A few minutes later, they were in the car and heading through the city streets. Catherine knew they couldn’t travel any faster until they got on the highway, but she was breathless, tense, and only wanted to hurry. Joe was right, it was going to be incredibly close. “What if Sid is wrong?” she asked jerkily. “Wrong address? Wrong Relling? We don’t have time for mistakes.”

“You’re borrowing trouble,” Gallo said quietly. “And I don’t believe he’s wrong. I just pulled up the Natlow photo that Quinn found in that Portland University site.” He handed her his phone. “Pretty convincing.”

Stark white branches curved in a wild, horribly macabre simile to a headstone. She felt sick as she stared at it. Death. Both Doane and Kevin had been totally absorbed with death as a means to power. This piece of driftwood was meant to fling that ugly power in the faces of anyone looking at it. She hadn’t the slightest doubt that this photo was part of Doane’s tapestry of evil.

She swallowed as she handed Gallo’s phone back to him. “Very convincing. Now let’s get to the damn place and find Eve.”

Sandhurst Airport

Washington

THE GULFSTREAM’S ENGINE WAS STILL whining as Jane, Trevor, Margaret, and Caleb ran down the steps and moved toward the blue-and-white hangar. The pilot immediately taxied into the hangar to get out of sight.

Caleb craned his neck, his gaze searing the sky. “If Venable is correct, Harriet could be arriving at any moment.”

“We just have to hope that they didn’t have a last-minute course change.” Jane glanced around the small single-runway airport located southwest of Seattle. “I thought you’d arranged a car for us.”

“I did.” Caleb pointed to a black Range Rover parked next to the hangar. “Curb service.”

A portly man in a gold shirt emblazoned with a rental-car-company logo climbed out and walked toward them with keys and contract. Caleb had barely finished signing the paperwork when Jane heard the sound of a jet in the distance. The next moment, Caleb’s iPad made a pinging sound in his satchel.

“They’re back in range,” Jane said. She looked up at the approaching plane. “That has to be them. Let’s move.”

Trevor snatched the keys from Caleb’s hand. “I’ll drive.”

“I gathered that,” Caleb said dryly.

“Come on!” Margaret had already opened the Range Rover’s rear door and was climbing into the car. “I think I see a car coming toward the airport. That may be Harriet’s welcoming committee. We have to get out of sight.”

Less than a minute later, they were idling in a small lot near the airport’s exit. Two minutes after that, a Cadillac Escalade drove past and headed toward the Learjet that had just landed.

“Whew,” Trevor said softly. “Entirely too close.”

“Two men in the front seat,” Caleb said. “That shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”

They watched as Harriet came down the steps of the Learjet carrying her overnight bag and the box of Kevin’s letters. One of the two men who had met her politely tried to take the bag from her, but she waved him aside and got into the Cadillac.

A few minutes later, the Escalade drove past their Range Rover as it exited the airport.

“Okay, here we go,” Caleb said as he looked at the iPad. “And we have a strong signal.”

Trevor slowly turned the wheel and waited until the Escalade had turned the corner before he started to follow it. Five minutes later, they had left the small town behind. Twenty minutes later, the scenery became sparse and barren, with tall grass lining the two-lane highway. The sky was overcast with a damp blanket of marine layer and only an occasional sliver of moonlight as they drew closer to the coast.

“Faster, Trevor.” Jane’s hands were clenching with tension. “I think we’re losing her.”

Trevor shook his head. “If I get any closer, she’ll see us. It’s been five minutes since we’ve seen another car.”

“No worries.” In the backseat, Caleb raised the iPad screen. “I still have her right here. Strange, she’s heading south, not north toward Seattle. But she can’t make a move without my knowing it. She’s moving fast, but not—”

Margaret’s phone rang. “It’s Catherine. Should I—”

“Not now,” Jane said, her gaze on the road ahead.

But after Margaret’s call had gone to voice mail, Jane’s phone rang. It had to be important if Catherine was going through her list trying to reach them. “Catherine, what is it?” Jane asked.

“Something good at last,” Catherine said. “I think we’ve located Doane’s cottage.”

“What?” Jane’s heart leaped. “That’s fantastic. Where is it? Are you—”

“Harriet’s stopped,” Caleb said.

Trevor eased off the gas pedal. “You’d better be sure of that.”

“Positive.”

“I’ll call you right back, Catherine.” Jane hung up.

“Where?” Trevor asked Caleb.

“About half a mile ahead. Probably just around that bend.”

Jane leaned back to glance at the iPad screen. “What’s there?”

“Nothing as far as I can tell. Absolutely nothing.” He waved his hand toward the tall grass along the road. “More of the same.”

Trevor cursed under his breath. “They may have seen us.”

“Unlikely, considering how careful you were,” Caleb said. “For once, your conservativeness may have been an actual benefit, Trevor.”

Trevor thought for a moment. “Okay, everyone get down. I’m going to do a drive past.”

“Now, that’s not a conservative move,” Caleb said.

“Do it,” Trevor snapped.

Jane, Caleb, and Margaret slumped far down in their seats so that Trevor appeared to be the only one in the car. He stepped on the accelerator and roared around the bend.

“What do you see?” Jane asked.

“Her car’s parked on the roadside. No one’s inside. Caleb’s right, there’s nothing else around here.”

Jane sat up and looked around. Just as Trevor said, there was the car but no trace of Harriet and the two men. “I was hoping when they stopped that it was at Doane’s cottage.” Had they changed cars? Jane felt the muscles of her stomach tighten. To come all this way and possibly lose her … “Stop the car. Now.”

“I don’t like this,” Caleb said slowly.

“There’s another curve up ahead,” Trevor said. “We’ll park on the other side and walk back. We’ll find them, Jane. They couldn’t have gone far.”

“Unless they changed cars.”

“If they did, they left Kevin’s letters in that Cadillac. I’m still getting a ping,” Caleb said. “And that’s not likely.”

Trevor rounded the bend and pulled over. He, Jane, and Caleb got out of the car. Margaret was about to follow them, and Jane shook her head. “No, you stay here.”

“I go where you go,” Margaret said quietly.

“Not this time. I’m not protecting you, Margaret. I’m just trying to be sensible. What if something goes wrong?”

She frowned. “Then I’d want to be there.”

“No, we’d want someone to be able to sound an alarm, to call Venable or Catherine, anyone who could help. You’re that person.” Her voice became firm. “I’m not asking, I’m telling you. Stay here.”

She finally nodded. “For a little while. Until I know if you’re in trouble.”

Jane hurried to join Trevor and Caleb as they moved through the tall grass at the roadside.

Caleb’s eyes were narrowed, darting like those of an animal on the hunt. The sleek panther had returned. “Stay low. We want to see them before they see us.”

They crouched and moved through the grass. Only now did Jane realize just how close to the beach they were. She heard the crashing of waves and felt sand beneath her feet. She peered through the grass to see that a tall dune was all that separated her from the narrow beach. She started to move toward it when Caleb grabbed her arm. “Stop.”

Jane pulled away. “Like hell. What if there’s a boat beyond that dune? Or maybe Doane’s cottage? If they’re over there, I—”