Twisted Hunger (39 page)

“Maybe. Or Brevowski. He probably got tired of waiting for us to surface and checked out the room.”

Ellery rubbed her stiff neck. “That doesn’t make sense. I told him why you’re here, and he had already cleared you himself. Why would he search your room?”

Luke pointed to The Eye Doctor file. “Terrell’s files were undoubtedly destroyed in the fire, but Brevowski knows you and I have copies. Maybe he wanted control of the evidence. I really don’t think he can be trusted. Then again, maybe it’s another person altogether, someone who wants to protect Jones’ reputation at all costs.”

“Brevowski said something about Jones having friends who could cause problems, but I’ve never been able to figure out who any of the behind-the-scenes players are. Not that it matters. The important point is that someone was looking for something in your room, and the only unusual item you have here is that file.”

“Oh my God—”

His tone caused Ellery to freeze in place. “What is it?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

She punched his arm.

“Okay. I should have realized this immediately, but with everything—”

“Spill.”

“I think I made the wrong assumption a second ago. If Jones was in Terrell’s house to stage the fire, he probably searched it first.”

“And found the file.”

Luke slowly nodded as Ellery processed that bit of bad news.

“There goes the possibility that you’ve avoided The Eye Doctor’s hit list,” Ellery concluded. “That’s it. You have to go to the police or at least go somewhere to hide out for a while.”

“No police yet. Nothing has changed. We were already pretty sure he would have made the connection between me and Terrell. What it does tell us is that, if the senator got Terrell’s file, he wouldn’t have any reason to tear up my room.”

“Which means Brevowski had to be behind that mess. Well, he kept repeating that I should trust no one. Either way, you
are
going into hiding until this is over.” She didn’t like the fact that his only reply was a grunt.

Luke inspected the apartment again, looking for any sign that someone had searched her home. By the time he finished, Ellery was fairly certain that nothing had been disturbed, including her copy of the file. “That seems to rule out the theory that it was someone trying to round up all the evidence.”

“Not if it was Brevowski,” he countered. “He knows he can get to you anytime he wants. And if we’re wrong about Jones being innocent of searching my room, that still doesn’t mean he’d search here. It doesn’t sound like he has any reason to suspect you of being a threat. At least not yet.”

She made a face. “Geez. I feel so much safer now. You know, for an English teacher, you seem awfully aware of intrigue and covert activities.”

He half-smiled. “It probably has something to do with my misspent youth.”

His comment deserved a chuckle, but she couldn’t even manage a smirk. Her shoulders slumped, as though the burden she’d been carrying had suddenly gotten too heavy. “I don’t know why I thought I could handle this. I’m supposed to be so smart, and yet I walked right into a cage of man-eating beasts without realizing that the door would be locked behind me.”

Luke closed the distance between them and took her hands in his. “You know how I goaded you into having dinner with me? I used my intuition combined with my experience with intelligent women and guessed how to get to you. Brevowski didn’t have to guess—he used what he knew as facts. You loved your mother enough to face death for her, you believe in our system of government, you have political aspirations and, best of all, you’re a lone wolf. You never stood a chance at turning him down.”

She sighed. “I can’t get out now, and I’m afraid to move forward. What am I going to do?”

“You could try leaning on someone who loves you.” He ignored her warning look. “Just hear me out. I’m not suggesting you give up your independence or make me any long-term promises. Friday night you shared your body with me, and I loved it, but I was very aware of the fact that your body was all you let me touch. I could hardly miss the ‘no trespassing’ sign in front of your heart.

“I’m not asking for more than you’re ready to give. I’m only offering to be the strong one for a few hours. When the sun comes up, you can go right back to being the mighty Ellery, who doesn’t need anybody’s love or protection. What do you think? Can you trust me enough to let me in for one night?”

She was too tired and too worn down by shock after shock to keep her guard up against him any longer. His words worked their way into her heart, and probably because he wasn’t demanding anything of her, she let go of her fear and leaned into his embrace. For the next few hours, there would be no politics, no decisions to make, no threats to her life or career. There would only be warmth and security, and a man who seemed to understand her better than she did herself. Normally that would alarm her, but since none of what was happening was normal, she found his insight very comforting.

As he had said, until the sun reappeared in the morning, the mighty Ellery could take a rest.

* * *

Sam Erikson knew it was time for decisive action. He just couldn’t decide what action would be to his best advantage.

According to Brevowski, Abe Jones might actually be some sort of psychotic killer. If that could be proven, it certainly would bring that bleeding heart’s political career down in flames. But big fires have a way of spreading. A sensational story like that would put Jones center stage in the media for a prolonged period of time… straight to the August convention.

He couldn’t think of anything positive that would come from that. In fact, he and the entire Republican Party could seriously suffer from the backlash.

The only solution seemed to be to eliminate the entire problem quickly. It was time to activate Plan B.

* * *

Diane wasn’t surprised to get the order from Erikson regarding an immediate change in plans. She had seen for herself that something was going wrong when Ellery gave her the slip. With minimal stealth, she had been able to get into Madigan’s motel room to see what she’d find, but someone seemed to have been there before her. Then when she’d searched Ellery’s apartment and found the potentially damaging information on Abraham Jones, she knew it was only a matter of time before Erikson would be calling.

