spin as gang related and hopefully prevent the press from connecting them to the sorority murders. I’m going to be publicly resigning from the task force—actually, the mayor’s going to demand Washington recall me—and I’m going to disappear to lick my wounds. I don’t need anyone knowing I’m going to Alaska.”

  “Are you really resigning?” Lilith asked.

  “No, but I want him to think so. I’ve got the advantage this time. I’m going to run with it.”

  “How are you going to get to Alaska?” Jacob asked.

  “I’m going to fly to Montreal, and then, using a Canadian passport and a false identity the RCMP will provide, I’ll fly to Toronto. From there, I’ll get a flight to Vancouver and then to Anchorage and make my way to Kodiak.”

  “Let me take about four hours off that for you. I’ll arrange for my plane to be waiting for you in Toronto. We’ll be leaving shortly for Nevada. The pilot can go on from there. You won’t even have to enter the airport, so if anyone does know about the identity switch, they’ll lose you there. The pilot can take you directly to Kodiak. Just make sure the USCG knows you’re a friendly.” He laughed. “I don’t want to see the plane shot down. My insurance wouldn’t be happy about that either. The plane can stay with you in Alaska until we need it, just in case you have to make a quick getaway.”

  “How and when do you want me to get to Boston?” Rob asked.

  “We could take him as far as Reno…”

  “No, Jacob. I don’t want anything that might link you and Lilith to the rest of us. Rob, get on the next commercial flight, and try to get one with a few stops and plane changes. That’ll make it harder for him to find you.”

  “Got it. Will I see you when I get to Boston?”

  “No, I’ll be long gone by then, but Tom and Declan—he’s the new FBI agent here—will have been briefed. They’ll know whatever you need to know.”

  “How will we stay in touch?” Rob asked.

  “I have an idea,” Jacob said. “The plane carries satellite phone equipment that will let us conference at least once a day but won’t be traceable through the usual methods.”

  “Sounds good. The time difference will make it a lot easier. My flight to Montreal leaves at four my time. The connecting flight to Toronto’s at eight. Does that give you enough time to get things in place?”

  “Considering it’s still the middle of the night here,” Jacob said, “it does. We’ll leave for Reno shortly—that’s a five-hour flight—and then I’ll send the pilot on to Toronto, which is another five hours. It should work out nicely.”

  “Then I’ll contact Tom and get the ball rolling at this end.” Trevor ended the call.

  Looking at his watch, he realized it was still too early to call Julie. He hoped she was right about Felix Leclerc and that she’d be able to identify the virus before too many people died.

  Tom opened the door. “Are you ready?”

  “Yeah. Let’s get this press conference over with.”

  “It’s going to work out. We’ll get the bastard and stop him before the Great Burning starts.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “By the way, we have a lead on those vaccines. The formula originated at the CDC and was developed by White Iris Pharmaceuticals. The vials were shipped to Alaska from there. According to the shipper, there was another small batch sent to a clinic in Nome.”

  “Contact the clinic and find out who got that vaccine. Then I want to know everything, right down to his underwear size, about Lawrence Donald Hamilton. And while you’re at it, look up Iris Hamilton, too.”

  “You can’t think the president’s advisor has anything to do with this?”

  “I don’t know, but that vaccine came from his drug company, and the Prophet’s note referred to things L.D. knew, things I’d told him. Plus, L.D. knew things he shouldn’t. But if I’m going to accuse one of the most powerful men on the Hill of collusion with the Prophet, I’d better have all my damn duc
ks in a row.”

  • • •

  “Julie, are you awake?” Cassie knocked on the bedroom door.

  “I am now,” Julie mumbled. It was still dark out. She looked at the bedside clock. 7:45. Not so early. In Atlanta she’d already be on her way to work.

  The door opened. “Come quickly. Trevor’s on CNN.”

  Jumping out of bed, Julie grabbed her robe and followed Cassie into the kitchen. Ariel was spooning oatmeal into her mouth.

  “Morning, Aunt Julie,” she said. “Is your body on Alaska time yet?”

  “I think so. That smells good,” she answered, inhaling the aroma of cinnamon.

  “It is. Mom makes the best oatmeal.” She pushed back her chair, grabbed her knapsack, and leaned over to kiss her mother. “I’ve got ball again tonight, so I’ll be late. Love you. ’Bye.”

  “Love you, too, sweetie.”

  The door slammed as Ariel hurried out to meet her friend for their short walk to school.

  Cassie smiled. “It’s nice not to have to drive her like I did in Seattle. Not sure what’ll happen in Hawaii.” She handed her a cup of coffee. “Cream and sugar’s on the table. Want some cereal? It’s just Loganized instant oatmeal—dried fruit, cinnamon, and yogurt instead of milk.”

  “Sounds good, thanks. I thought you said Trevor was on television,” she said. “Unless he’s peddling some miracle wrinkle remover...”

  “Just wait. It’s a press conference in Boston. Maybe they found the Prophet.”

  A well-known news analyst’s face filled the screen. “This was the scene outside Boston City Hall an hour ago when Mayor Angus Roberts held a press conference to announce yet another attack on the city by the terrorist known as the Prophet.”

  “Damn, that can’t be good,” Julie said. Hopefully, fewer people had died this time.

  “Wow, Trevor sure looks down in the mouth.”

  Julie stared at the screen. “He probably feels responsible for more deaths. He takes his work seriously, and not being able to stop this guy … Shush! The mayor’s speaking.”