“Barlow said he met with three bigwig executives yesterday.”
“Who?”
“He was only able to identify one. Ken Bradton.”
“Shit.”
“And today he paid a visit to an inn on the outskirts of town where Senator Longworth was registered under a phony name.”
“He’s sure it was Longworth?”
“Longworth isn’t hard to spot. He loves the limelight and he’s conducted more Senate investigations than Joe McCarthy.” Tony was silent a moment. “Ogden’s moving and shaking. That Washington connection doesn’t look good. What are you going to do?”
There wasn’t much he could do, Noah thought in frustration. His hands were tied until the work here was finished. “Wait. Watch. I want you to go to Washington tomorrow. Stay at a hotel outside the city and keep a low profile. I don’t want Ogden to know you’re in town.”
“You mean I can come down from my mountain?” Tony asked sarcastically. “I thought I was here for the millennium.”
He didn’t have any choice but to expose Tony. Everything was going to hell in a handbasket. “I’ll call you on your digital phone tomorrow night and get your hotel number.”
“What about Barlow?”
“For the time being, have him stay in Seattle and keep an eye on Ogden,” Noah said. “Be careful, Tony.”
“Always.” Tony hung up the phone.
Now what? he wondered. Should he tell Kate about the warrant? He might be able to convince her of the danger of going back, but her instinct would be to trust her friend Alan and clear herself. In that case, the best they could hope for was a delay for RU2, the worst was that Kate could die. He couldn’t accept either consequence.
So he would not tell Kate.
My God, he was digging a deep hole for himself.
Seth contentedly breathed in the clean, pine-scented air as he gazed out into the darkness.
It was good here. Not perfect. Nothing was perfect. But he’d take this corner of West Virginia anytime over that hellhole in Colombia.
He could hear the clatter of china and running water inside the house as Phyliss did the supper dishes. Nice woman. Nice kid. Nice place. Maybe he could stay awhile even after Noah brought order into the chaos surrounding them. Noah had always been good at patiently shaping situations to suit himself. Not like Seth. He had never had the patience. If things didn’t happen quickly enough, he’d make them happen and damn the consequences.
And then he’d move on.
Who the hell wanted to stay in one place anyway? This job would be like any other except he was helping Noah. After it was over, he’d get restless or bored or something would happen that would make him leave.
He heard the screen door open and glanced over his shoulder to see Joshua coming out of the house. “Hi. Nice night, huh?”
Joshua came to stand beside him. “It’s quiet.” His hands clutched the railing. “I didn’t expect it to be this quiet.”
“It’s not really quiet. Listen to the night sounds.”
Joshua’s hands nervously opened and closed on the rail. “Yeah . . . but it’s kind of lonely. It kinda makes you—” He broke off and turned away. “I think I’ll go around to the other side where I can see the cabin.” He quickly walked away and around the corner.
Too quickly.
He looked as if he were trying to escape from something.
Like the rest of us, Seth thought. Welcome to the world, kid.
But the kid belonged to him for the time he was here, and escapes often led to disaster. It was during quiet moments like these that the shock of displacement and traumatic events tended to hit home.
He followed Joshua.
But he stopped when he reached the corner.
Joshua was sitting on the deck, his shoulders heaving, silent tears running down his cheeks. He had run out here to vent his grief where no one could see him. Seth could understand. He had never wanted anyone to see his tears either.
Should he leave Joshua and go back into the house?
Probably. The kid was proud and wouldn’t want anyone to know. He might accept comfort from his mother or a man like Noah, but Seth would only bungle it.
He started to turn and then swung back. To hell with it. So he wasn’t Noah. The kid was hurting. He would deal with it in the only way he knew how.
“I’m coming over,” Kate told Phyliss over the phone two days later. “Tell Seth. He told me to call and let him know when I was coming.”
“He’s not here. He and Joshua are on maneuvers.”
“What?”
“You heard me. I told him you wouldn’t like it.”
