Sight Unseen (37 page)

She froze, holding her breath.

He’d stopped somewhere behind her, she realized. Waiting for her to make another move, to reveal her position.

Waiting for her to do something stupid.

A full minute passed. Then another.

A brisk wind kicked up, rustling the trees and giving her an opportunity to move down the hillside undetected.

But also offering him an opportunity to sneak toward her.

She crept farther down the hill, using the shadows as a cloak against the stark moonlight.

There was a clearing ahead. No good. She’d be a sitting duck out there, even more limited in this direction. She was at the quarry’s rim, some forty feet above its granite bottom. There was water, but she had no way of knowing if it was twenty feet deep or ten inches.

An indefensible position if ever there was one.

She looked back up the slope.

Was he still waiting for her?

She slowly, quietly made her way back, timing her movements to the gusts of wind.

“Kendra!”

Pounding footsteps. Crunching brush.

Coming her way.

She broke into a run.

But something caught her ankles and sent her flying. She hit the ground hard.

She rolled over and saw what had tripped her.

A length of rope, twenty feet or more, had been pulled taut between the trees.

Chatsworth’s rope. It had to be Chatsworth’s rope.

She jumped to her feet, but in that same moment, another rope snapped over her neck.

She couldn’t breathe.

Chatsworth whispered in her ear. “You can’t ruin my symphony, love. I’ve worked too hard.” He applied even more pressure.

She felt her eyes bulge and her tongue swell as he choked the life from her. She could see their shadows in a death dance on the forest floor. Then her vision clouded, but she could see the shadow of the blade still sticking from his back …

Not deep enough. Not deep enough.

She bared her teeth, and with every ounce of energy left, hurled herself backward. They both tumbled to the ground.

The ground met the blade and drove it deep into Chatworth’s back.

He grunted, and his grip loosened.

Kendra rolled away and jumped to her feet. She stood over him, her breath coming in gasps. She watched as blood bubbled from his wounds. He writhed in agony as the carved blade protruded from his chest. “Take it … out.”

“No way. That blade is a gift from Stevie Wallach’s father. It was meant for your hero, Colby, but you’ll do as well. It’s incredibly thin and weighs only a few ounces. I guess it was easy to miss with a quick frisk.” She added fiercely, “Or maybe I had a little help from Stevie. What do you think?”

Chatsworth’s eyes were wide, glittering, and full of hatred as he gazed up at her. “You
bitch.
Do you still think you’ve won? I’m too smart for you.
We’re
too smart for you. This is only the first battle.”

“You’re a dead man, Chatsworth.” She stared coldly down at him. “There will be no other battles. Smart? You’re just a two-bit killer who decided to ride the coattails of a scumbag who was only a little more intelligent than you. He used you to amuse himself during those last months of his life. He pulled your strings, and you jumped.”

“No!” His cheeks were flushed. “You don’t know anything. I was important to him. We were like brothers. He said that I was his eyes, his hands, his sword.” He coughed, and a thin rivulet of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. “I gave him everything he asked of me. Well, almost. He kept talking about you and the gully. Always … the gully. It wasn’t my fault that I couldn’t give him you. But that’s okay, sometimes I thought he didn’t really … want me to be the one to deal with you anyway. Moriarty. He called himself … your … Moriarty.”

“Sherlock’s greatest enemy? That’s ridiculous. He flattered both himself and our relationship. I’m no Sherlock, and he certainly didn’t have the brains of a Moriarty. He was only a butcher who ended up on that execution table at San Quentin.” She added fiercely, “As for you, you’d have ended up the same way if you hadn’t decided to give Colby one last gift. You shouldn’t have come after the people I love, and you shouldn’t have come after me, Chatsworth.”

“Almost … made it.” His eyes were closing. “Do you think I’m afraid? I’m not afraid. Colby said that we’re above fear. The two of us are … different. I’ll get … over this. Just like him.”

“You can’t get over death. You’re dying, Chatsworth.”

“No, you’re wrong. You think you’re so smart, but you’re wrong about me … wrong about … Colby.”

“Open your eyes and look at me,” Kendra said. “You’ll see that I’m not wrong. I want you to know this is the end. I want you to know that you’re on your way to hell, and nothing can stop it. Open your eyes, dammit.”

