The Seductive Impostor (30 page)

“Anyone else involved?” Jenkins asked.

Kee shook his head. “Luke was alone. But he was conscious when they brought him in. If you go to the hospital, you might get something from him.”

Jenkins narrowed his eyes at Kee. “Is Rachel around?”

“She's home,” Kee said, turning toward the cliff path. “Watching my daughter. I'm going to tell them what happened and then I'm headed to the hospital.” He stopped and looked back at Jenkins. “Matt went in the ambulance with Luke. He knows as much as we do,” he added, turning again and heading along the path. “Jason, bring the car to Rachel's.”

Jenkins called his name, but Kee kept walking, eventually breaking into a jog. Jason would escort the deputy to his squad car and then meet Kee back in Sub Rosa's tunnel.

The last thing any of them needed was help from the local law. Jenkins seemed to be a good man, but dammit, Rachel's life hung in the balance and Kee wasn't about to let anything or anyone get in his way.

He stopped at the entrance to the cliff tunnel and turned and looked back out to sea, taking a deep breath and willing his pounding heart to calm down.

God, he should be shot for being so stupid.

This was it. He was done. Just as soon as he got this mess cleaned up, he was settling down with Rachel and Mikaela, here in Puffin Harbor, and opening a lobster stand or something.

Jason emerged from the tunnel five minutes later and quietly stood beside Kee. Together they watched the
Six-to-One Odds,
under full sail now, disappear around a large point of land.

Kee spotted the small launch returning, breaking through the waves and sending sea spray over its lone passenger.

Jason chuckled. “Peter isn't about to miss any of the fun.”

Kee pulled his cell phone from his pocket and called the ship's phone. Mikaela picked up on the first ring.

“Daddy!”

“Ahab told you we found Luke, sweetheart. He's going to be okay. But he is banged up a bit and had to go to the hospital. I'll take you in to see him tomorrow.”

“Can I come back now? Did you find Rachel and Willow?”

“Not yet. We're going to go get them right now. You be good for Ahab, baby. Sleep tight.”

“Daddy?”

“Yes?”

“When you find Rachel, will you tell her I love her, too?”

Kee closed his eyes again, this time fighting for control. “That's the first thing I'll tell her,” he said softly.

“I gotta go. Ahab's hollering at the crew again. I gotta go save him. 'Bye, daddy.”

The line went dead before Kee could respond. He softly closed his cell phone and stared at the horizon.

“Any toys in particular you want me to dig out?” Jason asked. “Night vision? Infrared?”

Kee watched the launch approaching the dock. “I'm thinking we should use rubber bullets,” he said, looking at Jason.

“We don't want to tap Vegas on the shoulder, we want to kill the bastard,” Jason snarled.

“But we can't risk Rachel in the process.”

“I haven't forgotten how to hit what I'm aiming at,” Jason countered.

“Rubber bullets, with lethal loads for backup,” Kee ordered. “And percussion grenades.”

Jason rubbed his hands together. “Now you're talking,” he said, turning back to the tunnel entrance. “I'll meet you and Peter in the foyer.”

“Check the trip wires on your way through. I want to be able to tell which tunnels they're using.”

Jason stopped and looked back. “Do you think Rachel knows where the room is?”

Kee hesitated, then shook his head. “She was telling me the truth last Sunday.”

“Then Vegas is going to be piss-faced mad when he realizes she can't help him.”

“She'll bluff him along, knowing we'll be waiting.”

Jason suddenly brightened. “Yeah, she will. She's got brass,” he said, disappearing into the tunnel.

Kee turned back to the ocean, lowering his hand to Mickey's head and ruffling his fur. He could just make out the reflection of one of the kayaks as the sun sank into the horizon, reflecting off it every time the small boat rose on a swell.

What a hell of a mess.

“How's Luke?” Peter asked, running down the path from the dock.

“He'll make it,” Kee assured him. “He was shot twice, once in the leg and once in the side. He lost blood, but he was talking when he left here.”

“And Rachel and Willow?”

“Duncan's gone after Willow. It's Raoul Vegas, and we're expecting him and Rachel to arrive sometime after dark.”

Peter simply nodded, then smiled. “Mikaela did good. She's growing up fast.”

“Too fast,” Kee said, turning and entering the tunnel. “We're using rubber bullets, and lead for backup.” He looked back at Peter. “We stop Vegas here, tonight, either by catching him or killing him—I don't give a damn which.”

Peter whistled. “He tugged the wrong tiger's tail this time,” he said, closing the gate behind them.

S
he was right where she had
begun almost two weeks ago, except this time it wasn't the demon of Sub Rosa's past she had to deal with, but the demon now holding the gun at her back.

Willow's life depended on Rachel's being able to lead Raoul Vegas to Thadd's secret room and then get him safely back out with his precious Cup of Virtue without Kee's interference. She knew the tunnels were wired, but she didn't know how. She only understood that if they didn't return to the house where Willow and the other man were waiting by sunrise, Willow would die.

“The tunnels are under surveillance,” she told Vegas as she carefully opened the cliff gate. “But I don't know how.”

