“What paths? Why didn’t you say something before this?”

“It wasn’t the time. I was going to speak to Kendra as soon as this brouhaha was over.” She lifted her shoulders. “But now she’s gone. Logical to the end.”

“And probably right.”

“I’ve never argued about that. It was a joy to watch her work.” She chuckled. “And it was even more of a joy to watch her try to cope with the fact that I’m not at all logical and still manage not to screw things up.”

“You’re sorry she’s gone.”

She nodded. “You’re always sorry when a friend leaves. But it’s not as if it will be forever. I never let a friend be lost for long. They’re too rare, particularly when I work so hard to get them to accept me as I am.” She smiled. “Like you, Jane.”

“It took a while,” she said dryly. She had first met Margaret at an experimental animal clinic on an island in the Caribbean. Jane’s dog, Toby, had been gravely ill, and no one could diagnose the cause. Until Margaret, a tech, had strode into the exam room full of love and empathy and that strange gift that allowed her to dive deep below the surface and decipher the dog’s “impressions.” Though it sounded to Jane that impressions meant memories. Anyway, she had diagnosed Toby’s illness as poisoning and, to Jane’s deep gratitude, had set him on the way to recovery. “And the circumstances aren’t always in place to display that it’s not the method but the result that matters.”

“That’s true. That’s why I used the word ‘rare.’” She changed the subject. “Kendra made several copies of that journal. Did she give you one?”

“Yes, and the original that I’m turning over to Joe.”

Margaret’s gaze narrowed on her face. “And judging by how upset you are at Joe, I don’t think you’re going to stick around the cottage for long.”

She shook her head. “I’m packing up and leaving the cottage tonight. I’ll check into an airport hotel. He’s heading for Vancouver sometime after midnight anyway, but I don’t want to be here to argue with him again.” She paused, then said unsteadily, “It hurts too much.”

“And you’ll be traveling with Trevor and Caleb?”

“I don’t know about Mark Trevor. I’ll have to ask Caleb to fly me to Canada.”

“I know about Trevor. He’s crazy about you. He won’t let you out of his sight.” She tilted her head. “Caleb? I’ve never been able to read him. I don’t know what he’s thinking most of the time. But I keep trying because it could be either terrible or wonderful, and I wouldn’t want to miss it.” She turned away. “I’ll go change and get my suitcase. Be sure to bring that extra copy of the journal. I need to go through it again. Do you want to take me to the hotel, or are you going to make me show up on my own?”

Jane stared at her with exasperation. “I never said you could come along with us, Margaret.”

Margaret darted a mischievous glance over her shoulder as she strode away. “But I’m probably the only one who has an idea where we should be going. Therefore, it’s you who are coming along with me.”

CHAPTER

5

Starlite Motel

Casper, Wyoming

THE MOTEL ROOM WAS DARK, and Eve could smell the musky scent of Doane’s body in the next bed. He’d tied her wrists to the posts of the headboard, and she felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

Go to sleep, she told herself. It was easy to be ambushed by fear in the minutes before sleep came to rescue her.

Rescue. But she mustn’t expect rescue. She had to save herself.

The telephone calls. Was there a way to find an out through this Cartland Doane had called?

“You’re not sleeping,” Doane said mockingly from the other bed. “What’s wrong, Eve? Anxiety at last? It must have been terrible to watch your lover, Quinn, grieving for you. Did it make you feel lost? You are lost, you know. It’s only going to be a few days more, and it will be over.”

“I’m not lost. And the reason I can’t sleep is that I can smell the stink of you in this tiny room. It makes me sick.” She paused. There was a strange intimacy about talking to him in this darkness. Did he feel it, too? Would it help loosen his tongue? Test it. “Are we going to Vancouver after I finish repairing the reconstruction on your son? Do you really think that Zander is still going to be there? Not likely.”

“Why not? He thinks we’re both dead. There’s no reason for him to close up his house and take off.”

“Except that he’d be afraid that it wouldn’t be safe since Venable and Joe would both know that Zander lived there. I imagine a hit man has to be careful of the number of people who have that information. You’re probably not the only one who wants to get to him and cut his throat.”

“But I’m the one who’s going to do it,” he said. “And I’m not going to stumble into his lair without checking. That’s not good planning.”

“Oh, yes. Your great planning ability. How could I forget? So far, it doesn’t seem to have panned out too well. Everything has gone wrong for you, hasn’t it? And now you’re stuck with me in this fleabag of a motel making more great plans. Who’s going to check on Zander for you? You killed Blick. You’re alone now.”

“I’m not alone. I’ve just had to readjust my plans, and that takes a little time. Did you really think I was just going to burst into Zander’s home and kill you the minute I saw him?”

“Yes.”

“No, it has to be done with a certain subtlety.” His tone hardened. “And now there’s a price to be paid. I’m very angry with Venable. He was supposed to protect me, and I think he tried to kill me in that ghost town. I thought I had him under control, but I can’t trust him any longer. So he has to be punished. They all have to be punished.”

She stiffened. “All? Who else?”

“You’re afraid I’m going to go after Quinn and your Jane. It might happen, but I can’t waste my energy on them now that they’re no longer a danger.”

Thank heavens that it was dark and he couldn’t see her relief. He’d pounce on any hint of weakness to hurt her. He was so volatile that he could change his mind in a heartbeat. “But you can target Venable.” She paused, then asked again, “Who else?”

“All the sons of bitches who were responsible for that bullet that Zander shot into my boy. They could have saved him. They should have saved him. Kevin told them that if they let him go and gave him enough money, he’d give them the names of the other people in the sleeper cell.”

“Cell?” She was confused. “You mean that disk that dealt with the embedded agents in Pakistan trying to find Bin Laden?”

“That had little importance. Kevin offered it to them in the beginning as an opening bid, but General Tarther made such a stink about the death of his daughter that Kevin knew he had to up the ante. He decided he might have to give him the sleeper cell.”

“What sleeper cell?”

Doane was silent, and she was afraid that his brief loquacious period had come to an end. Then he spoke, “You think I’m going to tell you something that you can use against me and Kevin. You still think that you’re going to get away from us.” He chuckled. “You should be resigned by now, Eve. I’ve taken away every person you might have hoped could help you get free. I have total power. I could press a gun to your head right now and end it all.”

“It wouldn’t end. I’m not that important in the scheme of things. Someone would stop you and destroy all your dreams. Destroy you, Doane.”

“You believe that your death would mean nothing. And that’s one of my greatest regrets. You’re not afraid to die. I can cause Zander to suffer when he sees you die, but you’re going to cheat me of the same pleasure with you.” He added speculatively, “So I might have to throw Quinn or Jane MacGuire into that mix when I kill Zander instead of attending to them later.” He thought about it. “But I might be able to spark a response from you in a different way. Let me think … You have such a tender heart. Just the thought of needless death makes you sick, doesn’t it? What if it was the deaths of thousands of children, thousands of innocent men and women? Yes, I believe that knowing you weren’t able to stop that slaughter would cause your last moments to be a torment.”