True Evil

hazel eyes held a worry as paternal as any that her father or Will Kilmer had ever revealed. 'You're in the emergency room at UMC,' Kaiser said. 'You've got a pretty serious concussion, but otherwise you seem to be all right.'

'Where's Will?' she asked, gripping the FBI agent's hand for support. 'Tell me he's not dead.'

'He's not. He may have some internal injuries. They stitched up his back and admitted him for twenty-four hours' observation. They're going to do the same to you.'

She tried to sit up, but a wave of nausea rolled through her stomach. Kaiser eased her back down onto the examining table.

'How long have I been out?'

'Several hours. It's night.'

'I'm sorry I lied to you, John. I know you told me not to go there. I know-'

'Stop wasting your energy. I should have known you'd go, no matter what. In your place, I probably would have gone, too.'

'What the hell happened? A bomb?'

'You tell me.'

She shook her head, trying to remember. 'All I know is, I was looking inside at dogs, hundreds of them, and they were all asleep. Every last one. And it just seemed wrong, you know? Then I heard an engine, and out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of a van racing away. It was just like the van that followed me in Natchez, only it was red. And I just knew, you know?'

Kaiser barely nodded, but his eyes told her he'd experienced such intuitive flashes before.

'I knew that somehow Noel Traver was Eldon Tarver, that Tarver was bugging out, and that he had let me get that close to him for a reason.'

'You saw Tarver at the scene?'

'No. But I felt him. He meant to take me out, along with whatever evidence was inside that building.'

Kaiser seemed discouraged by her answer.

'Did you get the warrant for his house?' Alex asked. 'Is the SAC still stonewalling on an all-out investigation?'

Kaiser sighed heavily. 'Not completely. We did get the warrant for Tarver's residence, and there's a team there now.'

Alex raised her eyebrows.

'So far they've found nothing incriminating. Zero.'

'Nothing tying him to Rusk?'

Kaiser shook his head. 'But the VCP stuff you uncovered is mind-blowing. In conjunction with the explosion at the breeding facility, that convinced Tyler to ask for the search warrant. We just need to find some evidence that's fresher than thirty years old.'

'What about Rusk? You should search his residence and his office.'

'Tyler won't budge on that. He keeps saying there's no probable cause even to investigate Rusk, much less search his house or office. And technically speaking, he's right.'

'Come on, John. Tyler's just-'

'The special agent in charge. Don't forget that. He has authority over every FBI agent in Mississippi. Don't worry, Rusk is bottled up in his house right now, and I've got six agents covering the place.'

'No idea where Dr. Tarver is?'

'None.'

'Thora Shepard?'

Kaiser looked embarrassed. 'She was in Rusk's office this afternoon, but somehow she slipped out without our guys seeing her.'

'Come on!' cried Alex, coming off the table again.

'A lot of people work in that building, Alex. Four agents just weren't enough.'

'What about Chris?'

Kaiser pushed her back down. 'Dr. Shepard is here in the hospital.'

A stab of fear went through her.

'He's conscious, and he's doing a little better. He has a high fever, and he's seriously dehydrated. He called 911 from the hotel, and when he got here, he asked for an old med-school classmate. Dr. Clarke.'

'My mother's oncologist?'

'Yes. Between Dr. Clarke and Tom Cage, they managed to check Chris into the oncology unit here. He's just a few doors down from your mother. Now they've got an oncologist from Sloan-Kettering involved.'

Alex could scarcely comprehend it all. She felt as though she had come out of heavy sedation for surgery. 'What about Chris's son? Ben Shepard? He's only nine, and he's staying with some older woman in Natchez. Has anyone checked on him?'

'Dr. Shepard was delirious when he arrived, but he kept asking about the boy-and you, by the way. He finally managed to make a call. Ben seems to be fine, and Dr. Cage promised to check on him.'

Alex struggled to see all angles of the situation through the fog in her mind. 'Thora could be a threat to Ben,' she thought aloud. 'She's got to be out of her mind with fear. She's also a major threat to Andrew Rusk and his accomplice. What if she never left that building, John? What if she's hiding up there?'

Kaiser considered this.

Alex grabbed his arm. 'What if Rusk killed her up there?'

'Rusk hasn't killed anyone yet, has he?'

'I have no idea. But Christ, for all we know, Tarver could have been up in Rusk's office today. You know?'

'I guess it's possible. Do you think they'd move so quickly against Thora?'

'Two words: William Braid.'

Kaiser grimaced. 'Damn it. All right, I'll get some people to start searching that tower.'

'Officially?'

'No. But if we find a corpse, the case will break wide open. We can haul Rusk in and put his feet to the fire.'

'I hope you find a very scared woman. Will Kilmer overheard Thora screaming at Rusk to cancel the hit on Chris. If she would turn state's evidence, we'd have Rusk by the balls. And I guarantee Rusk would cut a deal and give us Dr. Tarver.'

'You really believe Thora would talk?'

'You show her the alternative, she'll crack. She wouldn't last a day in prison.'

Kaiser squeezed Alex's shoulder. 'I'm going now. It's time you got some rest.'

Alex snorted in contempt. 'You know I can't sleep with all this going on.'

'Then I'll have the doctor sedate you.'

'You can't sedate someone who has a concussion.'

Kaiser shook his head in exasperation, but Alex could tell he was glad to see her healthy enough to argue with him.

'If you'll get them to discharge me,' she said, 'I promise I won't leave the hospital. I'll spend the night in my mother's room. That way, I can keep an eye on both her and Chris.'

Kaiser stared at her for a long time. 'Stay here,' he said finally. 'Stay right here, as in do not move. I'll see what I can do.'

CHAPTER 48

Andrew Rusk blinked awake to a hell beyond anything that his subconscious had ever spewed into his