“Michael.” Joe threw the cover aside and swung his legs to the floor. “What the hell are you talking about? Tell me, I need to—” Then he stopped. “Or maybe I don’t. Michael?”
“Call it a hallucination. Call it a dream. Call it stress. Call it wishful thinking.” She was flipping open the sketchbook as she dropped into a chair close to the lamp. “But you went along with me before, Joe. Go with me now. I saw where they were keeping him.”
“That’s all I need to know,” he said quietly. “I’ll go with you to the end of the line, Eve.” He got up, grabbed her robe, and brought it to her. He tucked it around her. “What can I do?”
“Just let me draw what he showed me while it’s fresh in my mind.” Her pencil was flying over the page. “He saw a lot, Joe. Norwalk was trying to frighten him.” Her pencil hesitated for an instant, and she had to steady it. “I believe he thought it was safe because Michael would die before he’d be able to tell anyone.” Then she was drawing swiftly again. “He won’t die. We’re not there yet, but we’re on our way.”
“Just one question. How is Michael doing now?”
Her eyes were filling as she glanced up at him. “Hurting. Sad. Wonderful. Michael. Even that son of a bitch couldn’t change him.”
He nodded and turned away. “Get to work,” he said gruffly as he headed for the door. “I’ll make some coffee and bring it up to you.”
5:05 A.M.
“That’s all I can remember.” Eve tossed the final sketch on top of the others lying on the floor. “I think it’s everything. I didn’t forget anything.” She smiled faintly. “Michael would be proud of me.”
“Three small islands in that swamp?” Joe was sitting on the floor going through the sketches.”
“They’re more mounds than islands,” Eve said. “The one where Michael is being held is the largest, and that’s where Norwalk built the shack. His four men occupy sleeping bags on the four corners of the island.” She indicated the four muddy banks overgrown with shrubbery and cypress trees. “And most of the time that’s where they stand guard. Norwalk doesn’t take chances.” She pointed to another small mound a short distance away. “No guards, but three alligators call it home. Norwalk wanted Michael to be sure to see them.” She tapped a large metal box jammed against the shack. “He told Michael it contained explosives like the ones he used to kill his friends.” She drew a long shaky breath. “What’s all this doing to him, Joe? Even when we get him home, how can he ever be the same?”
“We’ll worry about that later. You told me yourself that he might be hurting, but he was still Michael.” He picked up the sketch with the box containing the explosives. “Not a great defensive weapon. He probably needed the explosives for another attack of some sort.”
Eve felt sick. “Another Gwinnet Square?”
“That attack had a purpose. Huge amount of damage and horror factor, Michael, and luring everyone down here.” He was still looking at the sketch. “Not a public shopping square. Maybe a compound?”
“Here? You think he’s going to attack Belle Grace?”
“I don’t know. I believe it’s possible if he’s figured out a way to get those explosives in place.”
“Bribery?”
“I’m just guessing. Our best bet is to prevent any attack here by going after Norwalk and taking him out in that swamp.” He frowned. “All of these sketches are just of where Michael is now. How did he get there?”
“He couldn’t tell me. He was in a canoe, and it was night. You know how impossible it can be to keep track of directions when you’re traveling in a bayou or swamp.” She moistened her lips. “And he’s a little boy. He managed to tell us so much, but I told you it might not be enough.”
“We’ll make it enough,” Joe said. He was bundling up the sketches. “You have sketches of all three of those islands and the trees and animals surrounding them. Someone who knows the swamps should be able to recognize the location from them. And who do we know who’s very familiar with the Louisiana swamps? “
“Ladeau? But we’re not even certain he’s not working with Norwalk.”
“Then it’s time we found out. One way or the other, he might be able to tell us how to reach Norwalk.” He stood up and pulled her to her feet. “Get dressed. I’ll call Jock and get him up. He said he could find Ladeau. We’re going to give him his chance.”
* * *
“You need Ladeau right away?” Jock asked Joe. “I’ll try to accommodate. Would fifteen minutes be too long?”