“I do,” he said, prodding her with his gun. “Mary tripped a wire when we came here last Saturday. I'll lead the way. You stay directly behind me, and don't touch anything, not even the walls.” He crowded past her, stopping and holding the barrel of the handgun against her cheek, his flashlight turned to illuminate their faces. “If Oakes is dead, Sub Rosa's treasures are the least of his men's worries. If not, then think hard before you do anything foolish. Your sister's life depends on our returning by sunrise.”

That said, he turned and walked down the tunnel, confident that he had her cooperation.

“Why did you kill Mary?” Rachel asked, following along in his footsteps, hugging herself to keep from touching anything.

“Mary was willing to help me only as long as Sub Rosa was empty. But the article in the newspaper spooked her, and she started burning the boats and anything else that might tie the Foster name to the stolen art.”

Rachel stopped walking. “Mary was protecting
us?”
she asked. “But why?”

Vegas stopped and shone the flashlight back at her, making it impossible for Rachel to see his face. “She told me only last week that she had been granting your father's wish these last three years,” he said with a sinister chuckle. “As he sat dying on the floor of the bedroom, Frank Foster asked Mary to look out for you.”

“Mary was there?”

“I actually had the gun to her head at one point,” Vegas said. “But she told me I would never find Thadd's room on my own—that she would help me if I spared her.”

“For three years? You and Mary have been searching for Thadd's room for three years?”

“Not consistently. I still had my own lucrative trade to look after. I only searched a few months each summer so that I could pose as a lobster fisherman,” he explained, turning and continuing down the tunnel.

“Why didn't Mary just go to the police?” Rachel asked, following him again.

“Because of her promise to your father,” he reminded her. “She knew you had inherited some of the stolen art without even being aware of it. She was protecting you.”

“Then if you know we didn't realize what my father and Thadd were into, what makes you think I know where the secret room is?”

He stopped and shone the light back at her. “You've had almost two weeks to think about it, since you first came here to replace some of the stolen items you had. I'm sure you've figured it out by now.”

“You knew I came here?”

She barely made out his nod. “I was just about to head into the tunnel myself that night, but you went limping in with your backpack full of stolen art. It was all I could do not to burst out laughing. I couldn't believe my eyes—that I was watching someone breaking into a house to return stolen treasure.”

“I'm still not certain where Thadd's room is,” she warned him. “I'm only taking an educated guess.”

“Where?” he asked, taking a step toward her. “Where do you think it is?”

“On the third floor.”

“We've covered every damn inch of that third floor,” he said, angrily waving the flashlight. “And the second, and first, and even the basement. It's got to be down here, deeper into the cliffs.”

“I'm betting Willow's life that it's on the third floor,” Rachel said, moving toward him and then brushing past. “But we have to go in through Thadd's bedroom.”

He pulled her back behind him and aimed the light at the floor of the tunnel as they walked. “What's in Thadd's bedroom?” he asked, turning at an intersection and carefully making his way up the stairs.

“A secret entrance to his vault.”

Vegas stopped and spun toward her. “Mary told me there was none. That the only way in was through a thick titanium door.”

Rachel shrugged. “She lied.”

With a curse, Vegas turned and started climbing again.

Rachel hugged herself, her still damp clothes sending shivers down her arms. At any point she could simply slip through one of the panels and into the mansion before Vegas even realized what she was up to. And then she could disappear into another tunnel and could keep up the game of cat and mouse until she could make her escape.

But she'd been blindfolded earlier and didn't know where Willow was, so escaping was not an option—not if she wanted to see her sister alive again.

They reached the panel to Thadd's bedroom, and Rachel balked. The last time she'd been in that room it had been littered with dead and dying people she loved—killed by the monster she was helping now.

“What?” he sneered, prodding her with the barrel of his gun. “You afraid of ghosts?” he asked with a laugh, pushing her into the room.

Rachel stumbled in with her eyes closed, the horror of three years ago still vivid in her mind. Strong hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her out of the way, her scream of terror drowned out by the sudden explosion of gunfire.

The room suddenly flooded with light, and just like that—in mere seconds, really—it was over but for Rachel's screaming.

“No!” she shouted, running to Vegas and pushing Jason out of the way. “No! Don't kill him! He knows where Willow is!”

“We have Willow,” Kee said softly, coming up behind her and lifting her away.

Jason rolled Vegas onto his stomach and quickly tied his hands behind his back, then tied his feet, straightening and giving him a harsh kick in the ribs.

Rachel struggled against Kee. “Willow!” she continued, not hearing what he was saying. “We only have five hours!”

Kee turned her around to face him, shaking her to get her attention. “Willow's safe, Rachel. Duncan is taking her to the hospital right now. He thinks she has a concussion.”

Rachel stopped struggling. “She's safe?” she whispered, looking deeply into Kee's eyes. “Duncan found her?”

He nodded. And smiled. And he pulled her up against him and hugged the breath right out of her. “God, I'm sorry,” he whispered into her hair. He leaned back and looked at her. “This has been the longest three hours of my life.”

