Final Target (16 page)

"Aren't you lucky to be dealing with Travis instead of those unreasonable Russians?" He turned away. "I'll see you in the morning, Mr. Karlstadt, and I'll check the Swiss account tonight."

"Van der Beck."

"Yes?"

"I've been hearing troublesome rumors in the last few hours about your Mr. Travis. Rumors about U.S. Secret Service and CIA involvement."

He'd been hearing them too, but he'd hoped Karlstadt wasn't that deep in the loop. "I'm sure they're completely untrue."

"I don't care what Travis has done to irritate the Americans. I just want you to know it must not interfere with the deal. I would find that very annoying."

"He wouldn't allow that to happen." He paused. "Good night, Mr. Karlstadt." He walked rapidly from the bridge and down the street. He could feel Karlstadt's gaze on him, but he didn't look back. Karlstadt enjoyed his little games of intimidation and would have been entirely too pleased if he knew van der Beck was uneasy.

And there was no doubt he was uneasy. There were too many strings to this deal Travis had handed him. He could handle Karlstadt, but the business with Henri Claron was making him nervous. He was getting too old to keep all these balls in the air.

He looked up at the sky. Travis should be only hours away by now, and soon he could turn the whole business over to him. Travis was young and as sharp as van der Beck had been when he'd worked with Travis's father. God, that seemed a long time ago.

Only a few more hours…

"You're here."

Melissa could feel Cassie's delight and excitement envelop her in the sanding darkness. "I seem to be. Though it took me long enough to get here. It takes a while to get the knack."

"Are you going to stay?"

"No, I'm just visiting."

"Oh." Disappointment. "Lonely."

"We've gone through that. You don't have to be lonely."

"Not if you stay." A pause. "We're not…together. We need to be together."

"No, we don't. We're friends and we can stay apart and still be friends."

"Better together."

Melissa could feel the effort the child was making to draw her closer, to absorb her. Jesus, she was strong. "Stop that or I'll have to go away."

"You're going to go anyway." Sorrow. "You told me so."

"But I'll come back if you don't make it sad for me."

"Together isn't sad." But the effort to merge ebbed and then stopped.

"For me it is. I want to be your friend, like your mama and daddy."

"Gone."

"They don't have to be gone."

"They can't come into the tunnel."

"But you can come out."

"Gone." Melissa could feel Cassie's panic, like the fluttering of a captured bird. "They can't come in."

And Cassie wouldn't face coming out. But she could become accustomed to the idea. Jessica thought constant reminders helped and used them in therapy.

"Together." The strongest pull yet from Cassie.

It took several exhausting minutes for Melissa to fight her off. When she finally broke free, she felt limp. "That's it. I warned you. Good-bye, Cassie."

"No." Sorrow. Panic. "Stay. Won't do it again."

"
Maybe I'll stay for a little while. But it's boring in this tunnel. No trees, no lakes. Nothing pretty
…"

"Safe."

"Boring."

"
Not if we find the Wind Dancer. He'll make everything
-
What's wrong? You're scared." Panic. "Are the monsters coming
?"

"
No." Melissa tried to close out her fear. "No monsters. And we don't need the Wind Dancer. Would you like me to tell you about my home, Juniper? You saw only the one room, but there's so much more. There's a pond and willow trees and an arbor where purple clematis climb
…"

"Mellie." Jessica was shaking her, Melissa realized drowsily. "Wake up. We'll be landing in a few minutes."

That jarred her wide awake. She sat up and opened her eyes. "Amsterdam?"

"No, Antwerp. Some small airport in the backwoods that Galen said is used by drug traffickers."

"Wonderful. Just the kind of people I always wanted to associate with."

"He arranged to have a van waiting for us to drive to Amsterdam." Jessica was frowning as she studied her. "You were sleeping awfully hard. I had trouble waking you."

