“We’ll walk by the pond. You can’t say anyone’s paying any attention to us. Besides, you said it didn’t matter.”
Blount’s expression lightened. “It doesn’t. I guess I’m used to worrying about Ogden. No more.” He fell into step with Seth. “You’ll have to file RU2 somewhere in Europe. We’ll have to have drug approval or we won’t be able to open the clinic.”
“I already have plane reservations.” He cast a casual glance at the black limousine coasting slowly by them. Ogden?
“What about Kate Denby? Her name is on the patent.”
“I can prove that Smith did the majority of the work.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“But it would be better if we can come to some kind of agreement with her.” He looked out at the pond. “And unless you want to have a court battle with her heirs, you’d better keep Ishmaru away from her until we can work a deal.”
“I told you Ishmaru was no problem.” He smiled. “And Denby may not be a problem either if Ishmaru finds what he’s looking for. It seems the good doctor hasn’t been nearly as good as she should have been.”
Seth tried to keep his expression impassive. “That’s hard to believe. She’s a bloody Jonas Salk. She wouldn’t let up on me until she and Migellin roped me in.” He kept the next question carefully casual. “What’s she supposed to have done?”
“Try murder.” Blount nodded as he saw his expression. “I was surprised too.”
“That cop in Dandridge? That was a pretty lame effort on your part. They dropped the case.”
“No, this took place years ago. But that recent warrant against her will look nasty in court.”
“Another court case. That’s no solution to the problem.”
“I don’t care about her,” he said impatiently. “What about RU2? I’ll want my lawyers to draw up an agreement before you leave for Europe.”
“I prefer my own lawyers.”
“I admit I expected that to—”
“You sniveling little prick.” Raymond Ogden spun Blount around to face him. His fist crashed into Blount’s lips. “You damn slimy bastard.”
Blount fell to his knees.
Ogden kicked him in the stomach. His face was livid with rage. “Pack up and get out of my house. You’re through.” He kicked him again. “And don’t think you’re going to get away with anything. I’ll stop you. You don’t have the gumption to make it in the big leagues, you prick.”
“Oh dear, he was annoyed, wasn’t he?” Seth murmured as he watched Ogden stalk back to his limousine.
“Bastard.” Blount wheezed, trying to get his breath. “How the hell did he know I was—”
“Oh, I told him.” Seth helped him to his feet. “It seemed the thing to do.”
Blount’s eyes widened. “You told him? You set me up?”
“Well, we did have to meet and I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone.”
“You wanted him to beat me up?”
“I wanted to see you cut your ties with him. Irrevocably. I think this is irrevocable, don’t you?”
“I think I’m going to break your neck,” he said through his teeth.
“Understandable.” He looked beyond Blount. “But this little contretemps seems to have attracted a crowd. You should really wait until there aren’t any witnesses.”
Blount took out his handkerchief and dabbed at his lip. “I told you I didn’t care if he saw us together. I was going to do it in my own time.”
“I’m afraid I’m not very trusting. You’re crossing Ogden. Who’s to say you won’t change your mind and cross me? No, I had to make sure before I committed myself.” He beamed. “But now all the impediments are out of the way.”
“I’m going to remember this.”
“I’m sure you will, but the deal is too sweet for you to scrap because of a few bruises.” He brushed a speck of dust from Blount’s jacket. “You’ll need a place to stay. I’ll get you a suite at my hotel for the next few days until we leave for Amsterdam. I’ll even come to Ogden’s place in a few hours and help you with your luggage.”
“I don’t need—” Then Blount smiled maliciously. “Yes, by all means come and pick me up. Ogden’s supposed to be home this evening. Maybe he’ll decide you need a few bruises too.”
“You’d wish that on me?” He made a clucking sound. “And I thought we were getting along so well.”
“Shut up, damn you,” Blount snarled. He strode past him toward the street.
Seth followed more leisurely. The top was spinning merrily. Just a few more turns . . .
“Well, you look satisfied,” Phyliss said as she came into Kate’s suite. “What brought this on?”
“I’m not satisfied. I’m excited.” Kate hung up the phone. “I played a hunch and I’m not sure if it’s going to pay off.”
“Are you going to share it?”
Kate shook her head and held up crossed fingers. “Not yet. I’m afraid I’ll jinx it. Where’s Joshua?”
“Changing.” She turned to the door. “And that’s what I’ve got to do. Where will we eat lunch?”
“Here.” She moved toward the bathroom. “I’ll shower and change. You and Joshua order for all of us. Just a sandwich for me.”
“You need more than a sandwich after that workout.”
Before she closed the door, she called, “Okay, a salad.”
The waiter came with the food as she finished blow-drying her hair. She quickly put on slacks, a tailored shirt, and sandals.
“Kate.”
“Coming.” She breezed into the sitting room, brushed a kiss on Joshua’s forehead, and sat down in the chair across from him. “What did you order?”
“Chili dog.”
She flinched. “All this healthy food on the menu and you ordered a chili dog?”
He grinned. “You said I should order what I wanted. Besides, chili dogs are healthy. The meat’s protein and the onions are vegetables and—”
“Okay, okay.”
