The Perfect Witness (15 page)

Mandak’s hand clenched on his cell phone.

Gillen wasn’t answering. He had answered thirty minutes ago when Mandak had called but not now.

Mandak tried Gillen’s partner, Pontlin, in the backyard of the Walberg house. It went immediately to voice mail.

Shit.

He was out of his car in seconds and tearing across the front yard toward the sidewalk leading to the Walberg backyard.

He almost stumbled over Pontlin as he rounded the corner.

Blood.

Pontlin was crumpled on the brick walk leading toward the kitchen door. Blood had poured from his mouth, his eyes were wide open.

Dead.

A sandy-haired man in black trousers and shirt was standing near the kitchen door, his gaze lifted to the second floor windows. Mandak recognized him from the photos of Camano’s men e-mailed to him by Josh Dantlow.

Ledko.

Take him out.

He reached the door in a heartbeat.

Ledko turned, his knife gleaming in his right hand. His eyes widened as he saw him. “Mandak. What the—”

Mandak kicked him in the groin, then grabbed his wrist and turned his own weapon on him.

The knife entered Ledko’s heart a second later.

Ledko grunted, his eyes bulging.

His knees buckled, and he fell to the ground.

Mandak pushed him aside.

One down.

But Ledko had been looking up at the windows of the second floor. Looking for what?

Camano’s other man, Navarro?

Where the hell was Navarro?

He moved closer to the kitchen door.

The lock had been broken, and the door was cracked open.

Mandak carefully, silently, opened the door.

*   *   *

“ALLIE.”

She was being shaken.

“Wake up, we’ve got to get out of here.”

Mandak. She knew that touch. Knew that voice.

She opened her eyes.

Blood!

Blood on his shirt. Blood on the hand shaking her.

She sat bolt upright in bed. “Mandak, I don’t—”

“Just get up. Don’t dress, just slip on your shoes. We’ve got to get out of here.”

“Why?” She jumped out of bed and thrust her feet into her strollers. “Camano? You’re bleeding. Are you hurt?”

“No.” He grabbed her duffel, zipped it, and tossed it to her. “You carry this.” He headed for the hall. “I need my hands free.”

“Why?” She ran after him. “What happened? Did you wake Natalie and Lee yet?”

He didn’t answer.

She stopped short. “Mandak?”

“Come on, Allie. I don’t know how much time we have.”

“Natalie.” She turned and saw the door to Natalie’s studio down the hall was thrown wide. “It doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t you wake her?” Her heart was pounding, and the world was whirling, darkening, around her.

Blood. All that blood on him …

No!

She ran toward the studio. “Natalie!”

She heard Mandak cursing behind her.

A man’s body was lying just inside the studio door. His neck was twisted at an odd angle. His eyes were wide open, staring into nothingness.

Dead.

“Allie.” Mandak was behind her. “Come away.”

“He’s dead. What—”

And then she saw Natalie.

She was crumpled beside her easel. Blood, everywhere. Her head was lying in a pool that streaked and dampened her white chignon with dark red. The front of her russet tunic was covered with blood.

“No!” She ran across the room and fell to her knees beside Natalie. “It’s okay.” She gathered her thin body close. “You’ll be fine. I’ll take care of you. You’ll be—”

“She’s dead, Allie,” Mandak said gently. “She was still alive when I came, and I thought I might— But it was too late. Navarro stabbed her in the chest, then cut her throat. I couldn’t do anything. She died in my arms.”

“She’s not dead,” she said fiercely, clutching Natalie closer. “I won’t let her be—”

But Natalie was so still, too still.

And all that blood …

“Natalie…” She rocked Natalie’s slight body back and forth. “Do something, Mandak. Call 911.
Do
something.”

“There’s nothing to do, dammit. Except get you out of here to safety. I managed to get rid of Navarro and Ledko, but I can’t be sure that there aren’t more of Camano’s men hovering close enough to—”

“Nothing to do…” Her eyes widened in sudden horror. “Lee. Where’s Lee? Why isn’t he here?” She numbly laid Natalie gently down. “He’d be here if Natalie was hurt. He’d be—”

“If he could,” Mandak said. “It wasn’t possible this time.”

