16 Taking Eve (33 page)

“So he was lulling everyone into thinking he was something he wasn’t,” Jane said. “Five years is a long time to waste building up a false image. Or did he just suddenly, impulsively break out?”

“He wasn’t wasting time,” Venable said. “I think he must have been very busy.”

“Doing what?”

“Getting ready to go after the men he blamed for killing his son.”

“Five years? Why didn’t he go after General Tarther right away?”

“I’d bet he wanted the whole package. He might be able to kill Tarther, but what about the hired gun who actually pulled the trigger? He didn’t even know his name.” He grimaced. “Though Doane did ask me if I knew who did it when we started negotiating his protection.”

“And that didn’t set off any alarms?”

“I told you, he was very good. There was no anger, tears were running down his cheeks. A bewildered father trying to find answers.”

“And do you know who killed Kevin Relling?”

“Yes. Tarther told me.” He was silent a moment. “Though I made a deal with him that I wouldn’t reveal his name to anyone in exchange for his not going after Doane to tie up loose ends. I tried to keep my word, dammit.”

“You told Doane?”

“Hell, no. But I’m going to tell you. I have to do it. It’s too dangerous not to do it now.” He paused. “Lee Zander.”

Joe frowned, going over the name in his memory for any reference. “I’m familiar with the names of a lot of professional hit men. I’ve never heard of him.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. That’s why Zander’s lasted all these decades without being killed or captured. He’s very particular about his targets, and he’s as close to being the perfect killing machine as I’ve ever come across. He’s also incredibly expensive, and he only has to emerge from seclusion occasionally. You might say he’s unique.”

“I might say he’s a murderer. You shouldn’t have worried about keeping your word to him.”

“I was more worried about keeping myself alive,” he said dryly. “Zander was hard to persuade not to go after Doane, and he doesn’t like people who don’t keep their word. As it was, he thought he was running a risk, and Doane was going to cause him trouble.”

“And he was right?” Jane asked. “But he’s causing more trouble for Eve than Zander. Why?”

“He spent a long time finding out who killed his son and making his plans. She’s evidently part of the entire picture.”

“The reconstruction?”

He was silent a moment. “I’m sure that’s one of the pieces.” He went on quickly, “And since he went to a good deal of trouble to get her, we have to include her in any long-range plot Doane concocted. We have to assume she’ll be on his list.”

“List?”

“Kill list,” he said simply. “Tarther. Zander.” He paused. “Eve.”

“No,” Jane said hoarsely. “He had reason to kill Tarther and Zander. Not Eve.” She shook off Caleb’s hand as he reached out to touch her shoulder. “But since when do maniacs have to have reasons?” she asked unevenly. “He killed Dukes and probably that farmer. Okay, I’ll accept that it’s only a matter of time before he decides to kill her. Now we have to keep him from doing it. If he’s going after Tarther and Zander, then we have a chance to capture him when he shows up.” She rubbed her temple. “If he keeps Eve alive that long. We’d be much safer trying to find out where he’s keeping her. You have no idea, Venable? Something you haven’t told us? If you had an agent watching him all those years, he should have been able to report where he went when he left the property.”

“He did, and we checked them all out. That doesn’t mean that he couldn’t have slipped away from him some nights.” He made a face. “Complacency, again. He wasn’t considered a danger. He also had a computer that he’d wiped clean. We’re digging into that memory.”

“And Blick,” Joe said. “He had Kevin’s friend, Blick, on the outside, doing his research and dirty work.”

“Doane drove his car into the lake,” Margaret said suddenly. “Was he worried that you might find something on or in the car? He could have gotten rid of the body of the farmer anywhere.”

“We’ll find out soon,” Joe said. “If your damn cat isn’t telling you stories.”

“Cat?” Venable asked.

“Never mind,” Joe said.

“Blick,” Jane repeated. “He must know where Doane can be found. He’s not as smart as Doane, right? Can you find him?”

“I’m working on it. I have a few leads.”

“Which you didn’t include in the dossier on him you gave us,” Joe said sarcastically. “That was very spare.”

“I had to make sure that I couldn’t handle this alone.”

“Oh, yes, your kindly general and all those other people at risk.”

“If it wasn’t Eve, you’d be just as careful.”

