Deadlock

here.'

'No. I want to-'

But he'd already opened the door and was inside.

She muttered an oath as the door shut in her face. Should she go after Garrett?

If she went blundering in search of him, it could get clumsy and dangerous. He was right, she had no weapon. That wouldn't happen a second time. But it was sensible to stay out here and wait.

She didn't want to be sensible. She wanted to barge in and-

It didn't matter what she wanted. She wouldn't chance getting Garrett hurt. So she'd stay out here and wait, dammit.

It was quiet here in the courtyard. Just the soft trickle of the foun¬tain and the sound of the night insects. It should have been peaceful, but she didn't feel peaceful. She didn't like-

The door flew open. 'Come in,' Garrett said. 'Quick.'

His voice was sharp and his mouth tight. Something was wrong.

She was beside him in an instant. 'What is it?' She whispered.

'You don't have to be quiet,' Garrett said grimly. 'No one can hear you.' He threw open the door of the library. 'I wouldn't have brought you in if I didn't need your help.'

Blood.

A man lay crumpled to the left of the door, blood pouring out of his stomach.

'Dear God,' she whispered.

'That's the guard.' Garrett strode toward the desk. 'Nemid is over here. He has a gun in his hand. He evidently tried to reach for a weapon when his guard was murdered.'

Emily slowly crossed the room and stared down at Nemid. Or what remained of Nemid. His head was half blown off his body.

'Staunton.'

'That's my guess. Or more than likely someone who worked for him. Those moving heat indications were his men, first in here, then running down the hall toward the back entrance. I took a look and the kitchen door was wide open.' Garrett said. 'These are fresh kills.' He glanced around the library. 'And afterward they tore up the room look¬ing for something.'

For the first time, Emily was aware of the couch cushions thrown on the floor. A wall safe stood open, with documents scattered on the floor beneath it. Papers in disarray on the desk, books pulled out of the shelves. 'Maybe they wanted it to look like a burglary.'

'Or maybe they were in a hurry and didn't care. That's why I'd bet on its being one of Staunton's men.'

'Borg.'

'It doesn't matter. There's a chance he didn't find what he was looking for. He didn't have much time before we drove up. Someone must have been acting as lookout while the other one searched. That's why I called you into the house. We have to move fast. Let's see if we can find what he didn't.'

'We don't even know what we're looking for,' Emily said. 'A hammer? No, he was looking in those books. Some of them are open as if he'd been leafing through them. It has to be a paper of some sort.' Death all around her. Blood all around her. She drew a deep breath. 'I'll take the rest of the books in the shelves. You go through the desk again.'

'Check the books on the floor that they discarded and feel for thickness. It could be under the cover or the faceplate.'

'You don't have to tell me. I know all about thieves and hiding ob¬jects.' She had a memory of going over the walls in the basement of the museum with Joel. 'Check the walls for any hidden hollows or safes.' She shook her head. 'No, I'll do it.' She moved toward the wall beside the bookshelves. 'I'll be faster.'

He nodded. 'I imagine you will.' He went to the desk and knelt. 'And that's a top priority. Ferguson is damn good. He'll be on our tail in a heartbeat.'

'FIND ANYTHING?' MOORE asked Ferguson.

'Nothing.' He skipped to the next quadrant on the map. 'Neither

Garrett nor Emily Hudson had any connection with anyone in that area.

'That we know about,' Moore said.

'That's what I need. Encouragement,' Ferguson said sourly. 'I'll find them.'

'We could call headquarters and get them to use a satellite to home in on-'

'And by the time we get through the red tape, Garrett and Hud¬son will be out of the city.' He studied the quadrant and punched the cross-reference button. 'This could be faster if we don't have to go through too many- Yes.' An address had been suddenly highlighted in red on the screen. A name and telephone number immediately fol¬lowed. 'Nemid. What connection…?' Then it came to him. It was Nemid who had been responsible for sending Emily Hudson to the museum, and he had been one of the most vocal council members urging her to be found. 'We've got them.' He started the car. 'How long is it going to take us to get there?'

Moore checked the GPS. 'Eight point five miles.'

GARRETT FOUND A SECRET drawer in the left side of the desk. 'Nemid seems to have had a liking for secret cubbyholes. The regular safe wasn't enough.'

'A safe is the first place anyone looks,' Emily said as she ran her fingers over the upper wall. 'Is there anything in it?'

'We'll know soon.' He took his pocketknife and jimmied the drawer open. 'Papers. Documents of some kind. Could be pay dirt.'

'Take them.' She continued to run her fingers over the wall, then moved to the wall on the other side of the door. 'And keep looking. A secret desk drawer is the second-most-popular place to look. Nemid was a smart man. He would have known that he should throw out some red herrings. He wouldn't have used anything that simple.'

'This could be what we're looking for. We don't have much time.' 'Just a little longer.'

'Look, Emily, we have two murdered men and our fingerprints are all over this room. Who's to say you didn't come here to murder Nemid because he sent you on that mission to the museum? We can't afford to be caught here.'

She hesitated. 'Just a few minutes more.' She crossed to the wall behind the desk, keeping her eyes off the crumpled body of Nemid only a few feet away. Her fingertips were light and sensitive on the wall. 'Let me do this…'

'FOUR MINUTES,' MOORE SAID. 'Should we call reinforcements?' 'No, I want to handle this myself.'

'That's right; Emily Hudson is still something of a heroine in the media's eyes. We wouldn't want her to cause problems.'

'She's already causing problems,' Ferguson said curtly. 'But I'll find a way to stop it. I'll find a way to stop both of them.'

TEN

'GOT IT.' EMILY TENSED, HER fingers moving carefully over the surface. 'Circular, and the drywall is thicker in the center.'

'Great.' Garrett was beside her, his knife out. 'Step aside, and I'll see what we have.' He started cutting into the drywall. 'Did I ever tell you that you're pretty fantastic? My kind of woman…'

'Because I know how to burgle a safe?'

'Among other things. Definitely a cavity.' He carefully widened the hole and shined his flashlight into it. 'Bull's-eye.' He reached in and drew out a shallow box. He opened it to reveal a single sheet of paper. 'Nemid evidently wanted it well protected.' He grabbed her arm and headed for the front door. 'Let's get out of here before it's too late. We've been here too long already.'

It was already too late.

As they reached the courtyard, a car screeched to a halt at the curb behind their own.

'Shit. Back way.' Garrett took her hand and ran back into the house. 'Straight down the hall.' He opened the