Shadow Cave (10 page)

“
Yes, about that
...
very impressive, dear. Those men you took out back there were no green rookies.
Of course, it was completely unnecessary, love.
I would have been there myself to speak with you, but unfortunately
,
an urgent matter, a family emergency, took me away.
I left
some
friends of mine to look over your house in my absence and wait for you to come home.
”

“
So it really was all because of you, you fucking worm.
”
There
,
I said it.

“
Now, there
’
s no need to be angry.
You must listen to me.
I can
’
t say much over the phone
—
it
’
s not a secure connection, you understand.
But you are in danger, Claire.
You have to turn around and get back here immediately.
You
’
ll need to be taken to a safe place and that
’
s all I can say.
Someone else is looking for your brother
’
s documents.
I
’
ve been to his apartment and his computer is gone.
Windows were smashed.
You are not safe out there alone
...l
et me help you.
Come to the lab and I
’
ll tell you everything.
Make sure you
’
re safe
...
f
or Megan.
Let me do this for you
,
Claire.
Please.
”

A cigarette seemed like a really good idea.
There were so many flaws in his argument that I didn
’
t know where to begin.
I swerved to the shoulder, enjoying the sound of loose gravel spinning beneath the tires.
That
was very satisfying
, I thought as I climbed into my backseat to retrieve my nicotine.
I took a long drag before I answered.

“
Claire?
”

“
First off,
”
I exhaled,
“
You never gave a damn about Megan, so let
’
s forget the sentimental crap, ok
ay
?
The only danger I
’
m in is from you.
So unless you want to end up like your friends back there, I suggest you leave me alone.
”

“
Yes, you
’
ll be happy to know that Carl is going to be just fine
—
in time.
”

“
Great.
”
I snorted.
“
Which jackass would that be?
”

“
The one you shot at.
Now, please, be reasonable.
They were only there to protect you.
”

“
You keep talking, John, like you think anything you say matters to me at this point.
”

“
Now listen
—
”

“
No, you listen
...
before my brother disappeared
,
he left me a going away present.
”
John was silent now.
Nervous
, I thought, and smiled.

“
It would seem you
’
ve been very busy
,
John.
Now, if you do so much as come near me or my family you
’
re going to pay and pay dearly.
”
I hoped that what was in the box was good and I wasn
’
t just blowing smoke.
I had not had time to break the lock and read it.
But a fabulous idea was beginning to take shape.

“
How much time do you think you would get, John?
You underestimated Megan years ago.
I thought that you would have learned not to make the same mistake twice.
The box I took from my house is in a safe place.
The contents of that box have been duplicated and are now with three different attorneys, John.
They have been given explicit instructions to share the box with the police and make it public if I don
’
t return for it in three months.
Be afraid, John.
”

I clicked the off button on the cell phone
and slammed
it shut.
That was the one thing that I hated about cell phones
;
t
hey just didn
’
t slam hard enough to be satisfying.
I rolled down the window and whipped the phone as hard as I could at the concrete median wall of the freeway.
There.
T
hat was much better.

I was feeling extremely proud of myself as I pulled back into the increasing traffic on the road.
I had held my own.
More than that
—
I had managed to intimidate him.
The thought gave me great pleasure.
Of course, it was always a great day when I could torment my sisters ex-husband.
That
’
s just the way things work.
You know
—
the normal order of things.

But as quick
ly
as the answers had come to me while I was threatening John, I had still been bluffing.
I had no idea what was in the box.
Hell, it was still equipped with the built in button punch lock across the front.
I had briefly turned the box over and looked it over in the car by using the overhead lights, but of course, it had no secrets to tell.
Not the kind that were possibly etched into the bottom anyway. Although I knew my brother well enough to know he would never have scratched the combination onto the box.
I laughed a little at the thought.
Well, maybe he meant for me to go with plan A and break the lock off the box.