“What the hell?”
“At the moment I’m sitting in front of Shari Damar’s place in Jefferson Parish. She’s a bartender at a club on Bourbon Street and she and Ladeau have been sleeping together for about two years. After I tracked Ladeau through the bayou, I saw that he’d doubled back. So I broke into Ladeau’s house and found letters, photos, and an address.”
“That doesn’t mean he’s there.”
“He’s there. I checked. He was in bed with her, but now she’s in the shower. It looked like a long-term relationship and who else would he go to if he thought he was in danger? And evidently he cares more about his own skin than endangering this woman. You didn’t answer, is fifteen minutes okay? No, on second thought I’ll go in now. I was getting annoyed with waiting while he was jumping her. I’ll take him while she’s still in the shower.”
“You weren’t even supposed to go after him until this morning. I suppose you got bored and ignored everything we asked?”
“Not exactly bored. That’s not the word I’d use,” he said curtly. “Do you want him at Belle Grace or back at his place.”
“His place. We may want to use his boat if we get the information we need.”
“We’ll get it. I’ll meet you at Ladeau’s.” He cut the connection.
BELLE GRACE
“Did Eve talk to you before she ran out the door?” Darcy asked Cara. “I was on my way down to breakfast when she told me that they were headed out toward that Ladeau’s place again.” She made a face. “I was not invited along, but I thought you might be.”
Cara shook her head as she went to the buffet. “She woke me to give me a kiss, tell me that there might be a breakthrough, and she’d call me later. Then she was gone.” She took eggs and bacon that she didn’t want, and a cup of coffee that she definitely needed. “But any breakthrough is good news. I just hope she calls soon.” She sat down at the table and took a small bite of egg. “And who can blame her for leaving us behind? She’s frantic about Michael, and she’s only accepting Joe and Jock on the front lines. It’s not what I’d like, but I’m not about to give her a hard time.” She made a face. “I think she’s forgotten that I’ve been with Michael since the day that he was born, and I’m also hurting. And that’s okay, she’ll get any support she needs from me.”
“Hey, I’m grateful just to be here,” Darcy said. “As far as I’m concerned, this is the front lines. It’s up to me to get anywhere beyond it.” She smiled. “But I’m working on it.”
“I’m sure you are.” Cara took a drink of her coffee. Cajun strong brew, as usual, but today she needed it. She hadn’t got to sleep for hours after she’d returned from the summerhouse. Not that those hours had been of any benefit. She had been so disturbed and bewildered that she had not been able to think, only feel. And those feelings had caused a whirlwind of emotion. “And at least you were able to help Jock yesterday.” She took another sip of coffee. “And that’s helping Michael. I told you that I envied you.”
“Jock…”
Cara held up her hand. “Drop it. I’m not talking about Jock right now.” She finished her coffee. “We’re here for Michael and for Eve.” She pushed back her chair. “And now I think I’ll try to keep myself busy by practicing until I hear from Eve.”
Darcy gave a low whistle. “Have I missed something? Oh well, I’ll catch up later. You’re obviously a little too on edge for me to go into it now.”
“Excellent decision.” Cara smiled. “Sorry, Darcy,
I didn’t mean to be sharp with you.”
“You wouldn’t know how to be sharp. I’ll have to give you lessons.”
“You could be mistaken. I’ve seen signs that I might have potential.” She headed for the music room. “I guess I’m just tired, and want all of this to be over. I thought that caffeine would do its job, but maybe it’s going to take more than that. I’ll let you know when I hear from Eve.”
CHAPTER
16
Eve and Joe were almost to Ladeau’s dock when Eve got the call.
She tensed.
No ID.
Norwalk?
She drew a deep breath. “Hello. Norwalk?”
“I’m so glad that you decided to accept my invitation, Eve,” Norwalk said. “I hope that Kaskov has been making you welcome. I thought that you’d go running in his direction. In fact, I planned on it.”
“Did you? You could have been wrong. There was a good chance I would have distanced myself from him.”
