“Help me?”
“Yes. I’m hoping for your sake that you will give me the chance to give you that help.”
“Help me in what way?”
“Well, first of all it was important for me to show you that what you think of as security is an illusion. You can’t be safe if you depend on those things you be believe keep you safe, but in reality don’t.”
“I don’t understand.”
He held out his arms. “Well, look at me. I have no legitimate business with KDEX, no one here knows me from Adam, you don’t know me. We’ve never spoken. I didn’t have an appointment, and yet I managed to walk right in with the blessing of security and now I have you alone in your office.”
“Carlos is pretty good at reading people.” Even as she said it, she knew it was a pretty lame excuse. It was not an excuse she would have accepted in a security audit.
“Are you so sure of that?” he asked. “Are you willing to bet your life on his ability to read people? Your uncle was murdered a short time ago. You brother was only just murdered. I suspect that you’re smart enough to realize that something is going on and you may be in danger. Are you willing to put your life in the hands of someone down in security who can’t see in people’s eyes what you can see?”
Him pointing it out didn’t make her feel any safer in his presence. Her anxiety clicked up a notch.
“Are you saying that you mean me harm?”
“Quite the opposite,” he said with a flustered smile as he shook his head. “Miss Bishop, I’m here to try to help you stay alive.”
There certainly seemed to be some kind of shapeless threat. The computer hack had targeted her file. The man who had murdered Wilma had her name in his pocket. Her uncle had been murdered. Her brother had been murdered.
More importantly, Kate couldn’t begin to imagine how Jack Raines seemed to already know what she had learned about John’s ability and about her own ability. AJ certainly hadn’t mentioned anything to him or she would have said so. Besides, AJ had spoken to Jack Raines long before ever meeting Kate.
She recalled AJ telling her about the theories in his book, about people who could recognize killers by looking into their eyes. She remembered with a sickening sensation what she had been told about the killer removing John’s eyes. Since Jack Raines had dispensed with pretense, she did as well.
“Are there many others like me?”
“Fewer all the time.”
“Why?”
“I believe they are being systematically murdered.”
Kate stood staring at him, feeling genuinely frightened at the stark clarity of the answer, not the man delivering it, not knowing exactly what to say, when her cell phone rang.
Kate pulled her phone from the side pocket of her jacket and saw that there was no information about the call. She frowned down at the phone. The screen was blank. She couldn’t imagine why and ordinarily would have ignored it, but right then she was glad to have an excuse to escape the gaze of a man who so unnerved her, who so captivated her.
“Could you excuse me a moment, please? I need to take this call.”
He pressed his lips tighter into an understanding smile. “Sure. I’ll go out and talk to your bodyguard.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
With her fingertips, Kate pushed the door shut behind him as she answered the call.
“Kate Bishop.”
“Kate, it’s Jeff.”
Kate’s brow twitched. “Jeff? That’s weird—your name didn’t show up on my phone.”
“It didn’t show up because I’m calling on a secure line.”
“A secure line? Why?”
“So I can give you the report you asked for on Jack Raines.”
“And you need a secure line for that?”
“Yes.”
Kate was taken aback. Jeff had never called her on a secure line before. She couldn’t imagine why he needed to this time.
“So then you were able to find out something about him?”
“Yes and no. This was a tough one, Kate. You have no idea what you were asking for. This comes close to making us even.”
Kate felt a worried chill at the seriousness of his admonition. Jeff Steele was more than an invaluable contact to her and someone she worked with occasionally; he was a good guy. As often as they had talked in the last couple of years, she considered him a friend.
“I’m sorry, Jeff. I didn’t mean to cause you a problem or get you into any kind of trouble.”
“No,” he said with what sounded like a frustrated sigh. “It’s not that.”
She wondered if Bert was capable of handling the man out in the hall if he had to.
“So what were you able to find out about him, if anything?”
“Well, you asked me to find out if he’s legit.”
“So is he?”
“Yes. But you aren’t going to be able to talk to him about his book.”
“Why not?”
“Because the guy’s a ghost.”
Kate glanced out the open slits between the slats of the blinds on her office window to see Jack Raines approaching Bert.
“A ghost?”
“That’s right. For all practical purposes Jack Raines doesn’t exist. At least, not officially. He wrote that book you mentioned, but that’s about the only time his existence shows up publicly. Other than that, like I say, the guy is mostly a ghost. He vanishes for years at a time before popping up on the grid again, like he did with that book. Even then, any evidence of his existence is pretty thin.”
“Jeff, you’re kind of freaking me out. What are you talking about? Is this guy dangerous or something?”
“No, it’s not that. The thing is, Jack Raines is known in the upper levels of some of our security agencies.”
“You mean he’s a threat?”
“No, he’s on our side. At least, I’m ninety-nine percent sure he is.”
“In other words, you’re not positive?”
