“He rescued his son’s skull. She reconstructs skulls.”

“That’s logical, but I—”

“You just said I had cold intellect,” Zander said mockingly. “What better demonstration?”

“None. I suppose.” He paused. “But you’d never shared information with me before. Why Eve Duncan and her family? Why this time?”

Zander’s smile didn’t waver. “I’m tired of talking about this, Stang.”

“I can’t let it go. It doesn’t add up. I have to figure it out.” He grimaced. “Because I believe that’s what you want me to do. But I’ll shut up about it.” He strode toward the door. “Call me if you need me, Zander.”

Zander’s smile vanished as soon as the door closed behind him.

Was he right? Stang was very clever. What Zander had assumed as a random impulse on his own part might hide other motives.

Good God, he never questioned his own actions or the psychology that drove them, he thought impatiently. He had accepted his character, or lack of it, a long time ago. But on this occasion had he sought to put a barrier between his innate ruthlessness and the fate of Eve Duncan?

Nonsense.

He strolled over to the desk and opened the Duncan file.

Eve Duncan’s face stared up at him. Her expression was thoughtful, alert, intelligent, strong. A hint of sadness in the firmness of her lips. No wonder Stang had been defensive of her.

He suddenly smiled. But then Stang had not been in the firing line of that scorching tongue. Eve Duncan might be innocent, but she was not helpless, and she was not suffering her imprisonment meekly. He had felt an odd flash of emotion when he had been the target. He still could not determine the nature of that feeling. Surprise? Regret? No, it must have been curiosity, as he had told Stang. It was strange that Doane had believed he’d have a shot at making Zander want to interfere with his plans for Eve Duncan.

Still, it would do no harm to call Venable and tell him that Doane was definitely on the move. He dialed quickly, and when Venable answered, he said tersely, “Doane called me and identified himself and made threats. I think he wants to signal that the game’s afoot. You might warn General Tarther.”

“I’ve already done it. I went to see him in Virginia to tell him that Doane has become a loose cannon. I’ve assigned an agent to guard him.” He paused. “I’m surprised you went to the trouble of calling to tell me Tarther is in danger. Did Doane mention Eve Duncan?”

“I talked to her. I believe the fool thought he might be able to use her for bait.”

“I’m sure you made it clear that wasn’t an option. She seemed well?”

“Yes, though I didn’t pay much attention. I’m hanging up now.” He pressed the disconnect and looked back down at the photo of Eve Duncan.

Could you save her?

It would be an interesting challenge, but not in accordance with either his work ethic or philosophy.

Sorry, Eve Duncan. As you said, you’re on your own.

He flipped the file shut.

Lake Cottage

JOE AND MARGARET ARRIVED BACK at the cottage five minutes after Venable drove up to the front door.

“Talk,” Joe said grimly as he took the steps two at a time to where Venable stood on the porch. “No excuses. No stalling. I’m going to know everything you know, or, by God, I’ll make you pay.”

“If I hadn’t intended to talk to you, I would have disappeared and not come back. Stop threatening me.”

“I would have found you.”

“But maybe not in time.” Venable turned to Jane. “You look a little pale. Why don’t you sit down?”

“I’m fine,” she said through her teeth. “This isn’t about me. What’s happening, Venable?”

He shrugged. “Okay, okay. I might be feeling a little guilty that you’re—” He shook his head. “I never thought you’d be a victim. I thought I’d kept it all under control. Doane appeared much weaker than his son, and there was no evidence that he was actively involved in any of the murders. He might have just been a father grieving for his boy. Even when he took Eve, there was a chance that he only wanted to have her do the reconstruction. She might not have been in danger. Hallet, that farmer, is missing, but there’s no proof of violence toward him.”

“My men are dragging the lake for that farmer now. And there’s a grave out there in the woods that proves differently,” Joe said. “Dukes had his throat cut. He was your agent, your responsibility, Venable.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” Venable said roughly. “I realized when we found Dukes that I’d been fooling myself. Doane is as bad as his son, Kevin. Perhaps he’s worse, though that’s hard to believe. I knew I had to put him down no matter whom it hurts.”

“And whom will it hurt?” Caleb asked.

Venable glanced at him. “Why don’t you take a hike, Caleb? This isn’t your concern.”

“The hell it’s not,” Jane said fiercely. “It’s anyone’s concern who is willing to help Eve. She’s the only one who is important.”

“At last,” Margaret murmured as she leaned against the porch rail. “That must include me. Yes, whom will it hurt, Agent Venable?”

“You want a list? One, General John Tarther, an honorable man who spent his entire life fighting to keep the country safe. Two, several Pakistanis who will be beheaded or thrown in prison if their countrymen find out that they helped track Bin Laden.” He paused. “And at least five embedded CIA agents whose cover might be jeopardized if those Pakistanis are tortured and reveal information. It will be a chain reaction.”

“That chain reaction is not going to include Eve,” Joe said coldly. “Because we’re going to get Doane.”

“I’m not arguing,” Venable said wearily. “I’ve already started to pull our agents out of Pakistan. It will take time. I just hope that Doane is holding off on releasing that disk on the chance he can use it as a lever in case of an emergency.”

“Disk?” Jane asked. “Dammit, start at the beginning, Venable.”

“The beginning?” Venable gazed out at the lake. “That was probably the day that son of a bitch Kevin Relling was born.” He shook his head as if to clear it. “No, that’s not what you want to know. Brief and to the point, right? Okay, I was working in the Middle East several years ago when I became involved with the group that was hunting for Bin Laden. Kevin Relling had already killed Tarther’s daughter as a gift to his al-Qaeda friends. He sent photos of the kill to all his terrorist group. They were both explicit and brutal.” He paused. “And he also sent the photos to Tarther. It nearly killed him. The only thing that kept him going was the chance to hunt Kevin Relling down and get him convicted of murder.”

“Kevin Relling,” Jane said. “Joe couldn’t find any record on him. You buried it, didn’t you. Tell us about Kevin Relling.”

“Yes, I buried it.” He shrugged. “I told you the beginning started with Relling. I’ll try to keep it as short as possible. It’s not pretty…”

CHAPTER

15

“AND KEVIN RELLING’S FATHER HAS this disk?” Joe asked when Venable had finished. “That house where he lived in Colorado has been searched?”

“Am I an idiot?” Venable asked sarcastically. “It was the first thing I ordered done when we realized Doane had split. Nothing has been found. The second thing was to set a team of agents to try to find him.”

“Zero there, too,” Joe said coldly. “And you wouldn’t give me all the information I needed to go after him myself.”

“You’re getting it now. I couldn’t justify endangering that many innocent people until I was certain that Doane actually presented a danger and that there was no way we could snare him ourselves.”

“And if you’d been able to do that, would you have sent him back to his safe house and just tried to reinstate your deal?” Jane asked.