“You gave in too easy. You feeling all right?”
“Great.” She did feel great. She had the first scrap of hope since Migellin’s death. Hope was an amazing upper. “But Phyliss may not feel so great if you have a bellyache later.”
“I can handle it,” Phyliss said. “I’m having a chili dog too.”
Kate gave a mock groan. “I’m surrounded by—”
The phone rang.
Seth?
“I’ll get it.” She jumped up and reached for the phone on the table.
“Do you know where I am, Emily?”
Her heart stopped and then started double time.
“You’re not answering. Do you know who this is?”
“Ishmaru.”
“I knew you wouldn’t forget me. Just as I can’t forget you. Particularly where I am now. It’s so pretty here. All these trees and shrubs and woodland paths. I had a vision about you and a forest. I have many visions, you know. All true warriors do.”
Her hand tightened on the receiver. “What do you want?”
“I want you to come to me.”
“Screw you.”
“You mustn’t refuse me out of hand. I’ve just spent a few interesting days in the records office. The facts were very cleverly hidden, but I dug them out. I know everything. You’ve been a naughty girl, Kate.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Because you haven’t asked me where I am. I’ll tell you anyway. Pinebridge.”
He hung up the phone.
She closed her eyes as waves of terror washed through her.
“Mom?” Joshua was beside her, his eyes wide with fear.
Her arm automatically slid around him. “It’s okay. It’s okay, Joshua.”
“It’s not okay. You said Ishmaru.”
“It will be okay. It will be fine.” She turned to Phyliss. “I’ve got to go.” She grabbed up her purse. Was the gun in it? Yes, Seth always made sure she went nowhere without it.
> “Where are you going?” Phyliss called as she ran toward the door.
She couldn’t tell her. She had promised.
No one must ever know.
But Ishmaru knew now.
Dear God, he knew.
“Take care of Joshua, Phyliss.”
The door slammed behind her.
Disaster.
Seth knew the moment he walked into the hotel room.
Joshua was sitting on the sofa, stiff as a poker, and Phyliss looked almost as shell-shocked.
Kate.
“Where’s Kate?”
“Gone,” Phyliss said. “Why weren’t you here? Where the hell were you?”
“I had something to do. Are you going to tell me where she is or yell at me?”
“Ishmaru,” Joshua whispered.
His heart lurched. “What happened?”
“She got a phone call and ran out of here.”
“How long ago?”
“Two hours maybe.”
“You’re sure it was Ishmaru?”
“She said the name and I saw her face. It was Ishmaru.”
“Where did she go?”
“She wouldn’t tell me. She just said to take care of Joshua.”
“What are you going to do?” Joshua asked accusingly. “You promised you’d take care of her.”
“I will take care of her.” He crossed the room and grasped Joshua’s shoulders. “Listen to me, Joshua. I won’t let anything happen to her. I’ll find her and bring her back to you.”
“You don’t even know where she is.”
“I’ll find out. Trust me. It will be okay.”
“That’s what she said. But she was scared. I could tell she was scared.”
Seth was scared too. Jesus, he had never been this scared before. “I mean it. I’ll bring her back.”
Joshua just looked at him. Seth couldn’t blame him. It was hard to comfort someone when you needed comfort yourself. He released Joshua’s shoulders and walked out of the room.
Rimilon was outside in the hall.
“Where the hell have you been?”
“I saw you get off the elevator and went downstairs to see if I could find out anything from the doorman. She ran right by me. It’s not my fault. I tried to stop her. You told me that my job was to take care of the other two.”
“What did you find out from the doorman?”
“She took a cab but he didn’t hear the destination.”
Shit. He strode past Rimilon toward the elevators.
Okay. Be cool. Think.
Why the hell hadn’t she waited for him?
Kate.
Dammit, close out the emotion or he wouldn’t be able to help her.
But first he had to find her.
He could find her. He had only to find Ishmaru.
And Blount knew where Ishmaru could be found. He had time. Blount had mentioned Ishmaru had hopped a plane after Migellin’s death.
Unless he had changed his mind and come back to Washington.
He didn’t even want to think of that possibility. He had to assume he had time, that Kate was flying somewhere to meet Ishmaru.
So it was only necessary to add a new equation to the mix. Keep the top spinning and make sure that he found out where Kate was meeting Ishmaru before it stopped.
The cut on his lip stung like hell.
Blount scowled at his reflection in the mirror. The lip was swollen too. Damn Ogden to hell.
And damn Seth Drakin too. He was a marked man. Just as soon as the clinic was up and running, the bastard would die. He’d let his father handle it. It was fitting. Like to like. Scum to scum.
He scraped his aftershave, deodorant, and toothbrush off the vanity into his overnight kit. Except for the open bag on the bed, his luggage was packed and ready. He’d call a taxi and then he’d be out of here. He wasn’t about to sit around and wait for Drakin. Though it was a shame he wouldn’t have the chance to push the prick into Ogden’s path.
Ogden was probably stinko by now. He’d seen the servant carrying a fresh bottle of vodka into the library when he’d crept down to the office to retrieve his belongings. He’d also taken the opportunity to pluck a few files that would prove troublesome to Ogden. Nothing too incriminating; he kept those in his private safe. But the newspapers would be glad to hear about that land deal for the plant in India. It would be—
“Am I late, Blount?”
