Hide Away (38 page)

“No. I don't think they've killed her yet. It was a single man who captured her. Not Salazar. This man was smaller, lighter. Probably Ramon Franco. And his footprints were heavier when he left the scene than when he came. He was carrying something heavy enough to be Cara.” He handed her a white towel. “And this was tossed into the shrubs where I found the phone.”

Joe took the towel and sniffed it. “Chloroform.”

“Which means we have a chance to negotiate,” Jock said. “They took her captive, but she's not dead.” His lips thinned. “She's not going to be dead. Stall. I'll get her back.”

“We'll get her back,” Joe said quietly. “But we may not have much time. The intent was always to kill Cara and remove the evidence of who had taken her from Castino. Like Eve, I expected to find only her body if Salazar got his hands on her. Unless they wanted to dispose of it as they tried to do with Jenny's body.”

“Of course, that's what they'd want to do.” Eve shivered. “And they have a deep lake and all of these hills to hide her.” How could they be standing here talking about Cara's death? All she could think about was Cara's laugh, her wistful eyes, her absorbed, intent, expression when she was playing her violin.

And that's all she would think about, because she wouldn't accept that they could lose her.

Okay, then try to find a different outcome. There had to be some way. Her mind began racing frantically, weighing options, trying to recall her contacts with Salazar … and Natalie Castino.

Joe's gaze was fixed on her face. “Eve, she's alive. We have hope.”

He probably thought she was in shock, she thought. He was only half-right. “They could have had another reason for not killing Cara right away. They want me, too. They believe I know too much. Maybe they want to find a way to get hold of us both.”

“You mean use Cara as bait to trap you?” Jock asked.

“It's possible. And we might be able to turn it around to close the trap on them.” Her lips tightened. “Or I'd be content just to get Cara out of their hands. No, I'd be ecstatic.”

“No bait,” Joe said flatly. “We'll try something else.”

“We'll try whatever we think might work.” Eve looked him in the eye. “Remember when we talked about a division of labor about keeping Cara safe? You stayed behind and worked behind the scenes to find out what was going on and put up a smoke screen. My job was to stay with Cara and keep her safe. You did your job. I didn't do mine. I didn't watch her close enough. Well, it's time I made that right.”

“It was my fault,” Jock said hoarsely. “I didn't think. I was just feeling, or I would have known what Cara would do.”

“And it was Cara's fault for running after you because she was afraid that you'd be killed like her Jenny, like Elena,” Eve said. “We can blame ourselves all night, and it's not going to bring her back. We have to stop it and get to work.”

“You may be wrong,” Joe said. “If we wait until Salazar puts out bait instead of going after him, Cara could be killed.”

“No, we can't wait.” She had a sudden thought. “But maybe we don't go to Salazar. Maybe we go around him.”

“Around him?” Joe repeated. “What do you mean?”

“Natalie Castino. I told you about the fairy story she was handing me when she called me.”

“She was trying to trap you.”

“I don't doubt that for a minute. But she was wonderfully plausible, and I had to question my own instincts at the time. She's clever, and I'm sure she plays everyone around her as skillfully as Cara does her violin.” She paused. “You got the impression that she was in control of everything she did. Was she in control of Salazar?”

“Possibly.”

“Probably. She'd made the effort to keep him as a lover for all those years. But she wouldn't let him know that he was dispensable unless she was prepared to jettison him.” She turned to Jock. “When you called us and told us to come here, you said that you'd been tracking Salazar's men. Was Natalie Castino with them?”

“There was a woman with them. I assumed that it was her. I never saw her.”

“Then her story was definitely bogus. We have to work from there.” She was thinking frantically, going over her conversation with Natalie sentence by sentence. “What are her priorities? She wants to be safe. She likes power and wants to maintain it. She doesn't want to be under her father's thumb or her husband's or Salazar's, but she's capable of using all of them. She wants to be queen and will do anything to—” She stopped. “But a queen needs a crown and a treasury, doesn't she? That may be the bait we need to tempt her.”

