Sleep No More

CHAPTER

17

THE COTTAGE IN MALIBU WAS very modest, but it was not crowded on top of its neighbors. It was on one of the back streets, not on the beach, and the neighboring cottages were a good hundred yards away.

Rick Avery came out on the wraparound deck as they pulled up in the driveway. He smiled, a beautiful smile that lit his face. “Beth. Come up here and let me hold you. It’s been too long.”

“Rick.” Beth jumped out of the car and tore up the steps toward him.

“Shit,” Eve muttered as she ran after her, her hand closing on the gun in her jacket pocket. All her plans of searching the house before she let Beth meet with her father were out the window in the first minute. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t still try to make it as secure as possible. As she reached the deck, she stopped to look at Beth and Rick Avery a few yards away. Rick was holding Beth close, and she was clinging desperately to him.

Love.

Eve had known that Beth loved her father but had doubted that the feeling was returned. She had been wrong. Gentleness, sadness, love were all in his expression at that moment.

And, good heavens, the man was wonderful looking. There were a few threads of gray in his hair, but she could that see he still exuded charisma and magnetism and, yes, youth. You wanted to walk closer to him, speak to him, have him look at you with that beautiful smile.

I understand now, Sandra.

Rick lifted his head and saw Eve. “You’re Sandra’s daughter? You don’t look like her.”

“We’re very different.” She pulled her gaze away and looked around the deck, then to the sliding glass doors. “How many rooms are there in this house?”

His brows rose. Evidently, he wasn’t accustomed to anyone’s dismissing him. “It’s quite tiny. Two bedrooms, a bath, living room, and kitchenette.”

She slipped her gun out of her pocket and headed for the glass doors. “You’ll probably not have more than twenty or thirty minutes before Joe and Newell get here. If you’re going to talk to Beth, you’d better not waste time.”

“A gun?” He was smiling as he shook his head. “I’m sure you have the best of intentions, but it’s not necessary. This is all a misunderstanding. No one is going to hurt my daughter.”

“You’re right, you’ve already done that. It’s not going to happen again.”

“That’s not fair,” Beth said as she stepped back from Rick. “I know it wasn’t Rick’s fault.”

“Yes, it was his fault. You were his daughter, he had a duty to protect you.” She ignored Beth’s exclamation of protest and went inside the house. The lights were all on, and the floor plan allowed her to see from one end of the cottage to the other. It took only a few minutes to go through the rest of the house. No one lurking. Nothing suspicious.

Except the entire concept that Rick Avery had suddenly been called upon to lure his daughter to meet with him.

It had to be a trap.

Yet, if it was, she was beginning to believe that Rick didn’t realize that it was a trap.

She came back on the deck to see Rick and Beth talking quietly, their hands clasped. How beautiful they were together, she thought suddenly. The resemblance was striking, silky dark hair, wonderful features, that eager smile.

He turned to Eve as she came out of the house. “Satisfied?”

“No, but there’s no one in the house. That doesn’t mean your mother hasn’t arranged something else to surprise us.”

He frowned. “Don’t accuse my mother of anything. You can talk about me, but leave her alone. She only wants what’s best for Beth.”

“Is that why she kept Beth drugged and in that prison of a hospital for over a decade?”

“Beth was ill.”

“Look at her, Avery.” Eve gestured to Beth. “You’ve seen her, talked to her. There’s nothing wrong with her. There was never anything wrong with Beth. Putting her away was just a convenient way for your mother to protect herself and still not let you know she was even more of a monster than you were.”

“She wouldn’t do that. You’re being ridiculous. She’s not a monster. She couldn’t be more loving or protective of me.”

“She protected you a little too much. All your life, Avery. But it became more difficult for her when you developed a passion for young girls. It was a dark passion and not acceptable for the career Nelda was planning for you. I’d bet she provided you with safe amusement in Asia to keep you from staining your reputation here in the States. But you decided to bring one of the girls here. That girl you had at your chalet that night was only twelve years old. The chalet was secluded, and you thought it would be safe to have the girl there. But your mother found out about it and came to tell you that you had to get rid of her.”

“I don’t want to discuss this.” Rick glanced at Beth. “Beth, she’s making it all sound ugly. It wasn’t like that. You know me. I would never hurt anyone. Tell her what kind of person I am.”

“I’ve already told her. Why do you think I’m here, Rick?” Beth looked from Eve to Rick, her expression torn. “I told you, I don’t remember anything, Eve. Rick believes in his mother. How do I know that she’s not everything he thinks she is?” She took a step closer to him. “Doesn’t she have a right to defend herself?”

“Beth, she is defending herself. Everything she’s done has been to defend herself and strike out at any danger to her family and position. Including killing that child at the chalet.”

