Condor laced his fingers together. "They'll need proof, of course. Physical evidence. Names and dates. If you can produce a convincing enough paper trail, that would do it."
The book. Dear Lord, they had the proof.
"I can do that," Luke said. "Right now. I've got the proof."
Condor straightened. "Tell me."
Luke did, explaining about Powers' black book and how Julianna had come to have it. "It's in some sort of code, but I'm sure it contains the names and dates you're looking for."
The other man's expression changed subtly, became sharper, more intent. "Have you broken the code?"
"No." Luke leaned forward. "Help us do it. It's our only chance."
"I like you, Dallas. But I can't do that." He glanced toward the diner's front door, then back at Luke. "I don't want to know what's in that book. If I did, I'd be a mark. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday. Besides, messing with Powers' book crosses the line, and I won't do that."
"Then tell me how to break it."
Condor hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Make one of the entries, use what you learn to break the rest of the code. Meet with Tom Morris. He's going to play dumb about Ice, but he's in Operations so he'll be familiar with Powers' file. Lay it all out for him, the way you did me, then get the Agency's commitment to take Powers down in return for proof of his activities. It's important that you get a commitment from him."
"Or we'll be shit out of luck, is that what you're telling me?"
"This is the real world, Dallas. Not one of your stories. The good guys don't always win."
Luke laughed, the sound tight and humorless. "And the line between right and wrong is rarely clear."
"I didn't make the rules, Dallas. I only play by them." Condor laid several dollars on the table and stood. "The coffee's on me."
They left the restaurant. Outside, the cold, wet night curled around them like a snake.
"You never saw me tonight," Condor said. "I'm out of this."
"Agreed."
"One last piece of advice. Don't let that book out of your sight. If Morris or the Agency gets their hands on it, they'll break Ice's code. Once they have what they need, you and your friends will be left high and dry. And if Powers gets it back, you'll have no bargaining chip at all."
"And we'll be dead."
"Yes." Condor turned and looked him straight in the eyes. Again, Luke had the feeling the man was saying much more than what his words conveyed. "Morris will ask for the book. Expect that. But don't give it to him. No matter what he promises you. That's important, Luke. Don't give it to him. That book is your life. Do you understand?"
Luke said he did; in the next moment Condor was gone.
66
Kate and Julianna were awake and waiting for Luke when he got home. They met him at the door, their expressions so hopeful it hurt to look at them. If they expected a miracle, they weren't going to get it.
"We have a chance," Luke said. "Not easy or without risk, but a chance nonetheless."
They went to the kitchen. Kate made coffee while Luke relayed the details of his conversation with Condor. As he spoke, Kate's expression went from hopeful to uncertain.
"Decipher one of the entries?" she said when Luke had finished. "But how do we do that?"
"I've given this some thought already and it might not be as hard as it sounds." Luke stood and went to the coffeepot and poured himself a cup. "Since the dates entered in the book are not in code, the way I figure it, if we can find something that positively ties Powers to a place on a certain date, we can do a search for murders committed in that locale on that date."
"And if we're lucky," Kate murmured, "we'll find something."
Luke met her eyes. "If we're very lucky."
"This isn't going to work," Julianna said, looking from him to Kate. "It's not. And then where will we be? Trapped? Dead?"
"Where will we be?" Kate repeated, bright spots of angry color staining her cheeks. "I know where I was, Julianna. Before you decided to steal my husband and ruin my life. Before you invited this…this killer through my front door."
"I didn't know!" Julianna cried. "I never thought he would hurt you. Or Emma or Richard. Me, yes. But not you." Her eyes filled, and she looked pleadingly at Kate. "Why would he? You never did anything to him."
"That's just it," Kate snapped, "you didn't think. Not about anyone or anything but yourself."
"I'm sorry," Julianna whispered, tears slipping down her cheeks. "I didn't know." She brought her hands to her face. "I'm so scared. I just want to go home."
