The Face of Deception (18 page)

“I didn't want you to look at me and see Fraser.”

She had denied it, but hadn't that been her first thought when Logan told her about the deaths in Joe's past? It wasn't rational, it wasn't fair, but the thought had been there.

Another ripple Logan had set in motion to disturb her life. Only this time it was more like a tidal wave.

Block it out. She had enough to worry about just then. Easy to say. The idea of angering Joe wasn't easy to block out.

And what if it wasn't only anger? What if she had hurt him? Joe was tough, but he could be hurt. God, she didn't want to hurt him.

She couldn't dismiss the idea, but she had to put it on the back burner and consider all the ramifications later. Joe was too important to her. If she began to worry about him, she wouldn't be able to do anything else.

So go back in and see if you can help Gary. Get this business over with so you can go back to living a normal life with normal problems.

She turned and strode down the hall toward the lab.

Kessler glanced up as she reached him. “You okay?”

“Sure. I just needed some air. How are you doing?”

“Not good.” He looked back down at the molar he was cutting. “The poor bastard may be toothless before I get enough for a sample. This is the third one I've cut into.”

“Do you need me to help?”

“And share the credit?”

She smiled. “I promise I'll never tell.”

“Sure. I've heard that before. Go away.”

“Whatever you say.” But she didn't move, watching as he carefully cut through the enamel on the tooth. “I've been thinking. After we get the sample, it might be a good idea if you went away for a while. Maybe to your place on the shore.”

“Ah, are you trying to save my neck, Duncan? Maybe feeling a little stirring of guilt?”

“Yes.”

“Good. A little guilt is good for the soul.” His gaze was narrowed on the tooth. “But don't flatter yourself that I'm doing this for you. This job is going to make me a star. I've always wanted to be the center of attention.”

“Yeah, sure, that's why you work like a demon and live like a hermit.”

“It takes one to know one. Another fifty years and you'll probably be living in your lab, eating cold Domino's pizza.”

“And lying about wanting to become famous? Admit it, you're just curious.”

“Partly.” He carefully started opening the tooth.

“And what's the rest of it?”

“Did you know I spent my early childhood in Munich during the thirties?”

She shook her head, gazing at him in surprise. “You've never talked about it.”

“No, we talk only about our jobs, don't we? The bones, the dead . . .” He adjusted his glasses on his nose. “My mother was Jewish but my father was of good Aryan stock with high government connections. The Nazis put pressure on him to divorce her, but he refused. He owned a small bakery and for two months he had to replace the windows that were broken every day. He held out and still refused. Then one night he didn't come home from the shop and we were told he'd been run over by a truck. He lost a leg and spent nine months in a hospital. By the time he was up and about, it was all over. The shop was out of business and the Nazis had begun to round up the Jews. We managed to get to Switzerland and then later to America.”

“Oh, God, that's terrible, Gary. I'm sorry.”

“I wasn't sorry. I was mad. I watched those sons of bitches striding around the neighborhood, running over everyone who got in their way. Bullies. Taking away everything that made life worth living. God, I hate bullies.” He nodded at the skull. “And the people who did this are like those damn Nazis, running over the whole damn world. They make me sick. I'll be damned if they get away with it this time.”

She swallowed to ease the sudden tightness in her throat. “Why, Gary, you sound downright noble.”

“Hell, yes. Besides, this may be my swan song, and I want it sung loud and clear.”

“Swan song? Are you planning on retiring?”

“Maybe. I'm past retirement age. I'm an old man, Eve.”

Eve shook her head. “Not you, Gary.”

He chuckled. “You're right, I'm not old. When-ever I look in the mirror, I see the young stud I was at twenty. Maybe a few more wrinkles, but I don't often notice them. It's like that superimposition you do. No matter what's on the top layer, that young man is underneath and I know he's there. Do you suppose every old geezer is as self-deluding as me?”

“You're not self-deluding. We all see what we want to see. We all have a vision of ourselves.” She tried to smile. “And, dammit, you're not old and you're not going to retire. I need you.”

