Sleep No More

CHAPTER

13

5:45 P.M.

THEY WERE STILL THERE!

The car was exactly where Quinn had parked it when they’d arrived at the Tudor.

Drogan felt a surge of fierce pleasure as he lowered the binoculars. He’d guessed that he would have enough time to double back before they took off, but he hadn’t been positive. Quinn was an unknown element, and he could have decided that he had to get Beth Avery out of the area immediately.

Quinn.

Smother the flare of rage. Now it was time to plan, to hunt, then to strike.

First, he had to get to Quinn’s rental car and plant a bug to make sure he could track him. He wished he had a bomb to blow up the son of a bitch. Or, better still, bury him alive, as he had Mama Zela. The Snake God knew how to deal with Drogan’s enemies. But he could wait for that final vengeance; he just had to be able to track him when he took off.

His thumb throbbed with pain as he started to wriggle up the side of sand dune on the north side of the house. That fool of a doctor had amputated the tip of it and given him pain pills, but he had not taken them. He couldn’t afford not to have a clear head. Keep close, don’t show himself. He’d like to wait until dark, but he couldn’t risk it.

His phone vibrated in his jacket pocket.

Not now. Ignore it.

No, he couldn’t do that. The prize was too big to risk the losing. He took out the phone and glanced at the ID. He froze where he lay on the dune. Then he picked up the call.

“Dammit, I can’t do everything at one time. Leave me alone. I’ll do what I promised, but it has to be on my schedule. And I can’t talk now. I’ll call you back.” He hung up.

He had his list. He’d carry out his job. But he wouldn’t put destroying Quinn on hold to do it.

He had his own private list now.

And the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of burying Eve Duncan in that coffin with the rattlesnake instead of Quinn. He had chosen a very special snake and begun to prepare it for duty. He had captured it near his house in the desert, and it was almost ready.

A very shallow grave.

So that Quinn could hear her screaming as the snake writhed around her body, striking and striking …

He would hold that thought close as he faced all the delays and was forced to creep forward at a snail’s pace.

There was no question that he would kill Beth Avery, but she had suddenly taken on a minor importance. First, Eve Duncan, then Joe Quinn.

The Snake God was hungry.


Valencia, California

THEY DID NOT ARRIVE in the L.A. area until 11:40 that night. Joe had insisted that they stop at a rental-car agency to get a second car. He didn’t like the idea of their movements being hampered by a lack of transportation. Newell gazed critically at the Spanish-style house, with its palm tree and row of plants dotting the front yard as he got out of the dark blue Toyota. “This isn’t bad, but every house in the subdivision looks the same. It reminds me of the setting of those early Spielberg movies. My safe house was much better.”

“Who knows? Maybe it was used by Spielberg. Don’t be a snob,” Eve said as she got out of the Mercedes. “It’s very nice. Joe was lucky that he had contacts and was able to get this for Beth on short notice.”

“All I cared about was that it had three bedrooms, and it’s not that far from Beverly Hills.” Joe slammed the car door and strode toward the front door. He located the house key underneath the decorative porch bench to the left of the entrance and unlocked the door. “I’m hoping to move fast enough that we won’t have to be here long. If we can get Gelber to give us an affidavit that will incriminate Pierce and protect Beth from being thrown back into that hospital, we won’t have to worry about keeping her under such tight security.”

“The hell we won’t,” Newell growled. “What about Drogan? No one should know better than I how single-minded he is. He’d been paid for a job, and he’ll do it. He’s not going to care about what Gelber does.”

Joe nodded. “But I may have managed to divert his attention from her.”

Newell thought about it. “It’s possible.”

“That’s not what I wanted,” Beth said tightly as she walked past them into the foyer. “All I ever hoped was that I’d find a place to hide until I could figure out what was happening to me. Now you all seem to be targets. It’s not right. I think I have to do something.”

Eve’s gaze narrowed on Beth’s face. She didn’t like that remark. Beth had been very quiet on the long trip down to L.A., and Eve could sense the fragile state of her emotions. Beth was feeling guilty and unsure … and afraid. She had put her fate in the hands of three people, two of whom she considered strangers. But then, everyone but Newell was a stranger to Beth, and that must be even more frightening. “What you can do is go with us to question Gelber. Maybe if he actually sees you as you are now, he’ll get a few qualms of conscience, and we might cop a break.”

