The Search

  She gestured with her flashlight. “There he is.”

  Logan and the four troopers moved closer, scanning the area with their flashlights before they took each step. She knew they were afraid of destroying evidence, but it seemed to take them forever to cover those last few yards.

  Please. Get it over with and let’s go home.

  She averted her gaze, but she could still hear the murmur of their voices as they knelt beside Chavez’s body.

  “Sarah.” Logan was back beside her. “Lieutenant Carmichael wants you.”

  “Why should I—”

  “Just come, okay?”

  “No, it’s not okay.” But she started for the boulders anyway. “Stay, Monty.”

  “Walk on the rocks so you won’t disturb the—”

  “I know.” She was standing beside Chavez’s body, staring over it at Lieutenant Carmichael. “You wanted me?”

  “We can’t move the body, but his head is turned to one side.” He motioned for her to kneel down beside him. “Look at him.”

  She didn’t want to look at him. She did anyway. His eyes and mouth were open. Death must have come suddenly and—

  She stiffened in shock. “It’s not Chavez.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Of course I’m sure.” She stared dazedly into the heavy features of the dead man. “It’s not Chavez.”

  “Thank you.” He motioned to Logan, who lifted her to her feet. “You can take her back to the rest stop now. But don’t leave until after we’ve questioned her.”

  She stood there staring down at the dead man.

  “Come on, Sarah.” Logan gently nudged her up the hill toward Monty.

  “It’s not Chavez. I thought I’d sent him straight into the hands of that murderer. But it’s not Chavez.”

  Logan was silent. Too silent.

  “What is it?”

  “It was Chavez, Sarah.”

  “No.”

  “Those policemen knew him, worked with him every day. It was Chavez.” His hand tightened on her elbow. “And he’s been dead for a long time. Rigor mortis has started to set in.”

  She stared at him in bewilderment. “I spent the entire afternoon with Chavez. He was with—” She drew a deep breath as realization hit her. “Rudzak?”

  “What did he look like?”

  “Tall, forty-something. Fine features, gray eyes, white hair.” She looked at him. “Rudzak?”

  He nodded.

  “But I . . . liked him.”

  “Everyone likes Rudzak. It’s one of the things he does best. I’m sure Chavez liked him too. The lieutenant thinks Chavez was forced to call Helen Peabody this morning to request you to come here and then was murdered. He wasn’t seen at the command post after ten this morning.”

  She shook her head. “But he waved at one of the troopers on the other bank and the officer waved back.”

  “How close were you?”

  He was right. The officer had been too far away to realize the man he was waving at wasn’t Chavez. My God, the boldness of the man. “Smith. I told him about Henry Smith when he said he thought we were being followed, but he couldn’t have killed him. We were together on the lake.”

  “Did he use his telephone?”

  She thought back and then nodded. “At least once. When we went ashore to give Monty one of his breaks. I thought he was reporting in to the command center. You believe he called someone to kill Smith?”

  “I don’t doubt it.”

  She shivered. “I was alone with him all afternoon. If he’d wanted to kill me, he could have done it anytime. Why didn’t he do it? And why lead me to Chavez?”

  “I don’t know. Cat and mouse? Maybe he didn’t intend to kill you. Maybe he just wanted to show me he could do it.”

  “This is all about you, isn’t it?”

  “You mean it’s all my fault. Hell yes, do you think I’d deny it? I don’t blame you for being angry.”

  “I am angry.” She had been frightened and stunned, but now those emotions were being supplanted by pure rage. “That son of a bitch. He used me. And manipulated me.”

  “Rudzak has always prided himself on being able to push all the right buttons.”

  “And was killing that poor officer one of the buttons he pushed?”

  Logan nodded.

  “He’s got to be crazy.”

  “I’m not sure he’s insane. I think he was born with something missing. He has no concept of right or wrong as we know it. What benefits Rudzak is right, what gets in his way is wrong.”

  “A sociopath.”