“He wouldn’t let her be alone. Not if she was hurt. I know it. He wouldn’t—”

She was on her feet and running from the room.

If he could.

Of course, Lee could help. Nothing would keep him from Natalie.

She ran down the stairs.

It wasn’t possible this time.

Don’t think of those words.

Garage.

Lee had been in the garage packing up his books.

She threw open the hall door leading to the garage.

“Lee?”

She stopped short.

Lee was lying by an open cardboard box half-filled with his precious old books.

The back of his skull was crushed and bloody.

“Lee!” She started dazedly toward him.

“No.” Mandak was suddenly between her and Lee. “You’ve had enough. I won’t let you go through any more.”

“Get out of my way,” she said shakily. “I’ve got to go to him.”

“He’s dead. Natalie’s dead. There’s nothing you can do for either one of them. They’d want you to go with me.”

“Get out of my way.”

“Change your mind. I’m doing what’s best for you, Allie.”

“The hell you are,” she said fiercely. “You’re keeping me from helping Lee.”

His gaze searched her face. “You’re not thinking. And who can blame you?” Then he stepped aside. “Okay. Have it your way.”

She started toward Lee.

Mandak’s thumb pressed on the side of her neck.

Darkness.

*   *   *

BLOOD.

Natalie …

Lee …

Blood!

No! Go away. Back to the darkness. None of it was true. It was all a nightmare. She’d wake up and run down the stairs, and Natalie and Lee would be at the breakfast table. Lee would be teasing Natalie and ask Allie to settle the—

“It’s time to face it, Allie,” Mandak said quietly. “I’ve let you have healing time, but any longer would be harmful. You have to come back.”

Searing anger tore through her.

“That’s right, be angry with me. I don’t care. It will burn away the darkness.”

The darkness was already fading, she thought with panic. Bring it back.

Don’t make her see Natalie lying so still that Allie knew she would never—

But the darkness was gone now, and she knew that Mandak wouldn’t let it return.

She opened her eyes. “Damn you.”

He smiled slightly. “Now that’s the Allie I know.” He was sitting on a gray, velvet-cushioned chair beside her bed. “But I believe that you might be a little more tolerant if you allow yourself. After all, I gave you time for actions and reactions to sink in.” He paused. “Now tell me what happened to Natalie.”

She couldn’t tell him. She was starting to shake.

“Tell me.”

She didn’t answer.

“Tell me, Allie.”

If she answered, it would mean that it was true.

“You know it’s true,” Mandak said. “Tell me.”

She shied away from the truth he claimed was real. “She was … hurt.”

He waited.

“Blood.”

“And?”

“Dead.”

“Say the words.”

She didn’t want to say the words. “She was dead,” she said stiltedly. “That man … killed her.”

“And Lee?”

“Dead.” The word was tearing her apart. “His head … it was crushed.” She curled up in the bed to ward off the pain. “But I don’t know who … killed him. Was it the same man who killed Natalie?”

“Either him or Ledko, another one of Camano’s men. Ledko was standing watch outside the back door when I got there. Your security guards had already been killed. After I dispatched Ledko, I went inside and found Lee in the garage. My guess is that Ledko killed Lee, then went back out to stand guard. Navarro probably had headed straight upstairs to get to you … and Natalie.”

He sounded calm and precise. Ugly words, ugly actions. How could he sound so calm when her whole world was falling apart?

“He had to pass my door to get to Natalie’s studio,” she said numbly. “Why didn’t he come into my room instead of attacking her?”

“The door to her studio was wide open when I ran up the stairs. Navarro may have heard her moving around and decided to take out a possible threat before he went after the prime objective.”

Blood staining Natalie’s beautiful white hair.

“He should have come after me.” Allie’s voice was shaking. “Lee and Natalie were only trying to help me. They had nothing to do with any of this.” She closed her eyes. “I should have left the house as soon as you told me that Camano might be a threat. I should have run away and never contacted them again.”

“It was too late even then,” Mandak said quietly. “Plans evidently were already in place, and the house was being watched. Navarro and Ledko knew you lived in that house and would have gone after you regardless. When they didn’t find you, they would have tortured Lee and Natalie to find out where you were.” His lips twisted. “I’d like to tell you that if you’d gone with me, everything would have been different, but I can’t do that.”