“Appeal to his tender heart?” Joe asked sarcastically. “Not likely. Maybe an appeal to his wallet. I might try a bribe if we’re not getting anywhere.” He turned on the lights and illuminated a cozy living room-kitchen combination. “The bedrooms are supposed to be upstairs. I’ll make a pot of coffee and we’ll get settled.” He turned to Eve. “I’d like to go pay our call on to Gelber tonight, but I have a little research to do on the security system in his residence. He has a house in Beverly Hills about three blocks from his office. I’ll go out and take a look at it in case I decide we need to spring a surprise visit on him at home.”

“Will he see us in the middle of the night?” Beth asked.

“No.” Joe smiled. “But we could wake him up and persuade him. It would be more efficient to catch him off guard.” He shrugged. “But if it’s not a feasible option, then we’ll go after him tomorrow morning after his autographing. He’s signing his new book at ten tomorrow at Century Mall.” He grimaced. “But I’d rather run him to ground where we don’t risk an audience in a mall parking lot.”

“You’re worried about that security system?” Newell asked.

“I can manage to disarm most alarms,” Joe said. “If it gets dicey, I’m probably going to regret not having Kendra’s buddy, Sam, to help.”

“I know a little about—”

“No,” Beth said sharply. “You’ve done too much already, Billy. You’re not going with us.”

“The hell I’m not.”

“I don’t need you, Newell,” Joe said quietly. “But if you want to be helpful, you can go in another direction. You can try your hand at breaking into Gelber’s office and accessing his computer records on Beth. You said you managed to pull up most of Pierce’s records on her. I’m hoping to drag Gelber over there and get him to hand them over himself, but a backup is always good. I could drop you off at his office on my way to his residence.”

“I want Billy entirely out of it. You’re not listening to me,” Beth said, frustrated. “He could get into trouble.”

“Have a little faith.” Newell smiled at Beth. “I’ve been trained very well. This should be a piece of cake.”

“Coffee,” Eve said firmly as she saw Beth’s expression. “Newell, go to the car and get the bags.”

“I don’t like this,” Beth said between her teeth. “I feel like I’m being bulldozed.”

“You are,” Eve said. “But all done with the best of intentions. Newell would follow Joe if he left him behind. He might as well take a useful role off the front lines. That’s all I can promise you.” She checked her watch. “It will probably be a couple hours before Joe will know if he can breach the security at Gelber’s residence. There’s no use our going to bed, but we can wash up and have some of that coffee while we’re waiting. We’ll go out on the patio and try to relax. It’s important not to let your nerves start playing tricks on you when you’re waiting for the game to start.”

“‘Game’? You sound like Joe.” She studied Eve’s face. “But you don’t think like him, do you? He actually does think of it as a game. That’s what I was thinking when he left the house to hunt down Drogan.”

“I guess we’ve been together so long that we do think alike in some things. And I had to become a hunter, too, during the years we searched for my daughter.” She shook her head. “Do I enjoy it? No way. But I know what the elements are and how Joe and I can help each other toward a common goal. In a situation like this, that’s crucial if you want to stay alive. You’ve got to have a plan, and there can’t be any impulsive or emotional changes.” She turned toward the kitchen. “Go upstairs and wash your face and choose a bedroom. Coffee will be ready in fifteen minutes, and when you come down, don’t give Newell a hard time. You can’t have it your way. He’s made his choice.”

Beth didn’t speak for a moment, then turned on her heel and ran up the stairs.

“We’d be better off on our own,” Joe said as he filled the coffeemaker. “You know that, don’t you?”

“Yes.” She took down cups from the cabinet over the sink. “She says it’s her battle, but she doesn’t really realize what that means yet. If she sees Gelber try to lie his way out of the situation, it may hit home.”

“Or he may be so plausible that she’ll believe him when he tells her that she really needed all those years as a prisoner in that hospital.” He glanced at Eve. “And that she still needs help and should go back and let those good, competent doctors take care of her.”

“I don’t think so.”

“But you’re afraid that it could happen.”

