trouble.”
He slammed the phone down and yelled to his assistant through the closed door. He jerked his head toward the ceiling when his assistant poked his head in. “Senator Summers is upstairs in the lobby. Escort him directly to my office. Don’t let him take any detours.”
The assistant nodded and slipped out of the room.
Richard leaned back in his chair, trying to calm down. So much at stake here, and too many unresolved issues. No matter how hard he exerted control over this operation, people seemed incapable of giving him any resolution to these matters. How hard would it be to determine whether that body was Gerrit’s?
What if his suspicions became a reality? What if Gerrit is still alive?
He jumped up and closed the door to his office, then returned to his desk and snatched up the phone. He redialed the same number he’d called minutes earlier. The same voice came on the line.
“Look, let’s assume that Gerrit is alive.”
“But he-”
“Shut up and listen. If he’s still alive, then he had help. Go back to the first bombing where his uncle disappeared in Seattle. Take that man’s life apart. Check every contact, every move he made, leading up to Gerrit’s parents’ deaths. I want to know everybody and anybody Joe O’Rourke may have contacted when he started running. I want to know where he landed in his efforts to hide, who helped him.”
“That’s going to take-”
“I don’t care about anything but tracking these guys down. We need to eliminate any exposure to our project. Get on this right now.”
A sharp rap on the door made him turn toward the sound. “Got to go. Let me know what you find.” He hung up the phone. “Come in.”
A haggard-looking John Summers entered the room as Richard came around the desk, extending his hand. “Senator, I am so sorry about Marilynn. Please accept my condolences.”
Summers’s jaw tightened, broadcasting the man’s state of mind. “I don’t need your condolences. I want answers. I want to know how this happened.”
Richard pulled over a chair. “Sit down, John. I’ll tell you what I’ve learned.”
The senator balked. “Tell me you had nothing to do with this. Everywhere I turn, I’m getting stonewalled. Just the way you like to operate.”
A look of shock crossed Richard’s features, an expression he’d cultivated over the years. “I can’t believe you’d think-”
“Save the innocence for someone who might swallow that bull, Kane. I flew all the way to this godforsaken place to meet you face-to-face. I wanted to look into your eyes when I asked this question. Did you have anything to do with Marilynn’s death?”
“John, I swear to you, I had nothing to do with her death. I will do everything in my power to find out who did.”
The senator’s whole body seemed to wilt as he sank into the chair. “Since her mother and I split up years ago, Marilynn was the only family I had left. We’ve had our differences, but I did love her. I had great hopes for her future. And now…this.”
Richard lowered himself in his chair, letting the man talk.
“I can’t get any answers. You’d think the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence could get information on his own daughter’s murder. DOJ, FBI, Seattle PD, ATF-they’re all giving me the runaround. I want to know who did this.” He seemed to have run out of energy as he studied Richard across the desktop.
Gritting his teeth for control, Richard leaned on the desk, clasping both hands together. “We are looking into this because her death is a great blow to our efforts. I, too, had great hopes for your daughter. She was bright, articulate, and filled with drive that would have taken her anywhere.”
“So what happened?” The senator’s voice softened, his tone almost pleading.
This was not the senator Richard remembered only a week ago. He was like a beaten man. He would have to monitor Summers more closely. If this man fell apart, all of them would have serious exposure. He might jeopardize everything.
“John, here is what I just learned from some of my people on the ground. As I suspected, I believe the three deaths-Marilynn’s, Gerrit’s, and the other cop’s, Mark Taylor-are all related.”
“Who killed my daughter?” The man’s voice sounded hoarse.
“You remember the last case Marilynn worked on? The Russian mob?”
The senator nodded.
“They have found a part of the trigger that set off the explosion in Gerrit’s house. Russian made. And we started picking up other chatter about the dead gang leader’s members. It seems this was clearly retaliation for that gang leader getting killed in San Diego. The shooting Gerrit was involved with just before you met him at the airport in D.C. Marilynn and the others are all tied to this one case.”
John Summers drew himself up, pointing a finger at Richard. “Find those responsible and take them out. I do not want them to wiggle out of it in court someday. Find them. Kill them.”
Richard stared back. “If that is what you want, John. Consider it done.”
Standing up, Summers seemed to gather himself, gaining back composure that eluded him earlier. “Tell me when it is finished. I want to know every detail.”
Richard nodded and watched the senator turn and exit as if the matter was settled. As his assistant stumbled after the senator toward the elevator, Richard thought back over the whole investigation since Gerrit returned from Vienna. And what do I tell the good senator if Gerrit rises from the dead?
An encrypted message appeared on his computer. He glanced at the code and sucked in his breath. The message he had been waiting for since the explosion.
Gerrit is alive. Everything under control. No one is suspicious. Soon, I can hand the whole team over to you. Make sure that money gets to my account.
Richard stared at the message and saw the coded name that signed off. A slow smile crossed his face. Got you, Gerrit! You and your uncle will soon join the rest of your family beyond the grave. He could not risk having this Lazarus talking to the world. Only death would keep Richard’s secret safe.
He reached for a phone and dialed a number in Seattle. When a man’s voice came on the line, Richard almost whispered his message. “Make my boy out to be dirty. Then have him killed.”
“But I thought-”
“You’re not paid to think. Just obey. Gerrit is alive.” Richard killed the connection.
Chapter 28
San Francisco, California
Gerrit watched the jet taxi into a private hangar like a hawk returning to its nest. Once the engines whined down, Redneck climbed out of the cockpit, lowered the stairs to the ground, and clambered out, marching toward the hangar doors. The giant hit a power switch on the far wall, forcing the door to slowly close.
As Joe emerged from the cockpit, Gerrit and Alena made their way to the stairway. Willy was already down the stairs before they got to the opening. Gerrit cocked his head. “Where do we go from here?”
Joe rubbed his jaw. “Willy and I are flying out tonight. We’ll drop Redneck in Chicago on our way home. You,” he looked at Alena before turning back to Gerrit, “stay with Alena while she gets you set up. San Francisco, for now, is your new home.”
Gerrit caught Joe and Alena sharing a look. “I’ve always liked this city. Never thought I’d settle here, though.”
“Don’t get used to it,” his uncle said. “In our business, we learn to leave everything at a moment’s notice and start new somewhere else. That’s how we stay alive.”
“I survive by attacking the enemy. Not hiding somewhere until the war’s over.”
“If you live long enough, you’ll have plenty of time to fight. Right now, we need to make sure you can survive in this war. That’s what Alena can give you.”
