Eve (21 page)

“You should have waited.” Judy had appeared with two covered plates. She was trailed by a little girl with sandy brown hair and huge brown eyes with extravagantly long lashes, who carried a tray of condiments. “You’re too impatient. I keep telling you, John.”

“Life’s too short.” John met Judy’s gaze. “Isn’t it?”

An indefinable expression flitted across her face. “Yeah, I guess maybe you’re right.” She set the covered plates on the table. “Which is why you should enjoy the hell out of my fajitas. Eat.” She pushed the little girl forward. “Cara, this is Ms. Duncan. She’s a friend of John’s. Say hello, honey.”

Cara stared at her gravely. “Hello. You’re wearing Mama’s shirt.”

“She was kind enough to lend it to me. I’m glad to meet you, Cara.”

Cara nodded. “I wanted to see you. Mama said you were better than the movie star.” A smile suddenly broke the gravity of her expression as she turned to John. “How is she better, John?”

“In all sorts of ways.” John smiled back at the little girl. “I’ll explain later. It would take too long.”

“Come along, Cara.” Judy gave the child a gentle shove toward the kitchen. “I’ll let you help load the dishwasher and then off to bed you go. Say good night.”

Cara looked over her shoulder. “Good night, Ms. Duncan. Good night, John.”

“Good night, Cara,” Eve said.

Then the door swung shut behind mother and daughter.

Eve smiled as she gazed after them. “Sweet child. So solemn. And Judy’s … unusual.”

“They broke the mold. Or she broke it. That’s more likely.”

“Not the ordinary employer-employee relationship.”

“I don’t do employer well. I just have people who work with me. I don’t have time for any other crap.” He handed her the steaming plate and the plate of tortillas. “Like I told Judy. Life’s too short. What were we talking about before she came in?”

Eve had to think for a minute. “Books?”

He nodded. “After I escaped and got some semblance of a mind back, I started collecting and reading. I like having books around me.”

“You’d get along with Catherine’s son, Luke. He has a passion for books, too.” She unwrapped the tortillas. “And for the same reason.”

“I didn’t know she had a child. How old?”

“Luke is eleven.” She looked at him. “I’m surprised you don’t have a dossier on Catherine, too. She was the one who Nate Queen was dealing with.”

“Oh, I do. But I guess he didn’t think her personal life would be of any interest to me.” He picked up his fork, and added casually, “Or maybe he was protecting her.”

She was abruptly jarred. The conversation had not been ordinary by any means, but it had possessed an odd, almost comfortable, familiarity. That last remark was not at all comfortable. “Why should he think her child should be protected from you?”

He warily looked up. “I said the wrong thing.”

“Did you? Nate Queen knows more about you than I do. Why should a child be threatened?”

“He shouldn’t be threatened.” His lips twisted. “But Nate Queen thinks I’m capable of any atrocity. I can’t blame him. I don’t have a great track record.”

“Against children?”

“No,” he said quietly. “I’ve never hurt a child to my knowledge.”

“You’d either know or not know.”

“I hope you’re right. I’d never do it deliberately.” He shook his head. “But there were missions when I was so messed up, I didn’t know what was going on. Sometimes I even blacked out, sometimes for days at a time. I just obeyed orders and got the job done.”

“And what if a child was in the way?”

“I don’t remember any—” He broke off. “What do you want me to say? Dammit, I
can’t
be sure. Maybe I don’t want to remember.” His eyes were glittering in his taut face, and the words spat like bullets. “You want to know for certain? Ask Queen if I ever murdered a kid. I’m sure he’s kept a tally going of all the sins I committed during those missions. But that’s all they did. They kept records. They didn’t try to stop me.” He stopped and drew a breath, obviously struggling for control. “But that’s not what you really want to know. You want to know about Bonnie. I don’t believe I’ve ever had one of those blackouts except on a mission. I’d remember Bonnie.”

“Why? You’ve never told me why you were in Atlanta. How did you even know you had a daughter?”

“I’ll get to it.” He looked away from her. “Eat your dinner. Judy will come stomping back in here and yell at both of us.”

“I don’t care.”

“But I do.” He looked back at her. “And you’re in my world now. My world, my people. I’ll give you what you want, Eve. But it will be in my own time. This isn’t easy for me, either.”

She had known her questioning had been painful for him, but she had not been able to stop herself once she’d started. “Then, dammit, why did you bring me here?”

“I told you why.”

