Dust To Dust (47 page)

"Evelyn sends her love," he said quietly, and let himself out.

SHE WAS SO tired....

The workday had come and gone. Savard remained sequestered in her office. Hiding. Avoiding the press, avoiding having to go home. She had turned the lights off, except for her desk lamp, and sat, letting the silence envelop her.What a relief to be stiU, she thought, staring at the photograph she had taken and developed and framed herself years ago. A winter landscape.

This was why she shot landscapes rather than people: the stillness. If she could find stillness in her surroundings, she could hope to achieve it within herself... if only for a httle while. If only while she was lost in the stark beauty of the picture. For those few moments, she could successfully ease the tension that quivered at the core of her.

The stillness didn't last tonight. A cacophony of sound invaded her brain..Angry questions, blunt questions, demands, directives. All that and the message from Hazelwood on her voice mail. She was so tired.

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Kovac knew.

It had been just a matter of time. In the back of her mind, she'd always known that. In her heart, she had hoped for something more: a fold in time where events could be trapped, contained, separated, isolated. What a lovely idea. If only. But the past was poisonous and difficult to restrain, seeping around the edges of the boundaries she erected.

She closed her eyes and conjured an image, thefieeting memory of feeling safe and cared for. She had wanted so badly to accept it. She didn't want to carry the weight anymore. She was so tired....

When she opened her eyes again, he was standing there. Panic clenched like a fist in her chest as she wondered if this moment was real or surreal. The nightmares came so frequently lately, it was becoming more difficult to tell.

He stood there in the shadows, expressionless, silent, the collar of his coat turned up. A sense of dread began to build deep inside her. "You're Bill Thorne's daughter," he said, and raised a gun.

C H A P T E

K 0 V A C T 0 0 K H I s time driving, playing it all through in his mind, trying to sort into chronological order the things he had learned today, patching the gaps with educated guesses.Trying not to react to any of it in an emotional way-Trying not to feel the sense of betrayal. Trying not to remind himself that he'd been right all along: that it was better not to want something more.
hole place Neil Fallon's bar was closed, looking abandoned.The w

looked like a shantytown that even the bums had forsaken-the crude cabins, the ice fishing houses, the work shed, the shed where Fallon stored the boats-all dark and empty of life, save for the rats.The only lights were a couple of security lights on poles and the Coors sign buzzing in the tiny window of the bar.

Kovac parked under the light and got out. He dug his Maghte out from under a pile of junk on the floor behind the driver's seat, then went to the trunk and rummaged through paper bags and evidence kits, finally corming up with the tire iron.

The wind had not let up.The temperature had dropped. It wasn
i't a night for a walk in the moonlight. Kovac took one anyway, going down to the boat shed. Senses sharp, he was hyper-aWare of the cold, of the way it felt in his nose, in his lungs; hyper-aware of the sound of

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his shoes on the packed snow. He stopped near the shed and looked down the bank and down the shoreline.

In the moonlight, he couldn't see to where Derek Rubel's truck had gone through the ice, but it wasn't far. Standing among the empty buildings in the middle of nowhere, Kovac thought this was the kind of place where a man might vanish from one dimension into another and never be seen again.

There was a secret worth knowing. He filed it 6way for future reference. He had a feeling escape was going to look like a fine option after.this was all over.

T H E G U N W E N T off with a deafening bang!

Amanda jerked back, up and out of her chair, arms flinging out to the sides.

And then she was awake. The office was empty

She stood behind the desk, her heart racing, lungs pumping as if she'd run a mile. She could smell her own sweat. Her clothes were damp with it. The emotions built and built and built inside her, choking her. Crushing her. A ragged sob tore from her throat and she flung herself at the desk, swinging her arms, knocking down the lamp, sending everything scattering, tumbling, falling, crashing. She pounded her fists on the desktop, crying, fighting, furious, terrified.

When the adrenaline ebbed and the outburst died, she sat back down in her chair and forced her nu'nd to work.

No matter how she nu*ght have deluded herself all these years, it had always been only a matter of time.

Time was up.

She pulled open the desk drawer and took out the gun.

