Night and Day

  “Of course I can do it,” Jane said curtly. “I’ll head for Edinburgh right away. I don’t work in metal, but I can pull in a couple of my friends who work in mixed media and metal. I can do the rest. It won’t be easy to do it in the time frame you’ve given me, but I’ll have it ready for you.” She frowned. “But you’re not going to be able to transport a chest like that without comment. We’ll build a wood chest to put it in.”

  “Fine,” Joe said. “But I guarantee we’re not going to be going through customs. We’ll be sliding in and out of Moscow with lightning speed.”

  “We hope,” Eve said.

  “I’m still going with you.” Jane’s jaw set. “Find me something to do.”

  “You can be the getaway driver,” Joe said with a grimace. “That’s far enough away to keep Eve comfortable, and it may turn out to be a key position.”

  “You don’t think Natalie will go through with the exchange?”

  “She may do it. She wants Cira’s gold very much,” Eve said. “I hope she does. She may let us have Cara, then go after her later when she feels safer.” She shook her head. “But she will go after her. She’s always felt she had to protect herself from anyone’s finding out that she’d arranged for the kidnapping and killing of Jenny and Cara. That won’t change.”

  “It might,” Joe said. “It could change in Drostkey Park.”

  “No, Joe.” She knew what he was saying. “It’s not about Natalie. It’s about getting Cara away from her and bringing her home.”

  He shrugged. “We don’t know how things will go down. I’m just saying that I wouldn’t hesitate to take her out of the picture if things don’t go as we hope.” He turned to go to the tent. “But we’ll pretend that all will go as we intend it to. I’m going to set up transport and get those maps of Drostkey Park.”

  * * *

  “Drostkey Park,” Jock repeated slowly. “It’s a strange place to set up an exchange. You do realize that it might be bogus, Eve.”

  “Of course, I do. But it’s the best opportunity we’ll have. It gets Cara outside those gates of Kaskov’s estate and away from most of his men. It’s a public place, and it would be hard to stage anything … violent.”

  “No, it wouldn’t. You can kill anywhere, anytime. You just have to make preparations.”

  “We’re making our own preparations. Cara is going to be in that park, and we’re going to take her,” Eve said grimly. “Joe arranged for us to fly into Cadzav Airport on the south side of Moscow. It’s a small airport used by smugglers and drug dealers who pay the government to look the other way. After we have Cara, we’ll be on that plane within thirty minutes.”

  “If you’re allowed to get out of Drostkey Park.”

  “Joe will be making plans to make sure we do.”

  “You trust Quinn implicitly. I’m impressed.”

  “Of course I trust him.” She paused. “I don’t expect you to trust him. You don’t really trust anyone, Jock. But he won’t let anything happen to Cara. I want you to know that.”

  “I know that Quinn is very good, but he has one fault in a situation like this.”

  “And what is that?”

  “He’s not willing to make necessary sacrifices to get the job done.”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Think about it. It will come to you.” He added, “But you didn’t only call to tell me that you’d arranged your exchange and tell me the details. You want something from me.”

  “I want you not to make any move that would spoil the exchange.”

  “And what else?”

  “I want you to be in that park watching to make sure that Cara is safe.”

  He laughed. “You know very well I’ll be there. No question.”

  “And the exchange?”

  “I’ve never objected to anything that would keep Cara safer than I could.”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  “I’ll let you have your chance. But I’ll prepare for it not to be a success.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “And you have to prepare for it, too.” His voice was steel hard. “You want me in that park to watch and keep her safe while those negotiations are going on. If I do see something I don’t like, I’ll act on it. I’ll act fast and hard, and you may not know what’s happening. But if something, anything, goes down that doesn’t seem right, or you don’t understand, you don’t question. You and Quinn get out of that park and head toward the airport.”

  “Not without Cara.”

  “Dammit, I’ll have Cara.” He tempered the harshness of his voice. “And if Cara sees you’re in trouble, I’ll have a hell of a time getting her away. You know how she is.”

  Eve did know. But what he suggested was completely against her nature. “I don’t think I can do—”

  “Then let Natalie keep Cara and see how long she lives,” he said harshly. Then he was silent for an instant, struggling for control. “You trust Quinn. This time you have to trust me, too. You do what I tell you to do, and I’ll keep her alive. Promise me. No judgment calls. If something doesn’t seem right, it’s me trying to make it right. You and Quinn get out of that park.”

  She didn’t answer.

  “I’ll never let her die. I’ll never let anyone hurt her. Promise me.”

  She was silent. Then she said, “I promise. Though I’m going to have problems with Joe. He’s not into blind trust.”

  “And neither are you.” He paused. “Thank you.”

  “And maybe neither of us will have to commit to it.” She moistened her lips. “I hope not.”

  “So do I,” Jock said. “But in my world, happily ever after never happens. Particularly with scum like Natalie and her new lover. I’m a bit stressed with dealing with them long-distance at the moment. I want to be up close and personal.”

  His voice was ice-cold now, and after the passion that had gone before, it came as a shock to Eve. “I suppose that it’s been difficult watching them with Cara.”

