Countdown

  He looked at her.

  “Don’t you?”

  “Not allowed.”

  “Don’t you?”

  “Yes.” He closed his eyes. “Sometimes. Hard. Hurts. Like a fire that won’t go out. When the laird came for me, I didn’t hate Reilly. But lately—it’s there, burning me.”

  “Because you remember what he did to you.”

  His eyes opened and he shook his head. “I don’t want to remember. Hurts.”

  “If you don’t let yourself remember, if you don’t tell us where we can find Reilly, then there will be other people who are hurt and killed. It will be your fault.”

  “Hurts.” He stood up. “I have to get back to my garden. Good-bye.”

  With a feeling of helplessness, she watched him walk away. Had she even made a dent? She called after him. “I’m not finished with the sketch. Meet me here at five.”

  He didn’t answer as he disappeared into the stable.

  Would he come?

  “You upset him.” MacDuff was walking toward her from the stable. “You were supposed to help him, not stir him up.”

  “It will help him to remember that bastard Reilly. You must think so too. You told me yourself that you tried to get information out of him about Reilly.”

  “And failed.”

  “Maybe it was too soon.”

  “And maybe the wounds are so deep that he’d bleed to death if he started probing them.”

  “People are going to die, dammit.”

  “I’m trusting Trevor to find Reilly before that.”

  “But maybe it would only take a few words from Jock.”

  “He may not even know where Reilly’s located. I tried everything when I first found him, including hypnosis. But it sent him into a tailspin. I’d think that would be one of the first mental blocks Reilly would instill.”

  “What if he does know?” She snapped the sketchbook shut. “What if he can point the way and we don’t try to prod him to do it?” She met his gaze. “For a moment I saw something in Jock’s expression— I think he could be changing, maybe . . . coming back.” She made a frustrated gesture. “Hell, I’m not going to hurt him. Why are you so against me trying?”

  “Because he may not be ready to come back.” His gaze shifted to the stable. “I’ve been aware of those moments too. It’s like the sun coming out on a cloudy day. But what if he does come back before he’s ready? For God’s sake, he’s a killer who makes Rambo look like a kindergarten kid. He’s a time bomb ready to go off.”

  “He loves you. You could control him.”

  “Could I? I’m glad you’re so confident.” He studied her expression. “And ruthless. I should have known. Women are always the deadlier of the species.”

  “Trite. Very trite. I’m not ruthless. Or maybe I am. All I know is that I won’t let those bastards hurt my people.” She turned away. “You and Trevor aren’t playing on the same field I am. Are you going to stop me from talking to Jock?”

  He didn’t answer for a moment and then said slowly, “No, I’ll let you have your try. Be careful. If you set him off, it won’t be pretty.”

  She’d be careful, she thought as she went back toward the castle. Not only for her own safety, but for the sanity of that poor tormented boy. Everything she heard about Reilly made her angry and sick. She had thought Grozak was horrible, but he was matched by that thug who twisted minds and wills and traded in mass destruction.

  Damn you, Reilly.

  You don’t approve of what I’m doing,” Mario said when she walked in to his studio five minutes later. “It’s necessary, Jane. I’m helpless with these people. It has to change.”

  “I’m not going to argue with you.” She sat down in her corner chair. “I can understand how you feel. I just don’t want you to go out thinking you’re capable when you’re not. It takes a long time to become proficient at weapons and martial arts. You’re not going to have that time. Things are moving too fast.”

  “I can start. It may help. You’re not going to convince me. Sometimes I have a very hard head.” He suddenly grinned. “As MacDuff found out. I believe I caught him off guard.”

  She smiled back at him. “I believe you did too.” She’d had her say and it obviously was falling on deaf ears. Drop it and maybe come back to it later. Not that she had any confidence it would do any good. “How’s the translation going?”

  “Slowly.” He looked down at the sheet of paper in front of him. “I’ve been abstracted.”

  “I can understand that. And yet it may be our best chance to stop this horror from happening.”