“She’s confused.” She handed him the can of coffee. “But she’s smart and tough. I’ll bet on her.”

He nodded. “But not too heavily. It could be dangerous.” He suddenly smiled. “But what am I saying? It’s not going to do any good to try to dissuade you. For someone who was so reluctant and wary to come to Beth’s rescue, you’ve come almost full circle. I’ll just have to do what I always do when I see your soft side coming to the forefront.”

“And what is that?”

He turned on the coffeemaker, and brushed his lips across the tip of her nose. “Why, watch your back, my love.”

* * *

“I UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM, Pierce. But you’re overreacting.” Hans Gelber looked critically at his nails. He really did need a manicure before he went to the book signing at the mall tomorrow. “All you have to do is locate the woman, and the issue is resolved.”

“Overreacting?” He could hear the barely controlled rage in Pierce’s voice. “You can say that. You sit fat and happy in that office in Beverly Hills while I’m on the hot seat. My career could be ruined.”

“Not to mention that you’d face criminal charges if Beth Avery could prove what you’d done to her.”

“What we’d done to her,” Pierce corrected.

“My part would be difficult to prove. I was very thorough in erasing her memories. She won’t remember any of the details of our little get-togethers.” He added, “And you told me that you’d not kept any in-depth records of the sessions. That was very clever of you, Pierce.”

“But you didn’t tell me that you’d destroyed your own records. I don’t trust you, Gelber.”

“I’m shocked. We’ve been partners for a long time, and we’ve both prospered enormously from that single transaction. Why would I wish to hurt you?”

“To turn state’s evidence against me and save your neck. But you’d be hurt as well. Your fine cars and that mansion paid for by your books, all those starlets standing in line to be hypnotized to keep those size-zero figures—your little bubble would burst.”

“You don’t have to threaten me, Pierce. I’ve no desire to make trouble for you.” He couldn’t quite keep the edge from his voice. “Even though it’s entirely your fault we’re having to have this discussion. You could have continued just to keep the woman as a patient, but you decided to take an action that was dangerous for both of us. Then you botched it and now you come to me frantically trying to plug every hole to save your skin.”

“I won’t be lectured by you, Gelber. What I did was necessary. It wasn’t my choice, but now everything is coming unraveled. I just received a call from Nelda Avery with information regarding Joe Quinn. It’s true he’s a detective with Atlanta PD, but he was never assigned to Beth’s case. And his live-in lover is Eve Duncan, Beth Avery’s half sister. Duncan was here at the hospital day before yesterday. She found a way to attach herself to a music therapist touring the place, but she had to be snooping around. There’s no telling what she found out.”

“You’re panicking for no reason. You’ve told me that Beth Avery’s maternal family has never displayed an interest in her.”

“Before she ran away from the hospital. Something has changed. I’ll have to deal with Quinn and Eve Duncan as well as Beth. Now, will you cooperate or not?”

“I might consider it. What do you wish me to do?”

“Send me all the Beth Avery records.”

“I believe you realize that is impossible. After all, they are confidential. You wouldn’t want me to break my Hippocratic oath. They are quite safe with me. Anything else?”

Pierce was viciously cursing, and it took a moment for him to answer. “Leave town. Disappear. Go back to Germany for a while. Show off for the natives how well you’ve done.”

“It’s a global society. It wouldn’t be long before I could be found.”

“But it would take time, and I’d be able to finesse the problem out of existence before that time ran out.”

“‘Finesse’?” He chuckled. “What a word to describe the act I assume you mean. Very amusing.”

“I’m not amused. Will you disappear until I tell you it’s safe to come back?”

“I’ll think about it. But it’s not at all convenient. My new book just came out last week, and it has a chance to make the New York Times bestseller list with the right promotion. I have a signing at Century Mall tomorrow.”

“Then leave right after the signing. I’ll have Stella make the reservations for you. Just tell me where you want to go.”

“Ah, the lovely Stella. If you’d lend me her company for a month or two, I might be persuaded to find a sunny beach in some out-of-the-way island chain.”

“It can be arranged.”

“But lust can’t compare with the Times at my stage of life. Sad but true. Besides, I have no problem acquiring women. You’ve forgotten what a talented man I am.”

“What do you want? I’ll give it to you.”

