Killer Dreams (23 page)

“I’ll get it done.” There was an opening here. “But I’m going to need my original notes on REM-4 to make comparisons. Do you have them on hand?”

He smiled mockingly. “Do you mean you don’t have the formula memorized?”

“You know how complicated it was. I could reconstruct it, but that would take time you don’t want to give me.”

“Quite right.” He hesitated and then turned and went back into the library. He came out a few minutes later with a computer disk. “I want it back at the end of every day. I keep it in the safe.” He handed the disk to her. “Aren’t you happy I take such great care of your work?”

“I should have burned it before I let you get your hands on it.” She turned back to the lab. “But if I have to do this, you’ll have to cooperate with me. I can’t do it alone.”

“Of course I’ll help. We’re just one happy family here on the island.”

She didn’t answer as she closed the door behind her. The moment she was alone the memory of that phone call that she’d tried desperately to block out came rushing back to her.

Brooklyn accent. A voice she didn’t recognize. Bruises on Michael’s face.

It couldn’t be true. There had to be an explanation. Royd wouldn’t have let Franks take Michael to make sure that Sanborne was convinced that his hold on her was real.

I’ll use you or anyone else to get Sanborne and Boch.

Oh, God.

But that was when they’d barely met. They knew each other now, they’d slept together, in many ways she felt closer to him than she did to anyone else.

Yet he’d not hesitated to send her into danger here on San Torrano.

I’d die for you.

Those last words had struck her to the heart. They’d stunned her, but in that moment she’d believed he meant what he said.

But she’d also believed him when he said he’d use anyone. She had to stop this. She was being torn to pieces by the inner conflict. In either case she would still have to survive these days on the island. She would still have to keep Sanborne content enough to not make a move on Michael. She would still have to find a way to destroy Sanborne and Boch. She was in too deep to do anything else.

She pulled Gorshank’s notes closer to her and tried to concentrate. She wouldn’t have put it past Sanborne to have the lab bugged. Every move she made must seem legitimate. Study the notes. Process another water sample. Block out all thought of Royd.

I’d use you or anyone…

Stay quiet.

Don’t move.

Royd lay in the brush waiting for the sentry to pass. It would have been quicker and safer to put the guard down but he couldn’t do that. No one must die tonight. Sophie must have her chance to pick up the wire without suspicion.

The sentry moved around the edge of the fence.

Royd rose and ran toward the patch of grass a yard in front of the gate. He had the plant out of his waterproof pack within seconds and a minute later it was in the ground. He spread the dry, dusty dirt he’d brought with him over the fresh-dug earth. Then he was on his feet and running back toward the brush.

He’d made sure his wet suit was dry before he’d made his move, so there would be no water trail. It would take very close examination to tell the flowers had not been growing in that spot, and weeds popped up overnight sometimes.

So swim back to the launch.

And wait for Sophie to contact them.

“There’s our treatment plant.” Sanborne waved at the small stucco-tile-roofed building surrounded by chain-link fence. “Not very impressive, but it will do for our purpose.”

“Killing thousands of people?” Sophie asked as she got out of the car. She tried to be casual as her gaze wandered over the area. A yellow flower. Dammit, where was it?

“I told you that wasn’t our intention. And if you do your job properly, you can save all those people you’re so concerned about. That should make you feel very important.”

There it was! Tiny scrawny yellow flowers a yard from the gate. She quickly looked away from them. “I’ll do my job. I have to do it.” She walked toward the gate. “Though God knows how. I’m going to need all the luck I can beg, borrow, or steal to save my son from you. I’ll have to—” She stopped. “Luck. Maybe luck will be on my side after all.”

“What?”

“Michael loves yellow flowers. When he was very little, he’d pick me bouquets of dandelions.” She moved toward the clump of yellow flowers. “Maybe it’s a sign that everything is going to go right for him.” She knelt and picked the flower closest to her, using her body to block Sanborne’s vision. The wire. A tiny microphone the size of her thumbnail. She palmed it and let it slip down her sleeve. “I can use a little luck.”

“Yes, you can. How perceptive of you. But a weed can’t help you. I’m the only one who can do that. I’m surprised a scientist would be superstitious about such things.”

“I’m also a mother.” She tucked the flower into the buttonhole of her shirt. “And you may have realized how desperate a mother can be about her child. Of course you have. That’s why I’m here. I’ll take luck or anything else that will keep him safe.”

He smiled. “Keep your sentimental little token.” He opened the door for her. “It’s rather pitiful but I like the idea of you being that desperate. It makes me feel quite heady with power. You know, I’ve always wanted to enjoy that master-slave relationship with you. When we were in Amsterdam and you were so full of exhilaration and confidence, I could see that you didn’t care anything about me or my opinion. You knew you were right and you were only being polite to me. It was very irritating.”

