Long After Midnight (11 page)

“Noble,” he said. “I’m afraid I wouldn’t be as generous.” He glanced away, his gaze raking the dark houses along the block. “Nice supportive neighbors you have. Someone must have heard that shot.”

“Most of them know how Michael died, and they’ve seen a police car here for the last two nights. Naturally they’re afraid.” She shuddered. “I would be too.”

He studied her and then smiled. “But I don’t think you’d be hiding behind closed doors if you thought a neighbor was in trouble. I’ll be right back.” He disappeared into the house and returned with a length of drapery cord. He swiftly tied Ishmaru’s hands behind him.

“What are you doing? He’s helpless.”

“You won’t let me kill him. I need to make sure of him. Ishmaru has the reputation of being always more than expected.” He pulled her to her feet. “Come on, we have to get out of here before the police and ambulance come.”

“Run away?” She shook her head.

“You just shot a man.”

“It was self-defense. They won’t hold me.”

“Maybe not for an extended time, but do you want to leave your son alone and unprotected while you make explanations down at the police department?”

“He’s safe now.”

“Really? And where’s the officer who was supposed to be protecting you?”

She glanced at the black-and-white. “I don’t know.”

“Probably somewhere spending Ogden’s money. Suppose the police send your officer to protect Joshua while they’re holding you?”

“Stop it. I’m not going anywhere with you. You could be lying. I don’t even know you.” She ran her fingers through her hair. She couldn’t think. “And you’re confusing me.”

“You don’t have to go with me. Go to Noah at the motel. Now’s not the time to make a mistake. You wouldn’t be the one to pay for it.”

Joshua would pay. Joshua must be protected. Maybe Drakin was right. At any rate, she needed time to sort things out. She nodded jerkily. “I’ll go to the motel.”

“Good. I’ll phone Noah and tell him you’re coming. Do you need anything from the house?”

“No.”

“Don’t change your mind.” His gaze searched her face. “Don’t get halfway there and decide to take off. You need all the help you can get.”

“I’ll go to the motel,” she repeated. She turned and watched Joshua and Phyliss coming across the lawn toward her. She was still clutching the gun, she realized. She picked up her purse and stuffed the weapon inside. “That’s all I’ll promise.”

“Hurry. You’ve got to move fast.” He glanced at Ishmaru. “And don’t untie him. I have a hunch he’s playing possum. Are you sure you don’t want me to send him to the happy hunting grounds?”

So casual. So cool. What kind of a man was he? She shivered. “I told you no.”

“Just asking.” He hesitated. “I don’t want to leave you alone. Suppose I wait until you take off before I go.”

“And what will you do to him after I leave? Kill him? You go first. I don’t trust you.”

He nodded approvingly. “Good, you shouldn’t.”

“Leave.”

“Promise you won’t untie him.”

“I promise,” she said through clenched teeth.

“Then I’m on my way.” He strode down the driveway.

She stared after him. The appearance of this stranger had been as bewildering as everything else this evening. Bewildering and terrifying. He had seemed to know just what buttons to push to get her to do what he wanted.

“Emily . . .”

At the whisper she went rigid and then swung around to look at the man on the ground.

His eyes were open and he was staring directly at her. How long had he been conscious?

“I knew it was you, Emily.”

“My name is Kate.”

“Yes, that too.” He smiled. “You’re . . . wonderful, Kate. You did . . . well.”

A chill went through her. He was lying there with a wound she’d inflicted and there was genuine admiration in his voice. Noah was right, the man had to be insane. “Why did you do this?” she whispered.

“Coup . . . I will have three when you are all dead.” He closed his eyes. “But you alone will bring me great honor, Kate. I can hardly . . . wait.”

She took a step back before she realized what she’d done. There was no reason to be afraid. He was no threat. He was wounded, bound, and soon the police would be here. She could hear the sirens now. She would call Alan from the motel and tell him what happened, and he would make sure this scum was kept in jail, away from them.

She turned her back on him and went to meet Phyliss and Joshua.

Ishmaru opened his eyes and watched the taillights of the Honda move down the street away from him.

Happiness flooded him, warming him. The woman had brought him down but he felt no shame. The women were always the coldest, the fiercest. That’s why warriors always gave their prisoners to the women for torture. This wound she had given him was great torture. Every breath he took was pain, and she had known it. When the man had asked if he should finish him, she had said no and the man had thought her merciful.

