“I have no father. That crazy story was a figment of your imagination.”
“We shall see.” He jerked her to her feet. “I can hardly wait to introduce you to him. I’m even more eager to watch his expression when I put a bullet in your head.”
“He wouldn’t care any more than I would to watch you kill Zander. Your plan is stupid, Doane. You’re stupid.”
“You’re trying to make me angry. Do you want to die? Are you tired of the chase?” He pushed her ahead of him through the bushes. “Well, the chase is over. Now we get down to business. But first, we go get my Kevin. You wanted me to go down after him? No way. You’ll go down the side of that abyss where you threw him and bring him home. That’s what you call what you do to those skulls that you reconstruct, isn’t it? Well, you’re going to bring Kevin home.” He pushed her forward again. “And then you’re going to give him back to me just the way he was.”
He wasn’t going back in the direction from which they’d come, she realized with relief. Keep him distracted. “If his skull is still in one piece. It’s raining hard right now, and that will mean my work will take a big hit. You should have gone down that slope right after I threw it over. You might have had a chance of retrieving it. I’ve seen what the wolves do to carrion since I’ve been on the run.”
“If he’s been damaged, I’ll stake you out, and those wolves can have you for dinner,” he said viciously. “You’ll bring him back to me, Eve.” He pressed the barrel of the rifle into the center of her back. “You’ll crawl down the side of that cliff and you’ll go get him tonight.”
Vancouver
JOE DISABLED THE SECURITY alarm on the rear side of the palatial mansion and moved silently across the verandah to the French doors. It appeared Zander was very careful and extremely high-tech. It had taken Joe almost thirty minutes to disable the exterior alarm.
It took another fifteen to get into the house through the French doors.
He paused, waiting in the darkness for a motion detector to signal his presence. He had disabled two outside, but there could always be another.
No alarm.
He closed the door.
“Please, don’t move. I have a gun, but I’m not overly familiar with them, and I’m afraid that I’ll discharge it by mistake if I get nervous.”
Joe froze, his gaze searching the darkness. “I’m not moving … yet.” He could make out a tall, male silhouette framed against the drapes of the window. He hesitated, trying to decide if he should drop to the floor while drawing his own gun.
No, big mistake. He wasn’t here to blow anyone away. He had wanted to make contact and get information. “I take it you’re not Zander?”
“Good God, no.”
“I didn’t think so. Stang?”
“Venable told you about me, Detective Quinn? I didn’t think I’d made that much of an impression on him.” Stang reached over and turned on a lamp. “But, then, Venable appears to be a very clever man. Fearless, too. There aren’t many men who aren’t afraid of Zander.” He smiled. “I think Zander appreciates that quality in him.”
Joe’s eyes narrowed on him. He couldn’t detect any hint of menace in Stang’s demeanor, but that could be deceptive. Stang was somewhere in his late thirties, a little over six feet, with brown hair and hazel eyes. He was dressed in a brown turtleneck and khakis and appeared to be fit without being particularly muscular.
He was also holding the Beretta revolver in his hand with an awkwardness that made his first statement about being unaccustomed to weapons ring true.
“You know who I am? You recognized me?”
“Yes, you’re Joe Quinn.” He made a face. “And I’ve been staring at your face in Zander’s dossiers for some time. Of course, I recognized you.”
“Dossier? Then you know I’m a police detective and not likely to attack you. It might be wise if you put down that gun.”
He sighed. “It’s not doing me much good anyway, is it?” He put the gun down on the table. “You’re an ex-SEAL. You could probably take it away from me in a heartbeat. When I saw you on the verandah, I just thought that it might intimidate you for a time until I could see whether you were a danger to me.”
“And not to Zander?”
“Zander? That’s almost funny.” He tilted his head. “Yes, Zander would laugh at the thought of my protecting him.”
“You saw me on the verandah? I take it I set off an alarm?”
“Yes, you disabled most of them, but Zander always makes sure there’s one more that you don’t suspect. That’s when I came into the library and looked to see who had come calling.” He frowned. “Should I offer you a drink or something?”
“I just broke into your employer’s home.”
“But you didn’t mean to burgle or hurt anyone. You probably only meant to talk to Zander and try to find Eve Duncan. Isn’t that right?” He went to the bar and poured himself a scotch. “Well, if you don’t want one, I believe I do. This isn’t my forte.”
“You appear to be very well informed.”
He shrugged. “For some reason Zander wanted me to know about Eve Duncan. I found it very unusual.” He lifted his glass to his lips. “I didn’t want to know. I didn’t like the idea she might be killed or hurt.”
“But Zander wasn’t upset at the prospect?”
“No. Maybe. I don’t know. I’ve never been able to read Zander.” He took a drink. “Well, perhaps a little, but it’s mostly guesswork. I never wanted to delve past the surface. I always felt it could be … lethal.”
“Then why did you work for him?”
“I had my reasons. The pay is good, and Zander can be fascinating.”
“And where is Zander now?” Joe asked grimly. “I have a few questions I need to ask him.”
“I don’t know.”
“Shall I repeat the question?” Joe asked softly. “I intend to talk to Zander, Stang.”
“You see, that’s why I got the gun out of the desk. Yes, you’re police, but I think the way you feel about Eve Duncan probably overrides your respect for the law. From what I’ve learned about you, I should have kept the gun handy.” He grimaced. “You can shoot me or beat me up or waterboard me or whatever. I still wouldn’t be able to tell you where he is. He never talks to me about assignments.”
“And was this an ‘assignment’?”
He was silent. “Not exactly. But he still—” He met Joe’s eyes. “He went after James Doane, Detective Quinn. He was tired of waiting for him to try to pounce and decided to go hunting.”
“And where did he go hunting?”
“I have no idea.”
“Then you’d better get one,” Joe said softly. “Fast.”
“I told you, he doesn’t talk to me. Never about specifics. I like it that way.”
“I find your relationship with Zander both bizarre and annoying. I can accept the bizarre. The annoying is going to be dangerous for you.”
He shrugged. “I’ve lived on the edge for long enough to accept it as a fact of life. I’ve told you the truth. You should be happy that Zander is going after Doane. Eve Duncan has a better chance that way. Zander is exceptional at what he does.”
“Why will Eve have a better chance? Is he going to try to get her away from Doane?”
Stang shook his head. “That’s not what he said. He was only concerned about Doane.”
Joe muttered a curse. “And what’s to prevent Doane from killing his hostage if he thinks he’s going to die anyway? That’s what happens in situations like this.”
“He said that Doane was his focus.”
“And screw the fact that Eve is his daughter?”
Stang’s eyes widened. “What?”
“You didn’t know? Venable said that Zander knew.”
“No, I didn’t know.” His brow wrinkled in a thoughtful frown. “But that might explain a few things. He’s been behaving rather…” He looked at Joe. “But you can’t count on that having any impact on him. Zander’s not like other people.”
“Do you think I don’t know that?” Joe asked between set teeth. “I don’t even know if Venable is right, and he is her father. I don’t know, and I don’t care. If I could use it to persuade him to tell me where I can find her, then I’d do it. Otherwise, he can fade back into the shadows where he’s been all her life.”