  “It seems a long shot.” He looked up at her. “Two thousand years is a long time. Finding a lost treasure would be like a fairy tale. Do you believe it could happen?”

  “I believe anything can happen.”

  “That’s a generalization.”

  She thought about it. She was generally a pragmatic, cynical person, but somehow she had never doubted that the gold still existed somewhere. Perhaps it was because of the dreams that had plagued her all these years. Perhaps it was because Cira seemed alive to her and so the gold was also very real. “Do you believe those scrolls were written by Cira?”

  “Yes.”

  “And what were the odds of them ever being found in that tunnel? That’s a fairy tale in itself.”

  He smiled. “I guess you’re right.”

  “Damn right I am.”

  “Back to work.” He looked down at the scroll. “Get out of here and let me get to it.”

  Her brows rose. “I didn’t bother you before.”

  “You did, but I was willing to be distracted. I’m not now.” His smile faded. “To me all this has been more of a horror story than a fairy tale, but I want some part of this to have a happy ending. I’ll tell you if I find something.”

  He was businesslike, even curt, and seemed years older than the man she had first met. She felt a ripple of sadness for the loss of that boyish eagerness. “Okay.” She got to her feet. “It’s time I called Eve and Joe and filled them in anyway. I meant to do it last night, but I was exhausted when I came back from Lucerne.”

  “You’re telling them everything?”

  “Of course. We need all the help we can get. Joe has contacts all over the country. Maybe he can shake the authorities up enough to put a full-scale effort into finding Grozak and Reilly.”

  Mario shook his head. “Judging by what Trevor told me, it’s not likely. No proof. Who will they get to listen?”

  “Joe will listen.” She headed for the door. “Eve will listen. And I’d rather have them on my team than any authority in existence.”

  Christ,” Joe murmured when Jane finished. “What a god-awful mess.”

  “We need to find either Grozak or Reilly to stop it. You know people. There should be some way to find and get rid of them before this happens. It can’t happen.”

  “No, it can’t,” Eve said from the other extension. “And it won’t. We’ll work on it from this end. Joe still has lots of contacts with the FBI. And I’ll call John Logan and see if he can push some buttons.” She paused. “Come home, Jane.”

  “I can’t do that. At least I’m doing something here. I may be able to get information from Jock.”

  “Or you may not.”

  “I have to try. This is where the action is, Eve. If I don’t get a breakthrough with Jock, we may still find out about the gold from the scrolls. That could be almost as important if Trevor can negotiate a deal with Reilly.”

  “Bastard. I hate the idea of negotiating with that slime.”

  “So do I, but I’ll take any way out right now.”

  “But you said that according to that scroll Cira was going to try to move the gold from the tunnel. If she succeeded, it will be much harder to find.”

  “Unless Cira tells us in the scroll Mario is working on where this Pia hid it.”

  “And if it isn’t still buried beneath all that hardened lava that flowed over the city,” Joe said.
br />   “Yes, we need a break.” Jane was silent a moment. “But, you know, I’ve been thinking. This whole thing with Cira and the dreams and the gold has been bizarre. It seems to be reaching out and touching all of us. Maybe Cira is trying to stop—” She broke off and then said in disgust, “Jesus, I can’t believe I said that. All this tension must be affecting my mind. Just call me and let me know what you’re able to do.”

  “Don’t sound so discouraged,” Joe said. “The bad guys don’t always win. They won’t this time. We just have to work until we find a way to blow their sorry asses out of the water. I’ll phone you later.”

  I never thought it would be this bad,” Eve whispered as she hung up the extension. “And I don’t like it that Jane’s ‘where the action is,’ dammit. I don’t care if she feels sorry for that boy. If she starts pushing him too quickly, he’s likely to explode. We both know how quickly a trained murderer can kill.”

  “It may not come down to that. Jane’s right, there are actually two options. Maybe they’ll find Cira’s gold and manage to negotiate with Reilly to refuse Grozak.” He grimaced. “Though I wouldn’t like to bank on a long shot like that.”

