Ben Kemal was looking down at his swollen hand, which was now gushing blood from every finger. “Get away from me!”
“No. Next we’ll go to your lungs. In fact, I’ll start the pain there now.”
Ben Kemal was suddenly frantically clutching at his chest. “What’s happening to me?” he gasped.
“Only what I told you. Ah, there comes the blood from your nostrils.” He moved his hand. “I need to know what Santara wanted from you.”
“No!” It was almost a scream.
“Very well. It may take a little longer than I thought. Bad for you, good for me.” Caleb sat with legs crossed, gazing down at him with a smile. “I’ll wager about fifteen minutes.…”
CHAPTER
12
It took twelve minutes.
“Interesting.” Caleb rose to his feet and headed for the bathroom, where he washed and dried his hands. He came out and gazed down at Ben Kemal. “I’m tempted to spend a little more time with you, but I think I know everything you know. Do I?” He studied the panic twisting Ben Kemal’s features. “Oh, yes. Then there’s only the final instructions. I’m leaving now and you’ll lie there for the next twenty minutes. I was never here. You never talked to anyone about your time with Santara or the Romanos. The moment you open your lips to do it, your heart will start to pound and the pain will begin again.” He smiled. “You might experiment to make sure. I admit I like to think of you suffering because of your own ugliness and stubbornness.”
“Monster.” Ben Kemal’s eyes were glaring up at him with rage and horror. “Devil.”
“I’ve been called both. I wonder what you’re called at that whorehouse where you get your playmates.” He headed for the door. “By the way, I think you should obey your Koran and leave those little boys alone from now on. And you do want to please me, don’t you?” He heard Ben Kemal cursing behind him, but he wasn’t moving or making any effort to come after Caleb. A minute later, Caleb was on the balcony and climbing down the trellis.
Palik appeared out of the shrubbery. “It took you long enough.” His gaze went to the balcony. “Quiet. You got what you wanted?”
“As much as he knew.” Caleb moved down the path toward the parking lot. “But I’ll find out more once I trace Santara’s steps and go over the info Ben Kemal turned over to him.” He shrugged. “It offered a few surprises.”
“I assume some that you’re going to have me explore?”
“Of course. I’d never think of giving my business to anyone else. There are so many unscrupulous people in your line of expertise. It’s such a waste of time weeding them out.”
Palik gave another glance at the balcony. “But I believe you may have enjoyed the ‘weeding’ this time. Is he going to cause you any trouble?”
“No.” They had reached the car. “Where did you send the boy?”
“To my cousin’s village near Petros. There’s construction work there, as there is all over Dubai. She’ll see that he gets some schooling on the side. He can live with her until he can find a place for himself. And I’ll add his rent to my increasingly hefty fee from you.”
“I didn’t think anything else. I never rely on generosity from anyone.” He got in the passenger seat. “But there’s something I want you to get on right away. You haven’t been able to find a trace of the Romanos anywhere. I thought perhaps Italy or Greece, but you came up with nothing. Ben Kemal said that the Romanos weren’t only vacationing when they were here; they were looking for a temporary residence. He thought that they’re probably still here in Dubai or at least close by.”
“So you want me to find them,” Palik said. “Top priority?”
“They control Santara. Or rather, Teresa does. After talking to Said Ben Kemal, there’s absolutely no doubt that he thought Teresa Romano was pulling all the strings. Her loving spouse, Gino, appears to be fading fast into oblivion,” he said grimly. “Hell yes, top priority.”
LOCH GAELKAR
By five-thirty in the morning, Jane was tired of tossing and turning and mentally heaping curses on Caleb’s infuriating head. Just forget him and get on with your life, she thought as she jumped out of her bedroll and started dressing. Then she was striding out of her tent and into Eve’s tent next door.
“Come on, Michael.” Jane scooped up the little boy and snatched the clothes that Eve had set out for him the night before. “We’re going to leave your mama alone to sleep in and go help Lisa cook breakfast.”
“I don’t need to sleep in.” Eve yawned. “It’s just a little jet lag, or I would have been up sooner.” She smiled. “And I don’t think Lisa needs help, either, judging by that meal last night.”
“You’re right. But it won’t hurt you to have a little time to yourself.” She headed for the door. “One hour and I’ll call you for breakfast.” She balanced Michael on her hip as she left the tent and started down the hill.
“Down, Jane,” Michael said firmly.
“That sounds like a command you’d give a puppy.” She put him on the grass and just held his hand. “Though you’ve never had one yet. I have to introduce you to my dog, Toby. But right now, he’s going to school on Summer Island. Just like you’ll be going to school in a couple years.” She saw Lisa preparing breakfast by the fire and started to increase her pace. Then she slowed as she realized Michael couldn’t keep up with her.
Adjustments. So many adjustments with a child. And Eve had made all of them beautifully. Amazing, since she had been able to keep up with her forensic sculpting, as well.
“Hi, Lisa,” she said as she came into the glowing circle of the fire. “I’m trying to give Eve a break with Michael, but I’m realizing I’m not great at this.”
Lisa glanced up from the dough she was kneading on a cutting board a few yards from the fire. “You seem to be doing okay. What’s the problem?”
“Adjustment.” She was quickly changing Michael from pajamas to his jeans and green plaid shirt. “Mind-set. All of the above.” She wiped his face with a cloth dipped in a pail of water from the lake. He giggled and grabbed for the cloth. “Oh, you like that?”
“It’s cold.” Michael was laughing up at her and reached a hand in the pail to splash her face with water. He laughed harder as she splashed back at him. “Swim?”
“No, not now. That’s going to be up to your mama. This lake is different from the one you’re used to at home.”
“Different.” Michael repeated the word as he gazed out at the mist hovering over the lake. “But still … home, Jane.”
“You think so?” Jane asked gently as she wiped his face and then her own. “You’ll have to discuss that with your mama.”
“But in the meantime, would you like a cup of orange juice?” asked Lisa, who was suddenly beside them with one of the child’s cups that Eve had given her the evening before. “Is that okay, Jane?” She was frowning. “I don’t know anything about the care and feeding of children.”
“I’m surprised. You’ve seemed to pick up a little of everything in your nineteen years. I’m sure you’re annoyed with yourself that you missed out on this.” She handed Michael the cup. “Okay, Michael?”
“Okay.” He was smiling at Lisa. “Thank you.”
Lisa’s brows rose as she watched him drink the orange juice. “Manners? Isn’t that unusual in a kid his age?”
“It depends on the kid. But then, Michael is unusual. As Eve says, he picks up everything that comes his way. I tried to tell you, Lisa.”
“Yes, you did. But he’s still not what I was expecting.” She paused. “Neither is Eve Duncan. She played me well yesterday. I knew she had to be clever, but I didn’t believe she could do that.”
“She was sincere,” Jane said. “Eve’s always honest.”
“I could tell that. But that doesn’t mean she can’t be clever enough to get her own way when she chooses.” Lisa smiled faintly. “And I think she loves you. She didn’t want anyone around you to be uncomfortable, because it might make you unhappy. That’s … extraordinary.”
“No it isn’t. It’s just Eve.”