“So?”
“There’s a death memory in the lower level, near the river. Several rats were killed when they tried to gnaw through the wires surrounding a box that had been slid into a cavity in the walls.”
“How long ago?”
She shook her head. “I only get impressions. It’s lucky there’s a memory at all. But rats don’t necessarily always learn from their mistakes. Those old rats keep going back when they’re hungry. There’s plastic that they gnaw at … and some kind of circular-tube-type gadget.”
“If they ate the wires, maybe they actually disconnected the bomb,” Jane said.
“Or if they were outside the box, maybe the wires were meant to be an alarm system,” Trevor said. “That seems more likely. Kevin would have wanted to protect his treasure. Could you tell what else was in the room, Margaret?”
“No.” She thought about it. “But the circular tube had a WR—and the rest has been eaten. The only reason that made any impression on them was that it was on the wall.”
“They’re into wall art?” Trevor asked.
Margaret gave him a disgusted glance. “No, haven’t you noticed that you seldom see a rat in the middle of the room? That’s because they have terrible vision, and they feel uneasy unless they can hug the wall.”
“It never occurred to me,” Jane said. “But the nuke device is tucked away in the wall, and, therefore, it’s rat fodder?”
“It’s possible. I guess it could be some other box that’s been hidden there,” Margaret said. “But no one goes to that room. It’s deserted whenever the rats decide to raid.”
“Then it’s worth a shot,” Trevor murmured. “Let’s get back to the hotel and get a schematic of the Wrigley building and see if we can figure out where that room is located.” He smiled at Margaret. “Of course, we could send you back and have the rat third degree continue.”
“No, you couldn’t,” Margaret said flatly. “I’m done. It’s up to you now.” She leaned back on the seat. “Take me back to the hotel. I need a hot shower and a long nap.” She closed her eyes. “Then I’ll be fine. Too many rats … I just have to get away from them…”
* * *
“HERE’S THE WRIGLEY floor plan.” Caleb turned his iPad around on the room-service table. “It’s a damn big building.”
“We only want the lower floors.” Margaret was scanning the floor plan. “And probably an area that’s not usually frequented. Kevin wouldn’t have wanted to risk stashing the device somewhere that it would have been easily discovered.”
“And how do we find a room where no one would generally go?” Jane grimaced. “Particularly in a high-rental place like that building. It’s not reasonable that any space would be wasted.”
“And we could spend all evening going over this map and still not be sure.” Trevor was gazing down at the computer. “But there’s one way we’d know for sure.” He jabbed his finger at a cubicle on the plan. “Security.”
“What?” Jane frowned. “Security’s not even on the lower level.”
“No, but their motion cameras are focused down there. They’d be all over the building.” Caleb nodded. “And if we could get our hands on a set of the security tapes, we’d be able to run them and find the type of area that we’re looking for. If there’s no motion activity, then there’s a good chance that we’re close.”
“And how are we to do that?” Jane asked.
Caleb exchanged glances with Trevor. “Distraction, then a discreet snatch. I can provide the distraction. In fact, such a good distraction that they won’t even suspect that you were the one who made off with the tapes.”
“So I’m the one who runs the risk of the snatch,” Trevor said dryly. “And I have to rely on you to make sure that I don’t get arrested.”
“No,” Jane said. “We’ll think of something else, Trevor.”
“No, it’s a good plan.” He smiled at Caleb. “He knew that’s where I was headed when I mentioned security. And I even trust him to make an excellent distraction. It would be too obvious for him to do anything else.”
“What kind of distraction?” Jane asked warily.
“One of the security guards will start worrying about the possibility that he’s having a heart attack.” Caleb held up his hand. “Not pain, I promise. Just a rapid beat. It will end when he’s on his way up to the medical center. The other guard will probably stay with him until he’s at the facility. If he’s not, I’ll have to think of something else.” Caleb turned to Trevor. “I lure the guard away, and you get the tapes. And there would be no immediate discovery of anything wrong. You don’t have to access anything recent. You can go back to past-date files and get a day that’s already been filed away. That would be fine for our purpose.”
“I don’t like it,” Jane said flatly.
“You’d like it less if Harriet flew the coop, and we didn’t know where that nuke was located,” Trevor said. “We may have to move fast, and knowledge is power.”
He was right, Jane thought reluctantly. Harriet was on the move now, and all she was waiting for was Doane to tell her that he had Zander. Time was the enemy.
And time was running out.
Running out for Eve and for all those other innocent people whose lives would be taken if they took a wrong step.
The enormity of that responsibility was suddenly there before Jane.
Dear God, what right did they have to make that choice?
She felt the muscles of her stomach clench. They had been sitting here making plans, ignoring the fact that the situation had changed. Ignoring the fact that they had no idea what Harriet had given to Cartland when she went into the bank. They were working blind, and if there was any possibility that she’d shared information with him about the location of the detonator, it could change everything. She looked at Margaret. “We can’t even be sure that nuke is in that building, can we? It’s all guesswork.”
Margaret nodded. “I never said anything else. I could be wrong.”
And the consequences of guessing wrong were catastrophic. Jane had been struggling desperately to try to fight the battle alone for Eve’s sake. Now she knew she couldn’t take a chance even though it was tearing her apart. God, she felt sick. “We have to bring Venable into it. We don’t have the right to do anything else.”
Trevor reached over and covered her hand on the table. “I was wondering when you’d make that decision,” he said quietly. “I could see it coming.”
“I couldn’t,” she said. “Even Catherine doesn’t trust Venable to put Eve first.” She moistened her lips. “But Eve wouldn’t want us to run that kind of massive risk for her sake. We have to tell Venable what we’ve found out about Harriet.” Her hand clenched around Trevor’s. “Damn, I don’t want to do it.”
“So we don’t go after the security tapes?” Caleb asked.
Jane tried to think. “If we call Venable now, and he sends in a team to locate that nuke, then it could ruin any chance of our being able to track Harriet. If she hears about it, she might panic, and that’s the last thing we want.”
“We could verify it’s there,” Caleb suggested. “It will only take a couple hours to get those tapes. Then we could use the location as a bargaining chip with Venable to try to control his actions.”
“He’s not easily controlled,” Jane said. But any way to force Venable to listen to their suggestions to use caution would be valuable. “Okay, we’ll get the tapes, go through them, then call Venable.” She looked at Trevor. “And I’ll go with you to get them.”
Both men instantly shook their heads.
“I’m tired of this. Don’t tell me no,” Jane said. “I won’t stay here and send you out to do my job. That’s happened too often.” She gazed at Trevor. “I’m not going to get in the way. I won’t step in unless I see that you’re in trouble.” She made a face. “You keep saying that it’s your job to act as some kind of guardian for me. I don’t agree with you. But if that’s what you believe, then it should go two ways.”