He was getting cocky. But it was better than the intimidation hed shown when hed first slipped into Bens place. Well see. She blew him a kiss. Go to sleep. Ill wake you when I come back.
She closed the door and walked to the desk across the room. It took her ten minutes to get through to Scott Maren and another five to explain the situation and its urgency.
Christ, Lisa, its not that easy. What excuse am I going to give for cutting my stay here short?
Youre clever. Youll come up with something. She added quietly, I need you, Scott.
Silence. It will be all right. Hang tough, Lisa. Ill call the hospital and tell them to hold off the au-topsy. Ill be there as soon as I can.
She hung up the phone. God, she was lucky to have Scott. He was going to be essential with damage control.
She turned on the computer, entered her pass-word, and opened the file on Eve Duncan. Every-thing was moving smoothly toward a salvage of the situation, and yet she was uneasy.
Eve Duncans image on the screen stared back at her. Kinky tousled curls, only a minimum of makeup, large brown eyes behind round wire-rimmed glasses. There was a world of character in that face, more than enough to make her fascinating-looking instead of just attractive. But the woman ignored the basic rules of power; she didnt use the assets she was given. She reminded Lisa of herself during her first few years of college, when shed thought brains and de-termination would do it all. God, that seemed a long time ago. Shed probably had the same intensity she saw in Eves expression. It hadnt taken her long to learn that intensity scared people. It was better to hide your passions behind a sweet smile.
Yet Eves background showed she was a survivor, and Lisa respected survivors. She was one herself, or she would never have been able to make it through these last years. Smiling sadly, she gently touched Eves image.
Sisters. Opposite sides of the same coin. Survivors.
Too bad.
She started reading Eves dossier, looking for a weakness, a way to topple her.
She was only two-thirds through the report when she found it.
Gil and Logan were sitting in front of the television set when Eve came into the living room the next morning.
Shit, Gil murmured. They really gutted it. I liked that old house.
What happened? she asked. Barrett House?
Gil nodded. It seems John got cheap on the wiring.
The picture on the screen showed a smoking ruin with only two chimneys still intact.
Gil added, But youll be glad to know he was punished for his miserliness. John died in the fire.
What?
Burned beyond recognition. But theyre com-paring dental and DNA records now. Such a fine man. Detwil just issued a statement about how John was loved and respected by everyone in both parties. He even said John had invited him to Barrett House for the weekend to talk about their policies.
Why would he say that?
How do I know? I thought it was overkill my-self. He switched off the television set. I cant bear any more. John and I were so close. Practically brothers. He went over to the kitchen bar. Anyone for breakfast?
Eve turned to Logan. This is crazy. Youre not exactly unknown. Do they think they can get away with this?
For a while. Theyll see that the DNA and dental records will match. Theyve taken the body to Bethesda.
So what does that mean?
It means they can control things at Bethesda. They have an inside man there. Hell see that every-thing is handled to their liking. It will buy them time.
What are you going to do?
Well, Im not going to show myself and try to prove theyre wrong. Id find myself in a maximum security cell as an imposter and suffer an unfortunate accident. He stood up. Besides, I have things to do.
Who do you suppose Who was that man who died?
Logan shrugged.
She shivered. It had started. A man had died, a life thrown away.
Coffee? Gil asked. Theres danish.
She shook her head.
Can we talk about Chadbourne now? Logan asked politely. I believe the situation is escalating.
Youre damn right well talk, she answered. I want my mother safe. I dont want my house going up in flames with her in it.
Ill call Margaret, tell her Im still of this world, and to find a hiding place for your mother.
Now.
Shes being very well guarded. Can I finish my coffee first? He gazed at her over the rim of the cup. Are you going to help me, Eve?
Maybe. If I dont think youre keeping me wan-dering around blind. She turned to Gil. I want to know about this Timwick you think is pulling the strings. You worked under him?
Gil nodded. Not close. As a humble Secret Service man, I was not privy to the great mans confidence.
Whats he like? You have to have made judgments.
Hes smart, ambitious, and knows how to pull strings to get what he wants. Personally, I wouldnt have wanted him to back me up in a tight situation. Ive seen him explode too often. I dont think he re-acts well under pressure. He paused. Is he dan-gerous? Hell, yes. Volatility translates too often to unreasonable violence.
What about Fiske?
Hes only a hired man. Calculated, efficient, and likes what he does. Anyone else?
You tell me. There could be a dozen people lurking in the wings you havent told me about.
As I mentioned before, they would need to keep down the number of people involved, Logan said. And wed be stupid to try to keep you in the dark now. You know what we know. Everything is out on the table. Will you help us?
If my mother is safe. She stared directly into his eyes. And Im going to help myself, not you. Id be an idiot not to know what a target youve made me. And the only way I can help myself is to prove Ben Chadbourne is really dead. DNA and dental records are the only legally acceptable proof. So we have to go after them.
And your suggestion?
Im not a DNA expert or a forensic anthropolo-gist with the additional qualifications necessary to do the extraction. So we take the skull to one of the most respected anthropologists in the profession, see if he can get enough DNA to make a match.
The skull went through a fire.
Its still a possibility. She added deliberately, As I think you know. I was just the first shot in your arsenal. Ill bet youve even chosen the forensic an-thropologist to do the work.
Dr. Ralph Crawford. Duke University. He has the qualifications we need.
She shook her head. Gary Kessler. Emory.
Hes better?
At least as good and I know him.
Another Quincy? Gil asked.
That TV show drives Gary crazy. Besides the fact that its inaccurate, people are always confusing pathologists with forensic anthropologists.
Well, what is the difference?
Pathologists have medical degrees and resi-dence training in pathology. Anthropologists dont have medical degrees, they have doctorates in an-thropology and some of them specialize in the human skeletal system and its changes during a lifetime. Like Gary Kessler. Hes worked with sev-eral Atlanta pathologists and is well respected. Be-sides, since you were researching Crawford, its very likely that they wont think wed go to anyone else.
Theyve probably been looking at your back-ground with a magnifying glass too.
And theyll find out Ive worked with ten to twelve anthropologists in L.A., New York, and New Orleans and that Ive been bombarded with requests since that 60 Minutes story. It will take time for them to check out everyones specialty and they would con-sider Gary a long shot since I havent worked with him in over two years.