Desperation, Gelber recognized. It pleased him that he could make the arrogant son of a bitch dangle on his string. He would probably eventually give in to Pierce’s demands. He had no desire to be caught up in the mess that appeared to be looming for Pierce if he didn’t locate Beth Avery soon. He would do better to make himself scarce and be out of the range of the tornado. He would make a discreet exit and only return if he found that it was to his advantage.

“Let me think about it.” Actually, it might make his new book sell even better if there were hints that he was involved in such a notorious case. Only hints, there had to be a balance. “Suppose we get together and discuss it before my signing tomorrow.”

“You can call me.”

“Breakfast is better. If I decide to accede to your request, I’d want to leave at once, directly after my autographing. I’d require that you bring a cashier’s check for $800,000 to take care of expenses on my journey.”

“What?”

“Don’t squeal. I know how well you’ve been doing all these years. It’s time you shared. After all, I’m giving up a generous income to accommodate you.”

“I’ll think about it. Bring the records.”

He ignored the demand. “It would probably be better if we met in private. There’s a small motel north of Los Angeles where I occasionally go when I wish to have a discreet liaison with a client.”

“You mean f*ck your patient.”

“Don’t be crude. Be there at seven in the morning. It’s the Twin Branch Arms and I’ll be in Room 7 unless I call and tell you different.”

“How do you expect me to get a cashier’s check at that hour?”

“You’re a man of influence in the community. Call one of your banker friends. You can arrange it.”

“You actually think I’m going give you that money.”

“I actually do. Good night, Pierce.” He hung up.

He smiled with satisfaction as he stood up from his easy chair and went into the bedroom to shed his robe and get dressed. Not a bad deal. He might have saved his own ass by this move, and he’d managed to stick it to Pierce.

But he had to go to the office immediately to retrieve those Avery records and hide them. Pierce had been too insistent. He wouldn’t give up easily after Gelber had held him up for that money. Perhaps he’d put the computer records in a safe-deposit box in his bank in Geneva. He’d known eventually those records would come in—

He froze.

A sound, soft, barely audible from the sitting room.

What the hell?

His gun in the nightstand. He had his hand on the cool metal when he heard another sound, closer, near the window.

Imagination?

Better be sure …

He moved toward the window.

* * *

“THE SON OF A BITCH is holding me up for eight hundred thousand.” Pierce told Stella as he hung up the phone. “He doesn’t give a damn what kind of trouble we could both be in.”

“With Nelda?”

“Not only with Nelda.”

Stella’s eyes narrowed. “But it’s Nelda who is pushing you. Why did you suddenly decide you had to send Gelber out of the way?”

“It wasn’t suddenly. I always knew that he could be a problem. So did Nelda. But the problem didn’t raise its head until Beth took off. Now Nelda wants every loose end tied up, and she’s pressuring me. The bitch won’t accept anything less.”

“And Gelber won’t cooperate without a fat bribe.”

“He thinks he’ll come out of this smelling like a rose.”

“Is that possible?”

“Yes, if he decides to hand my head on a platter to the district attorney. He could make a deal.”

“Then wouldn’t it be safer just to give him the money?”

“Easy for you to say,” he said harshly. “It’s not your money.”

“No, and I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. You need to give me a bigger allowance. You don’t like me to wear the uniform when we’re alone, but how can I afford to buy anything decent on the money you give me?”

“I don’t want you to be decent. That’s the last thing in the world I intend for you.” His gaze wandered over Stella as she sat with one naked leg over the arm of the black velvet easy chair. She was dressed in a gold silk robe that hugged her body and almost fully revealed the swelling of her breasts. Her red hair shone against the shimmering material, and she was totally and temptingly arousing. “But I like that gold thing you’re wearing. Wear it tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“I’m taking you with me when I meet Gelber at the motel tomorrow morning. In fact, I think we’ll check into the motel before he gets there so that you can be ready for him. He thinks you’re hot. He wants to screw you.”

“Of course he does.” She smiled as she pulled the robe down to totally bare her breasts. “Isn’t he a man? But I thought you were mad at him. You want to give him a present?”