Ishmaru knew better. She had wanted him to suffer. She wanted him to lie here and know she had done this to him. He had been right about the strength he had sensed in her.

Sirens . . . far away . . .

It made no difference what she had said. She had called an ambulance to heal him so that he would be well enough to face her again. She had realized that he was her destiny.

But the police would also come. A gauntlet for him to run before he could get to her.

Clever, Kate.
She was testing him to see if he was worthy of meeting her again.

He was worthy.

He rolled over and began to crawl up the driveway toward the open front door. He would get a shard of glass from the window he’d cut and slice through these bonds, then go out the back door and lose himself in this suburban wilderness of tract houses.

He was bleeding and each movement was agony. It didn’t matter. He was used to pain, he welcomed it.

He was in the shadows at the side of the house.

The sirens were closer.

He must move faster. He pressed his back against the brick wall and pulled himself up to a standing position.

Dizziness swamped him and he swayed.

He fought it back and staggered toward the front door.

You see, Kate, I’m coming.

I’m worthy of you.

SIX

S
he’s coming,” Seth said. “And she thinks you sent me. Since I behaved in my usual heroic fashion, I wouldn’t disillusion her.”

“Damn you, Seth. I told you not to interfere.”

“I was sitting at the airport. I was bored and got to thinking. You know that’s one of my fatal flaws. Now say ‘Thank you, you were right, Seth,’ and I’ll hang up.”

There was a silence on the other end of the phone. “Thank you.”

“‘You were right, Seth,’ ” he prompted.

“I suppose you were. How much did you scare her?”

“I was tame as a pussycat. Well, almost. I guess I’ll have some bridges to mend. Call me back on my cellular when you finish talking to her. She’s not an easy sell. You may not convince her to go to the cabin.”

Noah was waiting on the walkway outside the motel room when Kate drove up.

“I rented the two rooms next door to mine for you,” he said as Kate got out of the car. “I don’t think we should stay the night, but you all can get some rest while I finalize plans.” He opened the passenger door for Phyliss. “I’m Noah Smith, Mrs. Denby. I know this is upsetting for you. How much has Kate told you?”

“Not enough,” Phyliss said grimly. “That maybe whoever blew up your plant may have killed Michael. That doesn’t explain why we’re running away when we should be talking to the police.”

“There wasn’t time,” Kate said. “I’ll call Alan later.” She opened the back door. “Come on, Joshua.”

“I don’t like it here,” he whispered as he got out of the car. “How long are we staying?”

“Not long.” Noah smiled at Joshua. “We haven’t been introduced. I’m Noah Smith and I’m going to make sure you and your mother and grandmother are safe from now on.”

“Are you a policeman?”

“No, but I can still help you.”

“You can’t be very good. You weren’t there to help Mom. She almost died.”

Noah grimaced. “I know. It won’t happen again.” He handed a room key to Phyliss. “Will you take him inside and make him comfortable? I need to talk to Kate.”

Phyliss looked at her daughter-in-law, eyebrows lifted in question.

Kate nodded. “Please. I’ll be with you soon and explain everything.” She gave Joshua a little push toward Phyliss. “Go with her, honey.”

“No.” His hands nervously opened and closed at his sides. “I’m not leaving you. What if that man comes after you again?” He glared contemptuously at Noah. “He’s no good. He almost let you die.”

“He won’t come after me. He was badly hurt. I shot him.”

“But you didn’t kill him. You should have shot him again. Or let that Seth kill him like he wanted to do.”

“I promise you that I’m in no danger, Joshua. I’ll be right next door.”

Phyliss came forward and took his hand. “Come on, Joshua, let’s get out of this wind. I’m getting cold.”

He didn’t move. “You promise you’ll come right away, Mom?”

“I promise.”

“And call if you need me?”

Kate nodded.

“I won’t go to sleep.” He let Phyliss lead him away. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Smart kid,” Noah said as the door closed behind Phyliss and Joshua. “Excellent instincts.” He opened the door of his room and let Kate precede him. “Except about me, of course.”

“He’s very protective.” She shut the door. “But children have the instincts of savages. Grown-ups are supposed to guide them away from barbarism, not encourage them. I didn’t appreciate you sending a man like that Seth Drakin to show him just how barbaric we can be.”

“Barbarism has its place. Joshua was right. You’d have been safer if the threat was eliminated entirely.”

“It will be eliminated—by the police. The way it should be.” She sank down in the chair. “I don’t even know why I’m here. I should have waited for them.”

