During McFall's tirade, Isaac Geller had been coolly appraising his corporate counsel. Briggs was calm and composed, completely unruffled by a verbal assault under which Geller had seen many strong men and women wilt.
'You're onto something, aren't you, Arthur?'
Briggs smiled noncommittally.
Geller turned to McFall. 'Maybe we shouldn't press Arthur,' Geller suggested quietly. 'His representation has always been top-notch. I'm certain that there must be something very important afoot if he is playing his cards so close to the vest.'
'I still don't appreciate our attorney keeping secrets from us, Isaac,' McFall insisted to save face.
'I respect Arthur's judgment.'
'Very well,' McFall grumbled, 'but this better be good.'
Briggs stood. 'Thank you, gentlemen. I'll be in contact shortly, and I don't think you'll be disappointed.'
Chapter Eighteen.
As soon as he got up, Daniel called Amanda Jaffe's office, but Amanda was in Washington County for three days handling pretrial motions in a murder case. After breakfast, Daniel went downtown and spent the day job hunting. He returned to his apartment, tired and discouraged, to find the light on his answering machine blinking. He pressed the play button, hoping that the caller was Kate or Amanda Jaffe.
'Ames, this is Arthur Briggs. I was wrong about you and I need your help. There's been a development in the Insufort case and you are the only one I can trust. Meet me tonight at eight.'
The rest of the message told him how to get to a country cottage near the Columbia Gorge. Daniel's first reaction was that the message was a hoax engineered by Joe Molinari, but Daniel had heard Briggs's voice enough to know that it was his ex-boss on the phone. Only the message did not make sense. Briggs hated him, and even if he didn't, why would he need his help? He had partners, associates, and investigators galore. Daniel was a disgraced, disgruntled ex-employee-not exactly the person Briggs would be expected to call in an emergency. And why would Briggs want to meet miles out of town instead of in his office?
Daniel decided that there was only one way to discover if the call was genuine. He dialed Briggs's office.
'Renee, it's Daniel Ames.'
'Oh, Daniel, I am so sorry. Are you okay?'
'I'm fine, thanks. Is Mr. Briggs in?'
'No. He's gone for the day. He'll be here in the morning.'
Daniel thought for a moment.
'Mr. Briggs left a message on my answering machine. He said there was a new development in the Insufort case. He wanted to talk to me about it tonight. I'm supposed to meet him at a cottage off I-84 on the Columbia Gorge. Do you have any idea why he wants to see me or why he wants me to meet him at this cottage instead of his office?'
'No, but Arthur was excited about something today. This is a good sign, isn't it? Maybe he's going to rehire you.'
'Yeah, maybe,' Daniel answered thoughtfully. 'Look, if Mr. Briggs phones in would you ask him to call me?'
'Sure.'
'Thanks.'
Daniel hung up and called Kate, but she was not in. He leaned back and stared at the wall. What would he do if Briggs offered him his job back? He'd convinced himself that he didn't want to work at the firm anymore, but did he really mean it? Working for Reed, Briggs had been his dream job.
Daniel made a decision. He wasn't certain that he wanted his job back, but he did want to hear what Arthur Briggs had to say. And he was very curious about the new development in the Insufort case that Briggs had mentioned. Maybe he had convinced Briggs that there was something wrong with the drug and Briggs was now on his side. The only way to find out was to meet with the man who had just fired him.
Chapter Nineteen.
Dr. Sergey Kaidanov huddled like a hunted animal in a copse of cottonwoods and watched the cottage as daylight faded. Kaidanov had not had a decent sleep since fleeing from the lab. A damp, uncombed beard covered the lower half of his face and his clothes looked a size too big on his emaciated frame. The woods were damp and the cruel wind blowing off the Gorge chilled the fugitive, but running for his life had inured Kaidanov to hardship and made him cunning and cautious. He was also desperate.
The newspapers said that someone had died in the lab. If it hadn't been for the monkey, the police would have found two bodies. Then there was his escape in Las Vegas. His car had been parked in the shadows of the motel lot. He had been about to start it when another car driven by the same person who'd attacked him in the lab pulled into the space in front of his motel room. Kaidanov had watched until his pursuer was inside. He had only been a few blocks from the motel when he figured out that he must have been traced through his credit card. It took another moment to remember that he'd told the whore that he was taking an early flight. Kaidanov had skipped his flight and used his credit cards sparingly since Vegas, living on fast food and sleeping in his car. He smelled and he was unshaven, but he was still alive. After tonight, he might even be safe.
Headlights lit up the cottage. Moments later a Mercedes parked out front. Kaidanov checked his watch. It was 7:29. Arthur Briggs had arranged to meet him at 7:30 so they would have time to talk before Briggs's associate arrived.
The lights went on in the cottage. Kaidanov scurried across the road. He'd checked out the cottage earlier and he knew that there was a back door. He made a wide circle around the house. There was a farm next to the cottage, but the land directly behind the house was heavily wooded. Kaidanov raced from the cover of a stand of trees and knocked on the back door. A moment later Arthur Briggs let him into a small kitchen.
'Dr. Kaidanov?' he asked.
The scientist nodded. 'Do you have something to eat?' he asked. 'I haven't had any food since breakfast.'
'Certainly. There's not much, but I can make you a sandwich.'
'Anything. A drink would help.'
Briggs motioned toward a kitchen table and started toward the refrigerator. As he passed the kitchen door Briggs saw someone enter the front room. He stopped, puzzled, then walked out of the kitchen. Kaidanov stood, tense as a startled deer. He heard Briggs say, 'What are you doing here?' He was out of the back door before Briggs screamed, 'Run!' and shots rang out.
Kaidanov plunged into the woods as the kitchen door slammed open. He had planned his escape route earlier and he never slowed. He could hear branches snap and the underbrush crackle behind him. He made a sharp turn and circled back toward his car, pausing briefly before racing on to make sure his pursuer kept going straight ahead. Through a gap in the trees, Kaidanov saw someone of average height dressed in a black windbreaker. A hood concealed the killer's face, but there was no doubt in the Russian's mind that this was the same person who tried to kill him at the lab.
Kaidanov had parked his car half a mile up a side road where it could not be seen from the street that ran in front of the cottage and could not be discovered without a thorough search. The engine started right away. Kaidanov left the headlights off until he was on the highway headed east. He had no idea where he was going. All he cared about was that he was still breathing.
Chapter Twenty.
I-84 runs along the Columbia Gorge and is one of the most scenic highways in the United States, but Daniel could barely see the magnificent vista created by the Columbia River and the high cliffs on either side of it because the sun had nearly set. Twenty minutes after leaving the city, he took an off-ramp and found himself on a two-lane road in sparsely populated countryside. After he had traveled two miles, he began to look for Starlight Road. The high beams of a speeding car blinded Daniel for a moment and he almost missed the street sign. Three-quarters of a mile later he spotted a modest cottage that was set back from the road.
A Mercedes, similar to one that Daniel had seen Arthur Briggs drive, was parked on the gravel driveway near the front door, but the house was dark. Daniel wondered why. He remembered the speeding car. Had it come from Starlight Road? He couldn't remember. Daniel parked his car facing the road in case he had to get away in a hurry. He left the motor running and walked toward the cottage.