“Hell no, but I don’t want to be robbed by the bastard either. There’s a chance that I can bargain with him. I’ll bring two cashier’s checks for $400,000 each. I’ll see if I can trade one of those checks for a few months with you and your promise to do any service he asks of you.” His lips tightened. “And you’d better get him so hot that he can’t think of doing anything else but screwing you. You can do it. You can drive him crazy.”

“But only if I want to do it.” She got to her feet and stretched like a cat. “Beg me.”

“I don’t have to beg you. You belong to me.”

She took off the gold robe and dropped it on the floor. “Only when I choose. Haven’t you found that out yet? I’m becoming stronger and stronger every time we do it and you’re becoming weaker. You have more stamina than most men, or I would have left you before this.” She tilted her head. “A few months is a long time to be another man’s whore. Gelber isn’t you. I could drive him crazy. He doesn’t realize that I could break him in a few weeks.” She moved toward him. “Do you want me to do that?”

“Maybe.” His mouth was dry, and his heart was beating painfully hard. She was all silken naked sexuality and every step she took toward him was giving him an electric, tingling jolt of pure lust. “I’ll let you know.”

“You do that.” She slid onto his lap and wrapped her naked legs around his hips. “I think you’ll tell me to do it.” She rubbed her breasts against him as she made the adjustment. “Because you couldn’t do without me for more than a week or two, could you?”

“Of course I could, you arrogant bitch. You’re not—” His head went back, and he gasped as she started moving.

“Beg me,” she whispered. “I want you to beg me, Pierce. Like I’m going to make Gelber beg for it.”

“No, damn you.”

She laughed, and her pace increased. “You will, Pierce. You will…”

* * *

“SHOULDN’T JOE HAVE CALLED BY NOW?” Beth asked as she leaned back in the lawn chair and looked up at the night sky. “He and Billy have been gone over two hours.”

“Unless he decided just to come back and pick us up.” Eve lifted her coffee to her lips. “Don’t worry. Either way, I have a feeling it’s okay.”

“A feeling isn’t knowing,” Beth said. “And I can’t believe you’re taking this so calmly. They could be in trouble. Feelings don’t mean anything. I need to have facts.”

“Can’t help you there,” Eve said. “And I’m so close to Joe that I believe I’d know if anything had happened to him.” She smiled faintly. “I’d feel it. Sometimes, you have to look beyond hard-and-fast reality to find answers.”

Beth was silent a moment. “I … don’t know how to do that. All I know is reality. The reality of the hospital, the reality of school and sports and competition.” She paused. “Unless you mean when Rick asked me not to tell anyone I was his daughter. That wasn’t real, that was pretense.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. It’s not the same at all.”

“Now you sound angry.”

“Not at you.”

“Rick, again. You shouldn’t be angry with Rick. You wouldn’t be angry if you knew him.”

“It’s better not to discuss him. We tend not to agree. As I said, by looking beyond reality, I believe I’d sense it if Joe was in trouble.”

“Would you? That’s strange. Kind of spooky.”

“I guess I believe in spooky stuff sometimes. I found it was the only way I could survive.”

Beth didn’t speak for a moment. “I read about what happened to your little girl when I looked you up on the Net. I’m sorry. It must have been pretty bad.”

“Understatement of the century.”

“I know,” she said awkwardly. “I’m not very good with words. I don’t even know what I am good at yet. I just wanted to tell—you’ve gone through so much. You’ve lost a child. You’ve had a career. You found the love of your life. You’re still young, but you’ve lived through more than most people.” She said haltingly, “That makes you a person who—it makes you … rich inside … and wonderful.”

“Bullshit.”

“No, it’s true. Me, I’m still pretty much of a blank slate.”

“That only means you have all the time in the world to write your own story on it.” She reached out and touched Beth’s arm. “I hope your story will be a little happier than mine from this time forward. You deserve it. We’ll have to see that it does.”

“‘We’ll’? That sounds as if you’re going to stick around after this is—I’m not asking you to—I know you’re busy and you have Joe and Jane and your work—”

“That you find very spooky,” Eve interrupted. “Stop stuttering. We’ll just have to see how this plays out. You may want to walk away and never see me again.”

“I don’t think so. And I don’t mind your being spooky. I’ve just never felt anything like that myself.” Beth was silent. “Except maybe once. I had a dream about you, Eve.”