“Is that why you went after my family?”

“Partly. You needed taking down a notch or two.”

Anger and pain surged through her in a hot tide. “My father and mother were innocent. They didn’t deserve to die.”

“It’s done now. Forget it. You should concentrate on the matter at hand.”

Forget it? It was unbelievable that he would think that she could forget that afternoon on the pier that had shattered her life. Yet she could see that it didn’t seem strange to Sanborne. “Yes, it’s done now.” She looked away from him. “And I assure you that I’m definitely concentrating on the matter at hand.”

“Good.” He opened the door of the treatment plant. “The vats are in the back area of the plant.” He nodded past the huge machines. “I have to go. Tell the guard when you’re ready to come back to the lab.” He started to turn and glanced back at her. “This installation is very well guarded. You may have noticed. No one could get near it or out of it without my permission. If you decide your son isn’t worth the risk, you might think of yourself. You’re very young to die.”

She watched him walk out the door. Arrogant bastard. Royd had not only gotten near the installation, he’d managed to plant the wire. She felt a surge of fierce pleasure at the thought. For the first time since she’d arrived on San Torrano she was experiencing a tingle of hope mixed with determination. Royd had broken through Sanborne’s defenses. He’d made contact with her.

They could do this!

“She’s wearing the wire.” Kelly looked up from the monitor as Royd came into the cabin. “She picked it up about ten minutes ago.” He grinned. “Right in front of Sanborne. She handled it slick as glass. Bright girl.”

“She’s in the installation?”

“Checking out the vats now. Sanborne isn’t with her. She hasn’t tried to communicate with us yet.”

“She’s probably being closely watched. As you said, she’s very bright.” He dropped down in the chair beside the desk. “She’ll talk when she believes it’s safe.”

“Have you heard from MacDuff?”

“They’re on their way. They should be here within a few hours.”

“Royd.”

He jumped at Sophie’s voice coming from the monitor.

“I feel like I’m talking to myself. I hope to hell someone’s out there listening.” She paused. “I checked out this place. No cameras and I don’t think it’s bugged. Gorshank did all his work at the lab at the house. There wouldn’t be any reason to spy on him here. I’ll keep it short in case one of the guards comes in and sees me talking to myself. The records on REM-4 are kept in the safe at Sanborne’s library at the house. I’ll try to find a way to destroy them. I hope you managed to plant those explosives. If you didn’t, you might try to get to the vats on the
Constanza
. Half the vats are still on the ship. I’m going to work on Sanborne to move the rest of the vats from the ship to here. I’ll need a gun. Plant it in one of the vats if you can.” She paused. “We may not be able to wait until day after tomorrow. Boch keeps pushing to empty the vats and to hell with the consequences. It’s Sanborne who’s hesitating. But it’s purely business with him, and if Boch convinces him that they can still make the deal with a big percentage of casualties, then he’ll do it.”

“Damn right,” Royd murmured.

She didn’t speak for another moment. “I spoke to Michael last night.” Her words came haltingly. “And the man who came on the line wasn’t Jock. I’d recognize his voice even if he was faking that Brooklyn accent. It…frightened me. I’m trying to work my way through it. That’s all for now. I’ll get back to you if anything happens.”

Royd cursed softly and vehemently.

“She’s going to destroy those records?” Kelly said. “I thought she was there just to locate them.”

“That was my plan, it’s evidently never been hers. I should have known that if she found the records she’d feel duty-bound to do the job herself. She’d reason it was her work that did the damage and it was her job to rid the world of it.”

“And she’s not trusting you to do it.”

“No, she’s not trusting me.” He got up and headed for the door. “Not at all.”

Boch was with Sanborne on the porch when Sophie came back that evening. There was evident tension between them in spite of Sanborne’s clear attempt to hide it.

“Good evening, Sophie.” Sanborne smiled. “I hope you have good news for me. My friend here is being distinctly skeptical about your ability to pull our fat out of the proverbial fire.”

“I’m not there yet. I want you to bring the other vats from the
Constanza
for me to examine.”

“Why?” Boch asked coldly.

“I discovered traces of an unknown element in the vats in the treatment plant. I want to make sure that it comes from the vat itself and not some added ingredient Gorshank put in these particular containers.”

“It’s a waste of time,” Boch said. “She’s stalling, Sanborne.”

“Perhaps.” He studied Sophie’s face. “It could be that I’m relying too much on the maternal instinct.”

