Sight Unseen (29 page)

“No, you were wonderful to me. It wasn’t your fault that I couldn’t be at ease around you.”

“It
was
my fault. I was the mother of a blind child, and I should have looked beyond her to try to solve the problems of her best friend, who was also blind. I was just so involved with Kendra that everything revolved around her.”

“I know that,” Olivia said. “I’m not giving you a guilt trip, Diane. We worked our way through it, and we’re friends now.” She added softly, “But there’s no true friendship without honesty. I want that for us. I couldn’t be honest with you when I was growing up. I had too many hang-ups.” She made a face. “Not that I don’t now, but my problems and hang-ups don’t have anything to do with you.”

Diane gazed at her for a long moment. “You need some help dealing with them? I’m damn good at solving problems. Even you have to admit that, Olivia.”

“Hell, yes.” Olivia smiled. “But you know that wouldn’t work. We’re both too independent these days.”

“I could be tactful … maybe.” She nodded, thinking. “Sure. Why not? Kendra obviously won’t let me run her life and keep her happy and safe. I have plenty of time and energy to spend on you. Yes, it’s an excellent idea. I’ll take you under my wing, and it will be good for both of us. Think about it, Olivia.”

“I am thinking about it,” Olivia said warily. “And it’s scaring me.”

“Coward. You wanted someone in your corner, here I am.” She smiled. “I may be a little late, but look at all I’ve learned in that time that can benefit you. I’m a treasure trove of knowledge and experience. For instance, I don’t believe you’ve been pursuing medical ways to cure your blindness with enough dedication. I’ve been doing a good bit on my own, but I left it up to you. Maybe I shouldn’t have done—”

“You’ve been searching for a cure for me? I didn’t realize that, Diane.”

“You should have. You’re my daughter’s best friend, aren’t you?”

“Yes. No. I think you’re her best friend, but I come pretty close.”

“The relationship is completely different. She thinks I’m obsessive and possessive.”

“Are you?”

“Of course, but I make every effort to control it. And the love makes it palatable for her. I wouldn’t be that way with you.”

“Good. I’m relieved. Because I’ve no intention of being adopted by you in any shape or form.”

“Don’t be absurd, it wouldn’t be like that. Think about it. I’d be very good for you.” She hesitated. “Besides, I’d enjoy it. I like you.”

“I like you, too,” Olivia said. “But you could smother me.”

“Take the challenge. You’re stronger than that.”

Olivia lifted her chin. “Yes, I am.” She got to her feet and took the three steps to the balcony railing. “I’ll consider it. But don’t be surprised if I don’t agree to be your next pet project.”

“I
will
be surprised. We have issues to resolve, and this is one way to do it. In the end, we might shape a relationship that will be something extraordinary.”

“Diane, you’re impossible.” Olivia ruefully shook her head. “I took one innocent step, and you’re pulling me willy-nilly down the course to the finish line.”

“And what’s wrong with that? There’s always a prize waiting at the finish line.”

“True.” Olivia was laughing as she turned back to the forest. “But sometimes it’s a booby prize. Did you ever—” She stopped, her head suddenly lifting.

“Olivia?”

“Shh.” Olivia was silent a moment. “Diane, you said that this balcony faces straight out to the forest? That the hillside curves around on either side of us?”

“Right.”

“Then no one could be looking at us unless they’re in the middle of that forest down there. But that’s not likely at this hour.”

Diane straightened in her chair. “No. Why?”

Olivia didn’t speak for another instant. “Someone’s out there. Maybe in the woods. He may not be looking at us but he’s
there.
”

“Agent Nelson?”

“No, he’s guarding the front of the house.”

“It could be that Tad Martlin, the Special Forces person we met today.”

“Maybe.” She shook her head. “But I don’t think so.”

“You heard something?”

“No. Or maybe I did. I can’t be sure.” She tilted her head, listening. “I have very good hearing. Not as good as Kendra, and I can’t put things together like she can.” She looked out into the darkness. “I don’t think I heard him. I
feel
him.” She moistened her lips. “And it’s not a good feeling. Bad … it’s bad.”

