Quinn (18 page)

Find Bonnie’s body and the man who killed her.

Where are you, John Gallo?

*   *   *

CATHERINE HEADED NORTH TOWARD
the vast woodland acreage Gallo owned about seventy miles north of Milwaukee. It wasn’t an easy area to search: thick woods and shrubbery, hills to the north that plunged to a huge lake hundreds of feet below. She had told Eve she believed in instinct, and she would go with it until proved mistaken. Gallo knew those woods, they were familiar, almost home to him. He even had a cabin on the property.

Not that he would be at the cabin. With the sheriff and his deputies crawling all over the property, it would be stupid for him to stay anywhere but in the wild. Gallo wasn’t stupid. She had only met him face-to-face once, when they’d been on the hunt for Paul Black. It had been a fleeting encounter and barbed with antagonism on her part, but she’d become accustomed to making quick judgments. It had often been necessary to save her neck. She had grown up on the streets of Hong Kong, and that ability had developed in those first years of childhood. Her first impression of John Gallo was of sharp, lethal capability.

Definitely not stupid.

But she had to know more than that about him, dredge her memory of every single inkling she’d had of Gallo in that moment. Not only in that moment, but what she knew of him in general from Eve and her own research. She would take time as soon as she reached the property to go over everything that she knew and felt about John Gallo.

You always had to know your target.

CHAPTER

10

TWO HOURS LATER, SHE DREW
up before Gallo’s cabin, where two sheriff’s cars were already parked.

She was surprised. When she’d been there before, the sheriff had been doing twenty-four-hour searches, but she’d not expected them to set up a command center. She certainly hadn’t expected them to be there at this hour of the morning. It was nearly 3:00
A.M.

A young man in a deputy’s uniform came out of the cabin as she opened the car door. He was stocky and sandy-haired, and his boyish face was very wary. “Ma’am?”

“Catherine Ling. CIA.” She showed him her ID. “Is Sheriff Rupert here?”

“Deputy Rand Johan.” The concern in his expression vanished as he grinned. “No, ma’am. He only left a couple of us here overnight in case Gallo showed up. The sheriff will be back in the morning.”

“He thought Gallo would show up at his cabin?” She shook her head. “Not likely.”

“Well, the search is kind of winding down. Actually, Sheriff Rupert thinks maybe he’s left the area. He says we’ll continue the search for the next few days, but then we’ll gradually start pulling back.”

“I see.” Evidently the sheriff was getting frustrated and had the same thought as Eve concerning the possibilities that Gallo would try to leave the woods. Catherine had thought he’d give it more than these few days before he’d abandon the hunt.

The deputy saw her expression, and said quickly, “It’s not as if Gallo is any real threat. He’s only wanted for questioning.”

“He killed a man in these woods only a few days ago.”

“Paul Black. But we’ve got the report back on Black as well as Ms. Duncan’s statement.” His lips tightened. “A serial killer who specialized in murdering kids? Anyone deserves a medal for killing a snake like that. I’d do it myself.”

And so would Catherine, but she wouldn’t admit it to this youngster. “Black made a statement to Eve Duncan that Gallo was guilty of the same crime, the killing of her daughter, Bonnie.”

“Who’s to say the scumbag wasn’t lying? Like I said, Gallo’s wanted for questioning. Don’t get me wrong, we’re doing our job. But it’s not a case of life or death, and we’ve spent enough of the taxpayers’ money.” He smiled. “Would you like to come in and have a cup of coffee? The sheriff didn’t tell me the CIA was interested in this case. Gallo isn’t connected to terrorists or anything, is he?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so.” He turned toward the cabin.

But Catherine had been caught by that first response. “Why didn’t you think Gallo was connected to terrorists?”

“Gallo’s not the type. He seemed to be a real nice guy.”

She stiffened. “Wait a minute. You’ve met Gallo?”

“Yeah, he invited us all up here for a barbecue when he took over the place. He said that you never could tell when you needed the law to protect you, and he wanted to make sure that we all knew each other and exactly where the place was located.”

“What?”

“It was a real nice barbecue. My wife brought the potato salad.”

“How … nice.”

“He’s a local. He was brought up in Wisconsin before he went into the service. He was an Army Ranger, you know.”

“Yes, I did know.”