“No,” Rick said quickly. “Su Kim didn’t die. She was fine. Her father took her back to Macao. I sent a generous bonus to him a few months later.”

“That little girl probably died in Toronto, Canada. It was too late to treat her by the time they got her out of the country to a place Nelda considered safe.”

“That’s a lie,” Rick said. “That’s not what happened.”

“Tell her what did happen, Rick,” Beth said. “I know it’s some terrible mistake about that girl.” She gazed at Eve defiantly. “Why do you keep talking about her? Gelber’s report was probably nothing but lies.”

“But it bothers you, doesn’t it?” Eve asked. “And you were particularly resistant when I asked you about Rick’s attitude toward your young friends.”

“Because it was nasty. Rick’s not—”

“Didn’t you hear him just now?” It was proving almost impossible to break through Beth’s loyalty to her father. “Everything in Gelber’s notes was true. Your father isn’t denying it, Beth. That girl was at the chalet. She was hurt, and he thought she’d recovered.” She whirled back to Rick. “And do you know why Beth didn’t remember anything about what happened at that chalet? Because those wonderful doctors your mother turned loose on her tortured her every time that memory popped up. There’s still so much trauma that she won’t let it surface.”

His eyes widened in shock. “Now that’s a complete falsehood. My mother wouldn’t do—”

“She did it,” Eve said coldly. “It’s clear she’d do anything to protect herself. She probably considered it a fair exchange. You’d made her commit murder by your self-indulgence with that Asian girl. So she took away your daughter, whom she considered a major inconvenience anyway.”

“That’s not true. My mother wouldn’t do anything like that.”

Eve gave him a skeptical glance. “You couldn’t have gone through all these years with her without seeing that side of her. I’m sure she tried her best to hide it from you, but you’re not stupid. Though I can see you accepting whatever she told you because it was more comfortable for you.”

“You think it was comfortable for me to know that Beth was in a mental hospital?” His arm tightened around Beth’s shoulders. “I love my daughter. You don’t believe any of this, do you, Beth?”

“No, of course not.” Beth was shaking her head dazedly. “Didn’t you hear me? I told Eve that it was all wrong.” She lifted her hand to her temple. “But I don’t remember—I don’t understand. She said terrible things about you, Rick. About you and that young girl—and you’re saying that she was there, too. But you wouldn’t do that, Rick. You wouldn’t hurt a twelve-year-old girl.”

“No, of course I wouldn’t.”

“But she was there. You said she was there.”

“Because she wanted to be. I’ve never forced a girl in my life.” His hands closed on Beth’s shoulders, and he turned her to face him. “Listen, Beth.” His voice was soft, urgent. “If she hadn’t wanted me, I’d have sent her away. I spent time with her, making sure. She liked me. She even said she loved me.”

Beth was looking at him with an expression of growing horror. “She was twelve years old.”

“She had a hard life, I gave her enough money so that she’d have a choice whether she wanted to go with any other man again. I wanted to make sure that our time together was only good for her.” His hand stroked her cheek. “So stop looking at me like that, Beth. It hurts me.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said dully. “But twelve years old, Rick. Why?”

He didn’t speak.

“Why?”

“It’s hard to explain.” He shrugged. “It’s just … preference. Why not? I told you that I didn’t hurt anyone. I made them feel good, not bad.”

“And … how did you feel, Rick?”

“I loved them,” he said simply. “They were fresh and sweet and like the first breath of spring. Nothing complicated, just bright and happy and wanting to make me happy.”

Beth looked as if he’d struck her. “I feel sick.” She closed her eyes. “So wrong, Rick. You’re so wrong.” Her eyes opened, and she whispered, “And if you’re that wrong about those girls, how can I be sure you’re not wrong about your mother’s putting me in that … place?” She stepped back away from him, and her voice broke. “And that Eve’s not right about your turning your back on me because it was more comfortable for you.”

“Because I love you,” he said harshly. “You’re my little girl, my daughter, and I love you more than anyone in the world.” He shot a tormented glance at Eve. “You see what you’ve done? She believes those lies you’ve been telling her.”

Eve ignored him. “I think you’re done here, Beth. It will be at least fifteen minutes before Joe or Newell get here, and I don’t think it’s safe to stick around. Shall we go?”

Beth nodded jerkily and turned toward the steps.

“Wait.” Rick was suddenly standing before Beth, and he smiled the beautiful smile that he’d given Beth when she’d first arrived. “You’re upset right now,” he said coaxingly. “But you’ll think about everything I’ve said, and you’ll realize that I’m still the father you’ve always known. Perhaps there have been mistakes made, but we can make everything right.”