“True. It takes a benevolent and exceptional man to deal with someone of your headstrong nature and many faults. I may have to stick around just to keep you in— Shit.” He pushed the tooth aside. “Another blank. Go away. You're bringing me bad luck.”

“Well, that's a profoundly scientific notion.” She turned away. “Call me if you need me.”

“Not likely.” He bent over the skull again as she walked away.

“Any progress?” Logan straightened in his chair across the room.

“Not yet.”

“I saw a cot in the back room. Why don't you try to take a nap?”

She shook her head. “I need to be here in case he changes his mind about not needing help.” She sat down beside him and leaned her head back against the wall. “It's my responsibility. I brought him into this.”

“He seems to be enjoying himself.” Logan's gaze was fixed on Kessler. “In a cerebral way.”

“Cerebral? Hell, he thinks he's Schwarzkopf or Eliot Ness or Lancelot or some other—” She drew a deep breath and said fiercely, “And you'd better see that nothing happens to him, Logan. I should have gone to your man at Duke. All I thought about was who was best for the job. I didn't think about how dangerous this could be for Gary.”

“As soon as we get the DNA sample and an affidavit, we'll whisk him away out of the limelight.”

“Like you whisked my mother?”

“I told you she was safe, Eve. You talked to her.”

“She's not safe. She won't be safe until this is over.” None of them would be safe. Joe and Gary and her mother had been drawn into the net, and Eve had done it.

“All right, she's not as safe as I'd like her to be,” Logan said. “But it's the best I can do right now.” He paused. “Kessler appears to have upset you. What did he say?”

Nazis and swan songs and a young man in the mirror. “Nothing much. Nothing important.”

It was a lie. Gary's life was important. The fact that she had never scratched more than the surface of Gary Kessler's past was important. It was a night of revelations, she thought wearily. Logan, Joe, and now Gary. She closed her eyes. “Just keep him safe, okay?”

THE WHITE HOUSE
7:20
A.M.

“Kessler,” Lisa said as soon as Timwick picked up the phone. “Check out Kessler at Emory.”

“I know my job, Lisa. I'm checking out Kessler. He's on my list.”

“Then put him higher on your list. Duncan's worked with Kessler several times. It was in the stuff on the disc you messengered over.”

“She's worked with other people too.” She heard him rustling papers. “And she hasn't worked with him in over two years.”

“But he was the first anthropologist she ever worked with. They have a history. It would mean something to her.”

“Then why hasn't she worked with him lately? Logan researched Crawford at—”

“Have they shown up at Duke?”

“No, but it's early days yet.”

“Early? You should have caught them by now. Time's running out. Put Kessler at the top of the shortlist.” She hung up the phone.

She shouldn't have been so sharp; it wasn't smart. The more desperate Timwick became, the more resentful he grew and the more domineering he tried to be. But, Christ, how could an intelligent man have so little imagination? Couldn't he see that it was Duncan and not Logan who was the key?

She drew a deep breath and tried to compose herself. She mustn't panic. She mustn't lose control. Okay, the problem was two-pronged. One, Ben's skull must be recovered; any evidence was moot without the skull. Two, Logan and Duncan must be eliminated and any other possible evidence destroyed. Dammit, Timwick was doing neither. She had known he was a weak link since that mistake with Donnelli and had made alternate plans to enact whenever necessary.

It was necessary. The more time passed, the more dangerous everything became. She had to take the reins completely in her own hands.

How had she come to this point? She had never wanted any of this. It wasn't fair.

Well, the world wasn't fair. You just had to do whatever you had to do. There wasn't any way she could reverse what she'd done that day, so she just had to protect herself and all she'd gained.

She opened her phone book to the name and number she had gotten from Timwick three weeks earlier.

She quickly dialed the number. It rang three times before it was answered.

“Mr. Fiske? We've never talked before, but I believe it's time we did.”

SIXTEEN

KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
11:50
A.M.

“Got it.” Eve's hand tightened on the thermal case that contained the vial with the DNA sample. “Now let's get out of here. We can't afford any deterioration.”

“Is there enough?” Logan asked.

“Just enough.” She turned to Kessler. “Where do you suggest we take it, Gary?”