“How much in life—or in our business—is one hundred percent positive? There’s very little about the guy to go on, but what I do know makes me feel confident that he’s on our side, if that helps.”
“Coming from you it does. What do you have to go on that makes you feel confident?”
“The biggest thing is that he’s known at the deepest levels inside some of our agencies—agencies that, as far as the public knows, don’t exist, if you follow my drift.”
Jeff Steele was a man who knew about those deep levels of security agencies. KDEX produced systems used by some of those agencies. That was why he worked with her. The security audits she conducted had the potential to expose threats to national security.
“I think I do.”
“In the past Jack Raines was the go-to guy when there were problems I’m not privy to—problems within the most clandestine circles.”
“So then he works for some of our national security agencies? He’s a spook?”
“Not exactly,” Jeff said. “He has helped them in the past, but as far as I could find out, only on occasion, and then as a consultant or advisor of some sort, not as an employee, but I don’t know what his consulting involved. With some of these shadow agencies it’s possible that he was more involved than I could find out about.
“The fact that they relied on an outside consultant in that way, rather than on one of their own, speaks volumes. Usually they try to pull that type of person into the fold. In his case, they didn’t and then he ghosted away again.
“Then about six years ago he resurfaced when they pulled him back out of the shadows for something. I gather from hints that it was some kind of profiling. Maybe like the FBI does for serial killers—I just don’t know. But whatever it is he does is apparently pretty invaluable and they wanted his services. He agreed to do the work, but as seriously interested as those agencies were, the program—whatever it was—was shut down and his services were canceled.”
“They went to him for help, he agreed t
o help, and then they turned down his help? Why?”
“Politics. The whispers I was able to pick up on say that the civilian oversight authorities, meaning political appointees, didn’t approve of the kind of services he was offering. The operatives did, but the oversight boards didn’t. Bureaucrats being bureaucrats, they didn’t want to get their agencies involved with anything they thought could threaten their big paychecks or their pensions, so they saw to it that his services were canceled.”
“You mean to say they would rather put the country at risk than work with him? And so they fired him?”
“In a word, yes. What I do know is that it was a choice made for purely political reasons. Some people I know very well were pretty damn upset that the door was closed on him.”
“So he decided to become an author?”
“No, that was later. After we turned down his services, he next showed up as an advisor to the Mossad.”
Kate blinked, taking it in for a moment. “He went to work for Israeli intelligence?”
“That’s right. As soon as he did, he went dark for five years. We think that during that entire period he was working for them, but it’s impossible to know for sure. The Mossad aren’t exactly chatty, so we can’t be positive.
“All I know is that for that five-year period he was off the grid. And when I say off the grid, I do mean off the grid. As far as any of our people know—people whose job it is to know such things—he wasn’t just off the grid, he might as well have been off the planet. He ceased to exist.”
“That would be consistent with him working under the umbrella of the Mossad,” Kate said.
“That’s right.”
“So you don’t know anything about what he offered to do for our intelligence agencies, or what he did for the Mossad?”
“Well, I was able to find out one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“The Israelis paid him twelve point five million dollars for his services.”
Kate put her fingertips to her forehead as she paced across her office and back, not sure she had heard correctly. She glanced through the slats in the blinds again and saw Jack Raines talking to Bert. They were both chuckling and seemed to be getting along famously.
“Twelve point five million?”
“Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction, too.”
“Do you have any idea what he did in return for that much money?”
“No. I wasn’t able to get any information about that part of it. All I can tell you is that the Mideast is a seriously dangerous place.”
“Everyone knows that. What’s your point?”
“Israel is still on the map, isn’t it?”
Kate paced for a moment. “I guess that in that context maybe it doesn’t seem like so much money after all.”
“That’s the point. Like I said, I suspect that he was providing some kind of profiling expertise similar to what our bureaucrats had been fearful of and turned down.
“Apparently the Israelis were only too happy to have his services. When your very existence is at stake, you tend not to be quite so chickenshit about political heat. Israel doesn’t have the luxury to wring their hands over things the way we do here.”
“Why did he leave his work for the Mossad?”
“I don’t have that information. With the way he was turned down here, I think that maybe he thought it was important to get a wider audience than just one intelligence agency overseas, so he wrote that book you mentioned. From what I’m told, that book says more about the nature of his knowledge than anything else known about him.”
Kate paced for a moment, trying to let it all settle in.
“Anything else?”
“I wish I could tell you more, Kate, but like I say, the guy’s a ghost.”
Kate glanced through the blinds again. Jack Raines was standing beside Bert, leaning back against the wall, watching her with those strange, otherworldly eyes.
She thought that he might be the most beautiful creature she had ever seen. At the same time, he set off all kinds of alarm bells in her head.
“I sure wish I had the opportunity to talk to the guy sometime,” Jeff added.
“Maybe I can arrange it,” Kate said.
Jeff Steele was silent for a moment. “What do you mean?”