“Resolution? Bullshit.”

“Maybe for you.” His smile was slightly self-mocking. “But when you’re a touch unstable like me, it’s important.”

“When can we talk about Bonnie?”

“Soon.” He poured her a glass of wine. “But now we’ll talk about other things. Tell me about Joe Quinn, Eve.”

“I love him,” she said tersely. “He’s strong and straight and everything I could want. I don’t need phony movie stars to pamper my ego like you, John.”

He made a face. “That evidently stuck in your head. I admit sometimes I do have to reach to keep amused.” He added soberly, “I’m not on the attack about your lover. Life is rough and can be lonely. I’m glad that you found someone to make you happy. I’ve tried, but it never happens with me.”

She had not expected that response, and it caught her off guard. She went back to the original subject. “When can we talk about Bonnie?”

“Tell me about your reconstructions. How does it feel when you’re doing the sculpting? What kind of technique do you use to get such accuracy?”

She didn’t answer.

He smiled and lifted his glass to her. “My world, Eve,” he said softly.

And no amount of persuasion was going to move him until he wanted to be moved. But she couldn’t just abandon the subject. Go along with him. She’d come back to Bonnie later. She picked up her fork. “Forensic reconstruction isn’t exactly light dinner conversation.”

He followed through immediately. “Neither is stealing from corpses, prison, and starvation. In comparison I think you’re on the sunny side.” He handed her the glass of wine. “So tell me about your skulls.”

CHAPTER

12

3:40
A.M.

COLONEL NATE QUEEN LIVED IN AN
impressive condo in the trendy area of Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C.

“Nice address,” Joe said. “You wouldn’t think the military would pay this well.”

“Private funds? Do you want me to go in and get him?” Catherine asked Joe, as they drew up before the building. “He’ll be surprised to see me, but he won’t go for the jugular.”

“Are you trying to protect me, Catherine?” Joe asked. “Or don’t you want me to take out one of your prize contacts?”

“Both.” She grinned at him. “You’re such a gentle soul that I wouldn’t want Queen to think that he’d have a chance with you. That could be fatal.” She got out of the car. “But you don’t seem amenable. Suppose I take out the lock, then disable the alarm while you go up and start the discussion with Queen. Good cop–bad cop?”

“Queen will probably be too savvy for that. We’ll see how it goes.” Joe moved toward the front door.

Catherine was able to unlock the door for him a few minutes later. “Give me a minute.” She went around the side of the building, traced the alarm wire, and disabled it.

When she came back around to the front, Joe had already gone inside and disappeared. It didn’t surprise her. She was right behind him, moving silently through the foyer and up the stairs.

She heard a curse, then a solid thump from one of the bedrooms on the second floor.

Silence was clearly no longer necessary.

She took the rest of the steps two at a time and reached the open door of the bedroom seconds later.

Nate Queen was naked, on the floor beside the bed, and Joe was straddling him, his hands around Queen’s throat. A stream of obscenities was issuing from Queen’s mouth.

“Shut up,” Joe said between his teeth. “I’m not ready for you to talk yet. You’re not saying the words I want to hear.”

Joe was mad as hell. Time to enter the scenario before Joe’s grip on Queen’s throat proved lethal. Catherine turned on the overhead light. “Let him up, Joe. We wouldn’t want him to catch cold.” Her gaze wandered farther down on Queen’s naked body. “Or suffer a serious inferiority complex.” She picked up a brown robe from the chair and dropped it down on Queen’s face. “Move very carefully, Queen. My friend’s not in a good mood.”

“Or don’t.” Joe released Queen and got off him. “I’d just as soon that you didn’t.” He glanced at Catherine. “He gave me a few problems. He was awake. You’d think he was expecting us.”

“Not you. Do you think I’d be scared of you?” Queen jerked the robe off his face and sat up. His heavy-jowled face was flushed with rage as he glared at Catherine. “What is this, bitch? Since when do you bring your scum to—”

“Careful,” Catherine said. “He brought me. I’m just here to try to keep you alive long enough to get the information we need. It’s not going to be easy for me. I’m almost as angry with you as he is.”

“We’re wasting time.” Joe dug his hand in Queen’s hair and pulled him toward the chair a few feet away. When Queen began to struggle, he punched him in the stomach, then heaved him into the chair. “John Gallo. Tell me where he is. Now.”

Queen’s expression changed, became wary. “Catherine, I told you that I couldn’t help you out. My source folded on me.”