“I assume you don't want to take a chance on any of the obvious or well-known testing centers?”

She shook her head.

“But you want a place with excellent credentials.”

She nodded.

“Duncan, you're an incredibly demanding woman. And you're fortunate that I'm incredible enough myself to meet your absurd demands.” He lowered his voice dramatically. “I know a man.”

“I don't want a man. I want a lab.”

“You'll have to settle for Chris Teller.”

“And who is Chris Teller?”

“A student of mine who went on to become a MacArthur Fellow. Brilliant man. He's been doing research on the medical side of DNA, but he needed to put food on the table, so he opened a small lab in Bainbridge, Georgia, last year. It's a three-man operation and they intend to keep it that way. The lab is listed as a medical research lab, not a forensic testing center.”

“It sounds good.”

“Of course it's good. It's perfect. You'd think I'd been dabbling in conspiracies all my life. Chris takes DNA profile jobs only when he needs to pay the bills, but he's absolutely accurate. We can't risk bungling. I'm not sure I can get another sample.”

She nodded slowly. “Bainbridge, okay. I'll take it down myself and—”

Gary was shaking his head. “I'll do it. You said you need speed. I'll appeal to him as a fellow scientist.”

“Look, I'll take Joe. Surely Teller will cooperate with the police.”

“Not if he's deep in research and doesn't want to stop. He'll just tell Quinn to go somewhere else. We'll get better cooperation if I handle it.”

“Your job is done,” Eve said. “It's time for you to go somewhere and loll on the beach for a while. I can't ask you to do anything more, Gary.”

“I didn't hear you ask,” Gary said. “And I'll decide when my job is done. Are you trying to cheat me out of my book contract?”

“I'm trying to keep you alive.”

Gary took the thermal case from her and headed for the door. “I have to stop by my house and pick up clothes and an overnight bag.”

“Gary, this is crazy. Let me—”

“You want to be helpful? Go get me samples for Teller to compare this one to.” He opened the door. “If you want to follow me down to Bainbridge, come ahead. But I'm in charge of this sample, Eve.”

“Gary, listen to—” He'd already left the laboratory, and Eve hurriedly followed him down the hall and out the front door.

“What's going on?” Joe came toward her. “Where's he going?”

“A DNA lab in Bainbridge. He's got the sample. I told him I'd take it, but he wanted to go himself.”

“Stubborn bastard.” Joe started down the steps. “I'll handle it, Eve.”

“No.” Logan had come out of the building. “Eve and I will follow Kessler to Bainbridge. You go see Chadbourne's sister, Millicent Babcock.”

“I suppose you want a DNA sample from her?”

“Yes, but even if that's a match, it will be only an indication, not proof accepted in a courtroom. We also need direct DNA from Ben Chadbourne. He and his sister were very close. He stayed with her several times during the campaign and he must have sent her birthday cards or notes that still have saliva traces on the envelopes. Or if he left any clothes at her house, there might still be hair or—”

“And how am I supposed to get those little mementoes?”

“That's up to you.”

“And where's Chadbourne's sister?”

“Richmond, Virginia.”

“And, of course, you're not trying to get me out of the picture?”

“Not this time. We need those comparison samples. The sooner we get them, the sooner this will be over.”

Joe hesitated and then said, “Okay. Chadbourne's DNA and a sample from his sister. What do you need from her? Blood?”

“Saliva will do for now,” Eve said. “But the sample should be refrigerated and expressed immediately.”

“I'll bring it myself.” He looked at Logan. “I don't suppose you know if she smokes?”

Logan shook his head. “Sorry.”

Joe shrugged. “Saliva's no problem. If she doesn't smoke, she probably drinks coffee. It's the national addiction these days. It's Chadbourne's DNA that's going to be a headache. Letters will be the most likely source but how the hell am I going to get . . .” He started down the steps. “I'll find a way to do it. I'll be on your heels before you know it. You just take care of Eve until I get down there, Logan.”

“Will you do me a favor and follow Gary to his house and stay with him until we get there?” Eve asked. “I have to pack up Ben's skull and my papers, and I don't want him to be alone.” Eve's gaze was on Gary, who was now getting into his car. “Take care of him, Joe.”