“How?” Her voice was shaking. “By putting me back in that hospital?”

He flinched. “No, you’re well now. My mother must not have realized that you’d made such progress. We’ll start out fresh.”

“You still believe her,” Beth said wonderingly. “And that scares me more than anything that’s happened.” She turned to Eve. “We’d better go. You were right. Coming here may have been a terrible mistake. They could have used him to bait the trap.”

“Don’t be silly,” Rick said. “There’s no trap. No force. I was only supposed to persuade you that it would be better to go back to the hospital to continue your treatment. But it’s clear that’s not necessary now.” He reached out and gently touched her cheek. “Do you know how happy I am to see you so well? It’s like a dream come true. But you’d better give me your address, so we can straighten all of this out with the police.”

“I don’t think you’ll need our address,” Eve said grimly as she followed Beth down the stairs. “Your mother has probably taken care of seeing that she’ll know where we are.” She unlocked the driver’s door and got into the car. “But we’ll work on changing that as soon as I meet with Joe and—”

The scent of sulfur.

It smells of sulfur.

Kendra’s words in Beth’s hospital room came back to her.

And Eve had caught that scent again the moment they had gotten into the car.

“Eve?” Beth was looking at her, puzzled.

“It’s okay.” She reached into her pocket and drew out her .38. “Just … get out of the car, Beth. I forgot to tell Avery something.”

“What?”

“Get out of the car!” she said sharply. “Now!”

Beth instinctively threw open the door and started to scramble out.

“Close that door. Get back in the car.” The muzzle of a gun was pressed to Eve’s head as a man’s arm slid around her neck from where he was kneeling on the floor of the backseat. At the same time, the edge of his other hand came down on Eve’s gun hand, numbing it. He took her .38. “Unless you want to see her brains spattering on that windshield.”

“Drogan?” Eve said. “God, I was stupid. I should have searched the car and not counted on just locking it.”

“It took me a good five minutes to open it. I was in full view of you for a couple of those minutes,” he murmured. “But you were very absorbed with each other. I was counting on that since I couldn’t be waiting for you in the house. I cased it before Avery came today but there was no decent place to hide. And she said that her precious boy mustn’t be involved. Now start the car and back out of the driveway.”

“Let Eve go,” Beth said. “It’s me you want, isn’t it?”

“Actually, you’ve taken second place of late. Start the car, Duncan.”

“Beth?” Rick Avery was coming down the steps, his eyes squinting against the glare of the security lights from the garage. “What’s happening? I saw you start to get out of the car. Did you change your mind? Come back into the house, and we’ll talk about it.”

Drogan muttered a curse. “Keep him away. Tell him anything, but keep him away.”

Beth was frantically rolling down the window. “Rick, stop.”

Rick had reached the bottom of the steps. “I won’t stop. This is too important to both of us.”

“Keep the bastard away,” Drogan snarled. “This wasn’t supposed to—”

But Rick was beside the passenger side of the car. He was smiling. “Beth, I knew you wouldn’t let our—”

A pop of sound.

A hole appeared in the center of Rick Avery’s forehead.

Beth screamed.

“Start the damn car,” Drogan said through his teeth to Eve. “Or I’ll put another hole in her head. Everything’s gone wrong. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.”

Eve started to back out of the drive.

“No, I’ve got to go to him,” Beth was struggling to get her door open, tears running down her cheeks. “Maybe I can—”

“He’s dead, Beth,” Eve said.

“Quiet her down,” Drogan said. “I don’t really care whether I kill her now or later. It’s up to you.”

“Beth,” Eve said. “You can’t help Rick. But you can help me. Just don’t lose it. Calm down, okay?” She didn’t wait for an answer but continued to back out of the driveway with a screech of tires. She had to get Beth away from the sight of Rick’s crumpled body. She couldn’t count on anything from Beth after she had just seen the murder of the only person in the world she loved. “Where, Drogan?”

“Just around the corner and two blocks up. We need to ditch this car and take my truck. Quinn will be able to track this car too easily. He won’t know what I’m driving.” He pocketed the gun he’d taken from Eve before pointing to an old Chevy truck parked next to the curb. “Get out. Both of you.”

“Why not just let us go?” Eve asked. “Nelda Avery is paying your blood money, isn’t she? You just said that you’d blown your deal by killing Rick Avery.”

“That was your fault. If you’d driven out of the driveway right away, I wouldn’t have had to kill him. He was going to cause trouble. I had both of you where I wanted you, and I wasn’t about to let him ruin everything.”

“And you panicked.”

“I don’t panic, bitch.”

“You killed him, didn’t you? Now you’re not going to get any more cash from her. Let us go.”

