‘It’s my son-in-law’s vacation house. My daughter married well.’ Gabriel watched the gun, not Evan.
‘Are you CIA or private security?’
‘Private,’ he said after a moment. ‘But I am ex-CIA, and your mother… knew of me and my work. That’s why she called me. I used to do internal security. Used to. The Agency ran me out because I was a pain in the ass.’
‘Go figure. Tell me how to reach my father.’
‘I don’t have a way.’
Gabriel was sticking relentlessly to that aspect of the story. Evan decided to turn the question the other way. ‘Does my dad know how to get in touch with you?’
‘No, he doesn’t. This was your mom’s arrangement. I had no contact with him.’
‘You’re lying.’
‘I’m not. Your mom didn’t think I needed to know.’ Gabriel gave Evan a crooked, slightly crazy grin. ‘Your mother stole Jargo’s files. Jargo has access to your dad because your dad works for Jargo, too. Your dad is missing. Do the math.’
Evan had not thought clearly, given the pell-mell rush and chaos of the past twenty-four hours. ‘Jargo has my dad.’
‘Quite likely. I suspect he was on an assignment for Jargo when your mom decided to run. Jargo found out, grabbed your dad to keep him under control. He probably gave them your mom’s computer password so Jargo could look for the files.’
‘I need those files. To ransom my dad from Jargo.’ But the files were gone, evaporated into nothing. His heart sank into his stomach. They’d gotten into his laptop fast. They knew his password. Probably from his dad, who handled the infrequent maintenance on Evan’s system.
‘All they’ll care about now is being sure you don’t know what was in the files, and that you have no copies of them.’ Gabriel gave Evan a sick smile. ‘I’m your only hope to hide from these people.’
‘How does Carrie fit in? She knew I was in danger, she tried to warn me.’
‘Who’s Carrie?’
‘Never mind,’ Evan said after a moment.
Gabriel closed his eyes. ‘Clearly I used the wrong approach in dealing with you, Evan. I should have trusted you.’
‘You think?’
‘Congratulations, you’ve proven yourself to me. But you don’t understand what’s at stake. These files your mother stole, they could take down Jargo, and he’s a very bad guy. I’ve got to have those files. They’re the evidence I need.’
‘Against Jargo.’
‘Yes. To prove I shouldn’t have lost my career, all those years ago. That Jargo has traitors inside the CIA working for him.’ Gabriel coughed. ‘The CIA, overall, is an organization with great, hardworking, honest people. But a few bad apples rot in every barrel, and Jargo knows the bad apples. Your mom came to me because she knew I wasn’t a bad apple, Evan. She was afraid to go straight to the Agency, because she didn’t want to give this information and warn Jargo. He’s got people in the Agency on his payroll, people in the FBI, too. They get wind of these files, or where you’re at, and they’ve got the same motive to get rid of you that Jargo does. They don’t want to be exposed.’ Gabriel licked his lips. ‘Evan. I bet files that valuable, your mom hid another copy. Where would that be? Think. If you have another copy, I can still help you.’
‘Or we can just call the CIA.’
‘Evan. Do you think the CIA wants this news going public, that a freelance spy ring operates under their nose, inside their own walls?’ Gabriel licked his lips again. ‘The CIA drove me out of work just for suggesting the merest possibility. Certain people in the CIA would rather kill you than let you harm the Agency’s credibility. You go public, you’re a dead man. They’re hunting you as much as Jargo is.’
The CIA. The thought made Evan’s skin prickle with cold. Jargo was a killer, but he was only one man. But if these files threatened the CIA, they could find him. He couldn’t hide from them forever.
‘Who do I call at the CIA to tell them to stop?’
Gabriel laughed, a cold, sick sound. ‘You don’t tell them shit, son. They don’t stop. They hunt you till they find you, they see what you know, and if you know too much, then they kill you. I wouldn’t run to the CIA if I were you.’
‘So they and Jargo both want the files. Are the files lists of traitors inside the CIA who help Jargo, or agents, or names, or operations that are under way?’
‘Names. See me trusting you now?’
‘Of agents?’
Gabriel hesitated for a moment. ‘I think so.’
‘It either is or isn’t names of agents.’
Gabriel shrugged.
‘What were you going to do when Mom gave you these names?’ Evan steadied the gun at him. ‘I don’t have a single reason to believe a word you’ve said. You could have been lying to me from minute one, and I don’t think you saved me out of any debt to my mom or out of the milk of human kindness. You want those files as bad as Jargo, you could lie about what’s in them and why you need them.’
Gabriel kept his mouth shut.
‘Fine. Play silent treatment. You can tell me about it on the way.’
‘Way where?’
Evan took his laptop and left the room. Gabriel didn’t deserve an answer. Evan sat down in the darkened hall, put his head in his hands, weighed his options. Gabriel knew the complete truth, but wasn’t talking. He could stick a gun up to Gabriel’s head and threaten to kill him if he didn’t talk. But he and Gabriel both knew that Evan wouldn’t murder him in cold blood. Gabriel saw it in his eyes.
So another tactic, and a better one that would give Evan his dad and stop Jargo. The man behind his mother’s death, if Gabriel wasn’t lying.
But Evan had a call to make. His cell phone was with the Austin police, but Gabriel’s phone sat on the breakfast counter.
He picked the phone up and dialed Carrie’s number.
12
They had rocketed south on I-35 from Austin, veering west onto Highway 46, through the old German town of Boerne. Live oaks and twists of cedar covered the hills. The sky began to cloud.
Carrie sat in the front, Jargo in the back, Dezz drove. The highway sign read BANDERA 10 MILES.
Carrie’s phone hummed in the silence. She had set it to vibrate, not ring, and she thought, Oh, no.
‘I hear a phone,’ Jargo said.
‘Mine.’ Carrie’s palms went slick with sweat.
‘Evan. Hallelujah,’ Dezz said.
‘Answer it. But hold the phone so I can hear.’ Jargo leaned forward, put his chin over the seat, his head close to hers.
Carrie dug the phone from her purse, flipped it open. ‘Hello?’
‘Carrie?’ It was Evan.
‘Sweetheart. Oh, my God, are you okay?’
‘I’m fine. Where are you?’
‘Evan, for God’s sake, you were kidnapped, where are you?’
‘Carrie. How did you know I was in danger when you called me?’
Jargo stiffened next to her.
‘Three men were at your house when I came back with breakfast for us. They said they were with the FBI, but I thought… I thought there was something fishy about them. I didn’t like the look of them.’ She chose her words carefully, aware she had two audiences to please. ‘They looked like thugs trying to act like government agents. I didn’t let them in the house, Evan.’
‘What did they want?’
‘They wanted to ask you questions about your mom. Where are you, what’s happening?’
‘I can’t really talk about it.’ Evan seemed to give a sigh of relief. ‘I just wanted to be sure you were safe.’
‘I’m fine, I’m just afraid for you. Please tell me where you are. I’ll come, wherever it is.’
‘No. I don’t want you involved. Until I figure out what’s really happening.’
‘Goddamn it, tell me where you’re at, babe. Let me help you.’ Jargo’s hand touched Carrie’s shoulder.
‘Where did you go yesterday morning, Carrie?’
‘You’ – she closed her eyes – ‘you gave me a lot to think about last night. I went for a drive. Then to get us breakfast. I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up. I didn’t mean to send a mixed message to you.’
‘You should leave Houston. Put space between your life and mine. I don’t want you hurt by… whoever is after me.’