“And try to persuade him to stop at a lawyer's office and get an affidavit,” Logan added.

Eve turned to face him.

He shrugged. “Sorry to be callous, but it's smart to have back-up evidence in case anything happens.”

He meant in case Gary was killed, Eve thought, suddenly feeling sick.

“I'll get the affidavit and the damned DNA samples.” Joe was hurrying after Gary. “You just get Eve away from here and out of sight, Logan.”

“It's done.” Logan took her elbow and nudged her back inside the building. “That's one order of Quinn's I won't have a problem obeying.”

In the lab he packed up the skull while Eve gathered the photographs and printouts and stuffed them in her briefcase. “There's no air service to Bainbridge. We'll have to drive.”

“It's safer than taking a plane anyway. Particularly out of your home city.” He started for the door. “Ready?”

It would have been too bad if she wasn't ready, she thought ruefully. Logan was on the move and she either had to follow him or be left behind.

And she wasn't about to be left behind.

“Why don't you try to get some sleep?” Logan said. “You worked all last night. I promise I won't land us in a ditch.”

“I don't want to sleep. We've been driving a long time. It's almost dark. Aren't we almost there?”

“Another hour or so.”

An hour was too long when Eve was this restless. “Have you heard from Gil?”

“Last night. No progress yet. It may take time to approach Maren on a confidential basis. I'm sure he's very busy overseeing the work on my corpse.”

“That's not funny.”

“I didn't think so either, but it's better if you laugh.”

“Is it?”

“I've always thought so. It keeps you sane.”

“Then I'll vote for that.” She gazed at the tail-lights of Gary's car on the road ahead of them. “Are you speaking from experience? How close have you come to the edge, Logan?”

“Close enough.”

“No.” She turned to face him. “Don't give me that evasive bull. It's not fair. Tell me. You know everything about me.”

“I doubt it. You're a multifaceted woman. It wouldn't surprise me if you had a few secrets.”

“Tell me.”

“What do you want to know?”

“The edge.”

“Ah, you want to see my scars.”

“You've seen mine.”

He was silent a moment. “I was married once when I was pretty young. It was during the time I lived in Japan. She was Eurasian and the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. Her name was Chen Li.”

“You're divorced?”

“She died of leukemia.” He smiled crookedly. “It wasn't like your loss. No violence. Except on my part. I wanted to tear the world apart when I couldn't find a way to help her. I was a cocky bastard and sure that there wasn't a mountain I couldn't climb. Well, I couldn't climb that one. It took over a year for her to die, and I had to watch it. Is that a deep enough scar for you?”

She looked away from him into the darkness. “Yes, that's deep enough.”

“And do you know me better now?”

She didn't answer. “Did you love her?”

“Oh, yes. I loved her.” He glanced at her. “You know, you really shouldn't have asked. You have a soft heart and it would have been easier for you to dislike me if you hadn't seen I'm human, like everyone else.”

It was true. Understanding always made antagonism more difficult. His very restraint underscored the pain he'd undergone. “I've never doubted you were human.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” He changed the subject. “Teller's lab may not be open when we reach Bainbridge. We'll probably have to check into a motel and wait until tomorrow morning.”

“Can't we call him or something? Maybe Gary could—”

“Kessler's going to arouse enough suspicion by the pressure he's going to apply on Teller. It would be a little over the top to ask him to stay open until we got there.”

No doubt he was right but, dear God, she wanted to move more quickly. “You don't understand. It sometimes takes weeks to get a definitive report on a DNA sample. Gary's going to ask Teller to do it in a few days. Private labs have the capability to be faster because they're not as backlogged, but every minute is going to count.”

“Will some of my filthy lucre help urge him to do a little overtime?”

She shook her head. “I don't think so. He sounds like a dedicated professional.”

“He still has to pay the mortagage. Kessler seemed to think Teller might need money.”

True. Maybe she was wrong. Money could move the world. She herself had been tempted by the bait he had dangled before her. “Let Gary try his way first.”