  “You could say that.” The ice was gone, and his words were jerky. “She’s clean and brave and filled with music. And she’s surrounded by dirt and blood and ugliness and trying not to let it touch her. But it does touch her, I watch it touch her. And it kills me.” He drew a deep breath. “And it may kill a hell of a lot more before this is over.”

  She had thought she realized what Jock was going through, but she’d had no real idea. “It’s going to be over soon, Jock. Two days.”

  “Two days,” he repeated. “I’ll check out Drostkey Park and call Quinn and tell him if there’s anything he should know. He’s already got diagrams and maps of the park?”

  “Yes, he’s studying them now.”

  “And I’ll be doing the same thing. And I’ll talk to Palik and see if he’s heard anything else that I should know. He has his ear to the ground.”

  “Joe’s been talking to Palik, too.” There was something she had to say to him. “I know that you think that I’ve been getting in your way, Jock. It’s not because I didn’t believe that you weren’t doing everything you could for Cara. I just want you to know I’m grateful to you for caring, for watching over her. And I do trust you.”

  “I do care. So keep trusting me. You won’t be sorry.” He hung up.

  Eve couldn’t doubt how he felt about Cara, but those last words held a passion and commitment that unsettled her. But no more than that promise he’d wrested from her.

  It was too vague, yet he wanted her to act on just a feeling that something was not as it should be.

  How on earth was she going to explain that to Joe?

  Never mind. She would do it somehow. Maybe everything would go down just as it should, and there would be no need to blindly trust Jock.

  But, though her world wasn’t like Jock’s, where happily ever after never came, they came so infrequently that they couldn’t be counted on.

  Best to make very sure Joe knew that she’d been sincere in her promise to Jock. She braced herself
and turned to go find him.

  * * *

  “What do you think?” Jane took the tarp off the bronze chest and took a step back. “Does it look ancient enough? I spent hours sanding and staining it. And those carved emblems were a nightmare to do. That one in the center of the lid was common in Herculaneum. It’s the best I could do, Eve.”

  “It’s wonderful. It looks fantastic.” Her finger gently traced the emblems. “And, yes, it appears very ancient. How did you choose those emblems?”

  “It just came to me. They were … right.” She opened the lid. “The interior looks old, too, but not as ancient as the exterior. And you have your false bottom, but the interior is so dark and cracked, it’s not easily visible.”

  “That’s exactly what I wanted.”

  “So now we have to fill it with coins? How’s that going to happen? I notice you didn’t send Caleb out to rob any more collectors.”

  “Not necessary. MacDuff is finding what we need on the Internet. Even ancient coins aren’t exorbitantly expensive as long as they’re not in the collectable category like that drachma. What we’ll do is spread those other coins that Caleb took from Helmsberg on the top of the other coins in case Natalie checks closely or has an expert there to check for her. We’ll also throw in some silver drachmas that don’t have the same value as the one she had appraised. She’ll recognize those and hopefully think they’re of similar value. I believe it will work.” She made a face. “But we didn’t want to have to fill up that chest. Hence the false bottom.”

  “I can see that would have been a problem.” Jane shook her head. “It’s an amazing plan.”

  “I don’t know about amazing.” Eve wearily rubbed the back of her neck. “We just had to make do. We needed coins. We needed a chest.” She smiled. “So I asked for a little help from my friends. And they came through for me. Thank you, Jane.”

  “No problem. It was … interesting. Like dipping my toes into Cira’s world.”

  “Well, you did a wonderful job of dipping.” She turned away and headed for her tent. “And now I’m going to tear Joe away from studying those maps of the park and drag him out to take a look at this chest.”

  Jane watched her walk away before she turned back to the chest. She had done a good job on it. It had gone lightning fast and, as she had told Eve, it was as if she had known every moment what stroke, what carving to make on that bronze surface. She reached down and gently touched the hawk emblem on the lid.

  “Would it have been too much trouble to let me know where you’d gone?” Caleb asked as he came to stand beside her. “One minute you were here, and the next you were off to Edinburgh. Not courteous, Jane.”

  “I was in a hurry. There wasn’t much time.” Why was she making excuses? “And I don’t have to account for either my time or presence to you, Caleb.”

  “But you did.” He was smiling. “And now I feel vindicated. But you’re lucky I didn’t follow you to Edinburgh and impose my unwelcome presence on your artistic friends. If I’d truly felt slighted, I would have done that.”

  “And we would have ignored you as you deserved. As I said, there wasn’t much time. I was lucky to get the chest done on Eve’s schedule.”

  “And did a superb job.” He gazed appraisingly at the chest. “I couldn’t tell the difference if I were Natalie Castino.”

  “But any expert with time to examine it in detail would be able to tell it’s a phony. We just have to hope she doesn’t bring in that expert.”

  “Yes.” His gaze had lifted to her face. “But it didn’t feel like a phony to you when you were doing it, did it? You weren’t just stroking that emblem, it was more like a caress.”