W I T H T H E T I R E iron, Kovac pried loose the latch plate from the old door. The latch, complete witb padlock, flopped to the side, and he went into the shed. He clicked on the flashlight in order to find the light switch.

Half a dozen boats of various sizes and types had been parked for the winter. Kovac walked around them, looking at the names. Hang Time, Miss Peach, Azure II. He chose one called Wiley Trout and

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climbed the ladder. When he climbed back down, he held a large, heavy backpack by one padded strap.

"Put it down, Kovac."

Kovac held the bag out to one side and breathed a sigh. "Put it down or what?"

"Or I'll kill you where you stand."

I "As opposed to killing me later and making it look like suicide? You weren't kidding when you said you did whatever the captain needed."

No, I wasn't kidding," Gaines said. "Put the bag down." "I guess you think there's something in it worth having." "It doesn't matter what's in it. Put it down."

"Ah:'Kovac said, turning his head, trying to see what Gaines had pointed at his back. "'Cause you see, there's nothing in it but a ream of scrap paper. But you'll kin me first and worry about the evidence later. I know this is going to sound like a chch6, but you won't get away with it, Gaines. It's too late. Too many people know too much."

"I don't think so," Wyatt's assistant said with confidence. "You suspect, you don't know.You're just fishing, and you're on your own. You don't have an official investigation. You haven't spoken with Leonard about your suspicions. You don't have any evidence as of now. The only people aware of what Andy Fallon was looking into are people who stand to lose. Neil Fallon was arraigned today for his father's murder. The ME won't change the ruling on Andy's death."

"You sound pretty damn sure of all that
Kovac said. "Did Wyatt tell you he'd make it happen that way?"

"Wyatt doesn't know."

"He doesn't know you've killed for him, that you've gotten rid of the people who could ruin his image with the American public? That's selfless of you, Gavin. He should be giving you a bonus.

"Or does that come later? When he's established, when the show's a hit and the big money tons in? Is that when you show him the pictures or the videotape or whatever evidence you've squirreled away? Show him how much you love him."

"Shut up."

"And how do you explain my death?" Kovac asked, shifting his feet, shifting his position subtly. He still couldn't see what Gaines had in his hands. "I'll tell you right now, Slick, I ain't gonna let it look like no suicide. If I'm going down, I'm going down kicking."

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11 I have some ideas. Put the bag down."

"It was easy with Andy, wasn't it?" Kovac said. "He comes toWyatt to ask some innocent questions.You see it makes Ace nervous. Maybe you decide to dig a little yourself, try to find out what Andy's got. Maybe he doesn't even realize what he's got, so he's got no worries. You're a good-looking guy, he's a good-looking guy. You go out a couple of times. He doesn't think much of it when you drop by with a bottle of wine...."

"I didn't want to kill him," Gaines said, and Kovac could hear the emotion in his voice, a strange mix of regret and relish. "I'm not a killer."

"Yes, you are.You thought he had something that might ruin your future. You planned it out. You drugged him. You strangled him unconscious so he couldn't fight. Then you hung him from a beam and let the noose do the last of the job."

"I didn't want to."

"And I'll bet you stood there and watched while he kicked and twitched. It's amazing how fast it happens, isn't it?"

"I told him I was sorry," Gaines said. "I was. But he would have ruined everything. He would have ruined CaptainWyatt. I've worked too hard for this chance. It's right there, in reach. It's happening--the show, the network deal. He would have taken it away. For nothing. For something that was over twenty years ago. For something that can't be changed. I couldn't let that happen."

"You know what happened that Might?" Kovac asked.

"I know Mike Fallon knew. He'd kept his mouth shut all this time because Wyatt paid him off. Andy had figured that out. If he had gotten his father to talk ... I couldn't let that happen."

")Wyatt -has to suspect, Gavin. You think he's gonna keep you around if he knows you're a murderer? He's a cop, for chrissake. It's a law enforcement show. If he's smart, he'll put the collar on you himself and save his own ass. Think of the network special that would make."

"Drop the fucking bag!"

"You're a murderer," Kovac said again. "He finds out-" "So is he!" Gaines screamed. "Drop the fucking bag!"