  “You can’t pigeonhole Rudzak that easily.” They had reached the rest stop, and his hand tightened on her arm when he saw the forensic team going over Smith’s car. “Why don’t we go inside? You don’t want to see this.”

  He was right. She didn’t need to see another dead body, and neither did Monty. She headed for the building. “How long do we have to stay here?”

  “The lieutenant wants to talk to you and take a statement, but I’ll see if he can send someone to the cabin to do the formal statement. You’re not classified as a suspect.”

  She hadn’t thought she would be. “And what am I classified as?”

  “Witness.” He shrugged. “Or maybe . . . victim.”

  She remembered the terror and helplessness she had felt as she ran through the woods. She had felt like a victim then, and the memory filled her with anger. “The hell I am.”

  They weren’t permitted to leave the rest stop for another four hours; by then Sarah was almost as drained as Monty.

  “I’ll drive,” Logan said as he got into her jeep. “You rest.”

  “I can do it. You have your own car to—”

  “It’s Galen’s rental car. He’ll arrange to have it picked up.” He started the jeep. “Stop arguing and climb in. You know I’m in better shape emotionally right now. You wouldn’t want to crack up on that ugly road and hurt Monty.”

  She hesitated and then got into the passenger seat.

  “The one irresistible argument,” he murmured. “Lean back and close your eyes.”

  She didn’t feel like closing her eyes. She was numb with exhaustion, but her mind wouldn’t stop working. Her gaze focused on the winding road ahead as the jeep slowly crept up the incline. “How’d you get Galen’s rental car?”

  “I phoned him to come and wolf-sit and then took his car.”

  “Galen’s at the ranch?” So many things had happened that she’d forgotten about Maggie. “You shouldn’t have left Maggie. I told you to take care—”

  “Shut up,” he said roughly. “There was no way I wasn’t going to come after you. And you know Galen will be able to care for Maggie.”

  Yes, Galen would be capable of doing anything he wanted to do. “I suppose she’ll be okay.”

  “Better than you. She has a keen sense of self-preservation.”

  “She walked into a trap too, like me with Rudzak. He knew I had to try to find those kids.”

  “And if you got another call from Helen Peabody, you’d go traipsing off again.”

  “Yes.”

  Logan muttered a curse beneath his breath. “Stupid.”

  “I wasn’t stupid,” she said, stung. “I got a call to do my job, and it seemed a legitimate search. How was I to know Rudzak would take advantage of those kids’ disappearance to set a trap? He would have had to plan everything ahead with Chavez, the call from Hel— Oh, God.” She closed her eyes. “The kids. Maybe he didn’t just take advantage of circumstances. Could he have killed them, Logan?”

  “Yes.”

  She opened her eyes and turned to look at him. “He’d kill three innocent kids just to set me up?”

  “I think it’s likely. He’s very precise about his planning. He wouldn’t want the kids to show up and spoil everything after he’d gone to so much trouble.”

  “I feel sick.” The image of a yellow buoy floating on the water came back to her. “The lake . . .”

  ??
?Lieutenant Carmichael told me he was sending a scuba team out to the buoy. I asked him to call me if he found out anything.”

  “Kids . . . And you say he’s not insane.”

  “He doesn’t enjoy killing, he just does it when it benefits him.” He smiled grimly. “Though I may be the exception to the rule. He’d definitely enjoy killing me.”

  “I hope they don’t find the kids,” she whispered. “Dear Jesus, I hope he didn’t kill them to draw me here.”

  He covered her hand clenched on her lap. “So do I, Sarah.”

  Logan’s phone rang when they were only a few miles from the ranch. “Yes, Lieutenant.”

  She tensed, watching his expression, but she couldn’t tell what Carmichael was saying to him.

  He hung up. “There’s no trace of Rudzak. They think he’s gotten away.”

  “What about the teenagers?”

  “They found them under the buoy.” He looked straight ahead. “They haven’t gotten them out of the car yet, but the scuba divers say all three were bound with rope.”