I shrugged, steering the car onto my exit ramp.
Precious little
time
could be allot
t
ed to
mess with the box at all
—
one look at the clock confirmed this
.
In fact,
there was
barely enough time to find an attorney who was willing to see me immediately with zip for notice.
And even if I did find one and get in and out in record time,
there was still the matter of navigating the airport and securing a ticket
.
I would have to use my credit card, of course, but that didn
’
t matter.
My passport would have to be used as well; fortunately
,
it was one item I carried in my wallet. This was more out of pure laziness than any actual forethought. Most people kept such important documents safely tucked away after their travels; then again, most people I knew bothered to unpack
.
It was imperative
to be fast and virtually disappear once I got to Africa.
But, no,
don
’
t
think about it
, I reminded myself
; not
when
there was
so much to do
, and
not when time was of the essence.
I couldn
’
t afford to slow myself down with doubt
—
or a headache
—
and for this reason
was glad my cigarettes were gone.

I pulled into town and onto the main strip before realizing my fatal mistake.
It was six o
’
clock in the morning.
My flight left at seven thirty.
“
Damn!
”
I yelled and slammed my hands against the steering wheel.
The box wouldn
’
t do me any good if someone found it on me and killed me
,
or just took it; in which case they would probably follow up by killing me.
I chewed on my fingernail again and struggled to think.

Waiting for an attorney was one option.
Not a good one, but an option still.
I stopped in front of a law office building and hopped out of the car.
Peering into the windows, I finally sighed and rested my head against the cool glass.
Empty.
Not even a janitor or a security guard.
I had figured as much.
Even if there had been anyone inside the building, the chance of them letting me in was doubtful at best.
I looked down at my worse for wear and rumpled black outfit
—
maybe impossible was a better word to use.
They probably would have called the cops.

It was at that moment that I had what I considered to be one of the best ideas of my life.

***

Funny thing
,
but it took less than ten minutes to destroy Jon Hanlen
’
s career and ruin his life.

“
Try to kill me, asshole
,
”
I muttered as I navigated my way through Seattle International.
I checked my watch again and briefly considered sprinting for the ticket counter.
Two things stopped me
...well
, three.
I was still dressed like a fugitive, the airport was crowded, and I couldn
’
t afford to draw any undue attention my way.
Not that my overall appearance wasn
’
t doing a fine job of that already.
I was pretty sure I still had leaves in my hair somewhere.
My original plan had included a change of clothes and some lipstick.
But I didn
’
t so much mind being crusty for a little while longer.

There really hadn
’
t been any other choice but to turn the box over to the Seattle police.
I knew that I couldn
’
t take the box with me to Zaire
, and
there was no way that I would have considered trying to take it through airport security without knowing what it contained.
What if there was a gun in there?
Not to mention I didn
’
t know how to open the thing.
The last thing I needed was a cavity search.

No, I didn
’
t regret turning in the box.
I did, however, regret not being able to find out what was inside it.
Knowing John, God only knew.
Knowing Mike, it was probably good.
Mike had a real penchant for juicy tales.
Our family
always said that if he had been born a woman, he would have been a terrible gossip.
As it was,
the man
was very creative.
He was also very capable.
There was no doubt
that the contents of the box would indeed ruin John
’
s career.
I was equally sure that it wouldn
’
t completely and permanently ruin his life.

Mike
isn
’
t
as cut throat as
me
, I thought smugly.
Had it been
me
that orchestrated everything
…oh hell, who was I kidding?
With a toss of my head, I
turned
off for gate 29.
Was I capable? Yes.
Ruthless?
Hardly.

Looking
around at the assortment of people surrounding me
was becoming old habit
; the bright
-
eyed families, the business men, and the career women.
I witnessed people coming and going in the usual early morning frenzy that was such a part of life in Seattle.
That
was probably true of most large cities around the globe, though.
It was impossible not to remember
a time when I had been a part of that.
It had been a part of me.
Hard to believe it had only been a few days ago.

Even harder to believe was that I had not really wanted it at the time.
I had taken it for granted that I was a part of something.
It stung more than a little to realize that most of the people directly near me were doing their best to casually look away.