Stalemate

  “Why didn’t they come forward if they knew something? They could have cut a deal.”

  “Not without evidence. The state was very happy with the man they had on death row. The public had been clamoring for an arrest. They would have ignored the possibility of it being anyone else.”

  “My God.” It was a moment before she got a grip on her emotions. “Paul Black, Thomas Kistle, Kevin Jelak. Are they still alive?”

  “Yes. We’ve located Kistle. The others have disappeared from the radar, but we’ll find them. I promised I’d do that for you, Eve.”

  “You could be lying about all this.”

  “I could. I’m not.”

  “Why did you give this report to me after I told you that I wasn’t going to go through with the deal?”

  “Hope.”

  She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temple. “You’re manipulating me.”

  “If you let me. It’s all up to you. I’m at your mercy.”

  She snorted. “Not likely.”

  He smiled. “Or I thought I’d try a diversion to take your mind off my little deception.”

  “Little?”

  “Not so little deception,” he corrected. “And I thought you might believe what I told you and be willing to reconsider your decision.”

  She stared at him. He was smooth. He was complicated. He was silver-tongued. He was no doubt a very dangerous man. Yet she sensed in him a driving force she had seldom seen before.

  I looked at you and saw myself.

  And looking at him she could see qualities she knew she possessed. The same drive, the same energy, the same passion.

  But passion for what?

  “You said that I wouldn’t be violating my principles if I did this job for you. Why not? I don’t rob graves.”

  He relaxed with a sigh. “You’re thinking about it.”

  “Why not?” she repeated.

  “You wouldn’t rob graves in the usual course of things. But what if your Bonnie were in that grave? Wouldn’t you go after her?”

  “I’d get a writ and have her exhumed. I wouldn’t go slinking around in the dark.”

  “What if you couldn’t get the writ? What if you knew she was there, but there was no other way?”

  She didn’t speak for a moment. “I’d go after her if I had to go to hell itself.”

  “And so would I,” he said simply. “And that’s what I’m doing. Going to hell itself.”

  “Stop being obscure. Spell it out for me.”

  “The cemetery is in the farm country controlled by Diaz. He’s been searching for this grave for the last five years. And watching me to make sure I don’t find it first. That’s why Aquila showed up here. He was trying to bribe my men for any information he could get.”

  “So you killed him.”

  “Yes, I didn’t know how much information he might have gathered. I was getting close to bringing you here. I only hope that he didn’t get word back to Diaz before I took him out.”

  “You’re saying you did it because of me? I didn’t even know I was coming until the last minute.”

  “And I kept our negotiations extremely confidential. That doesn’t mean he might not have picked up a kernel of information. Miguel found bugging and surveillance equipment in Aquila’s camp in the jungle outside the compound.”

  “And what would Diaz have done if he did know I was coming?”

  “He would have sent a man to Atlanta to kill you. Or he might have ambushed us on the way to the compound. Since neither event occurred, he may not know who I was bringing here or that you were definitely coming. But he might guess that I think I’ve found the grave.”

  “And who’s in that grave?”

  He was silent a moment. “My wife.”

  She stiffened in shock. “What?”

  “Nalia Armandariz. She was the daughter of Antonio Armandariz, the rebel leader. I was fighting with the rebels when we met.” He smiled. “What a tiger she was. Yet full of courage and ideals and a zest for life like I’ve never seen before.”

  “You loved her.”

  “Oh, yes,” he said softly. “I was sick with bitterness and anger when I met her. She healed me. It was all joy with her. It sounds weird to say that, when she was a soldier like me. A fine soldier and her father’s right hand.”

  “How did she die?”

  “Diaz. She was probing too closely into his business. Her father was dealing with Diaz, who was very outspoken in his support for the rebel effort. He protected Diaz’s coca growers from rival drug dealers and did a few other raids for him. When the military was becoming troublesome Diaz set the rebels to attack. He had Armandariz convinced that he was devoted to the rebel cause and tossed him an occasional bone of cash and weapons to prove it. But Nalia found out that he was double-dealing. He was paying off the government and funneling cash into their coffers as well to look the other way when he was exporting his drugs.”

  “She found proof?”

  “She was looking for it when she disappeared.”

  “Disappeared? I thought he killed her.”

  “Your Bonnie disappeared. Do you have any doubt that she’s dead?”

  She slowly shook her head. “I wish I did.”

  “So do I. Diaz was very clever. He buried the evidence of his double-dealing and convinced her father that Nalia had stolen the latest payment Diaz had sent him and gotten on a plane for Australia.”

  She shook her head. “He couldn’t have believed that of her. She was his daughter.”

  “He wanted to believe it. He was a fanatic and Diaz was helping his cause. Turning a blind eye to a little double-dealing was a cheap price to pay.”

  “Not so cheap. He lost a daughter.”

  “In his eyes he didn’t lose her, she deserted the cause. She wasn’t his daughter any longer.”

  “What did you do?”

  “What do you think? I went after Diaz. I ended up getting away from his men barely alive and dragging myself to a friend’s house to recuperate. It took almost a year to get well. By that time things had changed. Nalia’s father wanted to have nothing to do with me. I’d attacked his benefactor and he couldn’t accept that if he was going to continue with his self-delusion.”