“I need those vats.” She didn’t have to fake the desperation in her voice. That subtle threat in Sanborne’s words sent a ripple of panic through her. “You’re tying my hands if you don’t let me examine them.”

“Heaven forbid.” Sanborne hesitated. “Of course we’ll bring you the vats.” He turned to Boch. “We’ll bring them to the plant tonight. It’s what you wanted anyway, wasn’t it?”

Boch’s gaze flew to Sanborne’s face. “You’re going to do it?”

“I’m not a stubborn man. We’ll compromise. We pour the vats into the water supply tonight after she takes her samples. Then we allow her a few more days to come up with a solution to Gorshank’s blunders. If REM-4 causes a disturbing number of deaths during the next few days then we produce our Sophie as the answer to our client’s problem.”

“No,” Sophie said sharply. “There’s no need to empty those vats. Give me a little time and I’ll make sure REM-4 is safe.”

“Boch believes we’ve run out of time,” Sanborne said. “He has no faith in you. Can you imagine that?”

“No.” Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “You have my son. I can’t imagine anyone believing I wouldn’t do everything in my power to give you whatever you want.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Boch said. “It doesn’t matter any longer. You agreed, Sanborne.”

“So I did.” He turned back to Sophie. “Go back to the treatment plant. You’ll have your vats.”

“No,” she whispered. “Don’t do it.”

“But I didn’t do it, you did. You didn’t bring me the results I needed. I told you Boch was in a hurry. It’s your blame, not mine.”

Her blame. For an instant she was stricken and then the rage burned it away. “The hell it is. You son of a bitch. What would it hurt you to wait?”

“Don’t be nasty. I don’t like it.” He turned to Boch. “Send some men out to the ship to get the vats. How many are left on the
Constanza
?”

“Eight.” Boch was hurrying down the path. “They’ll be here within two hours.”

“Excellent.” He watched Boch for a moment before turning to Sophie. “You’d better hope that Boch’s client objects to the potency of REM-4. Otherwise I’ll have no use at all for your services. I’m becoming a trifle annoyed with your arrogance.” He started into the house. “And I wouldn’t talk to Boch as you have to me when he brings those vats to you. He’s an emotional man and he might take measures that would prove unpleasantly fatal for you. After that of course I’d have to make a call to Franks and have him kill the boy. I’d have no need of him then.”

She stared after him, filled with rage and frustration. Why couldn’t the bastard have waited one more day before he caved to Boch? Two hours…

She wheeled and ran down the steps and strode along the path toward the treatment plant. Two hours. She couldn’t let it happen. They had to stop it. She distanced herself from the guard by several yards and pressed the wire. She tried to keep her voice low.

“You can’t wait. The vats are being emptied in two hours. We have to move tonight. I’ll be at the treatment plant.” The guard had almost caught up with her and she didn’t dare say anything more.

Oh, my God. Two hours…

19

G
et your samples.” Boch was watching his men set the vats on the edge of the tank. “I’ll give you twenty minutes.”

“How generous.” She grabbed the tray with the empty vials and moved toward the row of eight vats that had just been brought from the ship. Which one had the weapon she’d asked Royd to plant? And what if none of them did? What if Royd had not been able to get to the ship in the short time since she’d communicated with him this morning? How the hell did she even know if that damn wire had been functional?

Trust him. Royd had gotten the wire to her against all odds. He would have made sure the wire worked. And he wouldn’t have taken a chance and waited to plant the weapon.

I’d die for you.

For God’s sake, stop questioning every move Royd made. She would not have trusted her son to him if her instincts had not told her that Michael would be safe with him. Yet she had done nothing but worry and suspect him since she’d arrived on the island. Royd wouldn’t leave her alone to stop this madness. Royd would be here because he’d said he’d be here.

Trust him.

She had reached the vats. She approached the first one and lifted the lid and filled the vial.

Nothing in the tank.

She placed the vial in the tray and moved to the next vat. Move slowly, take your time.

No weapon.

She went to the third vat. Filled the vial. No weapon.

At the fifth vat she caught sight of the weapon as soon as she lifted the lid. It was in a black waterproof bag fastened to the side of the tank. Relief poured through her.

She shifted a little so that she stood between the tank and Boch. Thank God, he was paying no attention to her. He was shouting orders to the workers about the positioning of the other vats. She filled the vial, then plucked out the weapon and dropped it on the concrete floor between the vats. She set her plastic container with the other vials beside it and moved down the row.

“Hurry,” Boch called to her. “We’re ready to go.”

