Like you whisked my mother?
I told you she was safe, Eve. You talked to her.
Shes not safe. She wont be safe until this is over. None of them would be safe. Joe and Gary and her mother had been drawn into the net, and Eve had done it.
All right, shes not as safe as Id like her to be, Logan said. But its the best I can do right now. He paused. Kessler appears to have upset you. What did he say?
Nazis and swan songs and a young man in the mirror. Nothing much. Nothing important.
It was a lie. Garys life was important. The fact that she had never scratched more than the surface of Gary Kesslers past was important. It was a night of revelations, she thought wearily. Logan, Joe, and now Gary. She closed her eyes. Just keep him safe, okay?
THE WHITE HOUSE
7:20 A.M.
Kessler, Lisa said as soon as Timwick picked up the phone. Check out Kessler at Emory.
I know my job, Lisa. Im checking out Kessler. Hes on my list.
Then put him higher on your list. Duncans worked with Kessler several times. It was in the stuff on the disc you messengered over.
Shes worked with other people too. She heard him rustling papers. And she hasnt worked with him in over two years.
But he was the first anthropologist she ever worked with. They have a history. It would mean something to her.
Then why hasnt she worked with him lately? Logan researched Crawford at
Have they shown up at Duke?
No, but its early days yet.
Early? You should have caught them by now. Times running out. Put Kessler at the top of the shortlist. She hung up the phone.
She shouldnt have been so sharp; it wasnt smart. The more desperate Timwick became, the more resentful he grew and the more domineering he tried to be. But, Christ, how could an intelligent man have so little imagination? Couldnt he see that it was Duncan and not Logan who was the key?
She drew a deep breath and tried to compose her-self. She mustnt panic. She mustnt lose control. Okay, the problem was two-pronged. One, Bens skull must be recovered; any evidence was moot without the skull. Two, Logan and Duncan must be elimi-nated and any other possible evidence destroyed. Dammit, Timwick was doing neither. She had known he was a weak link since that mistake with Donnelli and had made alternate plans to enact whenever necessary.
It was necessary. The more time passed, the more dangerous everything became. She had to take the reins completely in her own hands.
How had she come to this point? She had never wanted any of this. It wasnt fair.
Well, the world wasnt fair. You just had to do whatever you had to do. There wasnt any way she could reverse what shed done that day, so she just had to protect herself and all shed gained.
She opened her phone book to the name and number she had gotten from Timwick three weeks earlier.
She quickly dialed the number. It rang three times before it was answered.
Mr. Fiske? Weve never talked before, but I be-lieve its time we did.
SIXTEEN
KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
11:50 A.M.
'Got it. Eves hand tightened on the thermal case that contained the vial with the DNA sample. Now lets get out of here. We cant afford any deterioration.
Is there enough? Logan asked.
Just enough. She turned to Kessler. Where do you suggest we take it, Gary?
I assume you dont want to take a chance on any of the obvious or well-known testing centers?
She shook her head.
But you want a place with excellent credentials.
She nodded.
Duncan, youre an incredibly demanding woman. And youre fortunate that Im incredible enough myself to meet your absurd demands. He lowered his voice dramatically. I know a man.
I dont want a man. I want a lab.
Youll have to settle for Chris Teller.
And who is Chris Teller?
A student of mine who went on to become a MacArthur Fellow. Brilliant man. Hes been doing re-search on the medical side of DNA, but he needed to put food on the table, so he opened a small lab in Bainbridge, Georgia, last year. Its a three-man opera-tion and they intend to keep it that way. The lab is listed as a medical research lab, not
