A Thousand Kisses Deep (13 page)

"Simon…"

"Lift your head."

She obeyed him, and he slid his arm behind her and curled his hand around her shoulder. "Simon…"

"Quiet. I'm tired. I want to sleep now, and I want you to sleep with me."

"But…"

"Quiet, I said. Sleep."

It was
midnight
when Eva last glanced at the clock, still expecting the demon within Simon to surface. But the demon slept along with the child, and sometime during the night, she relaxed against Simon and slept, too.

At
midnight
Sly stood at the railing on the
Hector
and watched the last light go out at Lesvago. The night was a carbon copy of the past four—a balmy breeze and a starlit night. Parish had returned, and with his return, Sly's mood suddenly turned black.

Eva was once again at Simon's mercy.

He wasn't used to having to analyze his emotions because normally he didn't allow himself to feel. But like it or not, he was feeling all sorts of emotions since he'd let Eva walk away from him on the balcony at the taverna.

He swore, and refocused his thoughts.

We always go this time of year. Simon likes to celebrate his birthday in
Greece
.

Why that came to him all of a sudden, he didn't know, but in response, he raised his wrist and pushed a button on his watch causing a calendar to replace the time. He ran several ideas through his head, then turned from the railing and went below deck.

He had converted a small storage room under the stairway into his office. He went inside and turned on his computer. Pulling up all the information he and Bjorn had compiled thus far—knowing there was no birth certificate for Simon Parish—he used Parish's extensive medical records to learn his date of birth. Two days from now, on November 2, Simon would turn twenty-five.

Sly shut down his computer and went into his stateroom where he kept the tapes of Eva's sessions with Dr. Fielding. He retrieved one from the cupboard titled, "S is for Survival and Shackles." In the cassette player, he hit Fast Forward, then Stop, then Play.

"Only mastering the game will free us."

"Free us from what?"

Again he hit Stop, then Fast Forward. Play.

"I'm not fighting it any longer."

"What do you mean by that?"

"There's no time to explain. I'm off to
Greece
."

"Will you see your father?"

"He'll be at Simon's birthday party. That's one of the reasons we go this time of year."

Sly hit Stop again. The Chameleon would be at Simon Parish's birthday party in two days. A smile parted his lips. He didn't need to play Eva's game any longer. If he stuck close, she would lead him straight to the Chameleon.

Eva… Without warning his thoughts returned to her, and he soon found himself back on deck scanning Lesvago with a pair of high-powered night-vision binoculars. Knowing where her bedroom was located, he watched the dark window for several minutes. He didn't know what he expected to see, movement maybe, some sign that she was all right.

He never did see any movement, and after an hour he sailed the
Hector
back to the caverns where he had been successfully hiding out since he'd arrived. He went to bed in a sour mood, and fell asleep with Eva's husky voice teasing his subconscious. Soon he was dreaming she was in his bed, her lips pressed against his.

But instead of him kissing her, she was the one doing the kissing. She was astride him, caressing him with her hands and telling him how much she needed him.

She stayed with him all night feeding the dream and fueling his need. Before dawn, he blinked awake drenched in sweat, with his hand wrapped around his cock.

He let out a labored groan, slid his hand to the base of his hard shaft. Groaned again. Determined to rid himself of Eva and the solid ache that had awakened him, he began to move his hand in an age-old rhythm.

The next morning during breakfast, Sly received a message from Bjorn that read "
Athens
4:30
, gate C. It's raining in D.C. and I'm cold." Translation,
Athens
3:30, gate B. The rest was just Bjorn being Bjorn. He hated cold weather, and complained about it every time the temperature dropped below fifty when all his aches and pains surfaced, reminding him how close to forty he was.

Sly flew from
Mykonos
to
Athens
, anxious to learn what was in the file Eva wanted so badly. His flight was a jackrabbit flight and he was in
Athens
in twenty-five minutes. As he made his way to gate B, he kept a watchful eye out for anyone who might be following him, but he was fairly confident that his cover as a tourist was still intact. But underestimating the Chameleon, or Parish, would be a mistake. One he didn't intend to make.

Bjorn was the second passenger off the plane. He was no longer using his cane, but he still had a slight limp.

"Here, I'll get that." Sly took Bjorn's bag.

"Jesus, I hate flying," his friend grumbled.

Sly slung the duffle on his shoulder. "I've rented a boat to take us to
Mykonos
. That way we'll be able to talk without any ears listening."

"And there is much to talk about, Sly."

Bjorn's comment, and the look on his face, kept Sly on edge the entire cab ride to the harbor. They set sail quickly, and were en route back to
Mykonos
within thirty minutes of leaving the airport. Miles from nowhere, Sly cut the engine and asked, "Do you have the file?"