Kovac had no time to digest the revelation. He caught the motion of Gaines's arm in his peripheral vision and dove forward. The claw harnmer just grazed the back of his head, his shoulder taking the

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brunt of the impact. Even through the thickness of his coat, the pain was a hard, hot ball, burning into the muscle.

Kovac rolled onto his back as Gaines swung wildly for his head again, burying the head of the hammer in the dirt floor.

"Drop it, Gaines!" Liska shouted. "You're under arrest!"

"Gun!" Kovac yelled as Gaines drew from inside his open coat and ran.

Kovac rolled to the side and half under the boat. But Gaines's purpose now was escape, and he was already running, the backpack in his left hand, gun in his right. He swung his arm back and let a shot go. Liska answered back. Gaines kept running, heading for the lakeend door of the boat shed.

Liska charged past as Kovac pushed to his feet and pulled his weapon. Gaines ducked around the side of the last boat for cover and fired two more shots. Liska ducked right, the second of the shots splintering the fiberglass hull she used for cover, the bullet corming through two inches from her head.Then Gaines was out the door.

Kovac went out a side door and crouched behind several fifty-fivegallon oil drums, straining to hear, to get some bearing on which way Gaines had run. He couldn't hear anything but the wind.

"Elwood's got his vehicle," Liska said, dropping . down behind him, breathing hard. "Tippen'll have radio cars on the way by now."

They had set up the trap on the fly. No time to take the plan to Leonard. No desire to. Kovac admitted there hadn't been much to use as bait, but he'd heard enough and pieced together enough to float a hunch. If they kept the plan between themselves and no one bit, nothing was lost. If they had taken it to Leonard and Leonard had nixed it, nothing could have been gained.

Kovac pulled off a glove, touched the back of his head, and came away with bloody fingers. He swore under his breath. "Which way did he go? He gets off the property and we have another Rubel on our hands, you and I are gonna be on duty at the county landfill."

"We'll be in the landfill. Leonard will have us killed."

Kovac moved to the last of the drums and scanned as much as he could see of the yard. No sign of Gaines, which meant he could have taken refuge in any one of the buildings on the property and they could end up with a standoff situation.Then suddenly the angry buzz of a small motor split the air, and there was no time to think.

The snowmobile burst out the end door of Neil Fallon's work

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shed, roaring straight for Kovac. Kovac planted his feet and squeezed off a shot, hitting the nose of the machine, then dove out of the way, rolled, and came up running.

Gaines had the throttle wide-open, heading for the lake, heading for the open area to the east of the ice fishing houses. The machine bucked hard over wind-packed drifts. Kovac ran after it, hoping Just to keep Gaines in sight. He squeezed off two shots on the run with no real hope of hitting anything.

The snowmobile hit the bank and flew, Gaines coming up off the seat. The machine twisted out from beneath him in midair, ass-end dropping down, Gaines still hanging on to the handlebars.

Kovac ran harder. He could see Liska conuing on his left.

The snowmobile hit the ice on end, driving into it. The sound of the lake's surface breaking was like a crack of thunder. Gaines landed beside the machine and went still for an instant.

"Watch the ice! Watch the ice!" Liska shouted as Kovac ran down the length of the old boat dock.

Gaines was already shaking off the impact, struggling to get to his feet, the backpack strapped around his shoulders. The snowmobile was going down, the ice around the point of impact cracking and popping. Another pop and the machine was gone.

"Give it up, Gaines!" Kovac shouted. "There's nowhere to go!" Gaines came up with the gun and pulled off another round. Kovac dropped flat to the dock. Gaines's scream brought his head back up.

"He's in the water!" Liska yelled.

Gaines made a strangled squealing sound, one arm flailing above the surface. Kovac stepped off the dock, testing the ice.

"Hang on, Gaines! Don't move!"

But Gaines was in panic mode, bobbing down in the water, then coming up and attempting to throw himself out of the hole, only breaking more ice and sending himself under again.

Kovac got down on all fours, spreading his weight over more of the surface, moving toward the crumbling edge inches at a time. "Gaines! Don't fight!" he shouted.