“Treasury,” Joe repeated. “As in treasure?”

She nodded. “She mentioned the treasure while she was talking to me. She asked if we'd found it yet. And Salazar said something about the possibility of a deal later. There was definitely an interest from both of them in Cira's gold.”

“Then maybe we should deal with Salazar if he wants it, too,” Joe said.

“You have nothing with which to deal,” Jock said. “We haven't found it yet, dammit.”

“But we know where it might be,” Eve said. “If I have to, I'll use that to strike a deal.”

“Salazar is desperate,” Joe said. “He's not going to risk Cara's being found and talking about his arranging for that kidnapping on the chance that there might be a big payoff. He'll take the safe road.”

And the safe road was to kill Cara. Eve knew he was right, and she was desperate herself, or she wouldn't be considering taking the risk. “Then we deal with Natalie Castino. She's not desperate. I'm sure she wants Cara dead to protect herself, but if you could have heard her talking to me, you'd realize that she thinks she rules the world. Why not? She's convinced everyone that she had nothing to do with her daughter's disappearance for the past eight years. She has a superb self-confidence. She'll think she can deal and get the best of me and have it all. We just have to make sure that she's wrong.”

“What can I do?” Jock asked. A muscle in his cheek jerked as he bared his teeth from tension. “I have to
do
something. I'm not thinking very well right now. Tell me how to help. Tell me how to get her back.”

“Any way you look at it, we have to remove Salazar's men and try to leave him defenseless,” Joe said. “From what you said, you were on your way to doing that before you found out about Cara. But we can't risk making him edgy until we're sure we have a way to get Cara. We'll just plan and set up, then execute when she's safe.” He added, “You found Salazar once. Can you find him again?”

“I'll find him,” he said grimly.

“Cara will probably be with them. You'll want to step in and take her,” Joe said. “Don't do it. Don't take the chance.”

Jock was silent.

“Don't do it, Jock,” Eve said. “Just let us know and keep watch over her.”

He finally said, “I'll keep watch.” He added, “And you won't have many men to take out by that time. But I don't promise anything.” He turned to leave. “I'll let you know when I find them. It will be very soon.”

Eve watched him walk away. She could almost feel his pain, which was making him as volatile as the IEDs Joe had disarmed tonight.

But nothing was going to disarm Jock but seeing Cara alive and free.

“I don't promise either,” Joe said roughly. “I don't like any of this, and if I could see any other way, I'd take it. But I'm not going to let you sacrifice yourself to save Cara. That's not an option.”

“Then let's hope that Natalie Castino can be persuaded that she can have it all.” Eve turned to go back to the campsite. “I'm going to check with Jane about MacDuff, then I'm going to call Natalie. Time's running out.”

He nodded curtly. “I'll get with Caleb, and we'll begin to throw together a plan.” He strode away from her. “I meant what I said, Eve.”

He always meant what he said, Eve thought wearily. But particularly when it came to her safety. She'd already stretched him to the limit tonight up on that road.

But sometimes there were no limits. Not when a child was concerned.

Jane.

She dialed her quickly. “Salazar has Cara. But she's alive. Franco, or whoever took her, used chloroform. We're moving to get her back.”

“Oh, my God.”

“We
will
get her back, Jane.”

“How?”

“We have a few ideas. Where are you?”

“Right now I'm back at camp with MacDuff. I started thinking while I was searching for Cara about how vulnerable MacDuff is right now with only a couple guards to watch over him. Salazar wanted him dead. Who's to say he won't try again? Cara has you and everyone else looking for her, and I couldn't let MacDuff be pushed aside.” She added, “So I told Caleb to go on without me, and I came back. That's what he wanted anyway.” She paused, then said with frustration, “Though I admit it's driving me crazy. I want to be out there with the rest of you.”