“I’m standing here looking at him. I’ll give him your number.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
Kate opened the door and with a tilt of her head invited Jack Raines back into her office.
He spoke as she closed the door behind him.
“Miss Bishop, I’m wondering if—”
“It’s Kate.”
That seemed to put him at ease. “And I’d really appreciate it if you called me Jack. ‘Mr. Raines’ sounds like my father.
“I was about to ask if I could I take you to dinner? We could talk over my reasons for contacting you.”
Kate opened the bottom desk drawer and lifted out her purse.
“I’ll tell you what,” she said as she hooked the strap over her shoulder. “How about I take you to dinner, instead?”
He shrugged. “Sure. Do you have anything in particular in mind?”
“Do you like pizza?”
“All except for the kind with doughnut topping.”
Kate couldn’t help laughing. “Homemade. No doughnuts.”
“Homemade? That’s the best kind.”
“Detective Janek invited me to come over to her place for dinner. I believe you know her. Her husband likes to cook. He’s making vegetarian pizza. Are you up for that? For a visit and talking to both of us?”
Surprised at hearing the name, he turned more serious. “I would dearly love to talk to AJ again.”
“I know she’ll feel the same. Do you have a car?”
“No, I took a cab from the airport. I left my carry-on down at security.”
“Hold on,” Kate said as she pulled out her phone. “I’d better let AJ know.”
When AJ answered, Kate said, “Question for you.”
“What’s that?”
“Do you mind if I bring someone with me to dinner? I have a date with a man I just met.”
“A date?” AJ sounded surprised. “Uh … no, not at all. That would be great. Who is the lucky guy?”
“Jack Raines.”
AJ let out a low whistle. “I guess you’re going to have a story for me. I’d like nothing more than for you to bring him along so we can handcuff him to a chair in my office and interrogate him.”
“We’re thinking along the same lines.”
“Is he as good-looking as the photo on his book?”
“I’ll let you judge for yourself.”
AJ laughed. “All right. Can’t wait to meet him. —I gotta go. There’s some kind of commotion at the front door. I think some of the people for the party across the street have the wrong house—again. Third time tonight.”
“Okay, we’re on our way,” Kate told the detective before ending the call.
“What was that about—the business with letting her judge for herself?”
Kate shrugged. “She wanted to know if you looked like as big of a nerd in real life as you do in the photo on your book.”
Kate was pleased to see his face turn red. The guy was human after all.
“Just kidding,” she said with a smile.
“Well?” Bert asked as they stepped out of her office and she turned back to lock her door.
“She invited me, instead,” Jack told him.
Kate looked up as she pulled the key from the deadbolt. “What are you talking about?”
Bert grinned, ignoring Kate as he gave Jack a wink. “Good for you. This lady works too hard. She needs to go out on a date for a change.”
“Date? What have you two been talking about?” Kate asked.
“Mr. Raines told me he was going to ask you to dinner,” Bert said with a dip of his head toward Jack. “He wanted to know if I thought you would say yes.”
Kate frowned first at Jack and then at Bert. “And what did you tell him?”
Bert shrugged. “I told him that he had as good a chance as anyone, but most who have tried have struck out, so that kind of tipped the odds against him.” Bert flashed a lopsided smile. “I guess he beat the odds.”
Kate looked between the two faces before settling her gaze on Bert. “Are we still engaged until you get me to my car? I guess I’m going to be the chauffeur.”
“You bet,” he said as he turned and pressed the down button on the elevator.
True to his word, Bert escorted them all the way to her car in the underground garage and put Jack’s carry-on bag in the trunk for them before going back to the elevator and his job of watching over the office.
“I need to stop at my house and get some things first,” Kate said as she closed the car door. “AJ invited me to spend the night.”
“Pajama party?”
“Not exactly. She’s worried about my safety. I have to admit, with some of the things that have happened, so am I.”
“I hope you’re not worried about being alone with me.”
Her red flags were still flying because of what she saw in his eyes, but she didn’t say so.
“If the Mossad trusts you, I guess I can,” Kate said as she backed out of the parking space and put the car in drive.
Jack smiled to himself, but didn’t comment as he watched the round, scarred, and scraped concrete pillars of the underground parking structure pass in a blur.
“I thought a woman in your position would have a more prestigious car,” he said as they made their way up a ramp to the next level.
She wondered if he was avoiding the topic. “This gets me around just fine.”
“Beige? Really? A woman like you?” He shook his head without looking over at her. “What’s the real reason?”
“I can afford a Mercedes or something like that,” she said with a shrug, “but in a city like Chicago it’s safer for a single woman not to attract unwanted attention to herself. And it isn’t beige. It’s urban camouflage.”
He smiled, apparently appreciating the truth.
As they drove up the exit ramp and passed through the security station, emerging out into fading daylight and traffic, he still hadn’t said anything about her Mossad comment, so she asked.