“I might still be able to negotiate with her. It depends if her love for her son is greater than her love for herself. I’d bet on her loving herself more.” He shrugged. “And, if I’m wrong, there are other satisfactions. You’re a rare prize, Eve Duncan. I was hoping to have Quinn present to participate, and that might still be an option. That would be the best scenario.”

She heard a sudden rustling, slithering sound.

Drogan chuckled. “Mama Zela agrees with me.” He held up a small cage. “She likes to perform to an audience.”

A snake. He had a snake in that cage.

Eve had a sudden memory of that part of his dossier.

His mother’s skeleton was found years later buried in a coffin with a snake wrapped around her throat.

Mama Zela was his mother’s name. And he called this snake Mama Zela. It seemed hideous that he’d name a snake after the mother he’d murdered.

She was shuddering. The idea filled her with horror. Don’t let him see it. He would feed on her fear as that snake had fed on his mother.

But he’d already sensed it. “You’ll be braver than my mother,” he said softly as he opened the car door and gestured with the gun for them to get out. “She couldn’t believe that it could happen to her, that I’d actually do it. She kept screaming for me to let her out.”

That brought a picture to mind that was even more vivid. She didn’t answer him.

He didn’t like that response. “But everyone breaks in the end. When they realize no one is going to save them. You’ll beg me just as she did.”

“Go to hell.”

He laughed. “Oh, you’ll pay for that.” He glanced at Beth, who was sitting frozen, her eyes fixed straight ahead in shock. “Or she will. I’m still annoyed with her. Quinn’s interference just managed to shift the principal emphasis.”

“You killed Rick,” Beth said numbly. “How could you do that?”

He didn’t answer.

Eve reached out and took Beth’s hand in silent support.

“How touching,” Drogan said. “You’ve obviously become very close. Maybe I should put both of you in the same coffin. I’ll have to think about it…”

* * *

KENDRA WAS KNEELING in the driveway beside the crumpled figure of a man when Joe’s car screeched to a stop in front of the Malibu cottage. She looked up as he jumped out and ran toward her. “Eve?”

She shook her head. “Not here. Neither is Beth. I got here ten minutes ago, and all I found was him.” She nodded at the dead man. “It’s Rick Avery.”

Joe nodded jerkily. “Evidently, the trap didn’t go as planned.” Keep cool. Keep calm. He wouldn’t get anywhere if he panicked. “But he didn’t kill either Eve or Beth. Maybe Drogan had plans, too. He was angry as hell when he phoned me yesterday.” Better not to think of that vicious malice toward Eve now. “Where’s Newell?”

“He took off to check out the houses in the neighborhood and see if he could find any trace of Drogan. I wanted to stay here and look around.”

“What did you find out?”

She shook her head.

“Don’t tell me that,” he said through set teeth. “I know what you can do. This is Eve. You’ve got to—”

“Shut up, Joe,” she said curtly. “I know you’re hurting. But I’m not perfect, and I can’t pull something out of the air if it’s not there. Do you think I don’t want to—”

“Sorry.” He cut her off and reached for his phone. “I’ll call the local police and report Avery’s murder. We can at least set them moving on his trail.” He talked briefly to 911 and hung up. “You said you’d been here ten minutes? There aren’t any neighbors or curiosity seekers around. That bullet in his skull must have come from a gun with a silencer.”

Kendra nodded. “Possibly. But I think he may have improvised this time. Maybe wrapped his gun in rags or a towel to muffle the sound.”

“How do you figure that?”

Kendra knelt at the edge of the driveway and picked up two small, charred, cloth fragments in the tall grass.

Joe took the fragments. They both showed evidence of flash burns and gunpowder residue. “You’re right. But that’s not the kind of information I need, Kendra.”

“I’ve found the car.” Newell was striding down the street toward them. “Drogan made Eve abandon that rental car she was driving. It’s parked down the block and around the corner.”

Joe was already running in the direction Newell was indicating. The Toyota was unlocked, and he jerked the driver’s door open.

Nothing. What had he expected? A miracle? A sign from Eve that would have told them something, anything.

“Nothing here.” He turned to Kendra who was now beside him. “Not a damn thing.”

“That may not be true,” Kendra said slowly, her head lifted. “Not in the front seat. But maybe in the rear…” She opened the rear door of the car. “Yes…”

“For God’s sake, what?”

“A combination, I think.” She turned on her purse flashlight and shined the beam on the carpet. “And one that could come only from Drogan … or someone with similar interests.” She brushed her hand across the floor, and tiny black grains stuck to her fingers. She sniffed her hand. “I think this is…” She held it out to Joe. “Taste it.”

He tentatively touched it with his tongue.

“For God’s sake, I’m not trying to poison you,” she said in disgust.