  Eve was silent, thinking. “Maybe it’s not such a long shot.”

  Joe gazed at her inquiringly. “Why not?”

  She glanced away from him. “Anything can happen. Mario could translate that scroll and it might tell them exactly where the gold is.”

  “That’s not what you meant.” Joe’s eyes were narrowed on her face. “And I don’t believe it’s just wishful thinking.”

  “You’re wrong. I’m wishing with all my heart they find that gold. And soon.” She picked up her phone and dialed John Logan. She got his message service and left a call-back. “I’ll phone John again when I get back.” She moved toward the front door. “I’m taking Toby for a walk by the lake. I need to blow off some steam.” She whistled for the dog. “He’s been moping around since Jane left again. Are you getting on the phone with Washington right away?”

  “You bet I am.” He flipped open his phone. “Like you said, there’s not much time.”

  “And you’d rather they close in on Reilly and kill the bastard than negotiate with him.”

  “Hell, yes. Give him the gold and he’ll take it and bury himself somewhere only to surface again. You know that’s true.”

  “Yes.” But it might also give Jane time to come out of this nightmare safely. “I’ll be back soon.”

  The screen door slammed behind her and she hurried down the porch steps. Toby ran ahead of her down the path. She let him go. He needed the exercise and she needed a little time to think.

  Jesus, she was scared. What the devil should she do? She could do nothing. Joe was right about the odds of finding the gold.

  And wrong. It might be—

  Barking.

  Toby was standing in the middle of the path, barking at something in the trees. He was tense, back on his haunches, and the tone of his barking became shrill.

  “Toby. Come.”

  He didn’t pay any attention to her, dammit. It wasn’t unheard of for a bear or mountain lion to stray from the hills down here. She didn’t want Toby tearing in there and getting himself hurt.

  “Toby!”

  He was starting toward the trees.

  She ran after him and grabbed his collar. “No, there’s nothing there.”

  But there was something there.

  The hair was rising at the back of her neck.

  She jerked Toby back as he lunged forward. “Home! Go home, boy.” He turned and ran back toward the cottage, she saw with relief.

  And she was right after him. Silly that her heart was beating this hard. It might not have been a dangerous wild animal at all. Toby wasn’t the brightest dog in the world. It could have been an owl or a possum.

  Yet she breathed easier when she reached the porch. She sank down on the step and Toby sat down beside her. “I’m going to have to tell Jane you need a refresher course in obedience,” she whispered as she threw her arm around his back. “Come doesn’t mean attack. You could have gotten yourself torn up, boy.”

  He wasn’t looking at her. His stare was intent on the path.

  She felt a chill run through her. Imagination.

  The path was empty. Nothing was coming toward them.

  Nothing and no one.

  But that knowledge didn’t chase the chill away. She stood up and headed for the front door. She hadn’t had the chance to do that thinking she was going to do, and she couldn’t put it off. “Come on. I’m going in and getting a cup of hot chocolate, Toby. I’ll let you have a treat even though you don’t deserve it.”

  Jane was smiling as she hung up the phone. She always felt better after she talked to Joe and Eve. She hadn’t realized how desperate and discouraged she’d been feeling until this moment. In only this few minutes of conversation, they’d managed to share their strength with her.

  A knock at the door. Trevor opened it before she could answer. “You’re about to receive a visitor,” he said grimly. “Venable just called and he’s frothing at the mouth.”

  “Why?”

  “He didn’t like your recent discussion with Eve and Joe. He’s talking breach of security, interference with CIA business, and posing a threat to the national interest.”

  “What?” Then his words hit home. “He bugged my phone?”

  “Yes. Hell, he bugs my phone. I let him do it. It made him feel more secure, and there are always ways around it.” He made a face. “I told him I didn’t give a damn what you told Eve and Joe, but evidently you crossed his line of comfort. What did you ask Joe to do?”

  “Stir everyone up so that we could get some help finding Reilly and Grozak.”