“I always wanted to be a Ranger, but then I met Sarah. That put an end to that. I’ll be right back.” He ducked into the cabin.

She pursed her lips in a silent whistle. A barbecue? Just a local boy trying to protect himself by getting to know the local authorities. Clever and foresighted. Gallo was a man who was accustomed to trouble and trying to minimize the impact.

And he had done just that with the sheriff and his deputies. They would do their job, but they liked Gallo and would give him every benefit of the doubt.

And by tomorrow she would be almost alone in these woods with Gallo.

Under the circumstances, that would not be a bad thing. No one to get in her way. She’d always preferred to work alone. No one for her to worry about when she got on the hunt.

“Come on in.” Deputy Johan stood in the doorway. “Andy is putting on the coffee. He’s real eager to meet you. He said the sheriff told him about you.” He grinned. “The sheriff said you were one of those Lara Croft types. You sure look the part.”

“Thank you … I think.” She moved toward him. “I actually came to take a look around the cabin and see if I could find anything that would be helpful. I don’t really know what I’m looking for. Do you think the sheriff would object if I did that?”

“Nah, you’re one of us. Though I think you’re out of luck. Do you want us to help?”

“No, I know my way around. On the night that Gallo took it on the run, I brought a child here who Paul Black had kidnapped. I had to find a haven for her until we could get her out to safety.”

“See, Black was a real scumbag. Not worth bothering about.”

“Yes, I see your point.” She took a last look at the dark woods before she entered the house.

You’re out there. I feel it, Gallo. You felt safe here with all these good old boys looking for you, but that’s going to change. I’m going to know you so well that you’re not going to be able to breathe without me knowing how deep. Before long, we’re going to be close as lovers.

Lovers. Where had that come from? Probably because Gallo had been Eve’s lover all those years ago when she was only a sixteen-year-old kid.

“Agent Ling?”

Her smile was dazzling. “Coming. I need that coffee. Then you and Andy can tell me all about the barbecue and everything that you learned about Gallo. Probably a lot of details sank into your mind though you didn’t realize it. It’s automatic with a good law officer like you…”

*   *   *

CATHERINE WATCHED THE TAILLIGHTS
of the three sheriff’s cars fade in the distance before she turned and went back into the cabin. Sheriff Rupert had been pleasant and firm and as much as told her she was wasting her time, continuing to search for Gallo.

And she had been pleasant and firm and resisted telling him to go to hell. It had been a very satisfactory interchange because she was now rid of them and could run her own show.

Should she get some sleep before she took off into the woods?

Probably. She wouldn’t get much rest once she was on the hunt. She’d had breakfast cooked by the accommodating deputies, so that she could dispense with food for a while. She’d have the field rations in her backpack when she needed them. She’d be living with that backpack for the next days or weeks. She’d leave her suitcase in the trunk of her car and take only the necessities of the hunt.

But first she’d go over the Gallo information as she’d meant to do when she’d first driven up to the cabin. She sat down at the kitchen table and opened the folder she’d taken from her knapsack.

She knew most of it by heart, but there might be something she’d missed. Some of the information she’d gathered from various intelligence agencies. Some were notes about details Eve had told her about Gallo during the period she’d known him as a young girl.

Those Eve notes were very short and to the point. She’d lived in a housing project in Atlanta. At sixteen, she’d met John Gallo, who had recently moved down to the neighborhood from Milwaukee so that his uncle could get medical treatment from the local veterans’ hospital. She’d become impregnated during the four weeks they were together before he’d left to join the Army. After that time, she had not seen him again and had been told by his uncle, Ted Danner, that he’d been killed on a mission to North Korea. She’d given birth to her daughter, Bonnie, and her life had gone on without John Gallo or contact with his uncle.

All brief, cool, and cut-and-dried. Yet Catherine was sure that there was nothing cool or unemotional about that period between Gallo and Eve. Even as a sixteen-year-old, Eve would have been strong and in control, and for her to be careless and become pregnant would be unlikely. Eve had told her there had been no emotional bond between her and Gallo, and that it had been a purely sexual relationship. But that sexual affair had been enough for Eve to take a chance that would change her life forever.

And Gallo had been the catalyst.

She took out the picture of Gallo taken when he had gone into the Army.