“Because you have good instincts too. You’re just fighting them.” He leaned back against the door. “Seth said you were all very close to dying tonight.”

“It was a nightmare,” she said wearily. “Ishmaru regained consciousness before I left. He called me Emily but I think he knew who I was. Anyway, he’s not sane.”

“What did he say?”

She smiled without mirth. “He wants to count coup.”

He went still. “You know what that means?”

“Oh yes, Joshua was into cowboys and Indians before he discovered baseball. I tried to stress the splendid integrity of the Native American culture, but all he was interested in were battles and coup. It’s a charming old custom. It means to get close enough to your enemy to kill by hand weapon and gain some sort of mystical honor.” She gripped the arms of the chair to keep from shaking. “He wanted me and Phyliss and Joshua. All of us.”

He crossed the room and knelt before her. “But he didn’t get you and he won’t,” he said softly. He took her hands and held them tightly. “Not now. You’re safe here with me.”

She could almost believe him. His fingers were strong and warm and he was holding her gaze with the same strength of will. She wanted him to pull her into his arms and cradle her as she did Joshua when he woke from a bad dream.

“Now will you let me tell you what I’ve planned?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Four months ago I rented a place in the mountains near Greenbriar, West Virginia. I visited there once with an old friend. It’s completely off the beaten track, even fifteen miles from the nearest general store. I had a fully equipped lab and computer linkup installed and stocked it with enough food to last six months. I’ve buried the paperwork on the place to make sure it couldn’t be traced to me.”

“Four months ago?” she repeated slowly.

“I knew we’d need a private place when you agreed to work with me.”

“But I had no intention of working with you four months ago.”

He was silent.

She felt a sudden surge of uneasiness that was close to fear. Staring at him, she knew she had never encountered a more relentless man. “I suppose I should be grateful you didn’t kidnap me and carry me to your lair,” she said dryly.

He shook his head. “You had to come willingly.”

“So that I’d accommodate you by working on your miracle project.” She shook her head. “Incredible.”

“None of that matters. What’s important is that I have a safe place to take you and your family. I’ll arrange to have you guarded day and night. Will you come?”

“Don’t rush me. I haven’t decided.” She reached for the telephone on the bedside table. “But right now I have to call the police and tell them why I ran away.”

“They’ll come and get you. Joshua will be alone with just your mother-in-law to care for him.”

Fear rippled through her. Seth Drakin had used the same argument, the one argument Noah knew would shake her. “It won’t be like that. I’m calling a friend with the force.”

He shrugged. “Be my guest.”

She quickly dialed Alan’s home number. He answered on the second ring.

“Where the hell are you?” he demanded. “I’ve just come back from your house. What happened out there?”

“I shot him, Alan. He tried to kill me.”

“Who?”

“The same man who came last night. I shot him. I don’t know where Officer Brunwick went, but he—”

“Brunwick is dead. We found him on the floor in the back of the police car with a broken neck.”

“Broken neck?” She lifted her hand to her bruised throat. For an instant she could again feel those fingers digging into her flesh. “Is he in the hospital?”

“I told you, Brunwick is dead.”

“No, the man I shot. Ishmaru.”

“The only man we found was Brunwick, plus a little blood on the grass and in your living room, and the glass that was cut out of your window. We also heard some pretty wild tales from your neighbors.”

Her hand clenched so tightly on the phone that the knuckles whitened. “He’s gone? But he couldn’t be. He was hurt. I shot him.”

“Listen, Kate, I don’t know what the hell has happened, but a policeman is down and you know what that means. Every cop in the city, including the captain, wants answers. You have to come in and talk to us.”

Coup.

I can hardly wait.

“He can’t be gone. You have to find him, Alan.”

“Tell me where you are. I’ll send a car for you.”

Panic surged through her. “I’ll call you back,” she whispered. She hung up the phone.

“I take it your problem has escalated,” Noah said behind her.

“He couldn’t have just gotten up and walked away.”

Coup.

“The alternative is that he had an accomplice who picked him up and toted him away. Did you see anyone else?”

“No.” If there had been anyone but Ishmaru, she doubted she’d have been aware of him anyway. Ishmaru had totally dominated the picture from the moment she had seen him outside her window. “And Officer Brunwick didn’t sell out. He’s dead. His neck was broken.” He would never see his grandkids again, she thought. “He was . . . a nice man. He was going to retire to Wyoming.”

