Gerrit settled back to rest until the end of the flight, determined to find out all he could about this mystery woman. In a few minutes, he felt himself slip into another world, darker and more sinister.
A wicked, twisty path led him down the face of a cliff, rocky shale making each step treacherous. Above, bare trees stood dark against a star-pocked sky, like angels of death pronouncing sentence upon his soul. Their gnarled limbs twisted out in agony as they struggled to pull him back into their grasp for final judgment.
Down below, only darkness and a bottomless pit. A familiar voice seemed to be drawing him down into the bowels of the earth, where more voices called out. He had no choice. Angels of death loomed above. A dark abyss lay below.
As he slipped and slid down the rocky slope, something inside compelled him to continue, as if promising answers to all his questions if he would just submit. Give in. Suddenly, his feet gave way, and he began to fall into the deep cavern, screaming.
“Gerrit, wake up.”
He shot his eyes open to see Alena leaning over, shaking his arm.
“You seemed to be having a bad dream.”
Sheepishly, he sat up and stretched his arms. It was the same recurring dream. And it always ended with him falling, pulling him toward what he feared most-that unknown beyond death. This dream began after he visited his parents’ gravesites and continued ever since.
Sleep always came at a cost.
Chapter 27
Harrogate, England
Richard clutched the phone. “Give me some good news, boy. I’ve got Senator Summers waiting in the lobby.” One of Richard’s contacts just called in about the Seattle murder investigations.
“We got the piece of evidence you wanted hidden at the bomb site before the first units arrived. Just a matter of time before they link the trigger to the Russians. We did everything but stamp Russia on it. I don’t know if the feds will release that information or withhold it to verify a suspect’s confession.”
“What about the body?”
“Still unable to identify it, sir. I knew where the explosives were set, but additional charges had been placed around that bed. The body almost vaporized. They’ll be lucky to gather any of the remains. And even if they do, it’s so charred they may not be able to pick up any usable samples for identification-even DNA. It’s like we had two separate explosions that went off simultaneously.”
“Let me know the second they learn anything about the remains. I want assurances that Gerrit was in that house.” Richard lowered his head, frustrated. “And that incident in San Francisco? Have them check all the security cameras, boarding information, everything. I want to know what happened to our people on the ground. I mean, C4 in her purse? Two guys wind up in the head because someone slipped them poison? I want to know who did this. I want them interrogated and disposed of-permanently. Am I clear?”
The man on the line paused before responding. “Sir, we’ve already been over that-the security cameras, travel records, everything. I don’t know whether we will be able to come up with anything.”
“Don’t you dare tell me you can’t find any information on one or more people operating in a highly protected international air terminal. We’ve got all kinds of electronics in those buildings. If need be, use our satellite surveillance feeds to isolate this crew. I want to know who they are.”
“I’ll get right on it, sir.”
“There has to be a connection between Gerrit and what we’re trying to do. I know his uncle is still out there somewhere hiding. Did they connect? It’s imperative to know whether Gerrit is dead. Alive…he is serious trouble.”
He slammed the phone down and yelled to his assistant through the closed door. He jerked his head toward the ceiling when his assistant poked his head in. “Senator Summers is upstairs in the lobby. Escort him directly to my office. Don’t let him take any detours.”
The assistant nodded and slipped out of the room.
Richard leaned back in his chair, trying to calm down. So much at stake here, and too many unresolved issues. No matter how hard he exerted control over this operation, people seemed incapable of giving him any resolution to these matters. How hard would it be to determine whether that body was Gerrit’s?
What if his suspicions became a reality? What if Gerrit is still alive?
He jumped up and closed the door to his office, then returned to his desk and snatched up the phone. He redialed the same number he’d called minutes earlier. The same voice came on the line.
“Look, let’s assume that Gerrit is alive.”
“But he-”
“Shut up and listen. If he’s still alive, then he had help. Go back to the first bombing where his uncle disappeared in Seattle. Take that man’s life apart. Check every contact, every move he made, leading up to Gerrit’s parents’ deaths. I want to know everybody and anybody Joe O’Rourke may have contacted when he started running. I want to know where he landed in his efforts to hide, who helped him.”
“That’s going to take-”
“I don’t care about anything but tracking these guys down. We need to eliminate any exposure to our project. Get on this right now.”
A sharp rap on the door made him turn toward the sound. “Got to go. Let me know what you find.” He hung up the phone. “Come in.”
A haggard-looking John Summers entered the room as Richard came around the desk, extending his hand. “Senator, I am so sorry about Marilynn. Please accept my condolences.”
Summers’s jaw tightened, broadcasting the man’s state of mind. “I don’t need your condolences. I want answers. I want to know how this happened.”
Richard pulled over a chair. “Sit down, John. I’ll tell you what I’ve learned.”
The senator balked. “Tell me you had nothing to do with this. Everywhere I turn, I’m getting stonewalled. Just the way you like to operate.”
A look of shock crossed Richard’s features, an expression he’d cultivated over the years. “I can’t believe you’d think-”
“Save the innocence for someone who might swallow that bull, Kane. I flew all the way to this godforsaken place to meet you face-to-face. I wanted to look into your eyes when I asked this question. Did you have anything to do with Marilynn’s death?”
“John, I swear to you, I had nothing to do with her death. I will do everything in my power to find out who did.”
The senator’s whole body seemed to wilt as he sank into the chair. “Since her mother and I split up years ago, Marilynn was the only family I had left. We’ve had our differences, but I did love her. I had great hopes for her future. And now…this.”
Richard lowered himself in his chair, letting the man talk.
“I can’t get any answers. You’d think the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence could get information on his own daughter’s murder. DOJ, FBI, Seattle PD, ATF-they’re all giving me the runaround. I want to know who did this.” He seemed to have run out of energy as he studied Richard across the desktop.
Gritting his teeth for control, Richard leaned on the desk, clasping both hands together. “We are looking into this because her death is a great blow to our efforts. I, too, had great hopes for your daughter. She was bright, articulate, and filled with drive that would have taken her anywhere.”
“So what happened?” The senator’s voice softened, his tone almost pleading.
This was not the senator Richard remembered only a week ago. He was like a beaten man. He would have to monitor Summers more closely. If this man fell apart, all of them would have serious exposure. He might jeopardize everything.
“John, here is what I just learned from some of my people on the ground. As I suspected, I believe the three deaths-Marilynn’s, Gerrit’s, and the other cop’s, Mark Taylor-are all related.”
“Who killed my daughter?” The man’s voice sounded hoarse.
“You remember the last case Marilynn worked on? The Russian mob?”