“You never know.” He tasted it again. “Salt?”

She nodded. “Black salt. Voodoo practitioners use black salt for protection. You said that Drogan believed in that stuff, didn’t you?”

Joe nodded.

Kendra rubbed her thumb and forefinger together. “It’s mixed with the oil I’ve been smelling. Sulfur, again … I smelled it in Beth’s hospital room, too, but it didn’t strike me as too unusual then since sulfur is also used in medicines. It didn’t really click until I was driving here tonight and thinking about what you and Eve told me about Drogan’s being into voodoo. They use various oils in their ceremonies, and sulfur is one of the most-frequently-used ingredients.”

“Ceremonies? In the backseat of the car?”

“Don’t talk. Just let me concentrate for a minute and see how many ingredients I can identify.”

“What difference does it make?”

“Drogan has to get his oils from someplace. We might be able to locate him through his source.”

“Maybe he makes it himself.”

She shook her head. “Not likely. Among other things, the oils are supposed to protect against negative energy. The cults have strict recipes and procedures, and most practitioners only trust holy men to create them.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I spent a summer working in a club on Bourbon Street. You don’t hang around New Orleans long without becoming a little familiar with voodoo lore.”

“And with you, it would be more than a little familiar.”

“It’s fascinating … and dark. It … drew me.”

“And how would you be able to trace Drogan through his voodoo oil?”

“They’re not all the same. The various holy men prefer different ingredients. It’s like a signature. This one is … unusual.”

“Where are you supposed to find a voodoo holy man in the middle of California?”

“You think voodoo is limited to Louisiana and the islands? No way. It’s just not as frequently practiced.”

“I stand corrected,” Joe said. “If you can find a voodoo holy man who will lead us to Drogan, for God’s sake do it.”

“There are tire tracks on the edge of this grass, Quinn,” Newell called from where he was kneeling on the side of the curb.

“I’ll be right there.” He glanced at Kendra before he turned away. “Why is it unusual?”

“I’ve smelled this oil before, but now there’s something else here. The oil is interacting with something else.”

“What?”

“It smells like … cucumbers.”

“Is that part of the recipe?”

“No … it means…” Kendra looked up. “There was a snake in here, Joe.”

He stiffened. “What?”

“He had a snake in this car. Some snakes’ musk glands can give off an odor that’s similar to cucumber. I know that smell.” She gave him a level glance. “And the way the odors blend and interact … I think he may have oiled it.”

“The snake?” He stared at her. “Totally bizarre.”

“Particularly if he spread the oil on the snake with his own hands. That would really be weird.” She made an impatient gesture. “Go check out those tire tracks. You can’t help me with this. I’ll be with you as soon as I’m through here.”

Newell looked up at him. “I think he was driving a truck. There are two treads, close together.”

“Which won’t do us much good.” Joe was tensing with frustration. Time was passing, and they were running into blank walls. “We don’t have time to run those tire prints and identify the usual trucks who use them.”

“I’m done.” Kendra was beside them. She examined the tire tracks. “Not much help here, is there? Not on an immediate basis.” She went a little farther down the curb. “But here’s a footprint…” She knelt and shined her beam. “Men’s size eleven or twelve, fairly common hiking boot…”

Sirens in the distance.

She lifted her head. “There’s the police you called, Joe.”

“Then let’s get out of here.” Joe turned and strode back toward the beach cottage. “I did my duty by calling them. But I can’t be stuck here answering questions and filling out reports. You think you can find the source of that voodoo oil? Let’s do it. Hurry.”

Kendra almost ran to keep up with him. “I am hurrying. I know that you— Who is that?” She had stopped in the street and was staring at the driveway of the Malibu cottage.

A woman was kneeling on the driveway beside Rick Avery, cradling him in her arms and rocking back in forth in an agony of sorrow.

Joe muttered a curse. “Nelda Avery.” He was striding up the driveway. “We may have just gotten lucky.” He stopped before Nelda. “Where is Drogan?”

She didn’t seem to hear the question. “My son is dead.” Tears were running down her cheeks. “My Rick is dead.”

“And Beth and Eve may end up that way before the night is over if I don’t get Drogan. I don’t give a damn about your son. Tell me where I can find Drogan.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be this way.” She was gently stroking the hair back from her son’s forehead. “I told him to be careful, not to hurt my Rick. He didn’t listen. Now look at him…” She was sobbing. “I made Rick promise to call me right after he talked to Beth, and he didn’t do it. Rick always kept his promises to me. I called him, and he didn’t answer. I had a terrible feeling…”

“Where is Drogan?”

She was rocking Rick back and forth again. “Go away.”