“Where are they?”
“Near the lake. Ten miles south. He has his pager. Shall I buzz him?”
“No, I’m on my way.” She hung up.
“Trouble?” Noah asked.
“Why would you think that?” Her tone dripped sarcasm. “Just because your friend has taken a nine-year-old boy on maneuvers. Give me the keys to your jeep.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“One of you is enough to deal with. Give me the keys.”
He shrugged and tossed her the key ring.
Ten minutes later she was bouncing along the rough dirt road that bordered the lake.
No sight of them.
She stopped the jeep and jumped out.
“Joshua.”
No answer.
Where the devil were they?
“Seth.”
No answer.
Anger ebbed as anxiety flooded her. She moved quickly into the woods. “Joshua!”
“Time to answer. She’s worried, Joshua. You never hide from someone when they’re worried about you.” Seth moved out of the shadows only a few feet away.
“Hi, Mom.” Joshua was trailing behind him. “I knew it was you before you called.” He glanced at Seth. “Gosh, you’ve got a super nose. You were right. She does stink.”
“I beg your pardon?” she asked coldly.
Seth grimaced. “No offense. Not you in particular. Just human beings collectively.”
Joshua giggled. “But we don’t stink, do we? We didn’t shower last night and we rolled in dirt this morning.”
“We stink a little,” Seth told him. “It takes a good two days in the field before you wear away the scent of civilization.”
“What are you talking about?” Kate asked. “Is this part of these stupid maneuvers?”
Joshua’s smile faded. “Are you mad, Mom?”
“She doesn’t understand,” Seth said quickly. “Why don’t you go a little way down the path and let me explain it to her.”
“We’re not doing anything wrong, Mom. We’re just on maneuvers.”
“Maneuvers are war games. You know how I feel about—”
“I’ll come in ten minutes and I want you to tell me all the scents that you can identify.” Seth jerked his thumb. “Hit it, kid.”
Joshua grinned and ran down the path.
She felt a hurtful pang as she watched him go. She was being . . . closed out.
“Sorry we weren’t at the station,” Seth said. “You didn’t tell us you were coming today.”
“I didn’t know until the last minute.” She swung around and attacked. “Maneuvers? He’s just a little boy. I won’t have him playing games like this.”
“It’s no game.” He raised his hand to cut off her protest. “I’m not going to give him a rifle and a machete. Though I understand his father had no compunctions about teaching Joshua to shoot.”
“At targets. And I didn’t like that either.”
“It surprises me that you’d object.” He smiled. “You’re a fighter too. I knew that the moment I saw you.”
“Battles shouldn’t be fought with guns.”
“But they are. Look at the evening news.”
“Well, my son isn’t going to live in a ghetto where he’ll have to face that threat.”
“No, he lives in a quiet little subdivision where no
thing bad ever happens. But his father’s been murdered and he thinks his mother may be at any moment.”
She felt as if he had struck her. “I did everything I could to keep him safe.”
He shrugged. “Things happen. Ghettos don’t have the monopoly on bad luck.” His expression softened. “Look, I’m not putting the kid through commando training. I’m just trying to make him believe that he can deal with what’s happened to him. Right now he feels helpless and worried as hell. He wasn’t able to help you when he thought you needed him.”
“He’s just a child.”
“With a king-size sense of responsibility. It must be in the genes.” He paused. “He cried the other night.”
She stiffened. “What did you do?”
“Ignored it. Pretended I didn’t see it. He didn’t want me to know. So I didn’t know.” He shook his head. “I’m not his mother. The only way I could comfort him was to take away his helplessness.”
“I should have been there.”
“Not if you want to keep him safe. I didn’t mean to lay a guilt trip on you. I just wanted you to know that Joshua needs to feel adequate to fight what’s going on around him.”
“Not this way. I can’t—” She stopped as she realized she wasn’t thinking. It seemed she had been acting on impulse ever since this nightmare started, and she couldn’t afford to do that where Joshua was concerned. “Just a minute.” She was silent a moment, trying to clear her mind. “Just what are you teaching him?”
