The Face of Deception (24 page)

Maybe we could come to an arrangement, Logan said.

Back off, Gary. Eve unfastened Bens case. You know very well that if youre interested enough, youll do the job for nothing.

You have a loud mouth, Duncan, Kessler said. Theres nothing wrong with a little greed. And, besides, I might have become more of a philistine since we last worked together. His tone was absent, his gaze fixed on the case. In spite of his words, she could sense his excitement. He re-minded Eve of a kid waiting to see what was in a Christmas package. And sending Quinn in ahead to try to rouse my curiosity is a pretty obvious ploy. I would have thought youd be a little more subtle.

She grinned. If something works, I dont fuss with it.

It must have been something pretty interesting that pulled you into a mess like this. His gaze never left the case. Youre not usually stupid.

Thank you.

She waited.

He finally said impatiently, So who is it?

She opened the lid and carefully lifted out the skull. You tell me.

Oh, shit, he whispered.

Eve nodded. Yes.

He took the skull from her and put it on his desk. Its no joke?

Would I be on the run if it was a joke?

He stared at the face. My God. Chadbourne. He looked at her. If it is Chadbourne. Did you know who you were working on?

She shook her head. I went at it blind. I had no idea until I finished.

And what do you want from me?

Proof.

DNA. He frowned. And what have I got to work on? I suppose you worked on the actual skull again? Why cant you make casts? Theres no telling what you destroyed.

It was already clean. The body had been through a fire.

His gaze narrowed. Then what do you think Im supposed to do?

I thoughthellip; the teeth. The DNA would have been protected by the enamel. You could split a tooth and extract the DNA. Is that possible?

Possible. Its been done before. Kessler added, But its not a sure thing.

Will you try?

Why should I? This isnt any of my concern, and it could be big trouble.

Joe spoke up. Ill be here to guard you while youre working. He glanced at Logan. And Im sure Mr. Logan would be glad to make it worth your while.

Within boundaries, Logan said.

They were going about this all wrong, Eve thought impatiently. Theyd had Gary from the mo-ment hed seen the face. He just needed a little push over the line. Dont you want to know if its really Chadbourne, Gary? Dont you want to be the one to prove it?

Kessler was silent a moment. Maybe.

He wanted it all right. She could see the excite-ment he was trying to hide.

It would be megadifficult, she said. Hell, youll probably have enough for a book.

Not so difficult. He scowled. Unless you screwed up the teeth too.

I didnt touch them any more than I could help. She smiled. And you know my work doesnt interfere with yours. Its all there, waiting for you.

He glanced up from the skull. I know exactly what youre doing, you know.

Of course you do. Now, are you going to do it, or do we take the skull to Crawford at Duke?

Appealing to my competitiveness wont work ei-ther. I know Im the best in the business. He sat back down in the chair. But I may do you the favor. Ive always liked you, Duncan.

Youd do it even if you hated my guts. Her smile faded. But Im not going to lie. The situation is more dangerous than getting in trouble with the law.

I gathered that. He shrugged. Im an old man. I need a little something to keep the adrenaline pumping. Can I use my own lab?

Wed rather you dont. We think were safe, but we dont want to take any chances. Is there someplace else you can work?

You do make things hard for me. He thought for a minute. My lab at home?

She shook her head.

Ive a friend whos a professor at Kennesaw State, which is about forty minutes from here. Hell let me use his lab.

Fine.

What about my assistant?

She shook her head. Let him take over your classes. Ill help you.

I probably wont need it. He added testily, But you can clean off all this damned clay. I want a nice, clean surface.

Okay. She braced herself. But I need to do a superimposition first.

And Im supposed to twiddle my thumbs and wait?

Ill hurry. We need it, Gary. You know the teeth are important with superimposition and we dont know how many teeth youre going to have to take. We cant verify the dental records, so we need every bit of evidence we can get our hands on.

Maybe, he granted reluctantly. But my DNA will carry the day.

I know. But will you use your pull to borrow video equipment from the audio-visual department? I already have the mixer.

You dont want much, Gary said sourly. Tak-ing valuable equipment off campus? Theyll yell bloody murder.

Dont tell them youre taking it off campus.

Theyll still kick up a fuss.

Charm them.

Yeah, sure. Then they really will suspect Ive gone around the bend. Ill threaten and blackmail them instead.

Youre right, we wouldnt want you to act out of character.

But youll work your skinny butt off and get your stuff done pronto.

Im not arguing.

Amazing, Kessler murmured. How long to clean up the skull?

An hour, maybe two. I want to be very careful.

Then Ill get your equipment and then run down my assistant and tell him Ill be gone for a couple of days. Kessler moved toward the door. Pack up our presidential friend. Ill be back as soon as possible.

She said quietly, Thanks, Gary. I owe you.

Yes, you do, and Ill make sure you pay me.

You played him very well, Logan said as the door closed behind Kessler.

We understand each other. She glanced at Joe. Will you follow him and make sure hes safe? I didnt want to make an issue of it, but I dont want him running around the campus all by himself.

You said yourself that you didnt think theyd figure out the connection.

I dont want to take any chances. I persuaded him to help us. I feel responsible.

And I feel responsible for you.

Please, Joe.

I dont want to He broke off as he saw her expression. He turned away abruptly. Stay with her, Logan. If you let anything happen to her, Ill break your neck. The door closed behind him with a deci-sive click.