Diane jumped to her feet. “Then let’s do something about it.” She grabbed Olivia’s arm and pulled her toward the French doors. “I doubt if anyone could get on this balcony, but we won’t take a chance.” She whisked her inside and locked the doors. “Call Agent Nelson and have him come inside. I’ll phone Tad Martlin and tell him to scour the woods on either side of the house.” She reached for her phone. “We’ll take care of it.”

Olivia was looking at her. “It’s only a feeling. I have no proof, Diane.”

“There’s always a theory before there’s proof. And some theories are based on feelings. As a blind woman, your instincts are finely tuned,” she said as she checked the number and started to dial. “So we won’t discount them. I’m in your corner, and we’re fighting this together. Now go call Agent Nelson and we’ll check it all out.”

CHAPTER

12

San Diego

9:05
A.M.

LYNCH FELT THE TENSION GRIP
him as he saw the ID on his phone. Tad Martlin.

Not good.

He punched the access. “What’s the problem?”

“Nothing that I can tell. Diane Michaels called both of us late last night and told us to scour through the woods around the house.”

“She heard something?”

“No, she said Olivia sensed something.”

“Sensed?”

“That’s what she said.” Martlin paused. “And I’m not ridiculing her. You and I both know that instinct is a valuable tool. But no one can testify to accuracy.”

“What did you find?”

“Nothing last night. I went out this morning when it got light, and I still saw no footprints or marks of passing. If someone was out there, they were very woods-savvy.”

“What did you tell Kendra’s mother?”

“The same thing I’m telling you. She’s sharp, and she deserves the truth. What’s more, she can handle it. She accepted my report and asked only two things. One, that I keep alert and assume there was someone out there last night. Two, that I not tell her daughter that there was a possible problem. Since it didn’t pan out, she didn’t want her worried.”

“Neither surprises me.”

“She shut down that FBI agent that’s parked inside guarding them, too. However, I didn’t promise I wouldn’t report to you. What do you want me to do?”

He thought about it. He didn’t like even a hint of a threat to Kendra’s mother and Olivia, but this was too vague to be a legitimate concern.

And God knows, Kendra had enough to worry about right now.

But Kendra would kill him if she found out there was danger to the people she loved, and he hadn’t told her.

However, no real threat had been demonstrated.

So accept the responsibility and do what Kendra’s mother was doing. Keep a close eye out for potential peril and protect Kendra from frantic worry for no reason.

“Lynch?”

“You’ve got a pretty good commander in chief out there. Do what she tells you. But keep me informed. I want to know if there’s even the slightest inkling of anything wrong.”

“You’ve got it.” He hung up.

Lynch stared thoughtfully at the phone as he pressed the disconnect. He was definitely uneasy.

Forget it. Nothing he could do now.

He had to concentrate on getting Kendra to that FBI meeting and zeroing in on Myatt.

FBI San Diego Field Office

10:25
A.M.

“FIVE MINUTES UNTIL SHOWTIME,”
Griffin said into the P.A. microphone at the front of the war room. “Unit leaders, verify that your teams are in place and ready to move.”

Now it did seem like a war room, Kendra thought as she and Lynch moved through the crowd of agents and support personnel. A high-wattage projector was throwing a map of greater San Diego onto a twelve-foot-wide screen high on the front wall, augmented by two flat-screen monitors. Pulsing blue dots indicated the GPS tracking beacons of the response teams, located at strategic locations around the city.

A systems chief from the wireless telephone provider, Lightwire Communications, stood at the front of the room wearing a headset, linked to the company headquarters in nearby Escondido.

One by one, the response teams checked in. They were ready.

The room’s roar of voices abruptly subsided, dropping in volume as the clock inched closer to ten thirty.

Metcalf stepped closer to Kendra, watching the countdown displayed on the big screen. “With a little luck, this could be over by lunchtime,” he whispered.

“I sure hope so.”

The digital countdown clock neared zero.