"And you think I don't?" Kate rounded on the other woman, shaking with the force of her fury. "I'd love to go home, Julianna. But because of you I can't. Because of you, my husband is dead. Because of you a psychotic kil-"
Luke laid a hand on her arm, stopping her. "I know you're angry, Kate. You have a right to be, but fighting with each other isn't going to do anything but make us more vulnerable to Powers. If we're going to beat him, we've got to work together." He met Kate's eyes. "You know it's true."
She spun away from him and crossed to the picture window that looked out over his backyard. She stood stiffly, arms curved across her middle; Luke saw that she struggled to get a grip on her emotions.
After a moment, she took a deep breath and turned back to the younger woman. "Just running is out of the question. Because we can't outrun him. You know we can't.
But if that's what you want to do, you have my blessing. But I'm taking this route with Luke."
"What's it going to be, Julianna?" Luke asked. "You have a choice. Are you sticking with us or not?"
"With you," she whispered, wiping the tears from beneath her eyes. "I'm staying with you."
"Then I need your help. We need your help." He crossed to stand directly in front of her. "Is there anything you haven't told us about Powers? Anything at all, no matter how insignificant you might think it to be. It could be something you observed or overheard and thought nothing of at the time. Or maybe something he told you in the heat of the moment or mumbled in his sleep."
"No." She shook her head. "I've told you everything."
"Think, Julianna. It's important."
"There's nothing." She shook her head again. "We had an…agreement. He never discussed what he did, who he worked for. When he went on a trip, he never told me where he went. And I wasn't allowed to ask."
She looked away, then back. "Until the end, not knowing what he was doing or even where he was didn't bother me. I never questioned him."
"Then you got curious," Luke prodded. "And you started snooping around."
"Yes. That's how I found the book."
"What about gifts?" Kate asked, swinging away from the window once more. "What kinds of things did he bring you? Was there anything that you recall being specific to a place? You know, like chocolates from Switzerland or perfume from Paris?"
Julianna brought her hands to her ears, to the diamond studs that twinkled when they caught the light. Luke had noticed them before; the size of the diamonds had made them hard to miss. "Nothing like that," she murmured, sounding frustrated. "He brought me these. Sometimes he would bring me a…a doll or a hair ornament. He'd bring me books. Flowers he picked up at the airport shop. Everything was generic."
She looked at Luke, then Kate, her expression earnest. "You have to believe me. Even his apartment was plain. So without…identifying features. There was furniture, and stuff for the kitchen and bathrooms, but nothing else. Do you know what I mean?"
Kate looked at Luke. "Are you thinking what I am?"
"Powers' apartment?" When she indicated yes, he turned back to Julianna. "Do you still have a key to his place?"
She nodded. "Though I don't know why. I'm never going back there."
"Never's a long time, kid." Luke smiled and rubbed his hands together. "The last thing Powers will expect is for us to take the offensive. I say we have a place to start."
Julianna looked sick; Kate determined. "Are you cert
ain the Agency will make the commitment to take Powers down?" she asked.
"My contact thought so. If we can deliver the goods on Powers." He looked from Kate to Julianna. "And I don't see that we have another choice."
"I agree." Kate turned toward the other woman. "How about you, Julianna?"
The girl hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Agreed."
"All right, then." Luke checked his watch, saw that it was after 2:00 a.m. and smiled grimly. "We leave for D.C. today."
67
Kate forced herself to rest, though she couldn't quiet her mind enough to sleep. She lay in the bed, listening to her baby daughter's gentle breathing, alternately praying for the best and imagining the worst.
Some minutes were better than others. During the bad ones, the worst ones, fear smothered her. She imagined her beautiful Emma dead, her life force obliterated in all manner of gruesome ways. She imagined Emma crying out, helpless and in pain. She imagined herself, unable to reach and comfort her daughter, unable to save her. If it came to it, Kate had decided, she would beg John Powers to kill her instead.
Someone tapped lightly on her door. Kate glanced at Emma, then climbed out of the bed and crossed to it. "Yes?" she whispered.