  “Did you go after Diaz again?”

  “No, I’d had time to simmer down and think. I didn’t want to just kill Diaz. I wanted to bring him down. I wanted to destroy everything he’d built, everything he’d created in his little empire. But I couldn’t do that without gathering together almost as much money as Diaz possessed. I needed money for bribes, to hire the kind of manpower Diaz had at his command. I was a soldier with only the clothes on my back and my rifle. So I set out to get that cash.”

  “By becoming a criminal yourself?”

  He shrugged. “Weapons were the only thing I knew about.”

  “Are you making excuses?”

  “No, I wouldn’t make excuses to you any more than I’d make them to myself. I’m sure Soldono will be willing to tell you what a very bad boy I am. I’m only explaining what happened. I had to bring Diaz down. I didn’t care how I made the money as long as it was there for me to tap. I did what I set out to do. I had cash to set up the compound so that Diaz couldn’t touch me.” He paused. “And the kind of big money that permitted me to hire investigators to find out where your Bonnie’s killer might be found. I think perhaps you’ll believe that expenditure to be worthwhile.”

  Damn him, he might not be making excuses but he’d managed to strike the one note that resounded in the depths of her being. “Go on.”

  “But I needed to do more than become some kind of Midas. I needed to find Nalia. I had to make her father admit she was dead and that Diaz had killed her. I started searching. It took me two years before I found out what he’d done with her body.”

  “The cemetery?”

  “Christ, no. He threw her into a swamp to rot. I bribed one of his men who did it to go get her. But he double-crossed me and didn’t bring the b
ody directly to me. He buried her in an unmarked grave in the cemetery. He said he couldn’t run the risk of Diaz knowing what he’d done. The damn cemetery is practically on top of Diaz’s villa. Then Diaz found out that his man had been dealing with me and went after him.” His lips tightened. “I got to him first. I couldn’t have him telling Diaz where he’d disposed of the remains.”

  “You killed him?”

  “Of course. Don’t feel sorry for him. At least, I was quick. I guarantee that Diaz would not have been. Anyway, I was stuck with waiting until I could structure a way to get in and out of that cemetery with Nalia’s body without getting my men killed.”

  “And getting someone to do the reconstruction.”

  He nodded. “Before Diaz finds out exactly what we’re doing and sends out his full force.”

  “And then you want to show the reconstruction to Nalia’s father? What good would that do now?”

  “Do you remember how shocked you were when you opened the box I sent you? Imagine how a father would react, how Nalia’s friends she’d grown up with would react. The rebels still have considerable firepower in these parts. If they turned that firepower against a single target, it could be devastating.”

  “You want to turn them against Diaz.”

  “I intend to turn them against Diaz.” He held her gaze. “As soon as you give me my wife back.”

  After a moment she tore her eyes away from his. “She might not be in that grave. You could have been double-crossed in more ways than one.”

  “I realize that. I have to take the chance.”

  “And you want me to take a chance too. You’ve put me on the spot with Diaz. And you could be killed going after that skull.”

  “I’ve told Miguel to get you out of here if that happens. And I’ll set up the mechanism to keep searching for Bonnie’s killer even if I die. All you have to do is agree.”

  “Why should I believe you? You could be making up a fairy story.”

  “You do believe me.”

  She didn’t want to believe him. She didn’t want to feel sympathy or empathy for him. “Or you could be telling me part of the truth and twisting it to suit yourself. You’re a criminal yourself. Why should I believe you want to destroy Diaz’s operation? You could be throwing in that part of the story to convince me that what I’m doing is basically ethical.”

  “It’s the truth.” His voice vibrated with force, his gaze held her own. “Every word I’ve spoken. Yes, I’ve tried to manipulate you but only to get you here. I knew I’d have to lay the cards on the table.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I couldn’t cheat you. I felt your pain.” He added quietly, “Because it was the same as mine. I loved my wife, Eve. Diaz killed her and then tossed her away like a piece of garbage. During those years when she was lost, I’d wake up from nightmares about trying to find her and never being able to do it.”

  Christ, she could feel tears sting her eyes. She had known that agony. It never went away no matter how much time passed. She stood up. “I have to think about this. I can’t tell you—I have to think about it.”

  “Just do the reconstruction. I’ll have you on your way back home a few hours later. You’ll be out of it.”

  “I have to think about it,” she repeated as she moved toward the door. “Dammit, you’re asking me to trust you and I’d be a fool to do it.”

  “You might be a fool to risk doing the job but not to trust me.”

  She glanced back at him and for the first time she thought she glimpsed the emotions beneath that smooth facade. The haunted pain and hollow loneliness…

  I looked at you and saw myself.

  She tore her eyes away and almost ran out of the room.

  He must be a magician to be able to play on her emotions like this. Maybe his wife was one of the lost ones but she mustn’t identify her with Bonnie. She might not even be in that grave. It might be a false lead.

  And how many false paths had she gone down in hopes of finding her daughter? How many hopes had been crushed?