“What? When?”

“A few nights ago. I dreamed you were at the hospital, running away, running down the road. It was crazy.” She made a face. “Because I’d never met you. But I knew who you were. Oh, not that you were my sister. Just your name. I knew your name was Eve. I knew it. And when you showed up at the house, I recognized you. It kind of scared me. I guess that was one reason I reacted so … violently. Yeah, that was pretty weird.”

Eve stiffened. More than weird. She touched her jaw. “Remind me not to scare you again.”

“I’m sorry. I always seem to be saying that to you, don’t I? But it’s true, I just struck out without thinking.” She looked away. “I was wondering … do you think my dreaming about you is a … sister thing? I was watching one of those paranormal shows on TV, and they said that sometimes dreams and stuff like that happen.”

“Yes, it could happen.”

“I thought maybe it was the drugs that could still be lingering in my system.” She moistened her lips. “Unless you had the same kind of dream … But I suppose you didn’t. That would be even more weird.”

“No, I didn’t have the same kind of dream.”

“Oh,” she said, clearly disappointed. “Of course you didn’t.”

“When I dreamed about you, I thought I was dreaming about myself. I was at our cottage in Atlanta, and it was before I knew anything about you or your history. But I swear, I was feeling what you were feeling. Only I didn’t understand what I was thinking. It didn’t make sense.” She met Beth’s gaze. “Because I kept thinking about a hospital and someone named Billy.”

“Oh, my God,” she whispered.

“I told you that sometimes you have to look beyond hard-and-fast reality for answers.” Eve looked away from her and up at the stars. “So you’re not alone in this particular weirdness. Does that make you feel better?”

Beth didn’t speak for a moment. “It makes me feel … not alone. It’s strange and warm and sad.”

“Sad?”

“Maybe I should have said scared. Because it means that we’re together in a special way and that if I don’t do something wrong, you might … want to be with me sometimes.” She lifted her chin. “Providing I want to be with you. I might not, you know.”

“Beth, dammit, stop being so defensive.” Because Beth’s defiant, touching words were breaking her heart.

“I should be defensive,” she said fiercely. “I want this. I like it so much, and what if it goes away? What if someone takes it away?”

Eve felt her throat tighten with emotion. What, indeed? Beth had had her entire life before her, and all those years had been stolen, taken away from her. Why wouldn’t she doubt that it could happen again? She reached out and took Beth’s hand. “Why, then we’ll find a way to take it back. We’re a team. No one can do that to us.”

Beth looked down at their joined hands, and a brilliant smile suddenly lit her face. Her gaze lifted to Eve’s. “You’re right, no one can beat us, can they?” Her hand closed tightly on Eve’s. “I knew that. I just wanted to hear you say it.” She released her grasp and gave a sigh of relief as she leaned back in the lawn chair. “Do you ski, Eve?”

“What?” The abrupt change of subject took her off guard. “No, I tried once, but Joe had to pick me up out of a drift three times. I decided he was enjoying himself a little too much.”

“I’ll teach you. I’m very good. I have an entire wall of trophies.” She stopped. “At least, I did have trophies. I wonder what happened to them…” She shrugged. “Oh, well, we’d have a great time on the slopes. You’ll really like it once you learn how. And you can teach me to—” She frowned, lost for a moment.

Eve’s lips quirked. “If this is supposed to be a reciprocal arrangement, you may be getting the short end. I hardly think you’d enjoy my teaching you how to reconstruct a skull.”

“No, what else do you do?”

“Not much. I’m a workaholic. That eliminates a hell of a lot of potential hobbies.”

Her frown vanished. “Then you need me. I’ll save you from yourself.”

“Heaven help me.”

Beth threw back her head and laughed. “No, that’s the point. I’ll help you. We’ll have such fun.”

“If you say so,” Eve said warily. “I’m not sure about all that snow, Beth.”

“We could try swimming. I was thinking of trying out for the Olympic team. But it required taking time off from—”

Eve’s phone rang. “It’s Joe.”

“Sorry I didn’t call before. Gelber’s home security system is state of the art and I was looking for a way to circumvent that damn alarm.”

“Did you do it?”