"It's me," Luke said. "May I come in?"
She opened the door and held a finger to her lips. He nodded and stepped inside. "I just wanted to make sure that you and Emma…that you're all right."
"We're fine." She glanced again toward the bed and Emma. "I'm frightened out of my wits, but what else is new?"
"It's going to be all right," he said, keeping his voice low. "I'll do everything I can to protect you and Emma. I promise."
She searched his gaze, thinking of Richard's promises. His assurances. And in the end, what had they really been worth?
"I'm not Richard," he said as if reading her mind. "I'm not, Kate. Know that."
He wasn't, Kate acknowledged. Luke Dallas was the man Richard had wished he was.
The truth of that made so many things suddenly clear- like Richard's competitiveness with Luke, his resentment and jealousy. Richard, she realized, had seen Luke's success as his own failure.
She swallowed hard. "Thank you, Luke. For not deserting us. For being here for me even after…after everything."
He brought a hand to her face, tracing the curve of her cheekbone. Without thinking, she turned her face to it, moving her lips against his skin.
He sucked in a short, quick breath. "Kate, I-"
She lifted her gaze to his. She saw longing in his. Longing and regret. She opened her mouth to say something, though she was uncertain what. Before she could, he dropped his hand and took a step back from her.
"Try to get some sleep," he murmured. "Tomorrow's going to be an exhausting day."
And then he was gone.
The next day did, indeed, prove to be an exhausting one. To make the trip, Kate and Julianna needed clothing, cosmetics and other personal care items; Emma needed everything from clothes to diapers, toys to formula and baby food. Combat shopping, Julianna called it as they raced through the drug and department stores, pulling garments off racks and dumping items into carts.
Luke insisted on paying for everything with the cash he had withdrawn from the bank that morning. Credit cards and checks, he told them, left a paper trail even an amateur
P.I. could follow. And John Powers was anything but an amateur. For that same reason, he suggested they drive to D.C.
Despite what commercial airlines assured the consumer, flight manifests were easy to get ahold of. Flying also presented the problem of either renting a car at their destination or relying on taxis; in terms of stealth, neither of those options worked.
It was nearly three that afternoon before Kate had their things packed in Luke's Tahoe and was ready to go. She went in search of Luke, finding him in his office, on the phone. He waved her in. "Doing good, Frank." He covered the mouthpiece. "The P.I.," he murmured, then dropped his hand. "Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
"Look, I've got a job I need you to do for me. Three names. John Powers. Wendell White. David Snow." He spelled them for the man. "I believe Wendell White and David Snow are both aliases for John Powers. Get everything you can on all three. Addresses, phone bills, credit card summaries, travel destinations. If anyone going by one of these names has so much as burped in the past three years, I want to know about it."
Luke listened to the other man, then nodded. "Two. And a travel agency's name." He took the envelope and ticket stub from his jacket pocket. He gave the investigator John's address in D.C., the address on the envelope and the travel agency's name and address. "That's it," he said. "All I've got."
He smiled, met Kate's eyes and gave her a thumbs-up. "I'm leaving town for a while, I'll drop your retainer in the mail before I leave." Luke laughed. "Sure I'm sure I'm good for it." His amusement evaporated. "No number where I can be reached. I'll check in with you from the road."
He hung up, and Kate suddenly realized she was holding her breath and let it out in a rush. "You amaze me, Luke. How do you know all this stuff? I feel like I'm hanging out with James Bond or something."
"My work." He grinned. "I've basically spent the past ten years immersed in the world of spies, criminals and cops. I've been in the heads of cold-blooded killers and madmen, heroes and even the occasional damsel in distress."
"Now you're a real hero," she said softly, smiling.
"Then that would make you the damsel in distress."
"I guess it would." Her smile faded. "Heroes get killed, Luke. I don't want…I couldn't bear to…"
She couldn't bear to lose him.