Violence again. She gazed blindly down at the skull.

Are you ready to go? Logan asked.

Not yet. Im going to pack up Ben and then rifle through Garys equipment for something to chip this clay off. She crossed to the table and opened the cabinet. You can contact Margaret and find out when my mother will be safe.

I can phone from here.

I dont want you underfoot. Go outside and do it.

Id like to oblige, but Quinn gave me orders. I really would like to keep my skin intact.

Im giving you orders. Youre not doing any good here. Get out of my way and see that Moms safe or Ill go home and do it myself. Its what I want to do anyway.

He held up his hand in surrender. Im on my way.

He was gone.

She drew a breath of relief. She didnt want any of them around her right now. She was too unsettled and needed to get things back in perspective. Work was the only thing that would do that. The sooner they got to that lab at Kennesaw State, the better shed be.

She found three wood instruments that looked sharp enough to be effective but not too sharp to do crucial damage if her hand slipped. She dropped them in her handbag and then carefully repacked Bens skull in the case. Okay, Ben. Sorry to put you through this, but Ive got to take all that clay off you. Put it on, take it off. All this running around and fussing doesnt seem fair, does it? She fastened the case. But here we go again.

Mrs. Duncan? Open the door. Margaret Wilson.

Sandra studied the plump woman through the peephole and compared her to the photograph in her hand.

Mrs. Duncan?

I heard you. Sandra unlocked the door. Come in.

Margaret shook her head. No, I have the van at the curb. We have to leave now. Are you ready?

As soon as I get my suitcase. She went to the living room and came back with the case. Where are we going?

We cant talk here. Margaret preceded her down the porch steps. Dont worry, youll be safe.

Why cant we talk here. Im not Sandra made the connection. Bugged? You think my house is bugged?

Thats what I was told. Hurry.

Bugged. Sandra locked the front door. What the hell is going on?

I hoped youd know. Margaret moved briskly down the walk. I thought wed compare notes and come up with some answers. Usually, I dont mind traveling blind for John, but Im a little uneasy about all this. She opened the passenger door. Get in. She indicated the short, burly man in the drivers seat. This is Brad Pilton. Hes with Madden Security and hes one of the crew whos been watching over you the past several days. Hes supposed to be our bodyguard.

I am your bodyguard, Pilton said, pained. He nodded politely at Sandra. Maam.

Well, youre not very big. Margaret climbed into the backseat. Not that thats a hindrance in most cases. I approve of small. Still, I think Id have chosen someone else for the job if Id seen you first. There are uses for big and brawny. Not that you dont have excel-lent credentials.

Thank you. He started the van and edged away from the curb.

Where are we going? Sandra repeated. Or cant we talk?

The vans safe. It belongs to the security com-pany, but I insisted Pilton check it out for bugs anyway. Were going to the mall.

The mall?

North Lake Mall. She smiled at Sandra. We need to do a car switch in case were followed. Well go in one door and out another.

And from there?

Lake Lanier. Ive rented a small cottage. Youll be safe and cozy.

Lake Lanier. She and Ron had talked about going up there over Labor Day, Sandra remembered wist-fully. But hed said theyd stay at the hotel on Pine Island. He wasnt much on rustic. Well, neither was she. In spite of their differences, they had a lot in common.

Something wrong? Margarets gaze was on her.

I guess not. All this seems like a bad dream to me.

Me too. Margaret leaned forward and squeezed Sandras shoulder. Dont worry. Well get through it together.

I think were being followed, Pilton said.

Sandra tensed and glanced over her shoulder. Where?

The dark blue Mercury.

Are you sure?

Pilton nodded. Dont worry. We expected it. Well lose him at the mall.

Someone was following them. Someone who might want to hurt her, Sandra thought with a shiver.

For the first time, the threat became real to her.

Fiske watched the van pull into a parking space at North Lake Mall and the three passengers hurry through the doors of the south entrance. He didnt bother to park. Hed cruise around the mall and see if he could spot the three as they came out an-other door.

It was doubtful. There were too many lots and too many exits.

It didnt really matter. His favorite listening de-vice had paid off again. He knew where they were going, though he wished Margaret Wilson had been a little more explicit. Lanier was a huge resort area with thousands of rental properties.

Which meant he should start the ball rolling on locating the right one immediately.

He took out his electronic earpiece and punched in Timwicks number on his phone. Duncans mother is being taken to a cottage on Lake Lanier. The place was probably rented yesterday or today by Margaret Wilson. I need to know where it is.

Ill get on it. Timwick hung up the phone.

Fiske decided that in the meantime hed check into a hotel and wait. Things were proceeding very well. Hed been upset about leaving Atlanta before everything was tidily brought to completion.

But now he was back.

Everythings fine, Margaret told Logan on the phone. Weve changed cars and were on our way to Lake Lanier.

Call me when you get there.

I told you, everythings fine. Pilton is sure were not being followed any longer.

Pilton?

The bodyguard. Though his body isnt much bigger than mine.

No big deal. Id bet on you over Goliath any day.

Me too. Thats why Im reassuring myself about Pilton. Okay, Ill call you when we get to the cottage. Anything else?

Just stay out of sight. He ended the call.

Everythings fine.

Maybe it was fine, but he was still uneasy. Hed expected getting Sandra Duncan away from the house to be more difficult.