Quinn (29 page)

“But they are involved, Catherine. One might say more than you.” He held up his hand to stop her from speaking. “Since we’re almost sure that they won’t make it before we’re done here, I’m not going to worry about it. Though I have plenty of time to devote to worrying since you haven’t left me much else to do until after the finale. Where’s your hypodermic? You’d have trouble hiding it in that gown.”

“It’s under the nail of my right index finger.” She glanced down at her gleaming scarlet nails. “It was the most practical place.” The elevator doors opened, and they were assaulted by voices, music, glittering mirrors, and sparkling chandeliers.

“The blackjack room is beyond the gold arches to the left. Table three,” Gallo said.

“Right.” She moved out of the elevator. “Give me a few minutes, then follow me.”

He nodded. “I’ll let you make your entrance. But don’t expect me to miss the performance. I’ve been looking forward to it.”

“I don’t know why. I told you it’s going to be short and simple.”

“Whatever you say.” He watched her move across the brilliant foyer toward the blackjack room. He was far from the only person staring at Catherine. Who could help it? She was graceful, stunning, completely confident. She was as different as night and day from the fierce huntress who had stalked him in the woods. He wasn’t sure which Catherine fascinated him more, and it was too soon to make a choice. He was certain that he’d be seeing other facets of her that would prove equally interesting.

But for the moment, he’d better follow her and be ready to step in and back her up when she needed him. It was a strange role for him. All his life, he had been a loner, and his missions had definitely been solo. Yet he had accepted Catherine’s plan, which had not only put him in tandem with her, but in a semipassive position.

And he had done it with no resentment and even a touch of amusement.

Strange …

CHAPTER

16

CATHERINE PAUSED IN THE DOORWAY,
her gaze searching the room.

Table three.

Yes, there he was. She’d had Venable send her a picture of Thomas Jacobs on her phone. He was a small, wiry man in his middle or late fifties dressed in a tux that looked a little too big for him. His thin brown hair was receding to such an extent that he was totally bald in the front. But his cheeks were as flushed as Gallo had told her, and his gray eyes were sparkling with excitement as he gazed at the dealer. He had a stack of chips in front of him, and his expression was totally absorbed.

But he might not stay absorbed if he saw someone glance in her direction. She’d better put the play in motion.

She glided forward, moving to the side to approach Jacobs from the rear.

Be anxious.

Let everyone see her concern.

Okay. Stop short as she pretended to see Jacobs.

She inhaled sharply, her eyes widening with panic.

Now clinch it.

She ran toward Jacobs and touched his shoulder. “No, Thomas, you know you can’t do this.” Her voice was shaking with emotion. “Why don’t you listen? You know what the doctor said about your heart. No excitement. This addiction could be the end—” He was turning to face her, his expression wary. As soon as he saw her, he’d recognize her. She had perhaps thirty seconds. “Do you want to kill yourself?” Her tone was agonized. “I won’t let you do it. I know I told you I wouldn’t stop you if you were this crazy, but I can’t let it happen.”

He was looking at her face, and she saw his expression change as he recognized her. He jumped to his feet. “Get away from me.”

“You have to listen to me, Thomas.” Her hands clasped his shoulders near his throat. “I’m only trying to help you.”

“The hell you are.” He was trying to push her hands away from his throat. “What are—”

“Just leave here and we’ll talk.” Her grasp tightened, her nails pressing into his skin. “You don’t look— Thomas?” His eyes were glazing.
“Thomas!”

Jacobs’s knees were buckling, he was falling.

She instinctively put out her arms to catch him.

No, be weak, be helpless.

She let him fall to the floor as if he were too heavy for her to hold.

She dropped to her knees beside him. “No!”

Tears.

That was always harder, but they came. She could feel the tears flow down her cheeks. “Thomas…” She reached out with a shaking hand to check the pulse in his neck. Strong. Steady. He’d be out no more than the twenty minutes she’d told Gallo.

“Pardon me, Mrs. Brookman.” A plump man was pushing his way through the crowd surrounding her. “I’m the casino manager, Anthony Solano. May I help you? Your friend is ill?”

“My brother.” Her voice broke. “His heart. The doctor told him to stay away from gambling. He had his last heart attack after he lost at Monte Carlo.” She gazed pleadingly up at him. “Can you do something for him?”

“Catherine.” Gallo was suddenly beside her, his expression mirroring frustration mixed with concern. “I told you not to come, dammit. He doesn’t deserve it. Is he dead?”