  “I’m … proud of my work.” When he didn’t say anything, she said curtly, “And stop making something out of nothing, Caleb.”

  “I wouldn’t think of it. Not when that something is already there in full force.” He tilted his head. “Your Cira is getting to you, isn’t she? I’ve been watching you in the mist while we’ve been working with those lights. You’re liking it there, you’re beginning to feel at home.”

  “You shouldn’t be watching me when you should be helping MacDuff.”

  “But you’re always my first concern. We both know that. Besides, I like the idea that I’m sharing Cira with you in my small way.”

  She frowned. “What?”

  “Trevor was always there with you when you were searching for information about those dreams of Cira you were having. From the time you were a girl of seventeen.” His smile was suddenly reckless. “But you’re not seventeen any longer, and now I’m the one who is here. I think Cira might have been curious and interested enough to approve of me. What do you think?”

  Jane had never thought of Caleb in connection with Cira. But Cira would have been fascinated by Caleb. She would have regarded him as a challenge, and she had always been both sensual and passionate in her life and relationships. No one could say that Caleb wasn’t both of those things.

  Caleb was gazing at her quizzically. “You’re not answering.”

  And she wasn’t going to lie to him. He would be able to tell that she wasn’t telling the truth, and it would only amuse him. “If I were to guess, I’d say that you were right. Cira would find you interesting enough to spend some time with you. But she was always sensible and realistic about her relationships.” She met his eyes. “You’d never have been able to hold her. You’d only have been a one-night stand.”

  “Really?” His voice was soft as dark velvet. So were his eyes holding her own. “Now that really is a challenge. Because one-night stands can sometimes be so powerful that they can cause a fever that can blur all that realistic nonsense you attribute to her.”

  She knew that they were no longer talking about Cira. She forced her herself to pull her gaze away. “I believe I’m a better student of Cira’s character than you, Caleb. And I don’t know how this entire conversation started anyway.”

  “Cira’s chest.” He glanced down at the bronze chest again. “And you’ll recall the other nuances when you’re by yourself and not on the defensive.” He looked up at her and smiled. “And now that I’ve stated my protest regarding your lack of consideration in keeping me in the dark, I’ll have to leave you and get on my way. I’m sure I’ll see you in Moscow.”

  She stiffened. “You’re going with us?”

  “Not with you. I’m taking my own plane to have on hand if needed. You may have tried to shut me out, but Quinn recognizes how valuable I can be. MacDuff stays here, but there’s no reason why I can’t join in the fun.”

  “Fun? Natalie will make sure that no one has fun from any of this.”

  “All the more reason for me to go.” His smile faded. “Did you really think that I wasn’t going to be there if you went with Eve?”

  “I didn’t think about it one way or the other.”

  “Then it’s time you started. I’m starting to lose my sense of humor about fighting those walls you’re putting up against me.” His dark eyes were glittering in his suddenly taut face. “You don’t want me to do that, Jane.”

  He turned on his heel and strode away from her.

  Jane tried not to stare after him. He had managed to both shake and arouse her. And that last warning had caused a bolt of sheer uneasiness mixed with a strange excitement at the coming battle.

  Battle? That would have been Cira’s take on Jane’s relationship with Caleb. A battle and a constant challenge.

  She drew a long breath. This was no time to be thinking about battles and challenges when they had a major battle on the horizon that could mean life or death.

  She could see Joe and Eve coming toward her, and she waved to them. “Come and see Cira’s chest, Joe. I think she’d be proud of it.”

  CHAPTER

  9

  DROSTKEY PARK

  Children playing.

  Dogs being walked.

  Mothers chatting with other mothers as they watched their children.

  The carousel
turning slowly as the music played.

  Everything going on here now should be precisely as it would be tomorrow when Eve met Natalie for the exchange, Jock thought.

  He had already timed the exact minutes the carousel would take to make its revolution, but he did it one more time in case of a mechanical discrepancy. Natalie had mentioned that Cara would be on that carousel, and that made it of utmost importance. Jock had taken two hours to make every aspect of that carousel familiar to him.

  Now it was time to check out the park itself.

  He started to pace off the carousel from the other features he had noticed. He had already memorized every detail of the outbuildings and the landscaping, but there was nothing better than on-site inspection.

  The carousel …

  Center of Natalie’s plan?

  Why?

  How?

  Explore …

  KASKOV’S GATEHOUSE

  MOSCOW

  Cara tucked her violin back in its case and carefully fastened the metal snaps. She didn’t set it on the floor but left it on the bed. She might want to play again tonight. She was very restless. As usual, the music had been there for her tonight, but it had been difficult for her to begin. Afterward, it had been fine, beautiful.

  But everything was different. Kaskov had left on some trip, and she hadn’t had to play for him. So she had been in the gatehouse all day and evening. And she hadn’t seen Natalie at all today. Not that her absence had upset Cara. She knew that anything that Natalie said to her was probably lies and pretense anyway. And Cara didn’t have to pretend in return if she didn’t have to deal with either Natalie or Kaskov.

  But the hours alone had seemed very long. And she’d had time to think of Eve … and Jock.