“But I wasn’t wrong.” His voice lowered silkily. “Because I know you, Eve. I may know you better than anyone you’ve ever met. I had months to study you and the people around you, and how you’d react to every situation.”
“Then you know the only thing important to me is to get my son back.” She paused. “Is he still alive?”
“Yes. He’s a little worse for wear because he’s managing to rub me the wrong way. But I’ll get through to him before I send him to join his friends.”
“What can I do to get you to send him back to me?”
“Well, I was thinking I might return him to you in another gold box as I did Sylvie, but I really don’t have time for that kind of elaborate send-off. So I’m content to let you come and see him die. I understand you and your loyal pack have been running around New Orleans trying to find me. I expected that, and it doesn’t worry me. I was very careful. It will all be resolved before you get near me.”
“You said that it’s me that you want. Release Michael, and I’ll come anywhere you say.”
“But that’s not the way I planned it, Eve. I want your son to have the comfort of his mother’s arms before he dies. And perhaps to see the expression on the little bastard’s face when I kill you. It’s such a hard decision who to kill first. I never thought I’d have that conflict until I spent time with your Michael.” He paused. “But I may be able to make a compromise since I’ve arranged for him to have someone else here to comfort him. I’ll have to consider it.”
She stiffened. “Someone else?”
“Of course, I told you that she was high on the list. It’s time she was put at the very top. I have to say good-bye now. I have to prepare to receive her.” He hung up.
She whirled to Joe. “Cara! He has to be talking about Cara.”
“Bluff?”
“No, that’s the reason he was calling me.” She was frantically punching in Cara’s number. “Michael said that he was planning on doing something today.”
Cara wasn’t answering.
After six rings, it went to voice mail.
She called Darcy.
Her phone was turned off.
“So much for their being safely tucked under Kaskov’s wing,” Joe said grimly as he screeched to a stop and turned around to go back to Belle Grace. “What the hell could have happened?”
“Norwalk happened.” She was dialing again. This time to Kaskov. “But whatever he did, it had to have just been done. I saw Cara right before we left.”
“Over an hour ago. A lot can happen in an hour.”
A lot could happen in seconds, she thought desperately. That’s all the time it had taken for Norwalk to blow up that entire shopping square. And Cara and Darcy were only two young women.
And why wasn’t Kaskov answering?
Two more rings, and he picked up. “Good morning, Eve. How delightful to hear from you. I suppose that you have some other demand that I haven’t yet—”
“Where’s Cara, Kaskov?”
Silence. “I have no idea. I heard her practicing earlier.”
“Find her. I can’t reach her, and I can’t reach Darcy.”
“I’m certain that she’s safe. I told you, I gave orders.”
“Don’t tell me that. Go find her. I heard from Norwalk.”
He asked no questions. “Hold on. I’ll check on her.” She heard him speak to someone in the background. Probably Nikolai, she thought. Then she was put on hold.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Four minutes had passed by the time Kaskov came back on the line. “She’s gone,” he said tersely. “Nikolai found Darcy Nichols unconscious on the couch in the parlor. Probably drug-induced. We found the cook jammed into the pantry off the kitchen. Dead. Throat cut. But no sign of Cara.”
“How could she just disappear from the damn place? How could anyone get through those gates?”
“I’m checking.” He paused. “But am I checking for the living or the dead? What did Norwalk tell you?”
“I don’t think he’s planning on killing her yet. He mentioned taking her to Michael.”
Silence. “And you still think your son is alive?”
“He’s alive.”
“Then I’ll assume that he didn’t intend to have Cara share his grave. Very well, then we’ll go retrieve her. Where are you?”
“On our way back to Belle Grace. We’re an hour away.”
“Then I’ll have more information for you by the time you return.” He hung up.
“Cara,” Eve whispered. “We tried so hard to keep her safe, Joe. And he just walked in and took her.”
“We don’t know that,” Joe said. “Kaskov may find out something. She may still be on the property.”
She nodded. “But Norwalk said he had to prepare for her. He must have had word she’d been captured or he wouldn’t have felt it safe to call and gloat.”