Joe bent toward her and his voice was low and fierce. “Listen to me. You tell me where he is. Quick. I’m not having those police decide you’re some pitiful victim and taking you away. I don’t care if you’re the mother of this poor, half-witted bastard. You’re responsible for getting Eve here. Now tell me where Drogan took her. Or, by God, I’ll break your neck.”

Kendra took a step forward. “Joe.”

He ignored her. “Where? Stop protecting him.”

“Protecting him?” Nelda looked up at him, her face ravaged by pain. “Do you think I’d protect Drogan? He killed my son. He’s ruined my life. I want him dead.”

“Where is he? I’ll be glad to oblige.”

“I don’t know. He didn’t trust me. I’ve always contacted him by phone, and he was always telling me that he’d do things his way.” She looked down at her son. “This is his way,” she said bitterly. “Go find him. Go kill him. I’d like to do it myself.”

“There must be something you can—”

“I tell you that I don’t know where that bastard is,” she said hoarsely. “Now go away and leave me with my son.”

“She doesn’t know, Joe,” Kendra said. “Can’t you see? She’s telling the truth.”

Joe gazed at Nelda for an instant longer, then whirled on his heel and stalked down the driveway toward his car. Newell straightened from where he was leaning on the front bumper. “I know how you feel, Quinn,” he said quietly. “I’m not sure I wouldn’t have broken her neck anyway. Drogan was the weapon, but she was the one who wielded it.” He got into the backseat of the car. “So we struck out, Kendra. Can you pull any rabbits out of your hat?”

“How the hell do I know?” She got into the front passenger seat and took out her phone. “Get us away from this subdivision before the police get here, Joe. Those sirens sound pretty close. I’ll see what I can find out about that voodoo oil.”

“How?” Joe asked as he pulled away from the curb. “We don’t have time for you to—” His phone rang. His heart leaped as he saw Eve’s ID. His finger jammed the access button. “Eve? For God’s sake, where are you?”

“With me. Drogan. I couldn’t resist talking to you. I hoped to have you present when I got rid of your woman, but that might not be wise. So I thought that I’d let your imagination help me.”

“If you touch her or Beth, I’ll butcher you the way you deserve, you son of a bitch.”

Drogan chuckled. “No, I’m on top now. All you have are empty words. You won our first encounter, but I’ll win the last. I’ll get you eventually, but now I have Eve Duncan. Do you know what I’m going to do with her?”

“I’m sure you’re going to tell me,” Joe said hoarsely.

“I’ve decided she deserves a ceremonial end. You’re a good cop, aren’t you, Joe Quinn? I’m sure you were able to research my somewhat colorful background. Your Eve reminds me of my mother.” He added softly, “Do you know what I did to my mother?” He hung up.

Joe’s right fist crashed down on the steering wheel. “Bastard. Bastard.”

“Joe?” Kendra tentatively touched his shoulder.

He drew a harsh breath. “Well I definitely know what he’s planning for that snake.” He turned to her. “And I won’t let him do it. We’re going to find him. Help me, dammit. He may toy with her for a while, but he’s—”

“I’ll try. Calm down. I’ll make a phone call,” she interrupted as she dialed. “Dave Kramer. He’s an old friend who owns a head shop in San Ysidro. He also sells a lot of this Goth and occult stuff. He might be able to give me a lead on Drogan’s source.”

“Who may have a delivery address?” Newell asked.

She shrugged. “We just have to follow the dots.” She put the phone on speaker as the call was accessed, “Dave, Kendra Michaels. I need—”

“Do you know what time it is?”

“Did I wake you?”

“No, but you interrupted me.” He added sourly, “Never mind. What do you want?”

“Voodoo oil. I need the name and address of a holy man who sells black arts oil in California.”

Kramer made a disgusted sound. “Kendra, don’t tell me you believe in that crap. The only reason I carry this stuff is that—”

“I don’t want to buy it. There’s a certain oil I need to trace back to the maker. Can you help?”

“I can name four people right off the top of my head. Some of those college kids in Burbank have been fooling around with the cult since there have been all those movies and zombie shows.”

“This isn’t a college kid. He’s the real thing and very nasty. I have to find him fast, Dave.”

He was silent. “Okay. Bring it in, and I’m pretty sure we can—”

“No time for that. I’m in Malibu. But I think I can tell you most of the ingredients.”

“Why make it easy for me, huh?”

“I identified several of them. Probably not all.” She began to reel off the scents she’d detected in the car.

Joe shook his head. Kendra always amazed him—a few minutes of concentration, and she had been able to separate and identify at least ten elements.

“Wait a minute.” Dave stopped her. “Cola?”

“That’s what it smelled like. Am I wrong?”