“Two more vats.” She quickly filled the two vials and went back to the plastic tray. She knelt down, put the vials in the container, scooped up the weapon, and threw it beneath the vial tray. “Done.” She stood up and headed for the door. “I’ll take them back to the lab.”

“Wait.”

She stiffened and looked over her shoulder.

Boch was smiling maliciously. “Don’t run away. I want you to watch me pour the REM-4 into the supply.”

“Because you know I don’t want you to do it?”

“Maybe. I think you’ve been stalling. You’ve caused us a great deal of trouble. Sanborne bungled your handling. He should have left it to me.”

“Believe me, Sanborne was sufficiently sadistic to please even you.”

“Stand there and watch.” He turned back to the men beside the vats. “One at a time. First vat.”

“Don’t do it,” she whispered.

“First vat.”

The men tipped the vat and the liquid poured into the holding tank.

Boch called, “Second vat.”

She slipped her hand into the vial tray and took the pistol out of the plastic bag.

“Third vat.”

She took the gun out of the tray.

“Boch.”

He glanced at her.

She shot him between the eyes.

The look of surprise froze on his face as he crumpled to the floor.

She whirled and tore out of the installation.

There was an uproar behind her.

And there was a guard directly in front of her as she raced for the gate. He started running toward her.

She raised the gun again.

The guard fell to the ground.

Knife. There was a knife in his back.

“Come on.” Royd was grabbing her arm. “They’ll be pouring out of there any minute.” He was half-carrying her out the gate. “Boch’s men are going to be confused but that won’t stop their training from kicking in.”

“I killed him,” she gasped as they ran up the hill. “Boch was pouring the vats into the water supply and I shot him. I shot him….”

“I know. I saw it.” He pulled her down the hill on the other side. “I took out the first guard and was able to get to the window on the far side. Why the hell couldn’t you just walk out of there? He’d already contaminated the water supply after the first vat went in the water.”

“Maybe not enough to hurt anyone. I couldn’t be sure. I had to stop him.”

“So you made sure all hell would break loose.”

She could hear shouts behind her.

Panic swept through her.

“Move!” Royd jerked her toward a clump of trees a hundred yards away.

“I am moving. And we can’t hide in that sparse bit of shrubbery. It’s too—”

“Shut up.” He pushed her to the ground as they reached the trees. He reached into his jacket pocket and was pulling out something. “We’re about to have a distraction.”

Distraction. What did he mean by—

The ground shook as an explosion rocked the earth!

Fire turned the night sky scarlet beyond the hill.

“The treatment plant,” she whispered. “You blew up the treatment plant.”

“It was the only way to make sure that no REM-4 remained. You knew it was probably going to happen.” He stuffed the remote back in his pocket. “I told you I was going to wipe it from the face of the earth.” He got to his feet. “Come on. I have to get you to the beach on the other side of the island. MacDuff’s men should be at the plant doing a cleanup operation. Kelly is waiting to take you to the launch.”

“No.”

“Yes.” He looked down at her. “You’ve done enough. Let us do the rest.”

“Sanborne. He’s at the house. He has my files in that safe.
My
files.”

“I’ll get them for you.”

“My files, my work, my responsibility.” She started at a trot in the direction of the house at the top of the hill. “And I have to move fast. He must have heard that explosion. He’ll guess what’s happening and he’ll grab those files and get out. He probably has an escape route planned.”

“Sophie, trust me.”

“I do trust you. For a while, I didn’t. You were right, I have a problem with trust. But I decided if I believed in myself and my own instincts, I had to believe in you.” Her pace increased. “Trust has nothing to do with this.”

He muttered a curse. “Okay. Then, dammit, we’ll do it together. You don’t have to try to take care of everything yourself. You’ve already cheated me of Boch. If you’ll remember, I have a vested interest in ridding the world of Sanborne.”

How could she forget? She nodded.

“And I call the shots. Or so help me you’ll have to shoot me to keep me from decking you.” He stared her directly in the eyes. “And you know I’ll do it.”

“Yes.”

The house was only a few hundred yards away. No guards in view. That didn’t mean there wouldn’t be guards inside, she thought. “Sanborne has two bodyguards that are always with him. I don’t see them.”

“Can we get to the library from the back of the house?”

“Yes, there’s a veranda that opens off the library.” She headed around the corner of the house. “There aren’t any guards. Where are they?”

“You said he only had two bodyguards?”

“He probably thought he didn’t need any more with all the potential slave labor here on the island.” She nodded at the French doors. “That’s the library.”

“No lights. Will you stay here while I check it out?”

“No.”

“Screw it.” He glided toward the door. “Then keep in back of me.” He kept to one side, reached over, and threw open the French door.

No shots.

He dove in and rolled to the side.