He slowly opened his eyes.

“That’s right, look at me,” Kendra said harshly. “And think about all those poor people you killed at Colby’s bidding. Think about how you’re going to burn for all eternity because of them.”

She’d gotten through to him at last. For an instant, she saw realization and fear in his eyes. Then they were once more filled with a wild hatred. “The end? Never … you’ll never be…” He coughed, struggling for breath. “Closer … come closer, bitch. You’ve got to hear … Listen…”

She leaned closer, until they were only inches apart. “I can hear you, Chatsworth. What are you trying to say to me?”

“Only … this.” His eyes were burning into hers as he whispered, “Tetro … dotoxin.” Then his lids were closing. “Mereor…”

He was dead.

And Kendra was transfixed, frozen, as she stared down at him.

Tetrodotoxin?

She slowly sat back on her heels.

“Kendra?” She was barely aware of Lynch kneeling beside her. “Thank God. I heard the shots when I was down the road. Are you hurt?”

“No.” She moistened her lips. “I killed him, Lynch. But I don’t know…”

“You’re in shock.” He put his arm around her. “You’re shivering…”

“You’re right, I’m cold. I’m cold to my soul…”

“Because you killed that bastard? You know he deserved it.”

“Yes.”

“Look, you don’t have to stay here with him. Let’s go back to the car. I’ve called Griffin, and his team is on the way by helicopter. It’s over, Kendra.”

“Is it?” She was still looking down at Chatsworth’s face. “He didn’t think so.” Her mind was in high gear, thinking, searching, discarding, searching again. “And I’m not sure that I’m—” She broke off and leaned forward, her hands moving over Chatsworth’s body, searching his pockets.

“What are you doing?” Lynch asked. “What are you looking for?”

“I don’t know. It could be nothing.” She’d found a wallet. Nothing in it but a driver’s license and some cash. She dropped the wallet and jumped to her feet. “Maybe in his car…”

She was running back to Chatsworth’s SUV, where it was parked on the hill.

“What the hell?” Lynch was running after her.

She was already in the front seat of Chatsworth’s SUV when he reached her. She’d grabbed the iPad from the front seat and was going through the menu. “I’ll check the memos. You check the glove box.”

“And what am I’m looking for?”

“Information.”

“What kind of information?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Great.” He opened the glove box and started to go through it. “Nothing in here but some receipts, gloves…” He reached back. “And maybe…” He pulled out a small, ringed notepad. “This?”

She gazed at it for a moment and then slowly took the notebook. “Maybe…” She flipped open the cover. “Addresses…” She felt suddenly sick. “One of them is Dean Halley’s.” She flipped more pages. More names, more places. The Go Nuclear Club, her own address …

She flipped more pages.

Tetrodotoxin.

The word jumped out at her.

And beneath it another name and address.

She frantically flipped other pages. Nothing. No other writing for the rest of the notebook.

“You found what you were looking for?” Lynch asked.

“I think so. Maybe not enough. Give me a minute. I have to think about it.” She closed her eyes. Connect all the dots. Put it together.

Impossible. It was impossible.

But impossible was only a word.

And she was terrified that word had become reality.

“You’ll notice I’m being very patient,” Lynch said mildly.

She opened her eyes. “Come on.” She jumped out of the car. “Or give me your car keys. I don’t care which.”

“I’m coming. And it’s Nelson’s car.” He beat her to the car. “Where are we going?”

“I know the way. It’ll be quicker if I drive.” She held out her hand. “Please, don’t argue, Lynch. Not now.”

His gaze narrowed on her face, and he dropped the keys in her palm. “Though it’s against my better judgment. I’m not sure you’re in any shape to drive.”

“That makes two of us.” She got into the driver’s seat. “Get in, Lynch. We’ve got to get going.”

“Why the hurry?”

“Get in.” The car roared as she turned on the ignition. “I have to
know
…”

Coachella Valley, California

KENDRA PUT ON THE BRAKES,
and the car skidded to a stop. She stared out into the darkness, her hands clenched on the steering wheel.

Fear.

Death.

It was here again, taking her breath, assaulting her.

“May I ask where we are?” Lynch asked. “What is this place?”

“Hell,” Kendra said unsteadily. “It’s hell.”