He still preferred that Jones’ elimination not make him a martyr. However, under the circumstances, if she could not manage it creatively, she was to handle it any way she could, as fast as she could.

Unfortunately for Ellery and Madigan, they could not be allowed to live and possibly reveal what they knew about the covert operations around Jones.

She was somewhat sorry Ellery had to be taken out, but she was glad the assignment would soon be over. There were just too many wild cards in this game.

Chapter 21

“Good morning, Miss Winters.”

Ellery stared at the smiling man standing in the doorway that connected their two offices. He looked the same as when she last saw him, yet she felt as though she were being greeted by a stranger.

“Miss Winters? Are you all right? You’re as white as the proverbial ghost.”

She blinked, shook her head and pretended to stifle a yawn. “I’m sorry, sir. I guess I didn’t get enough sleep this weekend.”

“Oh? I hope it was due to something enjoyable. I know it’s none of my business, but Vivian would tell you I’m an old romantic at heart. Whatever happened with that young man that was so infatuated with you? The professor… I forget his name.”

She knew he was lying. He would not have forgotten Luke’s name after their second meeting. She wanted to lie in response, but if this was a test… She forced a shy smile. “He’s part of the reason for my lack of sleep.”

He chuckled. “And from the blush on your cheeks, I’d venture to guess you’ll be seeing him again. Good. Everyone should have love in their lives. Perhaps we could make a double date of it one night.”

“I don’t think that will be possible,” she replied too quickly then tried to recover. “He… he has to return home tonight.” A flicker in his eyes told her that news didn’t sit well with him, but his smile remained fixed.

“Ah, but I’m sure he’ll be back soon enough. Unfortunately, someone will probably be hurt by this development.”

Though his tone of voice didn’t suggest it, the words sounded like a threat to Ellery. “What do you mean?”

“I was thinking of poor Brandon Ross.” He paused for a heartbeat before continuing. “He had seemed quite smitten with you as well. I’m sure he’ll be disappointed that another man has won your attention.”

Her stomach clenched. Everything he was saying had a double meaning to her. How could he mention Brandon so casually? Was it possible that they were wrong about The Eye Doctor being responsible for Brandon’s disappearance, or was Jones toying with her to see how she would react to his innuendoes?

“Are you sure you’re feeling all right, Miss Winters? You’ve gone all pale again.”

She didn’t want to look in his eyes, but she had to make herself behave normally. “Didn’t… didn’t you hear about Brandon?”

He looked completely innocent as he shook his head. “We were kept quite busy with Vivian’s parents this weekend. What happened?”

Another lie. He would never miss the news for an entire day. She swallowed hard and reminded herself that her life could depend on his believing that she didn’t suspect him. “He’s missing. No one has heard from him. It’s beginning to look like… like foul play could be involved.”

His expression was one of genuine shock. “How awful. Do they have any clues to go on?”

She shook her head. “Not that I’ve heard.” She forced herself to meet his eyes but she saw nothing suspicious, not even the tiniest glimmer of evil. He only looked appropriately surprised and dismayed.

“No wonder you look so upset this morning, my dear. Remind me to call Sheriff Patterson later and get an official report. In the meantime, I know he was a friend of yours. I had something I was going to ask you to do today, but if you need to take the day off, please don’t feel you—”

“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “And I’d rather keep busy. What did you need?”

“Actually, it’s a request of Vivian’s. I’m afraid it’s quite an imposition, but she would be most grateful.” He paused, as though he were somewhat embarrassed to ask. “She forgot that she had made arrangements to meet the new caterer at our home in Sausalito this afternoon. Originally, she had planned on being there, but it slipped her mind completely and she drove back here with me last night. After the long weekend, she’s completely exhausted. She was hoping you could go for her, since she already went over the preliminaries with you.”

She had to stop herself from leaping at the opportunity he’d just handed her. “Of course I could do that. But what time did I need to be there? The staff meeting is scheduled to start in ten minutes.”

He smiled. “I think we could manage without you this once. The caterer was to be there at one. I was thinking you could hire a helicopter.”

She smiled. “No, thank you. I’d rather not. There’s enough time to get there by car.”

“Then hire a limo. That way you could nap on the way up.”

Now that the opportunity was at hand, she didn’t want to have anyone with her who might interfere with her search. She used the reason he had used himself. “Thank you, but I’d really feel more comfortable driving my own car.”

“All right, but be sure to put in an expense report for the mileage.” He gave her directions, the keys to the house and the code to turn off the security system. As she was about to leave, her direct phone line rang. She almost reached for it then realized that it could be Brevowski or Luke, and she didn’t want to speak to either of them in front of Jones.

On the fourth ring it would automatically transfer to her secretary’s desk, but the caller hung up after three. That suggested that it was probably Brevowski, and since she knew there was a bug hidden somewhere in the office, he would know where she’d gone as soon as he listened to the recording.

She decided that it could be to her advantage if it took him a while to catch up to her. In the event that she discovered something important, she could call the FBI, or even the local police. She would make sure Jones was legally dealt with, while protecting herself from any nefarious plan Brevowski might have for keeping her quiet.