“Nothing violent. Woodlore, how to move silently, how to see and not be seen.”
“Then why are you calling it maneuvers?”
“It seemed logical. Joshua feels as if he’s in a war.”
“Does he?” she whispered, appalled.
“Look, it’s natural. There’s nothing anyone can do to make him feel any different. He’s too smart. For God’s sake, he is in a war. Telling him that you’ll take care of him doesn’t make him think he’s any safer. You’re the one he’s worried about.”
“But I’m supposed to take care of him. It’s my job.”
“And you’ve had to delegate it.” He stared intently into her eyes. “Let me do my job in my own way, Kate.”
“The devil I will.” She gave a weary sigh. “But maybe you’re right. Maybe playing these stupid war games will make him feel more secure.”
He smiled. “Good, then let’s go tell Joshua you’re not mad at him.” He reached out and took her hand. “If you’re good, we might even let you play with us.”
She hesitated and then placed her hand in Seth’s. He led her down the path in the direction Joshua had taken.
She felt as she had when she was a very little girl and Daddy had led her through Jenkins’s woods. Seth’s hand was hard, callused . . . and safe. Strange that she felt so safe with a man who plied death for a living. Was this why Joshua instinctively trusted him? She should pull away. She wasn’t a little girl any longer. She didn’t need anyone to guide her. Yet she didn’t want to make an issue of it.
He settled her inner conflict by dropping her hand. “Joshua’s just ahead.”
“How do you know?”
“I smell him. Prell shampoo. Dove soap. Dead giveaways.” He grinned. “One day without a shower isn’t enough.”
“It had better be. Because I’m telling Phyliss he’s not to do without another one.”
“Spoilsport.”
“Can you really find someone just by their scent?”
“Sure. Like Joshua said, I’ve got a good nose. But in the woods, manmade scents stick out like a burning bush. Before I go into the field, I even bury my gear in the ground for a day so it will take on an earth smell.”
She made a face. “Pleasant.”
“Better than dead,” he said cheerfully.
What must it be like to live as he did? she wondered. His life, filled with death and distrust, was as volatile as hers was stable. Or had been stable, she thought ruefully. Nothing about her life was stable any longer. “I guess so.”
“I know so.” He smiled at her. “There are advantages to living on the edge. You always appreciate the in-betweens. I bet I enjoy life a hell of a lot more than you or Noah.”
“Like hitting your thumb with a hammer because it feels so good when you stop?” she asked sweetly. “I believe that’s called masochism or maybe just plain nuts.”
“Ouch.” He broke into a trot and called, “Come out and help, Joshua. Your mom is attacking me.”
Joshua appeared from behind an oak tree. “She’s still mad?”
“No, I’m not mad,” Kate said. “I’m hungry. Did either of you bring any food, or were you supposed to live off the land?”
“Not this trip,” Seth replied. “My backpack is down by the lake. But Joshua has to earn lunch. Well? What did you smell?”
“Leaves. Rotting wood. Something minty. Shit.” He looked at Kate. “I’m not cursing, Mom. There really was some animal back there.”
“I believe I taught you other words for that.”
He grinned mischievously. “Seth says you have to be quick in the woods.” He looked at Seth. “Did I get them all?”
“No,” Seth said. “But you did pretty good for a beginner. Now, go down to the lake and bring back my pack so we can feed your mom. After lunch we’ll go find that pile and you’ll learn what kind of animal made it.”
“Right.” Joshua ran down the path at full speed.
“Sit down.” Seth gestured to the grass beneath the tree Joshua had sprung from. “You look tired.”
“I’m not tired. I only walked a quarter mile. I’m not that decrepit.”
“Okay. You’re not tired, you’re tense. It must come from using all those brain cells.” He sat down, stretched his legs out in front of him. “You should follow my example.” He leaned his head back against the trunk and closed his eyes. “Never think when you can feel.”