“It is Eve.” He reached for his phone. “All we have right now is that house in Goldfork. There’s got to be something there that will give us a lead.”

“We went over that house with a fine-tooth comb, Joe. My team didn’t find anything.”

“I hope that search wasn’t too thorough. They might have messed up any chance—”

“Who are you calling?”

“Someone I trust more than your guys to find anything Doane might have left behind to point the way.”

Jane nodded immediately. “Kendra Michaels. Eve told me about her. Said she’s amazing. Can she help us, Joe?”

“I hope to God she can. I’ve never seen anyone more able to delve into a crime scene and pull up answers. She and Eve are friends. I know she’ll try.” He turned away and walked across the porch as Kendra answered. “Kendra? Joe Quinn. I need your help. Stop bitching. I know you’re busy. You’re always busy. You’ll have to drop whatever it is. Be quiet, and let me talk.”

Jane tuned him out as she turned back to Venable. “Zander. He seems to be a principal target if Doane waited five years to hunt him down. Maybe we can get him to work with us to trap Doane.” Venable was shaking his head. “Why not? It’s worth a try to save her.”

“He won’t do it. He won’t care.”

“Then we’ll make the son of a bitch care. If I have to do it by pointing a knife in his belly.”

“Not a good idea,” Caleb murmured. “There are other ways to force the issue. I might be able to help.”

“You won’t get near him,” Venable said. “He’d consider it an annoyance.”

“Do you know where he lives?”

“I know where he was a few days ago. He quite probably moved out after I warned him that Doane might be coming after him.”

“He’s afraid?”

“No, he just moves on if there’s any chance of a disturbance that might attract attention.”

“Can you find out if he’s still there? You have his telephone number?”

He nodded. “But it won’t do any good. Listen, I don’t want you getting any more hurt than you are now, Jane. He’s one of the most dangerous men I’ve ever met. Stay away from Zander.”

“I can’t stay away from him. Doane wants him dead. We may be able to use him.” She looked him in the eye. “You find out where he is right now. You follow up your leads and find Blick. What about Tarther? He’s a target, right? At least we know where he is.”

“I could run up there and keep an eye on him,” Caleb said.

“He’s already being guarded,” Venable said. “I set a guard as soon as I knew Doane had left Goldfork.”

“Good, then I can concentrate on doing a little scouting around.” He looked at Jane. “Until you need me.”

She was not going to refuse. No one was more expert at the hunt than Caleb. “Thank you.”

“It’s better if I’m out of the way when Trevor comes anyway.” He smiled. “And with any luck, I may be able to lay the head of one of those snakes at your feet. That would be much more productive for me and put me in a wonderful light.” He turned to Venable. “Give me the address and any other information I should have about Tarther.”

Jane took a step closer to the rail and looked out at the lake as they began to speak. Joe was still talking to Kendra Michaels, and Jane was suddenly feeling very much alone.

“It’s going to be okay,” Margaret said softly as she moved to stand beside her. “We’ll all work hard, and we’ll get her back. But I’m confused about this Kendra Michaels. Can she really help?”

“I don’t know,” Jane said wearily. “She’s supposed to be brilliant and a bit temperamental, but Eve trusted her. She’s some kind of music therapist who was blind most of her life until recently and now works with law enforcement on occasion.”

“Blind?”

“I know, I know. It’s all crazy. But I don’t care. I’ll take a chance on her.” She added desperately, “I’ll take a chance on anyone who’s willing to try to find Eve.” She moistened her lips. “Even you, Margaret. You have no business being here, but I’m going to let you take your risks. God, I’m sorry.”

“I’m not sorry. It’s what I want. But a moment ago you were hurling orders and marshaling us all to battle. What happened?”

“Why did I fall apart? I miss her,” she said unevenly. “I’m fine while I’m doing something that could get her back, but when I have moments of quiet, the panic and sadness hit home. I can’t tell you how many hours Eve and I have spent on this porch talking or just sitting and looking out at the lake. There’s a closeness I never knew before I came to her. She’d had her real daughter, Bonnie, and lost her. I hadn’t had anyone but a long line of foster parents who didn’t give a damn about me.
She
cared. I don’t know why because I wasn’t an easy kid. We just sort of completed each other.”