“We’ll have to see.” He covered her hand with his own. “But if you’re right, it was a bold move, and it made Kaskov angry. He’ll go after Norwalk with guns blazing.”
“That’s not much comfort. We don’t know where he is yet.” She was shaking. “And it’s Cara…”
“I know.” His hand tightened on her own. “And now you’ve got to call Jock.”
“Dear God.” She’d been in such a panic that all thought of anyone but Cara had flown out of her mind. “Jock…”
* * *
“Wake up.”
Her head ached, Darcy thought vaguely, and her lids felt too heavy to open. But that voice was cold and demanding and would not accept excuses.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw Kaskov sitting in a chair next to her. Wrong. That was all wrong. “Wrong…”
“Without question,” Kaskov said crisply. “The entire situation is wrong. But I’m here to determine if you’re one of the elements that made it so. I’ve very angry, Darcy. You will answer what I ask immediately and with detail, or I will turn you over to Nikolai. He’s very upset and feels humiliated that Cara could be taken on his watch. He will not be gentle.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She shook her head to clear it. Then one sentence he’d said tore through the haze. “Cara was taken? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That’s what I want to know. Did Norwalk pay you to set her up? Where was she taken?”
She lifted her shaking hand to her head. “Pay me?” Then it hit home. She struggled to sit upright. She was on the couch in the parlor, she realized. She vaguely remembered feeling tired and sitting down for a moment. “Are you crazy? Why would anyone pay me to do anything?” Cara. He had been talking about Cara. And nothing and no one would make him look like this but something bad. “She’s hurt? No, you said … taken?” She reached out and grabbed his arm. “Stop threatening me and tell me what’s happened, damn you.”
He looked down at her hand on his arm. “Remove your hand.”
She ignored him and shook his arm. “You tell me. Is she hurt?”
&nb
sp; He was silent, studying her face. “I have no idea. Is she?”
“How should I know? The last time I saw her, she was going to the music room. She was fine. And now you ask—”
“Remove your hand. Or I’ll be forced to break it.”
“Do what you have to do. Just tell me what’s happening.”
He was still studying her. “Perhaps I will. You’re supposed to be a very good actress, but I don’t believe you’re acting now.” He took her hand off his arm and put it on her lap. “Briefly, my very competent chef was murdered this morning. Throat cut. We found you unconscious on the couch. Cara was nowhere to be found. We’ve searched the house and the grounds.” He paused. “But one of my men, Alex Brazoff, drove out of the main gates forty-five minutes ago. He was on a very plausible errand to pick up supplies that Nikolai had approved yesterday.”
“And you can’t get in touch with him?”
“No answer.” He smiled coldly. “But there’s no doubt that I’ll get in touch with him.”
She tried to mask the shudder as she looked at him. “No doubt at all. You’re sure this Brazoff turned traitor and took a bribe from Norwalk? He wasn’t working on his own to kidnap Cara?”
“No one would be that stupid. He’d have to receive an exceptionally fat bribe to be able to get him to a country where he’d have a chance to escape me.” He leaned back in his chair. “And besides, Norwalk called Eve today telling her that Cara was going to be taken. It was what caused her to phone and alert me. You didn’t see Brazoff?”
“I wouldn’t have recognized him if I had. You evidently gave orders that your men be invisible.” She shook her head. “I had breakfast with Cara, then she went to practice. I was feeling a little tired, so I sat down on the couch.” She motioned with her hand. “I guess I went out like a light.”
“Drugs. Did you and Cara eat the same thing?”
She shook her head. “The only thing that was the same was that Cajun coffee.” She made a face. “That stuff is so strong that I wouldn’t be able to tell even if anyone put cyanide in it.”
“I guarantee it would become immediately obvious,” he said dryly. “But evidently the drug Brazoff used was weaker and more subtle. You came out of it in a remarkably short time.” His expression hardened. “But once Brazoff got Cara away from the property, he’d probably give her another injection to keep her out.”