10 … 9 … 8 … 7 … 6 …

Please let this work, Kendra prayed. Let this nightmare come to an end.

5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1.

Griffin nodded to the systems chief, and he spoke into his headset. After a moment, the technician looked up and spoke to the assembled agents and support staff. “They’ve initiated the ping test.”

He punched a button and patched his headset audio through the P.A. system.

“Account one is a no-go,” said the voice on the line. “I repeat, it is a no-go. We have no connection.”

Groans erupted in the room.

Griffin raised his hands to silence the staff.

Kendra looked around the room. Metcalf no longer had the same confidence he’d shown only moments before.

“Account two is also a no-go,” said the voice on the P.A. “Same story with account three. No connections with the towers on any of them. Sorry, guys.”

More groans from the staffers.

“Shit.” Kendra’s shoulders slumped. She had hoped against hope. All that soaring optimism she had tried to keep alive was ebbing away. “I guess there’s a reason they call them disposable phones.”

“It’s not over,” Griffin said. “We know that third phone has made contact with the prison less than twenty-four hours ago. He probably just leaves it powered down until he’s ready to use it. We’ll continue to live-monitor, and the teams will stay in place. I’m telling you this could still work.”

Kendra leaned against a table. “I want to believe that. Damn, I want to believe it.”

“It’s our best shot,” Lynch said. “In the meantime, we’ll just keep following every lead. You know how it works … keep chiseling until the dam breaks.”

“Chisel? I wanted a sledgehammer, remember?”

He smiled. “Just point me in the right direction.”

“Maybe I can point you there.” Agent Reade called from the other side of the room. “Come look at this.”

Reade was immediately surrounded by Kendra, Lynch, Griffin, and several other agents. She pointed to the screen of her laptop. “San Quentin sent over the fingerprints they had on file from that visitor who was posing as a crime writer. I ran them, and we got a match.”

Kendra inhaled sharply. Hope was again beginning to stir.

Lynch bent down and squinted at the readout. “And who is it?”

“His name is Norman Wallach.”

Kendra froze. “And where does he live?”

“Right here in San Diego. I haven’t had a chance to do a full search on him yet, but his record is fairly clean. He had a DWI about a year ago, and he was arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct earlier this month. It looks like he’s lived at several different addresses in the past few years.”

Kendra studied the record. “I want to talk to him. I
have
to talk to him.”

Reade looked at Griffin. “I don’t mean any disrespect, sir. But I thought since I ran this down, I should be the one to—”

“I know. I know,” Kendra said. “I understand. And I’m not trying to run roughshod over you, Reade.” She moistened her lips. “But I have to be the one. You see … I know who this man is.”

Mission Heights

San Diego

2:15
P.M.

LYNCH PULLED UP TO THE CURB
in front of the dilapidated Mission Heights apartment building. He nodded toward the chipped stucco and dozens of missing vertical blinds. “It looks condemned.”

Kendra sadly nodded. “He used to live in such a beautiful house.”

Lynch gazed at her. “You talk as if you’ve been there.”

“I have.”

He was silent a moment. “You notice how tactful I’m being not to bombard you with questions? I figure you’ll tell me eventually.”

“I appreciate the restraint. Being tactful must be extremely painful for you.”

“Exceptionally.” He smiled faintly. “But you’re worth it.”

They climbed out of the car and walked up the sidewalk to the front entrance. Although it had obviously once been a security door, it now opened freely without being buzzed by a tenant. They climbed the stairs to the second floor and made their way to an apartment at the end of the hall.

Kendra knocked on the door, and after thirty seconds with no answer, she tried again. Finally, she heard footsteps. The door opened a crack, just enough to see that it was indeed the man from the interview footage.”

“Norman Wallach?”

“Yeah.” He looked as if he’d been sleeping. He was a slender man, midforties, with longish gray hair.

“I’m Kendra Michaels and this is Adam Lynch. We’re working with the FBI on an investigation. May we come in?”

He stared at her for a long moment. “Kendra Michaels. You know … actually meant to write you a note or something. I just … couldn’t.”