It didn't surprise her. She had been totally exhausted when she finally managed to leave Cassie. She still felt drained. "It's been a rough night." She got up and headed for the bathroom. Why hadn't she told Jessica that she'd reached Cassie? She had always hated keeping things from Jessica, but lately she seemed to be doing nothing else. Later, maybe. She hadn't really accomplished anything, and Jessica was having enough problems with Melissa's involvement in Cassie's nightmares. Melissa could imagine how she'd freak if she told her about the casual visit to Cassie in a normal sleep state.

Casual? She'd have to work up to casual. Just controlling the bond with Cassie had been a gigantic effort.

Travis and Sean Galen were waiting when she left the bathroom.

"Sit down," Travis said. "We're on the final approach."

"Where's Jessica?" She sat down and fastened her seat belt.

"Up front with Cassie. She wanted to be there in case the kid woke up and showed any signs of anxiety."

As if Jessica could tell if Cassie was anxious, she thought sadly. The only thing Melissa had gotten a gut feeling about was the Wind Dancer. For her sister, it was like working blind. "Okay, so tell me how you're going to work this, Travis. I trust you do have a plan to keep us from getting shot on sight."

"No, I left that up to Galen. If you get shot, blame him."

"The hell I will." She leaned back in the seat. "Galen?"

"I've arranged to stash the three of you in a small farmhouse outside Amsterdam. I've contacted a few of the guys I use when I'm in Holland and they'll meet us and act as escort. We stay at the farmhouse and protect you while Travis goes and conducts his business."

"How long will that take, Travis?"

"If it takes more than eight hours, then we're all in trouble. The CIA won't be spinning its wheels. I wouldn't be surprised if they'd staked out every airport in Holland."

"More trouble," Melissa corrected him. "Then what happens?"

"I see what I can do about prying the Wind Dancer from the Museum d'Andreas."

"There's no way."

"Galen?"Travis asked.

"Difficult," Galen murmured. "It will take money. Lots of money. You actually want to steal it?"

"Borrowing would do. I'd need at least four hours to give Cassie a chance to respond to the statue."

"Forget it. It won't work," Melissa said flatly.

"I'm aware of how you feel." Travis studied her. "I just can't figure out why."

"I told you why."

He smiled. "As I said, I can't figure out why. But I'm sure it will come to me."

Chapter Twelve

5:20 A.M.

The stone farmhouse was set a few miles back from the road and surrounded by trees. The interior consisted of a huge kitchen, a bathroom, and two small bedrooms, all spartanly furnished but spotlessly clean.

"Carry Cassie into that first bedroom," Jessica said. "After I get her settled, I need to fix her something to eat."

"I'll do it." Melissa headed for the kitchen.

Travis put Cassie on the bed and looked down at her. As usual, he couldn't be sure whether she was asleep or awake. "Hi," he said softly. "This all must seem pretty scary to you, but it's going to work out. I promise."

"Don't promise what you can't deliver." Jessica had come back from the bathroom with a basin and a washcloth. "Particularly since she seems to be low on your agenda."

"I'll deliver." Christ, he hoped he was telling the truth.

When he went back into the kitchen, Galen was just coming in the front door. "Secure?"

"As far as I can tell. I have a couple of my g uys scouring the area to be sure, and we weren't followed from the airport." He sat down at the table. "I'd keep to that eight-hour limit if I were you. You're too hot for it to be safe to stay in one place for long. Get moving."

"That's what I'm doing."

He dialed Jan van der Beck as he walked toward the rental car Galen's men had brought to the airport. "I'm on my way to the park," he said when Jan picked up. "Any problems?"

"No, I slipped away from the apartment the minute Galen notified me that your departure was imminent and went to the new flat. You're the one with problems. Even Karlstadt heard about them. The rumor is that you took something you shouldn't have. What have you been up to, Michael?"

"Things got complicated."

"I remember you saying that as a boy. And I always told you that it was you who did the complicating. Always keep it simple."

He certainly had done the complicating at Juniper, Travis thought ruefully. Jessica may have drawn him to Cassie, but he hadn't had to dive in with both feet. "The Swiss account transfer?"

"It went through. I told Karlstadt only a portion of the merchandise would be delivered this morning and that the rest would be sent to him in Johannesburg. Just in case he decided to cut our throats at the park."

