The Bullet Page 5

  “Nikolai.” He’d finished running the video up to the present time and he turned back to face Joe. “The chief assistant and enforcer of Cara’s loving grandfather, Sergai Kaskov.”

  Joe froze. “What?”

  “You heard me. No one could be more loyal to Kaskov than Nikolai. He’s worked for him for decades. He’d die for the son of a bitch.” His lips tightened. “And I’ll be glad to oblige him. As soon as I get Cara back from him.”

  “You think that Kaskov ordered him to take Cara?”

  “I don’t see him doing it without orders. That was Nikolai in that video. He went up the stairwell but didn’t return that way. You should find out how he got her out of the hotel.”

  “I don’t need you to tell me what to do.” He was frowning. “But it would be much simpler for him to kidnap Cara when she goes to visit him this summer. This is … extreme.” His lips twisted. “Though Kaskov probably knows you keep an eye on her during those little intervals. You’ve never made it a secret. I admit I was even grateful.”

  “Then you should have kept her from going,” he said flatly. “She never listened to me. Now look what’s happening.”

  “I don’t know what’s happening, and neither do you. You just want to go out and kill someone and get Cara back.”

  “Exactly.” He turned away from the video cameras. “And I will. Do you know where Kaskov is, or should I tap my sources?”

  “I’ll check with Interpol and a few of my own contacts.” He reached for his phone. “I suppose it’s useless to tell you to stay out of this, Jock. Kaskov is very powerful, and there’s no doubt that he’s capable of performing any crime under the sun. But when I was looking at that evidence in Cara’s room, it didn’t look like him. Nor this Nikolai if he was the one taking the orders. That gown torn in pieces with all the blood … It had an element of savagery. Kaskov isn’t savage.”

  “As far as we know,” Jock said. “We do know he’s head of a Mafia group who deals in practically every kind of crime known to man. He could be anything. That’s what I kept telling Cara. Every time she sees him, it’s a risk.” He shook his head. “I’m going after her.” He met Joe’s eyes. “And I know you are. But you should let me handle Kaskov.”

  “Screw you.”

  “Just a suggestion.” He got to his feet. “These days I’ve noticed you try to stop and think before you go in for the kill. Very admirable, but not efficient.”

  “While you tend to revert to instinct and that training that nearly destroyed you,” Joe said. “Cara would hate to know that she’d caused that to happen.”

  His lips twisted bitterly. “Then maybe she’ll finally learn her lesson and stay away from me. We’ll have to ask her after I get her back.” He headed for the door. “I’ll be in touch. I suppose I should tell you that I’m going to stop by your place and see Eve. Cara might have talked to her about her plans to meet with Kaskov. I’ll try not to upset her.”

  “Of course you’ll upset her. It’s Cara. But Eve wouldn’t have it any other way.” He shrugged. “But watch out for Michael. He might not be quite as understanding.”

  * * *

  “Joe called and told me you’d be coming,” Eve said as she watched Jock climb the porch steps. Her arms were crossed tightly across her breasts as she tried to control herself. Showing Jock the panic she was feeling would not do either of them any good. “I don’t know what I can tell you. I talked to Cara a few times this month, but I can’t remember her talking about Kaskov except that one time yesterday afternoon.” She grimaced. “And then I made her defensive, and she didn’t say much.” Her gaze was raking his face. “You look like hell.”

  “Surprised?” He’d reached the porch. “You don’t look very far from that yourself. I didn’t expect anything else. But I decided to face you anyway. Just in case I could jar you into remembering anything that could help.”

  “Face me?” Then she remembered the last thing she’d said to Jock when he’d phoned her. Something about Cara’s not hiding in her suite unless what he’d done was pretty damn bad. “You thought I’d blame you for this?”

  “Why not? I am to blame. I should have protected her. I knew Kaskov was a threat.”