“No way. We’ll have to corner him tomorrow after the autographing. I’m heading for Gelber’s office to see if Newell had any luck breaking in there. He called and told me the security system at the office is much less sophisticated, and we may have a chance. Everything okay there?”

“Fine. Except that I appear to be destined to spend a number of uncomfortable days fighting icy snow and my own lack of equilibrium.”

“What?”

“Never mind.” Her hand tightened on the phone. “Be careful, Joe.”

“Always.” He hung up.

“You lied to me.” Beth’s gaze was on Eve’s face. “You are worried.”

“I didn’t lie. I don’t have a bad feeling about this.” Her lips tightened. “But sometimes fate slips in a wild card. So distract me, Beth. Tell me about skiing and your competitions and all those trophies and your friends at school…”

* * *

“IT’S NOT BAD AT ALL,” Joe murmured as he bent over the security alarm on the wall beside the door of Gelber’s office. “It’s clear he must have put more value on the things in his residence than here. Which doesn’t bode well for his clients’ confidentiality.”

“We’ve got to hope that he was equally careless with his computer records,” Newell said. “Hurry.”

“That does it. Try the door.”

Newell cautiously opened the door. “Jackpot. Are you this good at cracking safes?”

“I’m an amateur. But a good amateur.” Joe moved into the office. “And I’m not nearly as good at bypassing codes to get into computer files.” He jerked his head toward the paneled mahogany door beyond the reception area. “So get in there and see what you can find while I stay out here and act as lookout.”

“Right.” Newell glided toward the door. “It may take a while. I’ve no idea what the password might be, so I’ll have to find a backdoor. And those records are old, and he may not have them in a current file.”

“You’re wasting time with all those explanations.” He moved over to look out the window at the parking lot. “Just get in there and get busy.”

The door closed behind Newell.

Forty minutes later, Newell still had not reappeared.

Another twenty minutes passed.

No Newell.

And he heard the faint sound of a siren in the distance.

“Shit!”

Joe strode toward the office and threw open the door. “I may not have been as good as I thought at disarming that alarm. I’m hearing sirens. We’ve got to get out of here.”

“Give me one minute.” Newell didn’t look up. “I’m copying this file to disc.”

“We don’t have a minute, dammit.” But Newell obviously wasn’t going to be budged. “Wipe the prints off everything you’ve touched and exit the file. I’ll do the same for the outer office.”

“Right,” he said absently.

Joe left the door open as he left the office and carefully wiped prints from the knob.

The siren was louder.

Joe wiped his prints off the windowsill and the door leading to the parking lot. “Newell! Now.”

“Coming.” Newell was running past Joe toward the car in the parking lot.

The siren was shrieking only blocks away.

Joe pulled out of the parking lot but didn’t go to the cross street. Instead, he went left and turned the corner and parked a block away. “We’ll wait until they pull into the parking lot, then we’ll go to the cross street. We don’t want to pass them on the—”

Two police cars, lights flashing, sirens blaring, had turned off the main street and were streaking toward the office building.

“What the hell?”

The police cars had gone past the entrance of the parking lot of the office and were driving straight down the street.

“What’s happening?” Newell asked.

Joe wasn’t sure but he had a good idea. “We’ll know in a minute.”

It was less than a minute when the sirens cut off abruptly.

“Gelber’s residence,” Joe said. “I didn’t trip any alarms here at the office. They got a call to come to Gelber’s residence.” He started the car. “Now why would Gelber call them?” He pressed the accelerator. “Let’s go see if we can find out.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea? I believe a low profile would be in order,” Newell said dryly. “After all, we just robbed his office.”

“We’ll park a block away, walk to the house, and stay in the trees until we can see what’s going on. Is that a low enough profile?”

“No, but I’m curious enough to go along with you.” The house had just come into view. “Look, the house and entire area are lit up like a movie set. It was dark when we came— What are you doing?”

Joe had abruptly pulled over to the curb and turned off the headlights. “The second team is right behind us.”

“Team?” Newell watched as two vans drove past them and parked in front of Gelber’s house. “Who are they?”

“The first van is forensics.” Joe’s mouth tightened grimly. Questions were being answered, but it was looking as if he might not be able to get Gelber to answer the most important one. “The second is the L.A. Medical Examiner.”