“I heard what you told me,” Catherine said. “I didn’t believe you then. I sure as hell don’t believe you now. You’re dirty, Queen. You’re working hand in glove with Gallo. Talk.”

“Go screw yourself.”

Joe’s hand was suddenly on his throat, his thumbs on the carotid muscles. “Be respectful, Queen. You’re not going to die yet, but you’ll hurt. I’m really good at pain.”

Queen’s face was turning beet red, and his eyes were bulging. “Catherine, stop him from—”

“Let him breathe, Joe. At least for a minute or so.”

“What are you doing to me?” Queen gasped. “You’re a government agent, Catherine. We’re on the same side.”

“I’m not on your side,” Catherine said. “You lied to me. I want to know where Gallo took Eve Duncan.”

“Eve Duncan?” Queen moistened his lips. “I don’t know anything about her. Or Gallo.”

“Gallo knows a lot about you. He told Eve that he owned you.”

“That son of a bitch.” Queen’s expression turned ugly. “Crazy, arrogant bastard. Someday, I’m going to find a way to cut his heart out.”

“Stand in line,” Joe said. “The problem may be moot. Where’s Eve Duncan?”

“I told you, I don’t know anything about—” His head snapped back as Joe’s fist crashed into his jaw. “Shit.” He shook his head to clear it. “He never mentioned Eve Duncan. You were the one who was causing problems, Catherine. I thought he might go after you.”

“And you didn’t warn me?”

“I tried to convince him to leave you to me.” He was gazing at Joe. “How could I know he’d go after her? It was Catherine who was stirring up the trouble. Catherine can take care of herself.”

“Where is John Gallo?”

He shook his head. “I can’t talk about him. I’d lose my job in a heartbeat.”

Joe leaned forward, his face close to Queen’s. “Do you know what you’ll lose if you don’t talk?” he said softly. “I’ll cut off your dick and stuff it where the sun doesn’t shine.”

“Joe, don’t bother your head with little things,” Catherine said, straight-faced. “I have a friend in Hong Kong who taught me much more sophisticated methods to get what we need.”

“Don’t get involved in this, Catherine,” Queen said. “Gallo is our problem. We’ll deal with him.”

“You didn’t deal with him,” Joe said. “Now it’s up to us.”

“Where is he?” Catherine asked softly.

“I don’t think he’ll hurt her.”

“But you don’t know.”

“He’s been interested enough to insist we give him reports on her.” He added quickly, “But he never made a move.”

“Until now,” Joe bit out. “You said he was crazy. What made you think he wouldn’t be volatile as hell?”

“Our psych people think that he’s keeping it under control these days. Though they say he has signs of dissociative identity disorder—a split personality.” He stared at Catherine accusingly. “Why couldn’t you leave it alone?”

“Where is he, Queen? You mentioned Utah. A lie?”

He shook his head. “I was thinking about turning you loose on him. I thought maybe I could convince my superiors to let you at him. I’m sick to death of Gallo.”

“Where in Utah?”

Queen didn’t answer.

“You
will
tell me, Queen,” Joe said softly. “You’ll tell me where he is, how to get to him, and everything else you know. You’ll either tell me now or later. You’ll be a lot clearer and more coherent if you choose now.”

Queen glanced at Catherine. “Stop him, or I’ll make things so hot for you that the CIA will throw your ass out so fast your head will spin.”

“Eve’s my friend, Queen.” She held his gaze. “You made a mistake. Correct it, and you’ll get out of this without too much damage. Where is Gallo?”

His glance shifted from her face to Joe’s. Then he looked away. “Oh, what the hell. What do I care? I’m not going to take any more punishment to protect that bastard. Gallo has a place in Mazkal, Utah. A big compound in the mountains. If he has Eve Duncan, he probably took her there. I’ll give you the address, but it’s guarded as tight as Fort Knox. You’re not going to get in.”

“I want to know everything you can tell me about access,” Catherine said. “We’ll get in.”

“And you’re going to tell Gallo that I told you?”

He was afraid, Catherine realized. Queen wasn’t a coward. Gallo must be formidable. The knowledge was making her uneasy. “It may not be necessary.”

“No, you can’t kill him,” Queen said. “He has to stay alive. We’re safe as long as he’s alive.”

“Meaning your branch of Army Intelligence?” Joe asked. “Then you may all start having to live on the edge.” He took a step back from Queen. “I want an address, a map, and anything else I can use against Gallo.” He picked up the robe on the floor and threw it to Queen. “Start moving.”