  Eve stared at him in frustration and aching sympathy. Of course he would feel responsible. He’d always protected Cara from every threat since they’d first met. And she could tell he was feeling the torment of that failure now. She had seen him like this before, and she was immediately on the alert. He would be driven and reckless and totally lethal. “There’s no way you should blame yourself, Jock. We don’t even know what happened yet, but Cara has never expected you to be—”

  “I expected it of myself.” His eyes were suddenly blazing. “And I failed her. So don’t tell me what she expected. Just help me get her back.”

  The demons had truly been loosed, and she took an involuntary step back. “I’ll do everything I can. You’re not the only one who cares about her. Stop acting as if you are. Now sit down on that swing, and I’ll pour you a cup of coffee. Then we’ll talk.” She stared him in the eye. “I’d take you into the house, but you look like you’re burning up inside, and I don’t want Michael to see you like this. It might upset him.”

  He nodded slowly. “Which is exactly what I told Joe I’d try to avoid with you.” His lips twisted. “I’m not doing so well, am I? I’ll try not to compound it by upsetting Michael.” He dropped down on the swing. “But I don’t need coffee.”

  “No, you’re operating on pure adrenaline at the moment,” Eve said as she sat down in the wicker chair next to the swing. She concentrated on keeping her hands from trembling as she poured herself a cup from the carafe. “But I’m not there yet. I’m still shaky and scared and bewildered.” She lifted her cup to her lips. “Mostly scared, and Michael is going to sense it. He always does.” She gazed at him. “So I’d appreciate it if you’d tell me something to make me less afraid.” She moistened her dry lips. “Any tiny little detail will do.”

  “I don’t believe she’s dead.”

  “Now that’s a big detail.” Eve had to steady her hand as she took a sip of coffee. “Why?”

  “Because it doesn’t make sense that Nikolai would be ordered to eliminate her. I don’t know why Kaskov had him take her, but unless he had a reason that would benefit him in some way, he wouldn’t kill her. Kaskov never does anything that lacks reason or purpose.”

  “Unless his reason is that he’s gone wacko. He’s a criminal, Jock.”

  “Possible. Not probable. He’s brilliant and very practical. I’d rather look to Kaskov for a reason.” He added calmly, “Before I cut his heart out.”

  “And put Cara in a position where she could get killed by one of Kaskov’s men? Don’t you dare do that, Jock.”

  “I’ll be careful. I can be careful, Eve. I know all the ways.”

  Eve shivered. “I’m certain you do. I don’t want to hear about it.” She added, “Now ask me what you need to know about Kaskov and let me get back to Michael. Otherwise, he’ll be out here asking you questions.”

  “And I know how persistent he can be when he wants to know something. Where was Cara going to spend her month with Kaskov?”

  “Somewhere in Arizona. She didn’t say where. But that wasn’t going to be for another two months.” She frowned. “Kaskov wouldn’t be foolish enough to take her there? He’d know she might tell me. She was always honest about letting him know that she confided in me.”

  “She’s always honest about everything. No, he probably wouldn’t take her there. But it’s somewhere to start. He usually rents the properties where he takes Cara. I can usually track down what real estate he’s been considering lately by using my contacts in Moscow.”

  “For heaven’s sake, the situation isn’t remotely similar. Kidnapping is hardly the same as a pleasant month in a resort somewhere.”

  “It’s a place to start,” he repeated. “She hasn’t mentioned anything else he’s spoken about?”

  “I t
old you, I’m sure I didn’t give the impression I wanted to cut his heart out, but she knew I didn’t want her to see him. That didn’t encourage her to bring him up in casual conversation.” She shrugged. “She was more defensive than anything else when she spoke about him. She said they had nothing in common but the music, but she felt sorry that she had it to give and he didn’t. She said it made her sad. He grew up with his mother at a Gulag labor camp in Siberia. She was a musician, and he wanted to be a violinist. One of the guards smashed his hands with the butt of his rifle. So he told Cara he had to find another direction.”

  “I’ve heard the story,” he said impatiently. “Only Cara would feel sorry for a mob kingpin like Kaskov.”

  “He’s her grandfather. And I think it’s mostly that she knows how it would feel to lose her own music. Besides, she hasn’t got any other relatives. And she’s grateful to him for saving Michael and me. She can’t forget it.” She looked down into her cup. “Though I wish she would. She’s been Kaskov’s hostage for too long.”