He stiffened, then turned to see Drakin standing in the bathroom doorway. “How did you get up here?”
“Not through the front door. I thought it might prove awkward. I climbed the tree outside the window and jumped onto the balcony.”
“You went to a lot of trouble.”
Drakin smiled. “Not so much. Did that dossier you have on me mention that I was a cat burglar at one time?”
“No.” He looked like a cat burglar now in that black sweater, jeans, and sneakers, Blount thought.
“Then of course it isn’t true. Because you know everything about me. Right, Blount?”
“I know enough.” He pushed past him into the bedroom. “And I have no intention of sneaking out through a window. We’re going downstairs and out the front door. Grab that suitcase.”
“Not yet.” He leaned against the doorjamb. “You’ll have to rein in your impatience. Because you know something else that’s very important to me. Where’s Ishmaru, Blount?”
“I don’t have time for this.”
“You have all the time in the world. I want to know where Ishmaru is. Is he here in Washington?”
“I told you he wasn’t.”
“Kate Denby got a call from him. He might have come back.”
“I don’t think so. What difference does it make? Let Ishmaru kill her. She’s more trouble alive than dead. We can handle the inheritance problems.”
“Let Ishmaru kill her,” Seth repeated softly. “Is that what you said?”
Blount stiffened warily. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong about the way Drakin was staring at him. . . .
“Is that what you said about Noah and Migellin?”
“Get out of here, Drakin. Jump out the window or walk out the front door. I don’t care.” He moved toward the open suitcase on the bed. “I’m not going to stand here and let—”
Drakin’s arm had encircled his throat from behind. “Where’s Ishmaru?”
He couldn’t breathe. He tore futilely at Drakin’s arm. His hand touched rubber—no, latex. Drakin was wearing latex gloves like a fucking doctor.
“Ishmaru?” Drakin said.
“He’s working at a hospital—Pinebridge.”
“Where?”
“Near . . . Dandridge.”
“Good.” He released him and stepped back. “That’s all I needed to know.”
Rage seared through Blount. “You bastard.” He lunged toward Seth.
Drakin wasn’t there. He had whirled aside and when he faced Blount again he had something in his hand. The brass Chinese foo dog statue from the table.
“Come on.” He motioned for Blount to come at him again. “One more time. Just once and it will be over.”
A sudden chill banished Blount’s anger. The prick wanted to kill him, he realized in astonishment. He didn’t move. He had no intention of rushing Drakin again. His gun was in the open bag on the bed. When he moved, it had to be for the gun. He forced a smile. “What’s this all about? I know I lost my temper, but that’s no reason for us to do anything rash. The deal is what’s important.”
“Is it?”
“Okay, I told you where Ishmaru is. Now we can take up where we—” He leaped for the suitcase on the bed and grabbed the gun. He raised it as he turned toward Drakin.
He had no chance to use it.
Drakin swung the statue with precision and hit the exact spot on the left temple, killing Blount instantly.
Done.
Seth got a towel from the bathroom and wiped the statue. He had worn gloves, so none of his fingerprints were
on it, but it would look as if the statue had been wiped clean by someone not wearing gloves. Someone who had picked up the statue on impulse and struck Blount.
He dropped the statue beside the body.
He quickly rifled through Blount’s suitcase.
Ogden’s files. He’d thought Blount wouldn’t be able to resist a little revenge after the way Ogden had beaten and humiliated him. Blount’s body would be discovered and Ogden would go through the suitcase before the police were notified. He took the files and slid them under the mattress. Then he opened the door to the hall and left it ajar.
Anything else?
He surveyed the room. No, nothing else. Time to get out. Actually past time. He had to get to Kate. He moved across the room toward the balcony.
Let Ishmaru kill her.
The hell he would.
Pinebridge
It was after midnight when Kate parked the rental car in the parking lot and got out.
It looked the same, Kate thought as she walked up the long driveway toward the hospital. The lights shone soft and welcoming and the lawns were green and tidy.
No, it wasn’t the same. It would never be the same. Ishmaru was here.
She had half expected him to appear ever since she had gotten out of her car.
She pushed open the door. The lobby was deserted at this hour of the night.
Where are you? You called me. Now where are you?
“He’s not here. I’ve already checked at Administration.”
She stiffened in shock as she saw Seth get up from the chair by a potted fern. “What are you doing here?”
“Having a nervous breakdown,” he said grimly. “I didn’t even know if you’d come here first. I thought he might have told you to meet him somewhere else.”
“Go away, Seth. I don’t want you here.”
He ignored her. “I described him and the clerk said they’d hired the man as an orderly. He’s going by the name of Sanchez. He was on duty this afternoon but he’s off this evening.”
“Go away, Seth.”
“No.” He took a step closer to her, his voice low and intense. “Dammit, you don’t have to hide anything from me. What do I care if you killed someone? I know you. They must have deserved it.”
“How did you—” None of that was important now. She couldn’t stand here arguing. She had to find Ishmaru. She strode past Seth to the elevators and punched the button.