Olive skin, dark eyes, a full sensual mouth, a faint indentation in his chin. Yes, stunning good looks. Mature for his nineteen years. Anyone could see why a woman would be drawn to him.

And the brief glimpse she’d had of the older John Gallo had been even more impressive. A streak of silver in that dark hair, wariness, confidence born of experience … and yet still that hint of recklessness. And a personality so strong that he had managed to persuade Eve that he was innocent when she’d found out he was still alive and a suspect in her daughter’s murder.

Innocent and able to point the way to a suitable substitute, Paul Black.

“You’re quite a spellbinder, John Gallo,” she murmured. “Now what can I do to break that spell and bring you down?”

She switched to the intelligence reports on Gallo. He had been a Ranger who had been sent with two other soldiers into North Korea by Army Intelligence officers Nate Queen and Thomas Jacobs on a supposed mission to retrieve a ledger with information regarding North Korea’s attempts to acquire nuclear materials. The mission had gone south and he had hidden the ledger before he was captured. He had been thrown into a prison and undergone deprivation and torture for seven years before he escaped. In the hospital in Tokyo he had been diagnosed as mentally unstable, a schizophrenic with frequent blackouts. Yet Queen and Jacobs had taken him out of the hospital and continued to use him in their intelligence missions abroad. Catherine had thought it bizarre the first time she’d learned about it. The action stank of a suicide mission. But Gallo had survived and learned that Queen was dirty, involved in drugs and smuggling. He had retrieved the ledger from Korea.

The ledger.

Catherine flipped back to the statement Eve had given her about the story Gallo had told her about the ledger. It had proved to be evidence of Queen’s and Jacobs’s involvement in the drug trade and had been held by a North Korean officer who had been their partner. Gallo had used it to blackmail Queen to make them release him from those missions that were becoming increasingly deadly in nature. He had demanded money for his years of incarceration as a prisoner of war and built the fund into a fortune by his ability at card counting, a skill he had taught himself in prison.

Her telephone rang.

Eve.

“How is he?” Catherine asked when she picked up the phone.

“Better. I wanted to let you know Joe asked for you. He wants to see you.”

“Did he tell you why?”

“Yes, he said to wait for him.”

Catherine chuckled. “Tell him to tend to his job of getting well, and I’ll tend to mine. He’s afraid he’s going to be left out of the action.”

“Is he? What are you doing?”

“Not much. I’m at Gallo’s cabin.” She glanced around the living room and kitchen. “It’s nice. Rough, but all the basic comforts. I like it much better than those A-frame luxury cabins I’ve seen. That’s not even like being in the woods. You were here when you were setting a trap for Black, weren’t you?”

“Yes.” Eve paused. “I can’t imagine you lolling around doing nothing.”

“I didn’t say I’m doing nothing. I’m thinking and trying to get a mental fix on Gallo,” she said. “But it’s hard without having the most important piece to the puzzle.” She paused. “I know that for years Queen had Black in his employ as an assassin who removed everyone who got in Queen’s way. I know that Gallo supposedly thought that Paul Black had killed Bonnie as revenge against him and went after him. He searched for him for years.”

“So what’s the missing piece?”

“Bonnie. John Gallo never had any contact with Bonnie. He couldn’t have even known about her until after he got out of that prison. Why did he care enough about her death that he would devote all that time to finding her murderer?”

Eve was silent.

She obviously didn’t want to answer, but Catherine couldn’t drop it. She had to know. “You told me once that he’d told you that he loved Bonnie, and I said that he couldn’t. He never knew her. But he had to have told you something that convinced you. What was it?”

“What difference does it make? I was gullible. He spun me a tale, and I wanted to believe him.”

“What tale?”

“It doesn’t matter. You don’t have to know that to be able to find him.”

“You’re wrong. I have to know
him.
”

“Then heaven help you. He’ll probably dazzle you as he did me.”

Dazzle. Yes, it was a good word for the way Gallo was manipulating everyone around him. “You’re not going to tell me.”

Eve was silent again. “You wouldn’t believe me.”

“We’re friends. I know you.”

“You wouldn’t believe me. If you catch up with John Gallo, ask him.”

“I will. But by that time, the question may be moot.”

“I’m going to hang up now and go back to Joe. I’ll keep you informed of his progress. He’s already making great strides.”