“Yeah, that’s cinnamon bark you’re smelling. Give me a minute to look through my catalog.” He came back on the line. “There’s only one person in the area who deals with a black oil made with cinnamon bark. It’s Nancy Geronimo and the cinnamon bark is kind of her trademark. She’s an elderly Native American woman, and she claims that the cinnamon bark soothes sacrificial animals used in the rituals.”

“Snakes?”

“I never heard of its being used on snakes. I guess it’s possible. But they’re not usually one of the sacrifices. They tend to embody a god or something.”

“Drogan may be establishing his own rules. Where does she live?”

“Mojave.”

“The desert?”

“The town. It’s in the desert.”

“Can you give me a phone and address?”

He paused, checking, then rattled off the information. “Is that all? Now may I go back to bed?”

“Yes, thanks, Dave.”

“Well, it wasn’t my pleasure, but you’ve done me a couple favors, Kendra. Come and see me next time you’re down my way.” He hung up.

Kendra immediately dialed the phone number for Nancy Geronimo.

No answer.

No voice mail.

Joe muttered a curse.

She dialed again.

No answer.

Kendra hung up and turned to Joe. “We can go bang on her door. But Mojave is over an hour away. When we get there, the old woman may not know anything about Drogan. Or she might be mailing his order somewhere. However you look at it, it’s risky. It’s your call, Joe.”

“Yes, it is.” If this turned out to be a wasted trip, then Eve and Beth could be killed before he found them. By shooting Rick Avery, Drogan had burned his bridges, and he was not going to wait too long to get at least a little satisfaction.

But what the hell else could he do? He had no other clues at all.

His foot pressed the accelerator.

“We go to Mojave.”

* * *

“INSIDE.” DROGAN THREW OPEN the wooden door and pushed Eve inside the shack. He gestured to Beth, and she stumbled after Eve over the threshold.

“Here we are all together.” He lit the oil lamp on the table. “Cozy.”

Eve was immediately assaulted by the scent of peppercorn and sulfur again. She could now detect some other ingredients: mustard, patchouli … and the potent burning oil was pervading the air of the shack. No wonder it had clung to Drogan … and the snake. “It stinks in here. Is that some kind of voodoo brew?”

“Black arts,” he corrected. “There are many oils, but I prefer this one. It brings back memories of childhood.”

“And you actually believe in voodoo?”

“Sometimes. When I wish. I rule it, it doesn’t rule me. Those memories were very exciting. My bitch of a mother liked to frighten me at those voodoo ceremonies when I was a child, but I learned to beat her at her own game. Occasionally, I feel a tug of nostalgia, and I have to go back to my roots.” He set the cage down on the dirt floor and opened it. “Come out, Mama, we’re home.”

Eve stiffened. “You’re letting the snake out?”

“If she chooses. I like to give her freedom before she’s confined again. I take very good care of her. I feed her, I stroke her down with special oil to protect her.” His gaze was narrowed on her face. “You don’t like snakes?”

“It depends. What kind of snake?”

A rattle came from the cage.

“Does that answer you?” He smiled. “Yes, I thought so. As a boy, I used coral and water moccasins, but rattlers are easier in the desert. This one is very aggressive.”

Eve couldn’t keep her gaze off the door to the cage. Why wasn’t the snake coming out? She moistened her lips. “Where is this coffin you were bragging about?”

“It’s near the grave I dug out back in the trees. Do you think I wouldn’t be prepared for you?”

“I don’t think about you at all. You’re not worth—” She inhaled sharply. The rattlesnake had slid out of the cage and was coiled in the middle of the floor. Stop freezing, she told herself. Think about how she could kill the snake before it killed her.

Or Beth.

The snake was sliding across the room toward her sister.

“No!” Without thinking, she grabbed the oil lamp and hurled it at the snake. It struck the rattler but then glanced off and broke on the floor. “Get out of the way, Beth.”

Beth shook her head, as if to clear it, and was staring at the burning puddle of oil and the snake that was undulating away from it. “What—”

Opportunity. Move.

Drogan was cursing as Eve leaped for him.

But his gun instantly swung to cover Beth. “Back. Or I’ll put a bullet in exactly the same spot between the eyes as I did to her father.”

Eve froze. “I’m not moving.”

“You bet you’re not. And it’s time I put you in the ground.”

“No, you can’t do that,” Beth said, her gaze on the snake. “I won’t let you hurt her.”

“As if you could do anything about it. You’re nothing, a weakling. I knew it was a fluke that you got away from me in that hospital room.” He turned away, keeping the gun ready and on Eve. “Now be still while I put Mama Zela back in her cage to take her with us.” He was moving swiftly, catching and handling the snake with an amazing deftness. In a matter of minutes, the snake was back in the cage, and he was closing the cage door. “There you are, Mama. You didn’t like her doing that to you, did you? Don’t worry, you’ll be able to teach her a lesson soon. It will be a pleasure that—”

He screamed.

