story house off to the left, inside the wired compound and Mouledoux mentally slapped himself, because he hadn’t noticed it when he’d come in. Of course, he’d been preoccupied.
“ That is impressive. Nobody’s getting past them, but four men walking the fence doesn’t seem like the best use of your resources.”
“ It’s not,” Tucker said. “Usually they have radios, so we only have one man out, but communications are out, so we need the men within shouting distance of each other. Besides, we have both shifts on duty, so it’s not like we’re short of talent.”
“ You have any idea why the radios are out?” Mouledoux said.
“ Not a clue.”
“ Could Booth or Eisenhower be responsible?”
“ Don’t see how,” Tucker said.
“ Odd though, the thing with the radios. Kind of an inconvenient coincidence.”
“ But that’s all it is.” Tucker sounded sure of himself, but Mouledoux wasn’t convinced. He didn’t like coincidences, especially the inconvenient kind.
“ I’d like to see the bunkers.”
“ That’s a good idea.” Tucker’s sneer turned almost to a smile, but not quite. “You should meet the men anyway.” Tucker took him around the estate and introduced him to the four other guards, who looked like capable men. However, Mouledoux thought that like Weed and Lugar, they all suffered from the disease of overconfidence.
He’d said as much to Tucker when they were back in the house.
“ Lila’s good,” Tucker said, “but she’s a shoot from the shadows kind of killer. These men have been to war, they know what killing’s really about. Lila shows up here and they’ll take her out, easier than swatting a bug with a rolled up newspaper.”
Mouledoux had wanted to tell him that Lila Booth wasn’t shooting from the shadows when she’d killed those feds back in Medford. She’d met them head on, standing erect as she’d shot them down. But instead he said, “You’ve got the front covered pretty much, but what about the back? You and your Dad gonna take care of that?”
“ No, we’re going to be in the guard house. It’s built like a brick shit house and has a view of the whole estate, from the front porch to the front gate. In the unlikely event anyone gets past the guards, we can mow them down.”
“ But not Isadora Eisenhower.”
“ Yeah, that goes without saying.” Then, “So what do you think of our setup?”
“ As I said, you got the front covered, but what about the back?”
“ Nobody’s getting in that way. Coming up the back of the mountain is a nonstarter. We’ve got razor wire and an electronic fence down below on an almost vertical section of cliff wall. It was a real bitch to build. As for coming around the side, well there’s the fence, twelve feet tall and full of enough juice to ruin your night, and there’s razor wire on top. And then there’s the dogs. The backyard is their territory. And if all that fails, there’s you and Peeps. You’ll be on station in the kitchen, with lights out inside and on outside, you’ll see anything that moves back there.”
“ It looks to me like you’ve got it covered, but they’re not going to come in shooting.” Mouledoux said. “You’ve got Eisenhower’s granddaughter, after all.”
“ Yes, there is that,” Tucker said as they entered the kitchen. “But better ready than sorry.”
“ So where are you holding the girls?” Mouledoux said as he took in the spacious kitchen with its wide window, overlooking the city lights far away and far below.
“ And why would you want to know that?” Tucker slanted his eyes, pinned Mouledoux with a stare.
“ So I don’t get anywhere near them, just in case this whole thing all goes south. I don’t want to wind up in court someday with them pointing their fingers at me.”
“ Not gonna happen,” Tucker said.
“ Covering your ass?” Mansfield said as he came into the kitchen.
“ Didn’t see you there,” Mouledoux said.
“ Makes no never mind.” Mansfield had a cup in hand, filled it. “The girls are upstairs, in Lila’s old room. They’ve been drugged, so they’re sleeping like babies. They won’t be a problem. If it all does go south, as well it might, you’ll be in the clear, if you’re still alive.”
“ Yeah, if I’m still alive.”
“ Chances are very good you will be,” Mansfield said. “But it’s always best to prepare for the worst.” He winked, turned and left the room.
“ What did he mean by that?” Mouledoux said.
“ Who knows,” Tucker said. “He’s sharp as a tack, but he’s a weird old duck.”
“ Lila Booth used to live here?”
“ Yeah, she moved in right after I moved out. My dad took her in.”
“ So she knows the house.”
“ You’re worrying over nothing,” Tucker said.
“ Probably,” Mouledoux said, but he’d seen what Isadora Eisenhower was capable of and he’d seen Lila Booth in action. He’d made a bad mistake coming here.
“ Make no mistake about this,” Lila told Izzy as they made the turn onto Radium Road. “We’re going to get those girls out of there. They’re going to be okay. We’re going to be okay, too.”
“ How can you be so sure?”
“ You have to think positive.”
“ Alright,” Izzy said. “I’ll do my best.”
“ When I lived up there,” Lila said, “I used to like to date, but Manny didn’t like the kind of boys I went out with, thought they were wasting their youth. So I had to sneak out. He’s got his security guys and his electric fence, so he thought I was well contained. But I’m smart, pretty and even back then I knew how to get a man to do what I wanted, without pulling a gun on him.”
“ What do you mean?”
“ The house backs up on a cliff. It’s a sheer drop, four or five hundred feet. I’m not sure exactly, but enough to kill you if you fall. He’s got an electric fence and razor wire down below, just in case some intrepid rock climber decides to come up the back way. Then there’s the fence around the house, electrified naturally. And if that weren’t enough, there are the dogs.”
“ And his security people,” Izzy said.
“ Yeah, but they’ll be guarding the front. That’s where he thinks he’s most vulnerable and for the most part, he’s right.”
“ For the most part?”
“ Remember, I said I liked to date and that I knew how to get what I wanted?”
“ Yeah.”
“ One of the boys I dated worked for the contracter who installed the fence. It surrounds the house and when it gets to the cliff, it turns in toward it, but only for three feet at both sides, because Manny didn’t want to obstruct his view. There’s a post at each side, right at the cliff. The one on the left side of the house is insulated, so that last three feet of fence ain’t putting out any juice.”
“ Really?”
“ Well, it wasn’t when I moved out seven years ago.”
She made a left turn onto a dirt track that was lightly covered in snow. Izzy didn’t know how she could have seen it. She drove for about a hundred yards or so, found a small clearing with a couple spooky looking acacia trees at the end of it. Lila’s headlights lit up a picnic table.
“ What’s all this?” Izzy said.
“ I don’t know how the table got here,” Lila said, “but it’s been here ever since I can remember.” Lila circled the clearing, backed the car between the two trees. It wouldn’t be hidden during the day, but on this dark night, you’d have to be almost on top of it to see it. “Now you know why I like my cars black.” She shut off the engine.