“No offense. Just trying to help.”

“I know you were. Why should I take offense? There's nothing wrong with money.”

He stared at her in surprise.

“I just don't like it used as a club.”

“But bribery is okay?”

“In certain cases.”

He smiled. “Like the Adam Fund?”

“Hell, yes.”

“Even when I used it to deceive you?”

“No, that wasn't right.” She looked into his eyes. “But I let you do it. I'm not stupid. I knew there was something wrong, but I still took the chance. I wasn't like you—I wasn't afraid someone was going to make a mistake and blow us all up. I wanted the money. I thought it would help and I was willing to run the risk. If I hadn't gone with you, none of this would have happened. I wouldn't be in trouble and Mom would be safe.” She shrugged. “I'd like to keep blaming you, but we all have to accept responsibility for our own actions.”

“That wasn't the impression I got,” he said dryly. “You wanted to cut my throat.”

“There are moments when I still do. You were wrong. But I was wrong too, and I have to live with it.” She gazed out the window. “I just don't want anyone else hurt because I was wrong.”

“You're being very generous.”

“I'm not generous,” she said wearily. “But I try to see things clearly. I learned a long time ago that it's easy to blame everyone else when it hurts to blame yourself. But in the end you have to face it.”

He went still. “Bonnie?”

“We were at a school picnic at a neighborhood park. She wanted to go to the ice cream stand and get a cone. I was talking to her teacher and I let her go alone. There were kids and parents all around and the stand was only a short distance from the picnic table. I thought it was safe. It wasn't safe.”

“For God's sake, how could that be your fault?” he asked roughly.

“I should have gone with her. Fraser killed her but I didn't care for her well enough.”

“And have you been wearing that hair shirt all these years?”

“It's hard not to second-guess yourself when you make a mistake as big as that.”

He didn't speak for a moment. “Why did you tell me?”

Why had she told him? She usually avoided talking about that day; the memory was still a hideous raw wound. “I don't know. I made you tell me about your wife. I . . . think it hurt you. I suppose I thought it was only fair to even the ground.”

“And you have an obsession about being fair.”

“I have to try. Sometimes it doesn't work. Sometimes I find myself closing my eyes and hiding away in the dark.”

“Like you did with Quinn?”

“I didn't hide—” She was lying. Admit it, she had tried not to see everything about Joe's life clearly. The image she had of him was too important to her. “Maybe I did. But not usually. Not if I can help it.”

“I believe you.”

She was silent a moment. “What about Millicent Babcock? Will she be in danger if they find out Joe got a sample from her?”

“Harming her wouldn't be much use to them. Chadbourne has an aunt and three first cousins living. It would be pretty obvious if they're all taken down. Besides, it's Ben Chadbourne's DNA that's the conclusive proof. She's probably safe.”

Probably.

Probably her mother was safe. Probably Gary would not be hurt. Probably Millicent Babcock would not be killed.

Probably wasn't good enough.

She leaned her head back on the seat and closed her eyes.

Let it be good enough. No more deaths. Please, no more deaths.

WASHINGTON
11:05
P.M.

“Mr. Fiske?” Lisa Chadbourne leaned closer to the car window and smiled. “May I get in? It's a little public out here.”

Fiske glanced around the street and then shrugged. “It looks pretty deserted to me.”

“That's why I chose it. All the federal offices close at five in this neighborhood.” She got in the passenger seat and shut the door. “But I'm sure you'll understand that I can't take any chances. I'm fairly recognizable these days.”

True. The velvet-trimmed hood of her brown cape was pulled forward to shadow her features, but the minute she pushed it back, Fiske instantly recognized her. “It really is you. I wasn't
sure. . . .”

“You were sure enough to hop a plane and come to Washington to meet me.”

“I was curious, and you said you'd make me an offer that would intrigue me. I'm always interested in advancing myself.”

“And you were flattered that I would go over Timwick's head and speak to you directly?”

“No.” The conceited bitch thought he should fall all over himself just because she was the President's wife. “You don't mean anything more to me than anyone else. I don't need you, you need me. Or you wouldn't be here.”