  “Not after I find her. You’re not going to have to worry about it again.” He got to his feet. “Unless you can tell me anything else I’ll be on my way. I have to contact Palik about—”

  “I want to see the photos.”

  He froze. “What?”

  “Joe said you have photos of Cara’s hotel room. I want to see them.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “I don’t care what you think. Cara belongs to us. I have to be part of this hideous thing that’s happened to her.” She held out her hand. “Give me your phone.”

  He slowly reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. “There’s no sense you looking at them.” He handed the phone to her. “Joe can tell you what forensics says about—” He saw that she was starting to flip through the phone, and said quickly, “The blood’s not Cara’s. Joe checked.”

  “He told me,” she said dully as she gazed at the photos one by one. The blood … The torn lace gown … The coated strings of the violin. “It’s horrible.”

  “I told you that you shouldn’t look at them.”

  “No, you were wrong. I should have looked at them.” She was forcing herself to look through them again. “Monstrous. Twisted. Insane.” She felt sick. “And Kaskov might be terrible in many ways, but he’s not any of those things.” Her chest felt tight. “He didn’t do this. Whoever caused this … ugliness was insane.”

  “It was Kaskov. Nikolai was there.”

  “I can’t help it. You’re wrong. I wish you weren’t.” She sat up straight in her chair. She felt as if had to brace herself. “Because this is much worse.” She looked him in the eye. “I know about insanity and monsters. I’ve dealt with them for years. Every time I work on one of those children who were savaged by one of them, I get to know them better. I know how they think and what horrors they enjoy and the way they react.” She said jerkily, “Do you actually think I just let my sculptures go back to the police and close my eyes? I couldn’t do that. I follow every case and make certain that justice is done. But that means I have to know those monsters, what they do, what they are.” She added bitterly, “I probably know more than an FBI profiler by now. I’ve studied thousands of crime-scene photos, I can tell you what those murderers are feeling by the blood spatters on the wall.” She shuddered as she tapped his phone. “This is a monster.”

  “You could still be wrong about Kaskov. You don’t know him that well.”

  “I’ve talked to him on the phone. I’ve watched him with Cara. I’ve seen how ruthless he can be when he wants something. I’ve also seen that he’s complicated and that he kept his word to save Michael and me when he could have broken it. I know him well enough to know that he’s not a monster. Neither is Nikolai.” She couldn’t stop shivering. “You don’t want to believe it, but it’s true.” She was trying to keep her voice from shaking. “And that means you have to find her soon, Jock. Because she’s not with Kaskov. She’s with him.”

  “You’re damn right I don’t want to believe you,” he said roughly. “You’re scaring me to death. How do you know it’s not just your imagination? Nikolai was there. It’s only reasonable that—” He broke off and started to swear. “But I can’t count on anything being reasonable, can I?” he asked bitterly. “Not when I know you’d never tell me this if you didn’t believe it. And I trust you, dammit. You wouldn’t send me down a wrong path when it might mean Cara could die.”

  “No, I would never do that. You know I love her.” She swallowed. “And you’re right, she could die. If you don’t hurry. Unless he has some agenda that makes him wait. Sometimes that happens, and they live for a while after they’re taken.”

  “And I’m supposed to hope that this murderer has an agenda?” A muscle jerked in his cheek. “So that he won’t kill her before I can—”

  “May I come out now?” Michael was standing in the doorway, his brown eyes enormous as he stared at Eve. “I don’t like what’s happening with you. Are you okay, Mom?”

  “I’m fine, Michael.” She smiled with an effort. She held out her arms, and he ran to her. She held him close for a moment. “There’s nothing wrong with me.” She nodded at Jock. “Ask your friend here. We’re just talking. He was about to leave anyway.”

  “You’re cold,” Michael whispered. “You’re shaking.” He whirled to Jock. “She’s hurting,” he said fiercely. “Did you do it?”

  “I’m afraid it might have been partly my fault.”