His smile suddenly disappeared. “What's the matter? I promise you, Willow's safe, sweetheart.”

It was the
sweetheart
that did it—that term of endearment used by lovers.

Rachel broke free and stepped back, only to nearly trip on Vegas. She turned, drew back her foot, and kicked the bastard as hard as she could in the ribs. And she kicked him again, and then threw herself down on top of him and started pummeling him with her fists, screeching every foul name she could think of. She shouted Luke's name, punching Vegas in the face, cursing him for making her kill Luke.

“Easy there,” Kee said, pulling her back. “Luke's not dead, sweetheart. He just got out of surgery and will be back in fighting form in a month.”

Rachel spun in Kee's arms and smacked his chest with her fist, trying to pull out of his grasp.

“Don't call me ‘sweetheart'! And I'll kill him!” she shouted, twisting to get free. “He murdered my parents. And Thadd and Mary. He murdered my mother and father!”

Kee opened his arms. “Then have at him,” he said softly, nudging her forward. “You may not kill him, Rachel, but I sure as hell won't deny you some satisfaction.”

Rachel became aware of Peter and Jason standing nearby, silently watching.

She couldn't continue. Vegas might be able to slap a semiconscious woman across the face, but she simply couldn't continue.

Well, maybe just one more.

She drew back her foot and drove it into the monster's belly with enough force that he vomited. And she stepped back, hugged herself, and looked at the three men in silence.

“Remind me never to piss you off,” Jason said, suddenly relaxing with a smile.

Kee moved to take her in his arms, but Rachel stepped away.

He looked at her, his eyes unreadable.

Rachel walked over to another panel in the south wall and punched the wainscoting. A new panel popped open. Rachel disappeared into the dark void, the three men silently following her.

“Vegas?” Jason asked softly.

“He's not going anywhere,” Kee said from behind her.

Rachel stopped on the bottom step and touched the tunnel wall to her right. A small door slid open, and she punched the month, day, and year of her birthday into the lighted electronic keyboard. The door in front of her slid open, and Rachel stepped into Thaddeus Lakeman's huge vault.

Kee stepped in behind her, then Peter, then Jason.

Peter whistled under his breath. “Old man Lakeman liked to keep his options open, didn't he?”

“Why didn't you use this passageway the night I arrived?” Kee asked, his eyes dark and probing.

“Because I didn't want to go through Thadd's bedroom.”

“Why have you brought us here?” he asked. “Is this where you were bringing Vegas?”

Instead of answering, Rachel looked up at the light in the ceiling. It was a good two feet larger than the light in her pantry. She looked around, found a stool tucked in the corner, and pulled it to the center of the vault. She stepped up the two steps, reached up, and was just able to grasp the fixture by the edges and open it.

She quickly hopped off the stool as the fixture swung open, and a light automatically came on in the overhead room as a folding ladder lowered into the center of the vault.

All three men collectively sucked in their breath. Rachel stepped out of the way and waved her hand for Kee to proceed.

“So you did know where it was,” he said, not looking up at the room but at her.

“No. I only figured it out today.”

“How?”

“I realized that my father would have built it more like a vault than a room, and that it would probably have to be climate-controlled.” She shrugged. “The infrastructure was already here because of this vault, and the foundation and walls below us were built to support the weight of the titanium walls and door, so they definitely could have supported another armored room. It was the only logical place to put it.”

“And in order to enter the secret vault, you would have to get into this vault first,” Jason said, putting his foot on the first step of the ladder. He looked at Kee, Kee nodded, and Jason went up and Peter followed.

Kee remained below, staring at her.

“So now you've found what you were after,” Rachel said, hugging herself again. “You'll be able to collect the reward and turn Sub Rosa over to the rightful heir.”

Kee didn't move, didn't say anything for several heartbeats. “Vegas told you,” he finally said.

“He told me that the reward for something called the Cup of Virtue alone will make you all rich men.”

“Rachel.”

She held up her hand to stop him. “How did you know we'd be coming out in Thadd's bedroom?”

“Mickey has a hell of a nose. He could tell where you were in the tunnels from the moment you stepped through the cliff gate. He followed your progress through the walls.”

“Where is he now?”

“Locked in the hall. We didn't want him in the room. He could have ended up in the middle of something nasty.”

“Speaking of which, how come Vegas isn't dead?”

“Rubber bullets. You get hit by several of them and, believe me, you're down for the count.”

“It's empty, people,” Jason said through the opening in the ceiling.

“What?” Rachel gasped, going over to the ladder and looking up. “Empty?”

Jason nodded and moved out of the way so Rachel could climb into the room. Kee followed, and the four of them stood in silence, staring at the huge, completely empty room. Rachel turned in a circle, gawking.

“Where is everything?” she whispered.

Nobody said anything.

It was gone. All gone. But where?

Raoul Vegas hadn't taken it.

“Mary,” Rachel whispered, looking at the men. “Mary Alder must have moved everything.”

“But where?” Peter asked. “Could there be another hidden room in the mansion?”