  She was identifying again. Block it out. Think calmly and logically. She shouldn’t let emotion influence her decision.

  But, dear God, she was very much afraid she was going to do it.

  7

  She didn’t go down to dinner that night and at seven-thirty that evening Miguel came to the door with a tray.

  “You shouldn’t have bothered. I’m not hungry.”

  “It’s no bother.” Miguel put the tray down on the low chest by the door. “It’s just a sandwich and a salad. And it’s my pleasure. Turnabout. You’re going to help the Colonel. I’ll help you.”

  “I didn’t tell Montalvo that I’d help him. Everything’s…changed.”

  He nodded. “And you’re very upset about it. He knew you would be. Trust him. He’ll try to keep you safe.”

  “‘Try’? That’s a little too uncertain for me.” She sat down at the table and lifted the cover. “But you appear to trust him.”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he does what he says he’s going to do. And he’s always there when I need him.” He poured her coffee. “He saved my life, you know.”

  “I didn’t know. I don’t know anything about any of you.”

  “That’s right.” He smiled. “But you’ll learn more if you stay and help the Colonel.”

  And she needed to know more. She’d spent the afternoon torn between skepticism and hope. “How did he save your life? You’re very young to be involved with a man like Montalvo.”

  He grinned. “That’s what he says. He keeps trying to send me away. He tells me I need to go to school and learn to better myself. I’m pretty good just as I am. I’m a damn good soldier.”

  “Then join the army. Don’t stay with a criminal. If he saved your life, he probably put it in danger to begin with.”

  He shook his head. “No, he killed my father.”

  She gazed at him in shock. “What?”

  “My father was going to kill me. He’d already killed my mother. I was hiding in the forest and he was tracking me down. I was only thirteen. I wouldn’t have been able to hide from him for long.”

  “Jesus, why would he do that?”

  “The drugs. He distributed Diaz’s drugs to the farmers as part of their payment for growing. He was a user too. When he was on the drugs, he’d beat my mother and one day he killed her. If I’d had a gun, I would have shot him. I took the drugs he had in the house and threw them down the well. Then I took off into the forest. He shot me before I could get very far. In the leg. I kept crawling but he caught up with me.” His lips tightened. “I remember him standing over me and aiming his gun at my head to finish me off.”

  “And Montalvo shot him instead?”

  “Yes. He’d come looking for my father and followed him into the forest. He thought he might be a weak link who could tell him something about the death of his wife.” He smiled. “Was I not lucky? He killed the son of a bitch.”

  She shouldn’t have felt that sense of shock at his words. The attitude was probably healthy. Fathers and mothers were only as sacred as their actions toward their children. She had run across many abusers in her life. She was glad that Miguel had survived and apparently managed to not be permanently scarred. “You’re lucky if you take hold of your life and don’t cling to Montalvo.”

  “He doesn’t let me cling. He just gave me a home and a purpose. He says that purpose is important.”

  And Montalvo’s purpose was revenge.

  And finding his lost one.

  And wasn’t that her purpose too?

  “I’ll go now,” Miguel said. “If you need anything, call me. I’ll stay close.”

  “Wait.”

  He glanced back at her.

  “Did Montalvo send you to tell me this?”

  “No. He said to bring you supper.” His lips indented in a faint smile. “But he’s very clever and knows me well. He might have guessed what turn th
e conversation would take.”

  “I’d bet on it,” she said dryly.

  “Please finish your sandwich. You need your strength.” He opened the door and left the room.

  Jesus, another Montalvo in the making, she thought. And Miguel had the same tenacity and determination as his idol, together with an appealing boyishness. She liked the kid.

  She finished the last bite of her sandwich. Miguel was right, no matter what path she took she’d need strength and determination to get her through the—

  Her cell phone rang.

  She tensed as she saw the name on the ID screen.

  No, Joe. Not now.

  It rang again.

  Dammit, she’d told him she wouldn’t answer if he called her. Why was he—

  It rang again.

  She punched the button. “Joe, I can’t talk to you.”

  “The hell you can’t. You’re doing it.”

  “To tell you that I’m fine and there’s no reason for you to worry.”

  “How nice of you to offer me that scrap of comfort. You’re not fine. Not as long as you’re in that compound. And I’m going to worry until I have you out of there. What do you expect?”

  She expected exactly what she was getting from Joe. Anger and near-explosive frustration. “I expect you to respect my decision.”

  “Your decision? He swayed you like a snake charmer. He used Bonnie, dammit.”

  “Yes.”

  “Lies, Eve. You know it’s lies. You knew you were following a ghost when you came down here. You just couldn’t help yourself.”

  “You’re right, I thought he might be playing me when I got on that plane. It didn’t matter. I had to take the chance.” She paused. “But after I got here I found out that there’s a chance he wasn’t lying. I have to stay until I can decide if it’s worth—”

  “No!”

  “Don’t tell me no. I’m the one who has to decide. I’ll call you when I do.”

  “Don’t hang up.” He was silent a moment and she could feel him struggling for control. “Galen tells me that I’m blowing this. I can’t afford to do that.”