“But not what you said.” Silence. “Do you think I don’t know you believe I’m crazy to have done all I’ve done for Delores? It doesn’t matter. Not as long as you do as I order, as you’ve done in the past. If you don’t, you’ll end up dead with no magic coffin, no hope, and Delores and I will laugh at you as you decay into dust.”
“I don’t think you’re crazy. That’s totally untrue.” He tried desperately to sound sincere. “And I’ll do everything you wish and more. I’ll be in touch, Santos.” He hung up and drew a deep breath. Conversations with Santos were always perilous, no matter what he said. Anything could be taken the wrong way.
And anything that offended the bastard could end with fatal consequences.
But the bloodbath would not offend him. Not if Dorgal did it right.
Blood.
Pain.
And visible agony for Catherine Ling.
*
It was the right decision, Santos thought sadly, as he gazed at Delores’s tomb. It was disappointing that the torture for Ling could not be drawn out indefinitely, but he couldn’t bear the thought of her alive, thinking, hoping, moving. It was becoming torture when he entered this tomb and saw his Delores so beautiful but still, so still.
He took a gardenia from the bouquet beside the door and entered the crypt. He was hit by the scent of rotten flowers and rotten flesh. The body of the young whore he’d offered up to Delores lay huddled on the floor beside the clear plastic casket where she lay. He usually kept any sacrifice here at least a month, but after that he had one of his men toss her into the sea.
Not that he minded the stink. He was sure that Delores would not either. But room must be made for any other offerings. He moved to stand beside the glass coffin and gazed down at Delores.
Beautiful.
Vibrant.
Serene.
Montez shouldn’t have made her serene. Delores was never serene. Maybe he should have Montez try to—
No, Montez had warned him that any change would be dangerous now that the creation was completed, he remembered regretfully. Oh, well, he would imagine that the serenity was Delores dreaming of him, of the things they did together, the things they would do in the future.
He put the gardenia on the glass. It would stay fresh a long time on that cold surface. “I’ve decided to get rid of this stupid whore and give you a more worthy offering. Catherine Ling. It’s time we started to punish her. Don’t you think so, my darling?”
Serenity.
But beyond that serenity, beyond that cold beauty, was Delores smiling?
*
Catherine received a call from Kelly a few minutes after their plane crossed the Texas border. “Hi, Catherine. I’m pretty sure I’ve connected a major dot. We may be able to trace Santos.”
“What? How sure?”
“I’m sure, but that’s not saying anyone else would be. It’s all theory and calculations.”
“Cameron and I may be able to track him without your theory and calculations. We planted a GPS on the plane taking Montez to Santos’s compound.”
“Plane? Helpful, but you’re not going to connect.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m figuring that there’s no air access to where Santos is hiding out with his Delores. I believe that he has to take an aircraft to a nearby jumping-off place, then go by boat to the final destination. I’d bet it’s probably a small island.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Fuel.”
“What?”
“I told you, Venable tracked down all of Dorgal’s credit cards under his name and known aliases. You remember that I told you that Dorgal visited all kinds of Caribbean hot spots while Santos was in prison?”
“Yes.”
“He was very careful. He didn’t concentrate on any specific destination. And he changed credit-card use frequently.”
“Use for what?”
“Motorboat rental and gas. The cartel probably has its own boats, but Dorgal wouldn’t want anyone but himself in the cartel to know anything about Santos’s location. It would have made him a target for a takeover by a member of his own organization or a rival cartel.”
“I can see that.” She was thinking quickly. “But Venable had credit-card records. Gas usage?”
“Yes. If you measure gas usage to and from each jump-off destination. Then you compare the results and map the distances, you can zero in on Santos’s possible headquarters.” She paused. “Or you could talk to Luke once you know where that plane is dropping off Montez and his guards. For the last day and a half, Luke’s been working on possible scenarios for me.
“I’m not sure that he’d be willing to talk to me,” Catherine said ruefully. “I’d better try to do it myself.”
“He was very annoyed,” Kelly said. “But he wouldn’t let that interfere in the balance of keeping everyone alive. He’s more grown-up than you think.”
“No, just more than I want him to be,” she said.
“Trust him, Catherine.”
“I will. I’ll throw myself on his mercy when I know where Montez ends up. Thanks, Kelly.” She hung up and turned to Cameron. “You heard her. It’s not as easy as we hoped.”
“But that would have made the hunt so much less interesting.” He glanced at her. “And it gives Luke a chance to save the day and make you proud of him.”
“I’m always proud of him.”
“Then it will make him able to enter your world for a brief moment or two. That may be of even more value to him. Why do you think he’s fighting you so hard?”
“He thinks he’s thirty years old instead of twelve.”
“Maybe he is.”
“Don’t say that,” she said sharply. “I won’t have those years stolen from him.”
“Then you’d better strike a delicate balance.” He shrugged. “But who am I to offer advice? You’ll do what you wish anyway. I just see Luke from a different viewpoint than you do.”
“As a possible recruit,” she said tartly. “No way.”
“I wouldn’t try to take him away from you,” he said quietly. “I find myself wanting to give you fabulous gifts and offer you glittering worlds to conquer. Give, not take, Catherine.”