“You want me to kill someone.”

“It would make it safer for me to leave the country. Safer for me to disappear. Safer for you to maintain the reputation I’m going to hand you.”

“Who?”

“No one who should cause you any problem. Just a woman who pushed in where she shouldn’t be. James says that I shouldn’t worry about her, but then James can sometimes be a fool.” She smiled. “Her name is Jane MacGuire.”

“Why do you want her dead?”

“She knows about my son’s journal. That means that she may find out more than I’d like her to know about our project. I’ve no desire for her to suspect that I had anything to do with either your group or the explosions. She may have some kind of connection with a CIA agent, but she had a purely personal reason for hunting me down and harassing me.” Her lips tightened. “And she won’t give up. I saw it in her face, heard it in her voice. No matter where I go or how much time passes she’ll be right behind me. I won’t permit that to happen, Cartland. Take care of it for me.”

“How do I get to her?”

“That’s your problem. Her family lives in Atlanta. She’s the adoptive daughter of Joe Quinn and Eve Duncan. I last saw her in Muncie, Indiana.” She paused. “I want it done quickly. I don’t want to have it hovering over me. Find her. Kill her.”

“I’ll find her.” He smiled grimly. “It shouldn’t take long. The advantage of living in a technical world is that no one can really get away from it. I’ll have Samli run a check on her smartphone. Unless it’s been specially blocked, it should be easy enough. He’s located troubling people for me before. I can probably give you her location down to half a mile or so.”

“You can really do that?”

“Anybody can do that, if they know the right person. A couple hundred bucks to an employee of one of the wireless carriers will tell you exactly which tower Jane MacGuire’s phone is pinging at any given time. No muss, no fuss.”

“And no warrant.”

“Actually, the cops don’t even need a warrant for that. The phone companies have a cozy relationship with most law-enforcement agencies. This isn’t exactly legal, but it’s also no big deal. Any private investigator in any fleabag strip center could do the same thing for you. There are thousands of underpaid telephone employees who are glad to supplement their incomes.”

“But I don’t want a private detective to do it. I want you. How long will it take?”

“I’ll put Samli on it and he’ll be able to narrow down her exact location within five or six hours. Once I have her zeroed in, it’s all over.”

“Excellent.” She closed the safe-deposit box and locked it. “When you tell me that I no longer have to concern myself with her, I’ll be able to concentrate on more important things.”

“When?” Cartland asked bluntly. “How soon will you punch in that code?”

“Don’t nag me. I don’t like it. It’s all coming together.” She turned and headed for the door. “Within two days, you should be a very happy man.” She glanced at him over her shoulder. “And if you take care of the Jane MacGuire matter, I’ll be a very happy woman.”

CHAPTER

14

Seattle

“THE KING STREET STATION TOWER,” Catherine told Gallo. “Margaret said Kendra’s bet was on that clock tower to be the one where Kevin placed one of his nukes.”

“We’ll check it out and see how we can get inside. Though there’s a good chance it’s being watched. We won’t be able to move on it. The last thing we want is to goad Doane and Harriet into a panic.”

“I’m just hoping that we’ll be able to pull all these strings together at the last minute,” she said wearily. “And praying that we won’t be the one in a panic.”

“Not you, Catherine.”

“Don’t count on it. I checked with Langley about any real estate purchased by Kevin here in Seattle, and they haven’t come up with anything. Of course, he probably buried the paperwork under a dozen names or companies. It will take time.” She paused. “But maybe Venable could get it faster. He has more clout. I may have to go that route.”

“You’ll do what you have to do.” He changed the subject. “Joe and I have been to the Marine Museum, and we’ve been talking to the curator about driftwood. We tapped a lot of technical and historical background, but I doubt if it’s going to prove valuable.”

“I went at it from another angle. Tell me about the museum info.”

“Driftwood is any wood that’s been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea or river by the action of winds, tides, waves, or man. It’s a form of marine debris.”

“Anything about a connection between driftwood and graveyards … tombstone … death?”

“No, actually, it’s usually considered beneficial to life. Driftwood provides shelter and food for birds. Fish and other aquatic species as it floats in the ocean. Gribbles, shipworms, and bacteria decompose the wood and gradually turn it into nutrients that are reintroduced into the food chain. The wood can also become the foundation for sand dunes when it comes ashore. On the surface, nothing sinister, Catherine.”

“Eve saw something sinister. Where does the majority of the driftwood come from?”

“Hard to determine exactly because of wave erosion. Most of the driftwood comes from remains of trees washed into the water by storms, flooding, or other disasters. Other causes are logging, cargoes from ships, buildings, ships themselves. There was one hell of a flood of driftwood that came ashore from the Japanese tsunami.”

Catherine recalled seeing the news stories about the tons of horrible ghostly debris that had washed ashore. She had never thought of those huge boats, tools, and fragments ripped from the farms and seaports of Japan as driftwood. Yet evidently they were. “I don’t think that Kevin’s driftwood was from that disaster. The time frame isn’t right. Is there anything else that you found unusual?”

“I told you, interesting but probably not of value. Let me think … Okay, you’re not supposed to burn driftwood. It produces dioxins which are carcinogenic. Very unhealthy because of the chlorine of the seawater.”

“I didn’t even know there was chlorine in seawater. But burning driftwood isn’t an immediate killer?”

“No.”

“And that’s all?”

“You’ve pumped me dry, Catherine.” He added solemnly, “No, how could I have forgotten. One more thing. According to Norse mythology, the first humans, Ask and Embla, were formed out of two pieces of driftwood, an ash and an elm by the god Odin and his brothers. Do you think it’s of any importance?”

“Very funny.”

“No, but I had to strike a light note. For the most part, the visit was very boring. And I only gave you the highlights. I would have invited you to come along if you hadn’t been tied up. Though I hope not literally.” He paused. “How is Zander?”

“Stubborn.” Her gaze shifted to Zander, across the sitting room. “But I’m working on him. He’s not stupid, he must see I’m right about letting you and Joe help us.”

Zander smiled and silently shook his head.

“Stubborn,” she said again. “As I said, I’ve been doing some research about driftwood, too. I’ve been looking in the local newspapers to find any stories about unusual driftwood or collectors. There were a few articles about artists who use driftwood as a medium of expression.”

“None who created graveyards with it?”

“Not any who gave interviews about doing it. I’ve also been gently nudging Kendra.”

“Gently?”

“I’ve been as gentle as I could,” she said curtly. “I know she’s doing the best she can. I just need it faster.” She swallowed. “I have a feeling that we’re running out of time, Gallo. We’re all working so hard for Eve. But it’s like treading water in a whirlpool. Any minute, she could be pulled down and never come up.”

“Then we’ll tread faster and stronger,” Gallo said. “And you’d better get Zander to do something positive. He’s still the best hope Eve has to survive.” He added. “If the bastard even cares.”