  “That would do it. Government agencies are extremely touchy about interference in their jurisdictions.”

  “Tough.”

  “I agree.” He gestured toward the door. “So shall we go down and tell him so? He should be arriving any time now.”

  “Cripes, he must be upset.” She frowned as she passed him. “And I do care if my phone is bugged, dammit.”

  “Talk to him, not to me.”

  “You didn’t tell me he’d done it.”

  “You were feeling insecure enough.” He preceded her down the stairs. “And I wanted you to stay. It was important to me.”

  “But you’re letting me know now.”

  “I don’t think a hydrogen bomb blast would budge you from here at the moment. You’re involved.” He looked at her over his shoulder. “Right?”

  He was right, dammit. As she’d told Eve and Joe, this was the one place where she could be of use. “I’m involved,” she repeated. “But that doesn’t mean I’m willing to put up with this kind of bullshit to stay here.”

  “I know. That’s why I’m letting Venable clear the decks and put everything out in the open.” He turned as he reached the bottom of the stairs. “And to convince you that Venable does exist and that I’m telling you the truth about working with him.”

  “I didn’t think you were lying.”

  “Perhaps not consciously. But maybe on a subliminal level? You know I’m capable of fairly complicated chicanery. I wanted to make sure that you knew I was being entirely aboveboard.” He turned and opened the front door. “Ask Venable any question you like.” He smiled. “Of course, now that you’re considered a security risk, he may not answer you.”

  Carl Venable didn’t look like the nervous individual Trevor had described, Jane thought as he got off the helicopter. He was big and burly with a shock of graying red hair and held himself with confidence and authority.

  But the frown on his face and the jerkiness of his movement belied that confidence as he came toward them. “I told you that you shouldn’t have gone to get her,” he said curtly to Trevor. “Sabot’s furious. He threatened to pull me off the case.”

  “He won’t do it. Quinn will undoubtedly stir up the waters, but he’s going to paint you as the good guy. Sabot
will be too busy answering questions and trying to make his position seem credible to undermine you.”

  “So you say.” He turned to Jane. “You don’t know what a mess you’ve made of this. It’s going to be twice as hard for us to get anything done efficiently. Quinn is bound to involve Homeland Security, and that means that we’ll have to answer to them. You might have blown any chance we have of capturing Grozak.”

  “You don’t seem to have done such a great job to date,” Jane said. “And if it will keep another 9/11 from happening, I don’t care how difficult I’ve made your job. Screw it. I’ll do what I please.”

  His cheeks flushed. “Not if I arrest you and put you under our protection as a material witness.”

  “Stop right there, Venable,” Trevor said. “I know you’re upset, but we both know that’s not going to happen.”

  “I should do it. It would be safer for all of us. Hell, it would be safer for her. It would keep Reilly’s hands off her. You told me yourself that he said he wanted to make a trade for her. And now she’s becoming a thorn—”

  “I also told you to keep your mouth shut about what Reilly said, you son of a bitch,” Trevor interrupted in disgust. “Now you’ve blown it.”

  “Wait a minute,” Jane said. “What are you talking about?” She whirled on Trevor. “Trade?”

  He was silent a moment and then shrugged. “When he called me, he had a list of demands to stop him from going along with Grozak.”

  “And what was on this list?”

  “The gold, my statue of Cira.” He paused. “And you. You figured very prominently on his list.”

  “Why?”

  “Why do you think? I told you he was a fanatic about everything to do with Herculaneum, and Cira’s gold in particular. What’s more to do with Cira than you? The spitting image. He believes you may know more than you think you do. Or that you may know and are lying low and waiting for the opportune moment to reach out and grab.”

  “That’s absurd.” She tried to think. “And I can’t see how he could make me tell him any—” And then it came to her. “Jock . . .”

  “Bingo. Mind control. Making you open your mind and letting him explore every inch of it,” Trevor said. “No doubt with some of his dirty little tampering along the way.”