“Hell?” Lynch gazed thoughtfully at the cliffs and the rutted landscape. “Everyone has their own hell. I should have guessed this would be yours.” He gazed down into the deep gully a few yards away. “That’s the place where they discovered all those bodies. The place where you captured Colby.”

“Yes.” She couldn’t take her gaze from the gully. “The bodies have been gone a long time. Why do I still smell the stench?” She had to move. She couldn’t just sit here. She grabbed her computer and got out of the car. She knelt in the sand and flipped it open. She stayed there, staring blindly at the screen.

Do it.

Her shaking hands flew over the keys. She pulled up the site and scrolled down.

Find the name.

Find the name.

Find the name.

Halfway down the page she found the name.

She couldn’t breathe. She felt sick.

“Okay. Tell me. Let me do something besides worry, dammit.” Lynch was a shadow standing over her.

She nodded jerkily. “I was looking for a name. The name that was in Chatsworth’s notebook. I … found it.”

“Where?”

“San Quentin personnel.” She was dialing her phone. “But I have to be—it doesn’t have to be true. I have to call Warden Salazar.”

Salazar answered in three rings. He sounded drowsy. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you this soon, Dr. Michaels. And certainly not at this hour of the night. Is there something I can do to help you?”

“Yes. I need information about someone on your staff. Edward Pralgo. Does he have a wife or daughter named Maria?”

“Yes, Maria Pralgo is his wife.” Salazar answered, puzzled. “Do you need to talk to her? I can give you Pralgo’s phone number, but he may be difficult to reach. He and Maria left on vacation this morning. Hawaii, I think. He said he needed it.” He added grimly. “I can’t blame him. We all need a spot of paradise after the ugliness we’ve gone through.”

“Give me the number.” She quickly took it down. “Thanks.”

“Do you need their address?”

“No, I have the address.” She hung up. The next moment, she was dialing the number she’d been given.

No answer.

No voice mail.

“The phone’s been turned off,” she told Lynch as she hung up. “And I’d bet that so have Pralgo and his wife, Maria.”

“Pralgo?”

“Dr. Edward Pralgo, the physician who was in attendance at Colby’s execution. It wasn’t coincidence that name was in Chatsworth’s notebook. He had a duty to perform.”

“Colby ordered him to kill the physician who was scheduled to perform his execution? Some kind of weird revenge?”

Kendra didn’t answer. She was once more delving into information on her laptop. She had to be sure she wasn’t mistaken.

Tetrodotoxin.

There it was, in as much detail as was available.

She carefully scanned the info, then slowly closed the computer. “No revenge. Not on Pralgo. He was just a means to an end.”

“What end?”

Her head lifted, and she gazed down at the gully. “Colby is still alive, Lynch.”

He was silent, his body stiffening with shock.

“No way,” he finally said. “It couldn’t happen. There are too many checks and balances. Even Salazar examined his dead body.”

“He’s
alive.
Chatsworth whispered two words to me before he died. One was
Mereor.
The other was tetrodotoxin.”

“
Mereor
means I win. The other?”

“The explanation of why he thought he and Colby had won. Tetrodotoxin is a substance sometimes called the Romeo drug because in the death scene Romeo used a drug that faked his death. It’s also known as the poison in pufferfish and has been used by voodoo shamans to induce zombification. It lowers your pulse and body temperature while also creating an artificial coma. Unless screened for, it can easily be mistaken for death. But it has to be properly administered, or it can cause the paralysis of the diaphragm and can actually cause death.” She swallowed hard. “Colby had no intention of dying in that execution chamber. He set Myatt to seeing that he had an out.”

“Pralgo?”

“The physician was in charge of administrating the fatal dose and declaring the criminal dead. He’d be the one to switch the doses. The tetrodotoxin would do the rest.”

“This is all supposition.”

“Until we find Pralgo. That may be difficult. My guess is that Maria Pralgo was kidnapped by Chatsworth and held captive to force Pralgo to do what Colby wanted. After the fake execution, Pralgo would have cleaned up any evidence of what he’d done and gone to a meeting place where he’d been promised that his wife would be released.” She shook her head. “Pralgo must have been desperate to believe that anything he could do could keep his wife from being killed.”