“He may not have been dirty, but he wasn’t able to protect you. He let Ishmaru close enough to kill him with his bare hands. It could happen again.” He paused. “And your friend Alan wants you to come in?”

“Yes.”

“It would mean hours and hours away from—”

“Be quiet,” she said harshly. “I’ve heard all your arguments. I know what you want. I have to think.”

Noah dropped down into the chair by the window. “Whatever you want.”

Sure, as long as it suited him, she thought bitterly.

Coup.

Joshua will be alone.

The police can’t be trusted when there’s this much money involved.

The only way you’ll be safe is to help me go public with RU2.

She spun to face him. “Who knows about this place in the mountains?”

“No one.”

“Absolutely no one?”

He nodded. “I handled everything myself.”

“And there will be no one there but us?”

“Just your family and me.”

“Then I’ll go. I’ll do what you want.” She added, “But I want one promise from you. Nothing must happen to my son and Phyliss. Whatever happens to you or me, they must not be hurt.”

“Done,” he said instantly.

“I mean it,” she said fiercely. “Don’t be glib. This isn’t negotiable. I’m holding you responsible for their safety.”

“Dare I ask what would happen if I failed you?”

“You’ll learn the true meaning of barbarism.”

He smiled. “I told you that you had good instincts.”

She moved toward the door. “I’m going to go and try to explain this mess to Phyliss and Joshua. After that, I think we’d better get out of the area. Alan said that the police are looking for me. We’ll drive to West Virginia?”

He nodded. “It’s the safest way to travel. No records and we’ll need my jeep anyway to get up the hills.”

“We’ll take both cars. I want a way out if I don’t like the setup. How long will it take us?”

“Three days.” He stood up and moved toward the bureau. “It will only take me a few minutes to pack and settle up the bill. Can you be ready to leave in twenty minutes?”

Twenty minutes to explain to Joshua and Phyliss why they were fleeing from their home like criminals? She wasn’t even sure herself that she was doing the right thing. “I’ll be ready.”

Noah waited until the door closed behind her to pick up the telephone receiver and punch in Seth’s number.

“Ishmaru is free,” he said when Seth picked up the phone. “He wasn’t there when the police arrived.”

“Son of a bitch. I knew I shouldn’t have listened to her.”

“Oh no, you should have killed him in front of her and Joshua.”

“You malign me. I would have sent the kid away. Is she going to the cabin?”

“Yes. We’re starting right away. We’re driving and should be there in three days.”

“What about Ishmaru?”

“Forget Ishmaru.”

“He’s hard to forget.” Seth paused. “Kate Denby has guts. She doesn’t deserve to have that bastard butcher her.”

“I’m taking her away from here. She won’t be in any danger. Just make sure you’re at the cabin when we arrive.”

Seth hesitated. “I’ll be there.”

“Seth.”

“I promise. I’ll be there.”

Noah was marginally satisfied. Seth never broke his word. He hung up the phone. He had not liked lying to Kate, but he hadn’t wanted anything negative affecting her decision. Seth had obviously scared her, and maybe a fait accompli would be best.

He started tossing clothes into his duffel. He could feel the adrenaline racing through him. It had been hard as hell to play a waiting game this past week. Now he could
move.

Everything was falling into place at last.

Noah was wrong.

Seth snapped the cover back on his cellular and slipped it into his back pocket.

It would be a big mistake to forget Ishmaru. From what Kendow had told him, Ishmaru would never give up now that he’d suffered a defeat. Noah was so blinded by his desire to get RU2 completed that all he could see was the plan he’d been formulating for months. He couldn’t see that Kate Denby was in just as much danger now as she had been before.

Or he didn’t want to see.

But Seth could see it and it left a nasty taste in his mouth. She hadn’t volunteered to be sucked into this, and Noah should be thinking about her first. Her and her son, Joshua. The kid was another innocent bystander. God, he hated it when kids became involved.

When obstacles appeared, they had to be dealt with immediately or they grew out of control. Ishmaru should be dealt with now.

But where to find him?

When a beast was wounded it returned to its lair.

Where’s your lair, Ishmaru?

Kendow might know. Or he might know someone who did.

He took out his cellular again and punched in Kendow’s number.

“You fool,” Ogden said coldly. “It was only one goddamn woman and you couldn’t get the job done.”

He should not be speaking of Kate in such a manner, Ishmaru thought. She deserved better than this disrespect. “I’ll do it. Be patient.”

“I’m not a patient man. I want her found and I want her dead. Did you get her records?”