“No, but his pulse is so weak…”

“I saw him fall and called an ambulance. They should be here any minute.” He dropped to his knees and was searching through Jacobs’s pockets. He pulled out a prescription bottle and opened it. “This has to be his medication. Put two under his tongue.”

She took the pills and did as he told her. Then she sat back on her heels, gazing at Gallo in an agony of despair. “Why would he do this? Why wouldn’t he listen?”

“You’ve been asking that for ten years,” Gallo said grimly. “Just because he raised you doesn’t mean you have to follow him around and pick up the pieces every time he goes off the rails.” He turned to the casino manager. “Do you have a defibrillator on the premises in case we need it, or do we have to wait for the ambulance?”

“No, I’m sure we have one in the first-aid room,” Solano said. “I’ll send someone to check and bring—”

He was interrupted by the shrill whine of a siren.

“Never mind,” Gallo said. “The EMT should have one in the ambulance. I’ll go meet them.” He jumped to his feet and was gone.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Brookman.” Solano was bending over her. “Your brother was a good customer of my casino. I can’t tell you how much I regret this happening. Naturally, we’ll do everything we can to help.”

“There was nothing you could do. You couldn’t stop him.” Her lips were trembling. “I don’t blame you. He is a sick man in more ways than one. Perhaps after this attack, he’ll come to his senses.” The tears began to fall again. “If he lives…”

“He will live,” Solano said as he reached out a hand and gently helped her to her feet. “I feel it. I will personally come with you to the hospital and see that he has everything that he needs.”

“You’re very kind.” She leaned against him, her eyes lowered. Ten minutes. Where the hell was Gallo with the ambulance EMTs? “And I’ll be very happy to see you tomorrow morning. Tonight it’s better if it’s only family with him. You understand?”

“Of course. Whatever you wish is—”

“Stand aside.” Gallo was pushing through the crowd, leading the EMTs with their stretcher. “How is he? Has he stirred, Catherine?”

“No. He’s too quiet.”

Gallo bent over him. “Still breathing.” He turned to the EMTs. “Get him in the ambulance and get that defibrillator ready. You may need it.” He glanced at Catherine. “Do you want to ride in the ambulance or in the car with me?”

“I want to be with Thomas.” She turned to Solano as they took Jacobs out to the ambulance. Keep him close. Don’t let him have time to think and change his mind before the ambulance pulled away from the casino. “You’ve been so very kind. Could you walk to the ambulance with me? I don’t want to impose, but I feel—”

“No, it is my pleasure and duty.” Solano took her arm, and she leaned against him as they walked through the lobby. “I’ll give you my card, and if you need anything tonight at the hospital, just call me. I have many friends in New Orleans, and they’ll be happy to help you.” He opened the front door for her. “And I will be there for you tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” She let him help her into the ambulance. She gave him one last look from beneath tear-wet lashes. “If God is merciful, Thomas will live, and I’ll be able to tell him what a good friend you were to both of us.”

Gallo slammed the doors of the ambulance shut.

Fifteen minutes.

The sirens started wailing as they pulled out of the driveway of the casino.

She smiled at the EMT bending over Jacobs before she leaned back and drew a deep breath.

Done.

The ambulance sirens were cut off three minutes later as the driver pulled to the side of the road.

Gallo opened the doors. “Is he awake yet?”

“We’re close.” She jumped out of the ambulance. “But he has two minutes left.”

“Two minutes. You have it down to a science.”

“No, Hu Chang does. He gives me a chart with precise measurements.” She watched the EMTs quickly bind Jacobs’s wrists before putting him into the backseat of the car. “You should give them a bonus. They did very well, and Solano will probably be out looking for them tomorrow.”

“I don’t doubt it,” he said dryly. “Solano’s going to be frustrated as hell that he’s not going to get his chance to get you into the sack. You had him practically drooling.”

She shrugged. “It was just sleight of hand. If he was paying attention to me, he wasn’t paying attention to you and the EMTs.” She smiled and waved at the EMTs as she slipped into the passenger seat of the car. “Hurry. Solano may start to process what happened.”

“You mean your effect isn’t as scientifically perfect as Hu Chang’s? I beg to differ.” He turned away, and she watched him distribute cash, smiles, and a few words to the EMTs before he walked back toward her. “Yes, a bonus big enough to keep them quiet and out of Solano’s sight for the foreseeable future. But I’d already arranged it with them before you made the suggestion.”

“I just thought that—” She shrugged. “I haven’t worked with anyone in a long time. I’ve gotten used to running things.”