"Smart."

"Of course. I'm looking forward to my cruise, and death would definitely interfere with it. You wouldn't care to come with me? It would be like the old days."

"I might join you later. I'm going to be a little busy for a while."

Van der Beck sighed. "I can see how you might. Remember, keep it simple."

He chuckled. "I'll do my best. Start packing. I'll meet you at the park by eight at the latest." He hung up.

"How is she doing?" Melissa asked Jessica as she came out of the bedroom.

"I can't see any change." Jessica sat down in the chair across from Galen. "I don't think there's been any harm done by the trip." She wearily rubbed her temple." But what do I know? Sometimes I think I don't do these kids any good at all. How can I, when I can't-"

"Bull." Melissa set a bowl of soup in front of Jessica. "You're just tired. Of course you did them good. You brought me back, didn't you? And what about Donny, and Eliza Whitcomb and Pat Bellings and Darren Jenk-"

"Okay, okay," Jessica interrupted and held up a hand. "I get the point. I'm wonderful."

"You're darn tooting." She hesitated. "But I've been wondering if you're being a little too patient with Cassie."

"What do you mean?"

"She's not like the other kids you've treated. She's so strong…Maybe she needs to be met with strength."

"You were strong too." Jessica frowned, troubled. "Do you think I was too patient with you?"

"No, of course not. You did everything exactly right. I was just wondering…Remember, I told you I thought she was hiding something? Do you suppose she's using the monsters as an excuse to stay in the tunnel?"

"That's a pretty complicated fantasy. She's seven years old, Mellie."

"You told me her father said she had a wonderful imagination. Put that together with an immensely strong will, and you might-Oh, I don't know. Just think about it. Now eat that soup before you go back to Cassie." She glanced at Galen. "Do you want a bowl?"

He shook his head and rose to his feet. "I'm going to take a look around the perimeter and make a few phone calls. As soon as Travis gets through with his little business with van der Beck, he's going to hop on me to get you access to the Wind Dancer. I always like to be ahead of the game."

" Fine." Jessica began to eat." It's the only good I can see coining out of this mess. I want a chance to help Cassie before they catch us and line us up before a firing squad."

"Don't be a pessimist." Galen smiled. " If Travis didn't have my invaluable services, you might have to worry, but I've the reputation of a miracle worker."

"God knows we need a miracle," Jessica murmured as he left.

"No, we need to make a deal with Andreas and put an end to this craziness/' Melissa said. "He could force Travis to help Cassie."

Jessica shook her head. "I told you what happened when I called his bluff. I won't risk you or Cassie again."

"The bastard." She was silent a moment. "You don't have to worry about me. I think I'm getting ahold of this thing."

"There's still Cassie."

Her lips tightened. "And you won't risk her."

"You wouldn't either."

"Wouldn't I? Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do." She moved toward the door. "You finish that soup. I'm going to talk to Galen. I hope to hell his phone calls have come up with zilch."

Galen was leaning against a tree a few yards from the porch. He switched off his phone as she came out of the house. "I was expecting you."

"Why?"

"You're not one to sit around when you're not happy about something."

"How do you know?"

"My impeccable intuition. Which at the moment is telling me that you want to grill me about my progress."

"Consider yourself grilled."

"Promising. If Travis can come up with the cash. A million dollars is not to be sneezed at."

"For the Wind Dancer?"

"No way. For the privilege of spending four hours in privacy with the statue."

"A million dollars for that short a time? He'll never go for it."

"You hope."

"It wouldn't help Cassie."

"Shock value?"

"It wouldn't help." Her hands clenched into fists. "And I don't want it happening. Don't give Travis the proposal."

" I beg your pardon? "

"I don't know what he's paying you, but I'll pay you more."

"You have that kind of money?"

"My parents left a comfortable inheritance. I have a trust fund."

"And you'd use it to bribe me?"

"I'll pay you anything if you'll forget about the Wind Dancer. If I don't have enough money, I'll find it."