"No."

"No?"

"I'll explain in a minute. First of all, I followed up on the house staff that took care of Eva when she was a kid. She did have a private tutor. The woman was a live-in." Bjorn checked his notes. "Carolyn Hunter. She's dead. Some kind of freak accident once she was let go, after she moved into a small apartment. The police report stated she fell in her kitchen and hit her head. Then there's the cook and housekeeper, Helen and Lida. They're also dead. A car accident. And the gardener and his son Tony, they're dead, too. Boat accident. Drowned while fishing on the
Chattahoochee
River
. Looks like our Eva has a deadly effect on people she comes in contact with."

"What else?"

"That's not the only
dead
end."

Sly grunted his acknowledgement of Bjorn's pun,

"Sorry. I couldn't resist. Okay, when I got into the database, Paavo Creon's file was already gone. I checked the date log. Three weeks ago someone tapped in and pulled up Creon's file. Everything's gone."

"Was there an access number used to get in?"

"Yes. On that day six people accessed records."

"Who was it?" Sly asked, already knowing the answer.

"
Merrick
's access number is on record that day. He signed in the afternoon of the third of September."

"That was two days before we left for Castle Rock." Sly looked out to sea trying to make sense of it all.

"You get anything out of our little Eva?"

"She gave
Merrick
the information that sent us to Castle Rock."

"She was the informant?"

"That's right."

"The little bitch. She set us up."

"In a way, but not really."

"Sully's dead. We got our asses nearly shot off. What do you call that?"

"Don't look at me like that. This is complicated. She claims
Merrick
refused to give her the files after she called him and told him who she was. She says he didn't believe she was Eva Creon, so she offered him the compound location as a way to convince him."

"Which means he believed she was dead like the reports claimed."

"That's right. After we got back from the mission and reported our findings,
Merrick
knew she was telling the truth, and agreed to give her Paavo's file in exchange for the Chameleon's location."

"And to think I liked her."

Sly could hear the same disgust in Bjorn's voice that he had felt when she'd told him she was
Merrick
's informant. He said, "You're a good profiler. You liked her in the beginning for a reason. She's likable, and I don't think she thought we would see action at Castle Rock."

Bjorn was about to light his cigarette. He stopped and locked eyes with Sly. "Did I hear you right? You like her?"

"She's lived with a lunatic for four years. Her own father put her in that situation. I don't know why, but you can't hate someone for trying to survive hell, can you?"

"Low blow, Sly."

"Just the truth."

"Have you considered she's playing you, Sly? What do we really know about her? Before you take this any further you better find out what she's after. Where her loyalty is. Get in her face, make her talk."

"And if she won't talk, do I put her in a dark closet with a mouse for ten hours, or hang her in a clothes chute with a belt around her wrists?"

"You've been listening to the tapes. If not by force how about using your charisma? Why not seduce her?"

"I can't do that."

"Sure you can. I've seen you disarm a woman before, Sly. You've got a look in your eyes when you're on the hunt. Women like that. They like the strong, mysterious type. Your charm got us out of
Vienna
in '98, remember? And into
Bangkok
in '99. Use that charm on our little Eva. Draw her in, set her up, and use her. By the look on your face, you find that distasteful. And that, my friend, can only mean one thing. You've allowed your feelings into this. Am I right?"

"There's something about her," Sly agreed. "She's a victim. I have a hard time victimizing a victim."

"Here's what I know. I know a man can't fight his feelings. He might not be able to act on all of them, but denying they exist is pointless. Sometimes these things don't make sense, and over the years I've decided they don't have to. Using her is the only way, Sly. And if you do it right, she'll enjoy it. And in the process, you'll get what we need to catch the Chameleon, and you'll both have a memory."

Sly swore, then asked, "What did you find out about
Merrick
?"

"I did get into his file. Made a copy."

"And?"

Bjorn bent over and pulled up the Velcro strap on his duffel bag and retrieved a disk. "
Merrick
's carrying around a lot of baggage. He has been for a long time."

He handed the disk over to Sly. "This is for you. I'll give you the five-minute version if you want."

"Go ahead."

Bjorn reached into his pocket and pulled out a small notebook. "I did tail him for a few days. He lives a pretty boring life outside the office. He's got an apartment in
Somerset
, and a country home north of
Rockville
where he spends his weekends. Saturdays seem to be his special day."

"Meaning?"

"He leaves his house about three and goes to a flower shop, buys two dozen roses, then drives to
Pleasant
View
Cemetery
." Bjorn paused, then added, "He goes there to visit his wife."