“I see it.” She looked at him. “You believe that there’s a possibility the ledgers could be switched?”
“It’s possible. If I’m not around, I want you to be able to identify it.”
“Why wouldn’t you-” Then she understood. “You think you might be killed.”
“I have every intention of staying alive. Anything can happen. Now take a photo of the ledger and a few of the pages with your camera phone.”
She took the photos, then replaced the ledger in the briefcase. “Now what?”
“Now we go up to my cabin about seventy miles north of the city.” He smiled faintly. “It’s on a lake, and that place has only happy memories for me. My uncle rented it and took me up there several times when he was on leave. When I managed to start making money after I broke with Queen, I bought the cabin and several hundred acres around it.”
“And why are we going there?”
“I know the area. Queen does not. Neither does Black. That’s enough reason.”
“You’re going to call Queen and make a deal?”
He didn’t speak for a moment. “Yes, I’ll call Queen.”
But he wasn’t committing, she realized. She felt a chill as she remembered that rage that had so shocked her. Well, she had been angry with the senseless atrocity, too. What measures would she take to save little Cara Clark?
She would just have to see how the scenario unfolded.
CHAPTER 17
THE CABIN WAS SMALL, ONLY a bedroom, living-kitchen combination, and a tiny bathroom.
“Nothing fancy.” John put their bags down inside the door. “I don’t entertain here. I’ll get the broom out of the closet and sweep up after I make a pot of coffee.”
“I’ll sweep.” The place could use it. It didn’t appear neglected, but the dust was a fine film on the floor. “How long has it been since you were here?”
“I don’t remember. A year?” He was at the cabinet getting down a can of coffee. The vacuum hissed as he opened it. “When I used to come up here with my uncle, he made sure I cleaned the place up before we spent even an hour here. He hated dirt. That was his military training.”
“I remember him as being a very kind man. He loved you.”
“Yes.” He put the coffeepot on the burner. “And I loved him.”
She opened the door and swept the dust outside. The clean air rushed in and made the interior smell of pine and earth. She paused a moment to look out at the incredible beauty of the blue lake. “I can see why you liked it as a boy. It’s night and day from the stink of the projects. I would have loved it here.”
“Sorry. You wouldn’t have been invited. It was strictly a man-to-man outing. No girls allowed.”
She smiled. “Chauvinist.”
He smiled back at her. “Well, maybe we would have let you come. You’re not the usual female. You’d have held up your end.”
“You’re darned right.” She put the broom back in the closet. “I was planning on taking Bonnie camping, but I had school and was too busy.” Her smile faded. “Sometimes life goes by too fast, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“And then it’s gone.”
“Sit down.” He got down two cups and was washing them at the sink. “Bonnie didn’t miss what she’d never known. You gave her a great life.” He set the cup in front of her. “Maybe the next time around, we’ll be able to do it all.”
“Do you believe there’s a next time?”
“Why not? Millions of people believe in reincarnation. I believe in hope. I believe good people like Bonnie and you deserve a second chance.” He poured coffee in her cup. “And I believe that even not-so-good people like me might have a chance to work it out.”
She could feel her throat tighten with emotion. “I believe in hope, too. I’m still working on everything else.” She took a drink of the coffee. “It’s difficult when I want so badly to have Bonnie given a second chance. I ask if I’m fooling myself.”
He shook his head. “You always were a complete realist. So was I. But in that prison, I found that reality faded and was only as true as I believed it to be. And dreams could be far more authentic than any reality.” He lifted his cup. “And they called me mad. But madness can make life bearable, Eve.”
“You’re not mad, John.”
“You haven’t seen me fall from grace. Not really. Tell me that after you have.” He looked out the window. “The sun is going down. It will start getting chilly. I’ll make a fire as soon as I call Queen.” He took another swallow of coffee and pushed back his chair. “Which will be right now.” He took out his phone and put it on speaker. “Let’s get it over with.” He dialed the number. “Then we can get the stench off us by taking a walk down by the lake.”
Queen answered after the third ring. “Gallo? Where are you?”
“What an absurd question. Do you really think that I would tell you? As I recall, you sicced your dogs on me and burned my place to the ground.”
“That was a misunderstanding. I merely wanted to stop you from making a mistake. Taking Eve Duncan could have been a terrible disaster for both of us. You were much too impulsive.”
“No more lies.” John’s voice was terse. “I know what Black did to Judy Clark and her mother. It’s not your style. You called him in to find out where I was. And you let him take the kid.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I told you I’d find him for you.”
“And you did, in Samoa. But I think you screwed up, and now he’s pulling the strings. But you must have some control of him, or you wouldn’t be furnishing him with information.”
“This is all guesswork.”
“Good guesses, logical guesses. This is the end of the story, Queen. Stop bullshitting me and let’s get down to cases. I’m expecting Black to contact me at any time and offer to trade Cara Clark for your ledger.”
He was silent. “I had nothing to do with him taking the kid. You know that Black can’t be controlled.”
“But you made a deal to put him on my trail.”
Another silence. “I didn’t like to be at your beck and call. I want that ledger. You’ve been holding it over my head too long. You should have expected it.”
“Oh, I did. But I didn’t expect him to murder and take a six-year-old to do it. You know as well as I do that he’ll kill that little girl. You’ve got to stop him.”
“I told him not to do it. I said it would be a mistake.”
“That’s not strong enough. You brought him down on Judy Clark’s family. Now you’ve got to do what you can to stop the damage.”
“You should have given me the ledger. None of this would have happened.”
“You want the ledger? I have it with me now. It’s within reach of my hand. But the moment Black kills that little girl, it will go to the Washington Post, and they’ll spread it all over their paper. It won’t be long until you’ll be toted off to a federal prison.”
“Wait. Give the ledger to Black. That would solve everything.”
“He’ll still kill the kid. No, you have to stop him. I want you to come personally and meet with him. I don’t care what you do to convince him, but do it.”
“I’ll call him and try to-”
“Meet him. Face-to-face. Are you frightened, Queen? Is Black too much for you?”
“I’m not scared.” Queen hesitated. “You’ll give me the ledger?”
“When this is over, I won’t give a damn about the ledger. But if Black kills that kid, then I’ll blow you out of the water, Queen. Get here and get here fast. I want you to run interference and get me that kid.”
“I could try to do it,” Queen said cautiously. “Though it would be better to-”
“Catch the first flight to Milwaukee. I’m sending you a photo of the ledger so that you’ll know I have it in my immediate possession.”