Deadlock

round. We knew that he probably wouldn't cave. We just have to go at it another way.'

'I lost my temper.' She looked straight ahead as she walked toward the car. 'I fell apart. I didn't mean to do that.' Her hands clenched into fists. 'But he kept smiling, Garrett. He was so smug. I was wondering if he was smiling like that while he was talking to Staunton that day. Joel was screaming, and no one cared but me. He kept smiling…'

'Shh.' He stopped in the street and drew her into his arms. 'I know. I know. You did fine.'

'No I didn't.' She buried her face in his chest. 'I fell apart. I shouldn't have done that. I think he liked it.'

'We'll just have to make sure he pays for it, won't we?' His arms tightened around her. 'And I would have probably exploded myself under the same circumstances.'

She felt warm and safe in his arms. A moment ago, she'd been crumbling away with fury and frustration, but, incredibly, it was be¬ginning to be okay now. 'Let's get out of here.' She pushed away from him. 'It's the middle of the street in broad daylight. If Babin saw us, he'd be very happy that he'd upset me this much.'

'It would be short-lived.' He pushed her hair away from her face. 'I promise you everything about Babin will be short-lived.'

She felt a chill. It was strange when she'd been in such a fury only moments before and wanted to strike out at Babin herself. 'Not before we find Staunton and Zelov's book.' She turned away and moved to¬ward the car. 'He didn't even change expressions when I mentioned Staunton's name.'

'He's very slick, very smooth.' Garrett got into the driver's seat. He glanced back at Dardon in the backseat. 'Anything?'

'No.' Dardon looked up from his computer keyboard. 'Too bad. He's neither drunk, nor stupid. If he knew we traced him through Zelov, he wouldn't be caught in the same trap. He'd find another way to make contact.'

'You think he'd be contacting Staunton?' Emily asked.

Garrett nodded. 'Or someone else.'

'You don't believe he's Staunton's employer?'

'I didn't say that. But he could be the middleman. From what you told me, Staunton's reaction toward Babin was annoyance, and there should probably be more intimidation and respect if it was Babin pulling the strings. And the bankroll Staunton had at his disposal couldn't be furnished by Babin.'

'But Nicholas Zelov called Babin, and it seemed as if Babin was in control.'

'We'll have to see. When I talk to Ferguson again, we may know more. Did you talk to Ferguson yet, Dardon?'

'Yeah, he was pretty sour, but he said he'd get back to you.'

'I hope he has something for us. We didn't accomplish anything with Babin,' Emily said.

'Actually, we did.' Garrett started the car. 'At least now we've taken his measure.'

'And he's taken ours?'

He shook his head. 'Hell no, he's not even gotten close.'

FOURTEEN

FERGUSON CALLED GARRETT two hours after they reached the farmhouse. 'What? Just information?' he asked sarcastically. 'No crime scenes to clean up? No dead bodies?'

'Dardon said you were a tad bad-tempered about this.'

'I don't like being used.'

'Neither do I. But you didn't hesitate when you came knocking on my door to get Emily out of those mountains. What did you find out about Babin?'

'Dardon said you knew the basics.'

'The phrase I'm interested in is 'unlimited funds.' Does Babin have them?'

'No, he does well. But he's nowhere near that class.' 'He has that estate in the country.'

'He gambles a lot. He came back from Monte Carlo one day with a potload of money. Paid his taxes and still had enough to buy the estate.'

'A lucky windfall,' Garrett murmured, remembering the castle built by Mikhail Zelov. 'It seems to be the preferred way of acquiring choice real estate. Did anyone check with the casinos?'

'Sure. It checked out.' He continued, 'Of course, who's to say that the casino didn't get a nice fee to say what Babin wanted them to say?

'What a cynic you are,' Garrett said. 'You said he does very well. Who are Babin's principal clients?'

'He has several English manufacturers who moved here after the Cold War and have done even better than Babin.'

'Names.'

'His principal clients are John Broderick, Peter Joslyn, William Smythe. Now, any of those men would qualify for 'unlimited funds.' Babin also does some work for the Russian government and the Rus¬sian Orthodox Church. He often has meetings with Bishop Dimitri Pushkal.'

'What?'

'Bishop Dimitri is one of the most powerful men in the Church. Both the Church and the government have tremendous influence in their different areas. Babin has to deal with both of them to protect his clients. You can never tell when a small bribe or deal in either camp might free up a piece of real estate or smooth the way toward licensing.'

'Does Babin have any family? A mistress?'

'Not at present.'

'He has a blond bombshell at the reception desk in his office.'

'Nadia Vladar. She's not his mistress. Though he's been known to lend her out to his clients on occasion. She's very accommodating, and he pays her very well.'

'She seemed pretty eager to please him.'

'Anything else?'

'I'll need in-depth reports on Smythe, Broderick, and Joslyn.'

'I'm ahead of you. It's already in the works.' He paused. 'You know I'm not going to let you make me go at this blind indefinitely?'

'No, but I think you will until you begin to doubt I can give you what you want.'

Ferguson didn't speak for a moment, but Garrett could feel the frustration behind that silence. 'You son of a bitch. What else do you need?'

'I'll let you know.'

'I'm sure you will.' Ferguson hung up.

'You heard him, Emily.' Garrett turned down the volume on his phone before he hung up. 'Any thoughts?' 'Babin is a middleman.' He nodded. 'But for whom?'

'Maybe we'll know that when Ferguson gets back to us with his reports.' She shook her head. 'But I don't want to wait, dammit.'

'You may not have to wait for everything. There's a good possibil¬ity that Babin got in touch with Staunton after Zelov called him. It's almost sure he'll manage to contact him now that he knows we're on his turf.'

'And Staunton will come to us.' The realization hit home with chilling impact. That was what she had wanted. Yet it didn't stop her from feeling vulnerable. 'He still wants to get his hands on me. We can use that to set a trap for him.'

'Not yet. We want to gather everyone in at the same time. We just have to sit tight until we're ready.'

'And will Staunton let us just sit tight? What if he comes after us?

'We're safe here for a little while. Dardon buried the paperwork for the rental of the farmhouse. And I made sure we weren't followed from Babin's office.'

'I don't want to sit tight,' she said. 'We can gather everyone else in later. I want Staunton.'

'I know you do.' He leaned back in his chair. 'But you also want to find the cause of all the misery he's caused. You want to find the hammer. You told me once you dreamed about it. Do you want some big-time industrialist to find it and get the treasure Joel paid for with his life?'