“I have to go to my office downstairs.” Queen shrugged into his robe. “I have a map we made of his compound about a year ago. At least what we knew about it. He’s a secretive bastard.”

“Now why would you want to go to that trouble?” Catherine said. “Planning a raid? Or were you going for extermination.” She followed him as he left the bedroom. “I’d say a raid. Gallo must have something on you. You’d want to get in and make sure the evidence wasn’t left carelessly about if something unforeseen happened to him.” She glanced over her shoulder. Joe was going through the drawers on the nightstand. Smart move. Queen might want to keep anything of importance close to him. She followed Queen down the stairs. “What does he have on you?”

“Screw you. I’m giving you what you want. That’s all you’ll get from me.” He turned on the light in the office. “I can still get out of this if I work it right. And who knows, Gallo may kill you.”

“You can always hope.” She watched him go over to the desk and unlock the drawers. “But you’d better hope Eve is still alive when we get there. Otherwise, Joe is going to explode, and no one may come out alive. He’ll go nuts.”

“Another one?” Queen asked sourly. “I’m used to dealing with nutsos after Gallo.”

“Are you? Why deal with Gallo? Why not just lock him up and throw away the key?” She tilted her head. “Oh, that’s right; you did that, didn’t you? But the North Koreans decided to keep that key.”

“He volunteered,” Queen said defensively. “He was a Ranger. He knew that going in on that mission was dangerous. He made the choice.”

“He was there for a long time. You couldn’t arrange a trade?”

“It wouldn’t have been wise. If we’d acknowledged Gallo, then we’d have had to make awkward explanations.”

“My God.”

“Horrified?” His lip curled. “Why? You know how it works. You do what you have to do to get the job done.”

Yes, Catherine knew, but this was nasty beyond belief. “But he escaped. Did you at least help?”

He didn’t answer. “I have the map here.” He pulled out a folded paper and pushed it across the desk. “And a few possible scenarios that we thought might work to take him down.”

“Did you help him escape?” she repeated.

“It would have been too risky.” He scowled. “He made out all right. After he reached the coast, he was picked up and taken to Tokyo. He had good medical attention.”

“What kind of shape was he in?”

“Why are you asking? Why do you care? He’s your target.”

“You said he was crazy. If he’s crazy, he’s a threat to Eve. I have to know how crazy … and why. What will trigger him?”

“He was half-starved. He was in solitary for the first two years. He was tortured. No permanent physical damage that the doctors could tell.”

“Physical. Mental?”

“Hallucinations. Periods of total withdrawal. Nightmares. Episodes of uncontrollable rage. After six months, we convinced the doctors that he was well enough to be released into our custody.”

“Why would you want to do that? Why not leave him in the hospital?”

“It wouldn’t have been smart.”

“Why not?”

“When he was delusional, he was … indiscreet. He raved like a lunatic. We couldn’t afford for the Koreans to know about his mission. Washington would have been embarrassed.”

“So you took him away from medical care. What did you do with him?”

“We put him back doing the work he’d been trained to do. He was a Ranger.”

“As ill and irrational as you say he was?”

“He performed very well. We were surprised.”

She was studying his expression. “You sent him out to get killed,” she said softly. “He was an inconvenience, and you wanted him out of your path. Suicide missions.”

“Ridiculous. He survived them, didn’t he?”

She just looked at him.

“See how sympathetic you are when he has his knife to your throat,” Queen said bitterly. “Or when you find Eve Duncan in a gully in those mountains.”

“I’m not sympathetic.” She crossed the room and stuffed the map in her pocket. “I just get sick to my stomach with all of us sometimes.”

“Do you have it?” Joe was standing behind her.

“Yes. I was about to get rid of him.”

Queen stiffened.

“No, I’m not going to kill you.” Catherine came around the desk. “As you said, it wouldn’t be smart. We’ve all got to be practical and smart, don’t we? Though I’d love to take you out. I have a hunch you caved too easily and are using us to do your dirty work. But I’ll resist the temptation. Just can’t let you cause us any trouble.” She reached in her pocket and pulled out a hypodermic. “Fight me, and you’ll end up with air in your bloodstream and a possible embolism. Otherwise, it’s fourteen hours of sleep.”

“Don’t do this.”

“Take your choice.” She plunged the needle into his neck.

Two seconds later, Queen collapsed on the desk.