Her eyes opened, and she said fiercely, “There should have been a way to save them. It’s my fault. I should have been able to keep them alive.”

“Bullshit,” he said roughly. “Stop it. I’ve been fighting that guilt complex you’ve been carrying for two days, and I thought I’d beaten it down. But here it is raising its head again. Look, it happened. It wasn’t your fault. It was Camano’s. We all tried to keep it from happening, and we failed. So the only thing we can do is mourn them and take revenge where we can.”

“It’s not bullshit,” she said. “It should never—” She stopped as his words hit home. “Two days?”

He nodded. “I decided to keep you under until you could work through the first shock and trauma. I thought I’d managed to stabilize you, and I couldn’t let you stay under much longer. You were harder for me to bring back every time I let you slip away.” He paused. “Natalie and Lee meant too much to you. You had to play out all the agony and regret while I was still there to help you filter it.”

“I don’t remember any of that.”

“You might not ever remember it. My presence wasn’t really important to you during these days. I was just something to hold on to. Or it might gradually come back to you over time.”

“It was very important if you were manipulating what I was thinking.” She met his eyes. “You said you were trying to stop me from feeling guilty.”

“I was suggesting, arguing. I never tried to force the issue.”

“How do I know that?”

He shrugged. “You don’t. You don’t trust me, and I have no concrete proof.” His lips twisted. “But I believe you know that I wish your mind to be clear and strong and healthy. You’re no good to me otherwise.”

“I don’t know anything about what you want from me.”

“The same thing that Lee and Natalie wanted from you,” he said softly.

“Don’t you
dare
use them to get what you want,” she said fiercely.

“I’m not going to do that. You’ll decide for yourself. And I assure you, I didn’t do anything to influence you. I was only concerned with keeping you from going around the bend. You came pretty close a couple times. Now that you’re safe, we can take the next step.” He leaned back in his chair. “But you’ll want to ask questions. I’m at your disposal.”

Questions. She supposed she should ask questions, but it was difficult to recognize that anything was important but Natalie and Lee. Her gaze traveled around the luxurious room. Gray and silver and crystal. Rich fabrics and sleek furnishings. “Where the hell am I?”

“Las Vegas. You’re at Sean Donavel’s apartment on the Strip. He’s a friend of mine.”

“He must be a very good friend. Do you often drop in with guests who remain unconscious for two days?”

“No, it’s a first.” He smiled. “But Sean and I go way back, and I knew he wouldn’t object. I could have picked someone else, but I thought you’d feel safer to wake in a place that was fairly close to the university. At least you’re in the same general area. I didn’t want to whisk you away from your comfort zone right away.”

“Comfort zone?” Her lips twisted. “Do you actually believe that I’d ever think of that place as home again?”

“No, but you had happy memories as well as that horror there.” He stared her in the eye. “Didn’t you, Allie?”

“You know I did.”

“But I’m not part of those happy memories. I’m the threat, the darkness hovering and blocking out the sun. I thought you might need to know I hadn’t kidnapped you and taken you away from everything you’d known. You’re not that far from that house in Flagstaff.”

“And I’m not to consider this Sean Donavel a threat, too?”

“You’ll have to make your own decision about him.” He shrugged. “But you will anyway. You’re nothing if not opinionated. It goes with the territory with your particular gift. But you’ll have to judge him at face value. I’ve blocked your ability to read his memories.”

“What?”

“I’ve decided to block your ability entirely while you’re going through this healing process.”

She stared at him, shocked. “You can do that?” She shook her head in disbelief. “I know that you managed to block it entirely with Lee and Natalie, but I was still bombarded by some of the students at the university. That damn seventy percent.”

“But it wasn’t overwhelming. It wasn’t so bad once we did some work on it.”

“No.” Her lips tightened. “But, dammit, it sounds as if you could have blocked all of those attacks. I didn’t have to be constantly on guard and fight off that terrible, overpowering…” She drew a deep breath. “You made me go through it when I didn’t have to? I could have been totally normal?”

“You’ll never be normal. You have to live with it. I can do a total block for short periods but not forever.”