Beth had picked up a jagged shard of glass from the broken lamp on the floor and thrown it at his face. Blood spurted from his left eye.

“Bitch.” Drogan leaped forward and hit Beth with the barrel of his gun. He hit her again as she was falling to the floor. “I’ll break your head, you—” He whirled back to face Eve as she took a step toward him. “Out that back door.” He grabbed the snake cage. “Now.”

She didn’t argue. At least she had managed to distract him from Beth. Though she wasn’t sure that the intervention wasn’t too late. Beth was lying very still; the blows had been vicious.

“Move.” Drogan was wiping the blood from the corner of his eye. “I’ve had enough of you. Let’s see how you deal with Mama.”

* * *

THE WHITE HOUSE WHERE Nancy Geronimo lived was small but neat. The baskets of fake geraniums hanging from the posts on the long porch were the only spots of color.

“It doesn’t look like the house of a woman who makes voodoo oil,” Newell murmured. “Maybe cookies for the PTA.”

“You can’t label people.” Kendra was knocking on the door. “Maybe she does both.”

“No answer,” Joe said tightly. “But there’s a car in the driveway. Wake her up, dammit.”

“I’ll do my best. But she may be taking some of her own potions.” She banged harder on the door. “But one way or the other, we’ll—”

“Get away from my door.” The front door had swung open to reveal a tall, thin, elderly woman, dark hair pulled back from her face. She was dressed in a pink flowered robe that was completely incongruous to both her grim expression and the shotgun she was leveling at them. “And then get in your car and take off before I blow you away.”

Kendra held up her hands and backed away. “We’re no threat to you. We just want information.”

“That is a threat to me,” she said grimly. “In my business, you can get your throat cut for giving out information. Go away.”

“This is a police investigation.” Joe stepped forward and showed her his badge. “A kidnapping. Trust me. You don’t want to get involved, Ms. Geronimo.”

She glanced at his credentials. “This is an Atlanta badge. You can’t have authority out here.”

Sharp. And probably very familiar with police procedure.

“I could still get a court order. It would just take me time. I don’t have time. And if the kidnap victims are murdered in the meantime, you’ll be in a world of trouble.”

She moistened her lips. “I’m not involved in any kidnapping. I just sell herbs.”

“And black arts oil.”

“Which doesn’t hurt anyone. It’s just a game some of my clients play.”

“We’re looking for a man who bought your oil.”

“I sell a lot of oil. I wouldn’t remember. I have clients who come to me from four other states. Sometimes on weekends, my front yard is bumper-to-bumper with cars and trucks.”

“This would be a truck,” Kendra said. “A tall man, large feet, probably usually wears Timberland hiking boots. The footprint I saw had an imprint of cross-pattern lugs sole. That’s pretty distinctive of Timberland.”

Nancy Geronimo was gazing blankly at her. “I don’t pay much attention to boots.”

Kendra shrugged. “Not many people do. Sometimes it strikes a bell.” She turned to Joe. “Wait, do you have a photo?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Joe said dryly. He pulled up a photo on his phone. “This is Drogan.”

The woman looked at the photo. “Maybe I’ve seen him.”

“Yes or no?” Joe added softly, “If you lie, I’ll make your life hell.”

“I’ve seen hell before. But I’m not going to stick my neck out for someone who doesn’t mean a damn to me.” She looked again at the photo. “Yeah, I’ve sold oil to him. Several canisters in the last month. Surly son of a bitch.”

“Does he live near here? Or does he drive in from another state?”

“He’s local, I think. I was driving out in the desert gathering supplies a few weeks ago, and I saw his truck. It was near a beat-up old shack with a broken door.”

He straightened. “What color was the truck? Where? Which direction?”

“Red truck. Sort of rust red. The shack is … East.” She waved a vague hand. “And I don’t know where. I told you, I was driving around, trying to locate some of my ingredients.”

“Eye of newt?” Newell murmured.

The woman gave him an ugly glance. “I think maybe it was southeast. That’s all I can tell you.” She started to close the door, then stopped. “He’s … kind of creepy. He carries a snake around with him. I’ve heard it rattle in the cage.”

“And you’re not accustomed to creepy clients?” Kendra asked her, as Joe turned and headed back to the car.

“Yeah, but he’s in a class by himself. Don’t tell him I told you where to find him.”

She slammed the door.

“But she didn’t tell us,” Joe said tightly. “It’s going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack.” He started the car. “Southeast. Dammit, but where?”