Bendy was silent a moment. “Too bad. It seems the jig may be up.”

“And you did some more swapping last night when you gave us the shots of the man you called Simmons. Computer substitution on those pictures from Cal Tech.

It’s easy these days, with a photo program. Who was the man at the church?”

“Just someone I picked up and hired on the local skid row. He cleaned up pretty well, didn’t he?”

“Why did you go to so much trouble?”

“I thought you might become suspicious if I didn’t give the ‘shadow’ substance.”

“And when did you do the switch on the skulls?”

“When I packed up your equipment when we left Galen’s house. That’s why I had to go with you. I had to make sure you didn’t take the reconstruction out of the case to do any more work on him.”

“Because the plastic reconstruction was of you, and Victor was Simmons. You took a big chance.”

“Not so big. You were so upset about the threat to your daughter that you weren’t thinking of Victor. It helped that you always refuse to look at photos of your reconstructions. I knew you’d find out eventually, but I hoped it would be long enough.”

“You mean you hoped Hebert would kill me before I did a photo comparison of the reconstruction.”

“Hope didn’t enter into it. It was just another tragic necessity in an already tragic situation.” Bently grimaced. “I knew you’d have to die from the moment Hebert brought you into the picture. It’s not something I wanted to happen. I respect and admire you.”

“Is that why you bribed Marie to poison me?”

“I was playing for time. If you’d died, then they would have had to get another forensic sculptor. It would have delayed them. I needed that delay.”

“But Hebert rushed in and killed Marie so that I wouldn’t suspect I was targeted and be frightened enough to stop the work.”

“Yes, damn his soul. You started the reconstruction, and I knew time was running out. If the Cabal found out I was alive, then they’d turn loose all their bloodhounds to find me. I know what kind of power they wield. It wouldn’t have been a week before they tracked me down. I couldn’t let that happen. All I needed was that two weeks and the Cabal would be here.”

“And that’s why you killed Jennings, too?”

“At first, I was only going to use him to throw the Cabal off my trail and onto Simmons. I was going to get him to ID the skull, and then blow it up and have Hebert blamed. But I could tell Jennings was getting too close to knowing about Hebert’s plans for Boca Raton. I needed to stop him in his tracks.”

“So many deaths.” Eve shook her head. “Why the hell didn’t you just take your fuel cell and leave the country? Work on it somewhere else?”

“Because I realized after the Cabal tried to kill me that they would never stop.

That they’d find a way to bury me, the way they buried Simmons and his invention.” His lips tightened. “Do you know what a miracle that fuel cell would have been?

How many millions of people it would have helped? It would have cleaned up our planet. But the Cabal wouldn’t let us do it. We were interfering in their profits, their control. They crushed us the way they crushed every other advancement that got in their way.” Bently smiled bitterly. “Think about it. How many marvels of invention have you read about that just disappeared from view? Do you remember reading about the car down in Daytona with a super-efficient electric engine that met all the problems posed by the environmentalists? It was bought by Detroit and never heard about again. The inventors are always bought out, or scared out, or held up to ridicule by the media, consumer groups, or the government. They fade away as if they had never been. Well, Simmons and I weren’t going to fade away. I had the funds and he had the fuel cell. We were going to make final refinements, and then I’d contact a few influential backers and we’d be on our way.”

“Until Hebert set off that explosion.”

He nodded. “Simmons was killed instantly. I was burned, but I crawled out into the mud and put out the flames. Etienne found me there.”

“And helped you?”

“He took me to a shack in Houma and nursed me for months. I had plenty of money in a safe on the island, but he was afraid to call in a doctor. I almost died several times. When I was on the mend, I tried to think what was best to do. I wanted to try to continue Simmons’s work, but it was too dangerous to confront the Cabal alone. Then the solution occurred to me: the media. What would a secret society fear most? The light of public attention glaring on them. I had Etienne phone Bill Nathan and ask him to meet me in secret, because I thought he’d be sympathetic to my cause.”

“He wasn’t?”

“Oh, he was sympathetic, as long as there was no risk involved. He was a miserable coward. I knew he’d probably go straight from me to Melton. I couldn’t let him do that. Not after all I’d suffered.”

“You killed him and took his identity.”

“It wasn’t too difficult. He was divorced and worked freelance, so he moved around the state a lot. I had a few facial burns and had to have plastic surgery anyway. I had Etienne buy a phony driver’s license and passport for me, and I went to Antigua and had some work done. Nathan and I had similar features that only had to be made more similar.”

“And you had the plastic skull made there?”

“No, that was later. After I failed to remove you from the picture, I realized it might be necessary.”

“Might? I can’t imagine you taking anything for granted. I’d bet you planned every detail.”

“Well, I did know buying the fuel-cell components might attract attention. I knew enough about Simmons’s invention to complete it, but I had to be prepared, in case the Cabal became dubious about my demise.”

“Prepared to blow me up?”

“If the bomb wasn’t used for you, I thought it might be a nice gift to give to the Cabal at their next meeting. But, as it happened, circumstances dictated that I use it in another way. Jennings. Kismet.”

“Murder.”

“Call it what you like. I was doing what I had to do to survive and bring something decent into the world.” He shrugged. “The Cabal taught me that I couldn’t be squeamish about the means of doing it.”

“So you became like them.”

“No!” Bendy tried to temper the violence of his voice. “I gave up my wife and my children and a life I loved because I wanted to help the world become a better place.

The Cabal tried to butcher me, and then made me hide like a wounded animal. I didn’t even dare go home because I knew they’d target my family. Every act of violence I’ve committed is their fault.”

Eve shook her head. “Murder is murder.”

“It’s easy for you to say. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the greater good.”

“You sound like Hebert. In your way you’re as twisted as he was. And you brainwashed Etienne until he was willing to do anything you told him to.”

“Not anything. I couldn’t persuade him not to take Simmons’s skull to Jules. He was a simple soul; he wanted to please all of us.”

“You knew Jules would kill him.”

“If he hadn’t, I would have had to do it myself. That’s why I followed Etienne to Baton Rouge. I couldn’t risk him talking.”

She shook her head in amazement. “You’re incredible. He saved your life. If you were there on the spot, you could have helped him.” His lips tightened. “But I needed the time. After Etienne told me what was going to happen here, I knew that opportunity was knocking. The only way to guarantee that the Cabal couldn’t stop the research was to bring them down. And the only way to get them all was to make sure they gathered in one place like the vultures they are.” His gaze went to the concrete building. “And now I have them all in there, roosting. Fifty-three of the most powerful and egocentric bastards on the face of the earth.”

“They won’t be there for long. Joe’s calling the Secret Service man he talked to this afternoon. He asked Pete Wilson to be on the alert.”