“I know how you feel. But you're right, MacDuff was hurt because he was trying to help us. He deserves all the care we can give him. How is he?”

“I think he's better. I can't be sure. He goes in and out. But when he comes around, he's pure MacDuff.” She added brusquely, “But we have to get him to a hospital. I was thinking of loading him into a vehicle and using that road that Joe cleared of explosives earlier to get him away from here. But it would be pretty bumpy, and I'd run the risk of running off the road.”

“Very risky.”

“The fog is lifting. It's worse in the valleys than anywhere else. I called an air ambulance, and they said they'd try to get to us as soon as possible, but they weren't sure when that would be.” She added dryly, “Needless to say, I told them not to land on that road.”

“And you're probably not going to have to worry about Salazar's men interfering with them if they land in the camp,” Eve said. “I guarantee that they're going to be kept very busy in the next few hours. I have to go, Jane. Take care of MacDuff.”

“That's why I'm here,” she said. “You didn't tell me what ideas you have to get Cara back.”

“There are a couple brewing.”

“And you don't intend to tell me.” She paused. “You think it would scare me or worry me. You're right, that's the name of the game right now. I'm feeling helpless. I want to be with you. But I can't, so all I can do is tell you to be careful and remember that I can't do without you. Now, go do whatever you have to do.” She hung up.

Eve drew a deep breath, then did what she had to do. She dialed the number Natalie Castino had given her.

Would she even answer?

If she didn't, there was little hope that they could keep Cara alive.

One ring.

Two.

Three.

Then Natalie Castino picked up the call. “Eve Duncan? I can't tell you how glad I am that you called me back. I was so afraid that you wouldn't. You've decided to help me?”

Her tone held the same heartbreaking agony that it had the first time she'd called Eve. She was still playing the same role she'd assumed before. Poor victimized mother just trying to get her child returned to her. It seemed incredible that Natalie would still think that ploy would work.

But in order to get anywhere with the woman, Eve would have to jar her out of that role. “I was hoping that we might be able to help each other. But that can't happen unless you're honest with me, Natalie. There is no ransom, is there? It's all a hoax. You and Salazar were in together on the kidnapping of the girls.”

Silence. “How can you say that? I wouldn't harm my own daughters.”

“I don't expect you to confess. You're entirely too clever to incriminate yourself on the phone. I just want you to know that I'm aware of who and what you are. Though God knows I don't understand how you could do it. Jenny and Cara were extraordinary human beings and very lovable.”

“Who would know that better than me, Eve?” Natalie said gently. “That's why I'm trying to save my Cara. If I'm not mistaken, I believe that you're trying to do the same thing. Why else did you call me?”

“Not to play your old game. I want to offer you a new one that would have advantages to both of us. Are you with Salazar now?”

“How did you guess? He forced me to come to meet him. He thought I might be useful in negotiating the ransom. I had no choice.”

No agony. Her voice was smooth and almost without expression. She was not going to say anything incriminating but she was clearly willing to talk around the subject.

“Can he hear you now?”

“No, I demanded some privacy.”

“He has Cara. I want her back.”

Silence. “But I'd know if he had her, wouldn't I?”

“I believe you do know. She was chloroformed and taken to Salazar. He's going to kill her if you don't step in.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

“I'm talking about your daughter. I'm talking about death. I'm talking about your saving her.”

“Everyone knows I'd do anything to save her.” She paused. “Are you begging me, Eve? You don't have to beg me. Just tell me about this new game you wanted to offer me. The one you said might help all of us.”

“Cira's treasure. It's a game centuries old, and that makes it all the more precious. MacTavish told Franco that some of those coins in the chest are priceless, but I'm sure an enterprising woman like you would be able to find a buyer. I've heard you like power, and money like that could put the world at your feet.”

“And you're offering to give me this treasure?”

“I'm offering a trade.”

“You've … found this chest?”

Make it sound totally convincing. “Yes.”