  “You shouldn’t have done it.” Then, as he studied him, the anger faded. “But you’re hurting, too. Why?” He answered himself. “It’s Cara.” He turned back to Eve. “Dad found out something bad, didn’t he? How bad?”

  She wouldn’t lie to him. “We don’t know yet. We don’t know where she is. But we’re going to find out. Your dad is looking for her now.” She gazed at Jock over Michael’s shoulder. “And as soon as he leaves here, Jock will be looking for her, too. He was just going to tell me where.”

  “Where do you think I’m going?” Jock asked roughly. “I don’t have any choice. We only have one possible clue. You might not believe Kaskov is guilty, but Nikolai was at that hotel at the same time she was taken. That means Kaskov knows something.” He turned to leave, and added grimly, “And I guarantee he’ll tell me what he knows. I just have to find him.”

  “Hurry,” Eve said. “You have to hurry, Jock.”

  He flinched. “So you told me.” He headed for the porch steps. “There’s no question about that. Regardless of whether I believe you’re right about this or not, I’d never take the chance.”

  “But you do believe I’m right,” she said unsteadily. “Be careful. Let me know how I can help.”

  “Joe and I will have it covered.” He cast a quick glance at Michael. “Take care of your mom. I’ll find Cara.”

  “I always take care of her,” Michael said gravely. “See you, Jock.”

  He nodded. The next moment he was running down the steps.

  Michael watched Jock get into his car before turning back to Eve. “He’s scared.” He leaned against her. “So are you.”

  “Yes.” Her arms tightened around him. “This … isn’t … good. We can’t let Cara stay lost. I have to find her.”

  “I know. Jock didn’t understand that you’d have to go look for her.” He took a step back. “All he’s thinking about is how much he’s hurting and that he has to get to her.”

  “But you understand?” Eve asked. “Of course you do. Cara is family. We have to bring her home. I was the one who brought her to this house and told her that she’d always have a home here. That makes her my responsibility. I can’t sit and wait for anyone else to find her. It has to be me.”

  “I understand.” His hands nervously grasped her arms. “She’s my family, too. She’s as much my sister as Jane. But I don’t think that’s what you’re trying to tell me, is it?”

  “Not tell you, ask you. When your dad or Jock find out where Cara is, I have to g
o and help. But I can’t leave you unless I know you’re safe. Will you let me drop you off at Catherine Ling’s place to stay with her and Luke until I come back?”

  He immediately shook his head. “I should go with you.”

  “No, I’d only worry about you.” Not that she wouldn’t worry anyway. But Catherine Ling was a CIA agent who was also Eve’s good friend, and trust was everything. “Please, Michael. It’s my job, not yours.”

  “Because she’s your responsibility? Isn’t that what you said?” He met her eyes. “But I brought Cara here this time. She wouldn’t have come if I hadn’t done what I did. So she’s my responsibility.”

  “We don’t know that it wouldn’t have happened.” She didn’t know what else to say. That monsters could attack with no warning or excuse? “Think about it. Maybe your dad will be able to find Cara right away, and I won’t have to help.” She got to her feet. “And now I’m going to call your dad and tell him what Jock and I discussed and find out if he knows anything more.” She headed for the door. “And then I’m going to try to keep myself busy and work on that reconstruction of Dennis. I hope you’re not going to raise any objections about my working today?”

  “No,” he said soberly. “I think Dennis might help you.”

  She wasn’t sure he was right, she thought wearily, as she went into the house. She gazed at the skull on which she had spent hours repairing the bullet hole in the right temple. It had been clear Dennis was the victim of one of the monsters she had told Jock about. Had the bullet come without warning or had the monster taunted the little boy? Ordinarily, she didn’t torture herself with painful questions until the reconstruction was complete. She just went about doing her job with gentleness and compassion to bring them home. It was after she sent them back to whatever law-enforcement office had requested her services that she let herself think about the monsters.

  She went slowly over to her worktable and touched the skull. Was it hard for you? I hope it came quickly.

  Did you know your monster?

  Were you frightened, Dennis?