“That’s pretty wonderful.”

“Yeah. You bet it is.”

“I never had someone like that,” she said quietly. “Maybe someday.” She turned toward the door. “You don’t want anyone right now. I was going to talk to you about what I could do to help, but I’ll go make myself useful and brew us up some coffee instead.”

Margaret’s sensitivity extended to more than animals, Jane thought as she looked back at the lake. She suddenly tensed as she caught sight of trucks and divers pulling up on the far north bank. They were going to search for Doane’s car.

And the body inside it.

It was starting. The hunt, the deaths …

But not Eve’s death. They had made small steps, and they would make more now that they had names and an idea of Doane’s agenda.

Hold on, Eve. I’ll never give up. We’re coming for you.

Rio Grande Forest, Colorado

WE’RE COMING FOR YOU.

Pain. Sorrow. Panic.

Jane?

A dream …

Eve’s eyes opened, and she lay there a moment until the drowsiness left her. It had been strange to have that dream about Jane when Bonnie hadn’t been able to reach her until she was in a drugged sleep. Life and death. Perhaps it made a difference in the battle with that darkness.

Or perhaps it was just Eve’s own desire to reach out for the ones she loved in this place that was filled with ugliness and hate.

Forget dreams. Change the place. Escape the ugliness herself.

She got to her feet and moved toward the bathroom. The oak boards were cool on her bare feet. It was always cool, often freezing, at night in the mountains. She had to remember to dress as warmly as she could. There was no telling how long she’d have to be on the run until she could find anyone to help her. She didn’t even know how close she was to a main road. It had seemed at least fifteen minutes before they had reached smooth pavement instead of rock.

She listened a moment before she turned on the shower. Doane was breathing steadily, deeply. She had tucked the spatula into her pocket, and she could try to jimmy the lock now. Lord, she didn’t want to sit down in front of Kevin’s reconstruction again.

No, Doane’s breathing was changing. He was waking. Perhaps it was for the best. She wasn’t ready. Try later.

Plan. She had to have a plan that would take care of all aspects of her escape. And what about her course when she made it outside? Not easy. Doane had set a load of complications for her to overcome. She could do it. She just had to have a plan and not try to wing it.

Today, Doane. I promise you, it will be today, you bastard.

CHAPTER

16

“YOU’VE GOT THE NOSE.” DOANE’S
eyes were glinting with excitement as he stared at the skull. “You said it would be so hard, but it came quickly, almost like magic.” He added softly, “Kevin’s magic. He’s telling you what to do, isn’t he?”

“No, I’m just damn good at my job.” She avoided looking at the nose that had emerged beneath her fingers in an incredibly short time. “Your son is dead, and he has no magic. All that’s left of him is this hideous skull.”

“It’s not hideous anymore. You’re making him the way he was before Zander killed him.” His gaze was visually caressing the skull. “But it will be better when you put in the eyes. Go ahead and do it.”

She stiffened. “It’s not time. There’s a lot of smoothing and fine-tuning to do. The eyes are the last thing to go in.”

“You could do all that stuff later. I want to see his eyes. They were blue like mine. But his were sharper, keener, almost mesmerizing.”

“You’ll be disappointed. These are glass eyes, and they only reflect color, not personality.”

“Maybe. Put them in.”

She did not want to put those eyes into the skull. She did not want to complete this reconstruction of a monster. “Later.” She pushed her stool back. “I need a cup of coffee.” She walked toward the kitchenette. She could feel the tension in every muscle. It was almost time. It was late afternoon, and she needed to escape while she could still see the terrain to give herself the best chance. Doane was excited, impatient, absorbed with his son, less likely to notice anything different about her demeanor. Good. Because she felt as if her determination and nervousness were blatantly obvious.

Calm down. She had a plan, didn’t she? She had worked and experimented with those gas vents. It wasn’t as if she were going at this blind.

“You can’t have everything your own way, Doane.” She put on the coffeemaker. “You brought me here because I’m an expert, right? Now let me do my work the way it should be done.”

“Yes, you’re an expert.” He was frowning. “And that’s one of the reasons why I brought you here. Not the only one. I had no idea you’d be so difficult. I want those eyes put in.”

She turned her back on him and reached for a coffee mug.