  She felt as if she’d been stabbed.

  “Say something.”

  She shook her head. What could she say? She just wanted to curl up and make the world go away.

  “None of this is your fault, dammit.”

  “I know.”

  “Then stop looking like—”

  “I can’t help how I look.” Her hands clenched into fists. “Were they alive when they went into the water? No, they couldn’t know that yet, could they?”

  “No.”

  “No one could be that terrible. To tie them up and then—”

  “Don’t let your imagination run wild. It might not have been that way.”

  “But it could have been.” She leaned her head against the window. “I don’t want to talk anymore, Logan.”

  “Then don’t talk, but don’t think either, dammit.”

  “I’ll try,” she whispered.

  He muttered a curse and jammed his foot on the accelerator. A few minutes later he drew up before the cabin. She jumped out of the jeep and started for the front door.

  “Wait a minute.” Logan came around the car. “You dropped something.”

  She shook her head.

  “I saw you kick something out of the car. It must have been on the floorboards.” He knelt in the dirt.

  “What is it?” she asked dully.

  “Nothing. Go inside.”

  He had something in his hand. “What is it, dammit?”

  “A comb.” He held out his hand and revealed the delicate ivory and jade comb. “A present from Rudzak.”

  She shuddered. “Do you suppose it belonged to one of the kids?”

  “No, it belonged to Chen Li.”

  “Why would he—” She stared at him. “You expected it?”

  “I didn’t expect it, but I’m not surprised. Go on to bed, we’ll talk about it later.”

  “You bet we will.” But she couldn’t cope with anything more just then. Her nerves were shredded. She turned and went inside the house.

  “Hi.” Galen came out of the back porch. “It’s about time you came home. I was beginning to feel like a— You look like hell.”

  “I’m tired. I’m going to bed.” Monty. She had to take care of Monty. But Monty was already heading for the back porch and Maggie. “Good night, Galen.” She closed the door of the bedroom behind her.

  She threw off her clothes, crawled into bed, and drew up the covers. The sheets smelled of Logan and their intimacy, she realized dimly. Sex and life and a joy those kids would never experience.

  “Move over.” Logan slipped naked in bed beside her and pulled her into his arms.

  “I don’t want you here.”

  “Tough. You’ve got me.” He brushed his lips on her temple. “My God, have you got me. Now relax. I don’t want to do anything more than comfort you.”

  “I just want to go to sleep.”

  “And have nightmares?” He pushed her head into the hollow of his shoulder. “Talk it out.”

  “What do you want me to say? That three kids died because some maniac wanted to draw me into his damn web.”

  “That’s not your fault. I thought we agreed that I was to blame for everything.”

  “I did what he wanted. He analyzed me like some Machiavellian shrink and then decided to kill innocent kids because that would make me do what he wanted. And he was right. He called and I came.”

  “What else could you have done? You went there to— Stop crying. No, don’t stop. It’s probably good for you. It’s just hell for me.”

  “It doesn’t feel good for me. It hurts.”

  “That’s because you don’t do enough of it. You’re out of practice. When’s the last time you cried? When your grandfather died?”

  “No, I promised him I’d be strong. It was when I found Monty at that police department in Italy.”

  “I should have known.”

  “Is Monty all right?”

  “Monty’s with Maggie.”

  “That’s right, I forgot. But he usually senses when I’m sad and comes and sleeps by my bed.”

  “The poor mutt’s hormones are raging. You’ll have to make do with me.”

  “I’m glad he has Maggie. Maybe it will distract him from what happened tonight.”

  “It’s you we’re trying to distract.”

  “It shouldn’t have happened. I try so hard to find the living and bring closure to the dead. It’s what I do, what I am. And he used that and killed those kids.” She was shaking. “He twisted everything I am and made it ugly and—”

  “Shh.”

  “You just told me to talk.”

  “That’s when you were making sense. There’s nothing ugly or twisted about you. You’re clean and beautiful and straight as an arrow. Ask me, I’m an expert on twisted and ugly. I’ve been there.”