She cleared her throat. "Just be careful, okay? No heroics."
"You don't need to worry about me, I've outsmarted guys like John Powers dozens of times."
But that was the beauty of fiction, being able to write the ending of your choice. The one where good triumphed, evil fell and everyone who deserved to lived happily-everafter.
But this was real life.
"Stop it, Kate," he said. "I know what you're thinking." He lifted her chin with his index finger, forcing her to look directly into his eyes. "We're going to beat this psycho. I really believe that."
She gazed at him a moment, heart thundering. "I wish I had your confidence. I wish I wasn't so scared."
He slipped his arms around her and eased her against his chest. She held herself stiffly a moment, then sagged against him, curving her arms around his middle, holding him tightly, half afraid that without his support she would fall.
He passed his hand over her hair, stroking. Comforting. "You can lean on me, Kate. I'm here for you."
She drew in a deep breath. He smelled of spicy soap and the sunny day. It would be so easy to do as he offered. Fall apart. Give in to her fear. Lean on him, let him hold her up and take care of her.
She couldn't do that. John Powers was too smart and too deadly to allow her that luxury.
Kate drew regretfully away. "I have to stay strong, Luke. For Emma. She's counting on her mother to keep her safe, and I can't turn that job over to anybody. Even you."
He gazed into her eyes a moment, his filled with respect, then bent and brushed his lips against hers. "Time to go."
Twenty minutes later, they were on the road. Kate tried to focus on Luke's confidence, on the reassuring things he had said to her about beating John Powers. She worked hard to put on a positive face, to keep her mood upbeat. Not only for herself, but for the others as well.
Even so, she was afraid. For all of them. She glanced repeatedly over her shoulder as they put mile after mile between themselves and Houston, all too aware that each one of those miles put them that much closer to a confrontation with John Powers.
At least they traveled well together. For Kate, being with Luke felt as natural as breathing. They talked and laughed together, often anticipating the other's need for rest or food or quiet.
Being with Julianna, on the other hand, was discomfiting. Kate still couldn't l
ook at the woman without a rush of fury sweeping over her. Without remembering how it had come about that she was running for her and her daughter's life. Without remembering Richard.
Several times, Kate had caught the younger woman gazing at Emma, naked longing in her eyes. Those times Kate had felt anxious and vulnerable. Frightened in a way that had nothing to do with John Powers' threat on her life. She feared Julianna wanted Emma back. She didn't trust that she wouldn't simply snatch the child in the middle of the night and disappear.
Consequently, Kate never strayed far from her daughter's side; she never allowed Julianna to hold or touch her. She wasn't about to take any chances.
By the middle of the second day, Kate saw that the two-day trip would have to become three because of Emma. The hours confined to her car seat began to wear on the infant-she was unhappy and fussy, well on her way to being inconsolable.
"We're going to have to stop," Kate said, dangling Emma's favorite rattle in front of her. Instead of batting at it as she usually did, she turned her head away, screwing her face up with frustration.
Kate met Luke's eyes in the rearview mirror. "Emma's had it. If we don't give her a little downtime, she's going to make our lives very uncomfortable."
As if on cue, the infant began to cry, her cries quickly escalating to earsplitting howls. Kate began to rock the car seat and sing softly, trying to calm the infant. It took a few moments, but it began to work. As Emma's cries lessened to whimpers, Kate slipped a pacifier into her daughter's mouth.
"How do you do it?" Julianna asked suddenly. "How do you put up with her and stay so…calm? I think I'd lose it."
"Because I love her," Kate said simply. "And because I'm her mother."
"Next exit," Luke announced, reading a sign, "two miles ahead. Food. Lodging. Gas. Sounds like just the ticket."
They made it to the exit and into the first motel without another crying jag from Emma. The motel, a very nice La Quinta Inn, had no two-bedroom suites available. So they booked a regular suite, complete with a bar and minifridge. Julianna offered to take the fold-out couch-Luke, Kate and Emma would take the bedroom.
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