“That’s why you’re such a success in life?”
“Yep.” He opened one eye. “Oh, were you insulting me?”
“Yes.” She dropped down beside him. “Not that it makes any difference to you.”
He yawned. “It makes a difference. But I forgive you.”
“Thank you.” She paused. “Was it safe to let Joshua go alone?”
“Yes.”
“I suppose you would have smelled someone, Tarzan?”
“Or heard them.”
“Even Ishmaru?” She shivered. “He thinks he’s some kind of Indian warrior.”
“Not enough. He’s a drugstore Indian. He invented himself. He smells of Mennen aftershave lotion, incense, and sesame seeds.”
“You could tell that in the brief time you were kneeling beside him?”
“I paid attention. When you run across someone as weird as Ishmaru, you make a point of remembering everything about him. It could save your neck.”
“I see your point.” She tilted her head. “What about me? What do I smell like?”
“The first time I saw you, you smelled of a botanical shampoo. Cassia, I think. You must have run out or not brought it with you, because you washed your hair this morning with Prell. No perfume, but you’re wearing Opium body powder.” He smiled. “Nice. Clean and nice.”
“Thank you,” she said faintly. “I suppose you know what kind of toothpaste I used too.”
“Colgate. Scope mouthwash.”
She laughed. “I think I’d hate to have that keen a sense of smell. Not all odors are pleasant.”
His smile faded. “No, some aren’t pleasant at all.” He closed his eyes again. “So we deal with them and then try not to remember.”
He was talking about something specific, she guessed. Seth Drakin must have confronted a good deal of unpleasantness in his life.
“Does Joshua have a dog?” Seth asked.
She was startled at the sudden change of subject. “No.”
“Want one? I tried to give him to Noah, but he may be too busy to take care of a pet.”
“Yo
ur dog?”
“Sort of. I picked him up in Colombia. He’s in quarantine right now.”
And remembering that unpleasantness had reminded Seth of the dog. She felt a stirring of curiosity but resisted the impulse to question him. It wasn’t her business, and in spite of his candid demeanor, she had an idea that Seth was not nearly as open and uncomplicated as he seemed. “I think we’d better talk about that later.”
“Okay. I didn’t think you’d commit. You’re too cautious.”
“‘Caution’ isn’t a dirty word, you know.”
“No, it’s a nice sturdy word. Like ‘responsibility’ and ‘sincerity’ and ‘duty.’ ” He yawned. “The bug that bit Noah in the ass. He used to be much more entertaining.”
“If you expect me to argue with you, you’re going to be disappointed. I took the day off to relax, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“Then lean back instead of sitting up stiff as a poker.”
She hesitated and then leaned back. The bark of the tree felt rough through her sweatshirt. She was about as relaxed as a tightly drawn wire. She shot Seth a glance from the corner of her eye. The sunlight filtering through the trees lit the sun streaks in his dark brown hair. His eyes were closed, his long, muscular body appeared totally relaxed. All he needed was a fishing pole to look like one of the kids in a Norman Rockwell painting, she thought in exasperation.
But he wasn’t a kid. He was very male and she was reacting to that masculinity, she realized in astonishment. The sexual response was sharp, intense, almost animalistic. Where had that come from? It must have something to do with being in the forest surrounded by nature.
“Joshua tells me you’re quite a pitcher,” Seth murmured.
“Yes.”
“Did you play when you were a kid?”
“They didn’t let girls in Little League, but my dad played with me. Did you play ball?”
“A little. Sandlot in Newark, New Jersey. I was a catcher. I always thought that catchers were the gladiators of the game. The idea appealed to me.”
“War games even then?”
“You’re talking about the great American pastime.”
She was beginning to relax, she realized. The sun was warm on her face, and she could smell the grass and earth and the musky odor of Seth a few feet away. Not unpleasant. It seemed to go with the other earth fragrances around her.