  She shook her head.

  “You don’t believe me? It’s true. I’ve done things that—” He stroked her hair. “You don’t want to hear about me.”

  She did want to hear about him. It was important, she realized. When she had seen Logan at the rest stop, she had known then that everything concerning him was vitally important to her. If he died . . . She didn’t want to think about that now. She was too confused and numb. She just wanted to be held by Logan and pretend the nightmare at Apache Lake had never happened.

  “Go to sleep now,” he said. “I’ll stay awake and be here for you if you have a nightmare.”

  Had he read her mind? Did he know what a rare gift he offered her? Never in her life had she ever had anyone to keep the nightmares at bay. . . .

  “Is she asleep?” Galen asked as Logan came out of the bedroom.

  “Right now. I’ve got to get back. I promised I’d stay with her.”

  “She looked like hell.”

  “She went through hell.” He went to the sink and got a glass of water. “Henry Smith is dead. Rudzak killed him.”

  Galen stiffened. “Why didn’t you tell me right away? Franklin has been trying to reach him since you returned with Sarah.”

  “I’m telling you now. You couldn’t do anything about it and she needed me.” He drank the water. “Or someone.”

  “It was a trap?”

  “Yes, and Rudzak used the death of three teenage kids to spring it. Do you know how that makes her feel?”

  Galen’s lips tightened. “I know how it makes me feel.”

  “Then make sure Dodsworth is ready. Or find Rudzak. He could have killed her tonight.”

  “But you came just in the nick of time?”

  “No, I would have been too late if Rudzak had wanted to kill her. He didn’t want her dead . . . yet.”

  “Then what was his little trap all about?”

  “To let me know he could do it and to find out how high she was on his list of the things I value.”

  “And did he find that out?”

  “Probably. If he was watching us. He’s always been able to rea
d me.”

  Galen lifted a brow. “And is she high enough on the list to be worth his while?”

  “He struck pay dirt.” Logan put the glass down and turned away. “So we’ve got to find the son of a bitch before he kills her. Because next time he’ll do it.”

  Sarah was sleeping deeply, like a child after a hard day.

  Logan stood staring down at her.

  Tenderness. Protectiveness. Love. Passion. Fear.

  She wasn’t the first woman in his life. He had felt all these emotions before. But not like this. Not with this single-minded intensity and desperation. When had admiration and friendship become obsession?

  It didn’t matter. It was here, it had come.

  And Rudzak knew it had come.

  Sarah stirred and whimpered something in her sleep.

  Nightmares? He had promised to keep the nightmares away.

  He slipped into bed beside her and drew her into his arms. She felt soft and womanly, but he knew how strong she was. Strong and stubborn and yet terribly vulnerable and guarded. It was a wonder he had even gotten into her bed. It would be a superhuman task making her accept any other relationship. He would have to be careful not to rush her.

  She whimpered again, and he brushed his lips across her brow.

  “Shh, it’s okay. I’m here. I’ll never let anything hurt you.” He drew her closer and whispered the words he knew she’d never believe if she was awake. “I’ll always be here, Sarah.”

  Logan was still beside her when Sarah woke the next morning. His eyes were open and he was obviously wide-awake.

  “Good morning.” He planted a kiss on her forehead and sat up in bed. “You hit the shower while I go and see about breakfast.”

  “What time is it?”

  “Nearly noon.”

  “I have to feed Monty and Maggie.”

  “Already done.” He stood up. “I left you long enough to take care of Monty, and Galen had already fed Maggie. You’ll be glad to know that Monty wouldn’t let him feed him.”

  “But he let you feed him again.”

  “Don’t be mad at him. I’m special. We’ve gone through a lot together. Santo Camaro, Taiwan, and then last night. It’s natural that—” He stopped as he saw her expression change. “Don’t think about it right now. Get your shower and something to eat.” He grabbed his robe at the foot of the bed and left the room.