“I checked out the cabin,” Black said. “Have I driven you into the wilds? You’re a hardy specimen, but what about your Eve Duncan? It’s not kind to expose a lady to such rough country. Tell her to come to me. I’ll take care that she doesn’t suffer.”
“Where should I come, Black?” Eve asked.
“So eager?” Black said. “Maybe she’s a fitting mate for you after all, Gallo.”
“Tell us how we can get Cara Clark,” Gallo said.
“For a start, you have to keep to the proper order. As soon as Queen arrives, I’m going to send him to you to get the ledger. You’ll give it to him and send him back to me.”
“The hell I will. Once you have the ledger, you’ll kill the child.”
“You think you’ll have no bargaining power? But you will, you know. I’d much rather have you to gut than that ledger. That will be step two. Believe me, I wouldn’t risk not being able to draw you to me. Of course, I’ll insist you be accompanied by your Eve. After all, she has a vested interest. I can’t wait to have a discussion with her. No, I have plans for the little girl that involve you. The only way I would change them is if you get stubborn and don’t give Queen the ledger. Then I’d have to do a reversal and kill Cara first. I will do that if you spoil the splendid scenario I’ve developed for Cara’s end.”
And Eve had no doubt he meant every word he said.
Gallo glanced at Eve and shrugged. “It seems we have no choice at present.”
“Where are you now?” Black asked.
“I’m not a fool, Black. Send Queen down the south path around the lake. I’ll come to him somewhere along that stretch. If I see you following him, then Queen will have a long walk for nothing.”
“He’ll be alone. I’m saving my energy for the big push. But don’t make the mistake of trying to follow him back to me. I’ll let you know when he arrives here.” He hung up.
“Is he lying about keeping Cara alive?” Eve asked.
John shook his head. “There’s no way to be sure, but it’s consistent with what we know about Black. He wants it all. She’d still be valuable to him if he thought he could use her as bait for a trap.”
But John had been right. The choice had been too slim to take a chance on refusing Black.
“He made me feel helpless.” She took out her phone. “But we’re not helpless. He doesn’t know about Catherine. That’s an ace in the hole. There has to be a way of getting around this. I’m calling Catherine.” She dialed quickly. “She said she might be able to find him with that gadget. Let’s give her an opportunity.”
Catherine answered almost immediately. “I’m about four miles from the property. Trouble?”
“Black just contacted us. He’s sending Queen to pick up the ledger, then he’ll have plans later that include John and me. We can’t do anything about Queen, but Cara Clark should be safe for a while even after he picks up the ledger. He has plans for her, and they’re probably as diabolical as he is. Lord, I hope she’ll be safe. But we have to know where Black is on the property fast.”
“I’ll find him. Don’t do anything until I do.”
“No promises. Judy’s little girl won’t stand a chance unless we play this right. Just line up that high-tech phone gadget and locate Black. We’ll take it from there.”
“I’ll call you when I know something.” She hung up.
Eve turned to John. “It will give us an edge if she’s able to track him. I’m just praying that she can.”
John shrugged. “Gadgets can be fluky. I’d rather trust old-fashioned scouting.”
“Catherine is smart. We’ve got to give her a chance.”
“If she blows it, and Black catches her, then the kid is dead.”
Eve knew that was true, but the actual voicing of it sent panic soaring through her. “She won’t blow it. She’s a professional. And she cares about that kid, dammit.”
John didn’t answer as he turned away. “I’m going to scout around the immediate perimeter and make sure we’re secure. Stay here and keep your hand on your weapon.” He disappeared into the shrubbery.
Eve leaned back against the huge oak tree and stared after him into the darkness. She couldn’t blame him for being doubtful. Catherine was only one person, and even the most skilled professional would have difficulty in the situation in which Eve had tossed her. Eve just had to trust her.
But she had problems with trust, and Catherine had only appeared in her life recently.
Before Catherine, she had let only Joe come close to her.
Joe.
A pang of aching loneliness swept through her. She had tried to push thoughts of him away, but they were suddenly all around her. She wanted desperately to see him, touch him. She wouldn’t feel such panic if Joe were here. He was a rock, a north star to guide her.
God knows she needed that steady north star in these woods.
Don’t be selfish, she thought in disgust. What she needed didn’t matter. It was right that she had made sure Joe wouldn’t be involved in the madness Black was weaving around them.
But that didn’t stop the loneliness.
* * *
“DID YOU PULL UP THE MAP, Joe?” Catherine asked.
“Yep, I’ve got it.” Joe was squinting at the map he’d accessed on his computer from the county records. “The deed had to be redone when the property was sold a few years ago to Gallo. It should be accurate.”
“Print it out. You can hook up the computer to my portable printer on the backseat.”
“Right.”
“We’re about a mile from the property now. I think we’d better ditch the car and start hiking.” Catherine pulled onto a side road and drove a mile or so until she found a turnout that would completely hide the car and pulled deep into the brush.
Joe pulled out the map from the printer. “Let’s go.”
She flicked off the headlights. “And where are we going?”
“I’m checking terrain. There are three areas where Black would be unlikely to set up camp. There’s a marsh to the east, high hills on the north tip of the lake, and a stretch to the southwest that was cleared of timber and would be very exposed.” He was circling the areas as he spoke. “Anywhere else is a possibility.”
“That still leaves a hell of a lot of territory for us to cover.” She looked away from him. “We could try to follow Queen back after Gallo hands over the ledger.”
“You’ve been working with Venable too long. Are you willing to risk Cara Clark’s life if Black finds out that someone is tagging Queen?”
“Not unless there’s no other option.” She shrugged. “You’re right, my mind-set is different from yours. Let’s get going.”
She took the Celltec device out of the car and pressed the access button. No light. No red button. “Dammit, I can’t get any response. But Eve says he’s here somewhere. Maybe we’re out of cell-tower range.”
“Whatever.” Joe was moving quickly through the brush. “I’m not going to wait for your gadget to kick in while he could be killing Eve and the kid.”
And neither was Catherine. She jammed the Celltec in her pocket and followed him.
* * *
“QUEEN IS ON HIS WAY,” BLACK told Gallo. “Don’t keep him waiting. The poor man isn’t really equipped anymore for the rough life. He’s gotten soft since his early years in the military. Hiring people like us to do his dirty work has sapped his strength.”
“But not his greed.”
“No, that goes on forever. I’ll see you shortly, Gallo.” He hung up.
John turned to Eve. “Stay here.” He got the ledger from his duffel. “And look sharp.”
“I’m going with you.” She held up her hand as he opened his lips. “I won’t get in your way, but I won’t be left behind.”
“Have it your way.” He turned and moved toward the lake. “But if I go down, you don’t stay around and try to save my neck. You take off and do any rescue attempt from long distance.”
She didn’t answer.
“I mean it, Eve.”
“If you go down, you’re out of it, and I make my own decisions.” She added grimly, “So if you want your way, you’d better not go down, John. Where are we going to intercept Queen?”