“I noticed.” He got into the driver’s seat. “But I didn’t resent it. I found it very interesting watching you work in a civilized venue. You came across as Cleopatra meets Lara Croft.”

“I hope only to you.” She began to pin her hair back into a chignon and reached into the backseat for her black pants, shirt, and boots. She couldn’t wait to get out of the gown. “Both of them are wily and strong. It was important that I be helpless and pitiful to disarm Solano.”

“And sexy enough to keep his mind on his dick and not on what was happening.” He started the car. “Personally, I think your magic potion was better than Hu Chang’s.”

She heard a muffled groan from the backseat. “Jacobs is beginning to stir.”

“He’s a minute late.”

“No, your watch is probably wrong.”

He gazed at her with amusement. “I won’t argue with you.”

“Where are we taking Jacobs? You said you’d rented a house in the bayous somewhere?”

“Yes, it’s about eighty miles from here and very deep in the bayous.” He was no longer smiling. “And it will give us the privacy we need to have our discussion. I only hope that he can tell us what we need to know.”

“You said that he knew everything that Queen knew. That means he would know who killed Bonnie.”

He was silent. “And what if he says it’s me?”

“Then we decide if we want to believe him or not.” Her lips tightened. “Stop borrowing trouble. There had to be a reason why he hired Nixon to kill you.”

“Because he knew I’d probably be on his ass for the rest of his life.”

“Or maybe there was another reason. We won’t know until he talks to us.” She glanced back at Jacobs again. “Let’s get moving. He’s going to be squealing and cursing as soon as he’s conscious enough to realize what we’ve done. I’d rather be off the road and away from the local police.”

*   *   *

IT TOOK THEM OVER TWO HOURS
to reach the rental house. The fog had returned and was layering a thick blanket that made driving a nightmare.

“I’d swear we’ve been driving along this bayou for the last hour,” Catherine said. “It seems as if the road is going in circles along this swamp.”

“No, the land is in the shape of a hook. The house is in the curve of the hook, and the road continues on from there. It should be right around the next bend. Yes, there it is.”

“At last.”

The large cedar house was no more than thirty years old but, as Gallo had said, it hovered close to one of the bayous. The surrounding trees were over a century old and draped in Spanish moss that added a touch of ancient decadence.

“What is this place? Where are you taking me?” Jacobs screamed from the backseat. It wasn’t the first time. Catherine had profoundly regretted the potion hadn’t lasted longer. She had given him another injection about an hour ago, but she hadn’t wanted to make it too strong. She didn’t want to knock him out for too long. “You can’t get away with this.” Jacobs started cursing again. “The police are looking for you, Gallo. Do you think that you can just walk into my life and kidnap me?”

“It seems that’s what we did,” Gallo said. “So I guess the answer is yes.” He pulled into the driveway of the house. “Quiet down, Jacobs, you’re beginning to annoy me. You don’t want to do that. You and Queen have told me for years how unstable I am. You used that for your own benefit, but you were careful to make sure that it was never turned on you.”

Jacobs was silent a moment, fuming. “It wasn’t my fault. Queen was always the one who ran the show. You can’t blame me.”

“Oh, I think he can,” Catherine said. “Did you step forward and tell anyone when they threw Gallo into that North Korean prison? And when he escaped, did you try to stop Queen from sending him out on suicide missions? No, you were sitting fat and happy, pulling in your share of the profits.”

“I’m not talking to you, bitch,” Jacobs said venomously. “Queen and I knew you were going to be trouble. Everything was going fine until you started digging.”

“Be polite.” Gallo got out of the car. “I’ve never told you exactly what those bastards did to me in that prison, but I’m tempted to show you.” He opened the rear door and pulled Jacobs out. “I have a number of questions to ask you. If you answer, you may live.”

“We can make a deal.” Jacobs moistened his lips. “Let me go. What do you care about me? It was Queen who caused all your problems. Look, I have all kinds of contacts. I know every important drug dealer in the Middle East. You may have money, but I can make you richer.”

“We’ll talk about it.” Gallo pushed him toward the front door. “The key is supposed to be in a lockbox under the fourth windowsill, Catherine.” He glanced at her and saw that she hadn’t moved. “Catherine?”

Her head was lifted as she gazed out at the fog-shrouded bayou.

“Catherine,” he repeated.

She shook her head as if to clear it. “It’s … eerie here. For a minute I thought—” She turned away and moved quickly toward the house. “Fourth window.” She retrieved the key and opened the front door. “Pretty obvious. It’s a wonder that the place hasn’t been burgled or trashed.”