She followed.

No shots.

He lit a flashlight and shone the beam around the room. Vacant. No sound in the room. No sound in the entire house.

“He may have run down to the treatment plant when he heard the explosion,” she said.

“I don’t think he’d do that. He wouldn’t take the chance with his valuable hide. He’d run away to fight another day.” He got to his knees. “And that means you’re right and he’s probably taken off with the REM-4 disks.”

“How?”

“Air or boat.” He headed for the door. “No sound of a helicopter. I’d bet he headed for the pier and his launch.” He was moving at a dead run by the time he reached the veranda.

Sanborne was getting in the launch at the end of the long pier when they reached the dock. One of his guards had just started the engine.

“Damn,” Royd muttered, his hand tightening on the gun. “That pier’s too long. We’re still out of range. We’ve got to get closer.” He put on speed.

“Dear Sophie,” Sanborne called as the launch started to pull away. “I was hoping for a chance to see your face to tell you that your son is now suffering a slow, agonizing death. I made the call when I saw the treatment plant blow.”

“He’s not dead,” Sophie said. “You’ve been had, Sanborne.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Surely they were almost close enough.

“It’s true.”

“Then I’ll have to make sure that you never see him again.” Sanborne nodded at the guard beside him. “Shoot her, Kirk.”

The man raised a rifle.

Oh, God, a rifle would have the range that their guns did not.

“No!” Royd moved in front of her and knocked her to the ground. He lifted his gun as he dove sideways and fired.

But the rifle fired at the same time.

The thunk of a bullet against flesh.

Royd’s flesh, she realized in panic.

His knees buckled and he was falling.

Blood. Blood pouring out of his chest. His eyes were closing.

“Royd!”

Another shot. The bullet splintered the wood of the pier next to her. She instinctively threw herself on Royd, covering his body with her own. She lifted her gun and started to aim.

And then let it drop.

Sanborne was slumped forward in the boat. The top of his head was blown off. The man he’d called Kirk had dropped his rifle when he realized that Sanborne had been hit and was bending over him.

“Did I…get…him?” Royd’s eyes were open and he was looking up at her.

“Yes.” The tears were pouring down her cheeks. “Shut up. Don’t talk.” She was tearing his shirt open. “Why did you do it?” Her voice was unsteady. “You shouldn’t have done it, dammit.”

“Yes…I…should.” His eyes were closing again. “Couldn’t do anything…else. Told…you.”

I’d die for you.

“Don’t you dare die. I won’t have it. Do you hear me? I didn’t ask you to act like some damn hero.” Jesus, the wound was in the upper chest. Don’t panic. She was a doctor. Act like one and take care of him. “You hold on. I won’t have it any other way. You’ve always told me that I was paranoid for heaping blame on myself. Do you want me to spend the rest of my life reliving this?”

“Wouldn’t…think of it.”

“Then be still while I stop this blood and get you stable.”

“Never been stable. Not my modus…operandi.”

“You’re about to change.” She took out her phone and dialed MacDuff. “We’re at the pier. Royd’s been shot.”

“I’ll get help to you right away.”

“Good.” She hung up. “Now I’m going to check to see if that bullet’s still in you or if it passed through. It’s going to hurt.”

He didn’t answer.

He was unconscious.

“Sophie.”

She looked up to see MacDuff and Campbell standing over her. “You took too long.” Her arms tightened around Royd. “He could have died.”

“Ten minutes.” MacDuff knelt beside her. “We came as quick as we could. How is he?”

“Shock. Loss of blood.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what else. I’ve done all I can. We need to get him to a hospital.” She carefully took her arms from around Royd and sat up. God, she didn’t want to let him go. She had the totally unreasonable feeling that as long as she was holding him he wouldn’t slip away from her. “He’s been unconscious since I phoned you.”

“I called for a helicopter right away. They should be here soon.” He said to Campbell, “Go watch for it. I told them to land at the house.”

“Right.” Campbell turned and trotted down the pier.

MacDuff turned back to Sophie. “Are you okay? Is that his blood on you?”

“Yes.” She looked dully down at her bloodstained shirt. “I’m not hurt. He took the bullet for me.”

“Sanborne?”

“Dead. Royd shot him. I don’t know where he is. He was on a launch with two of his bodyguards….” Her voice was trembling and she tried to steady it. “You’ve got to find him. He had the REM-4 disks with him. I have to have them. They’ll always be a threat….”

“We’ll find him.” He reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “It’s going to be okay, Sophie.”

She closed her eyes. Empty words when Royd lay here fighting for his life. No, they were both fighting. She wouldn’t let him die. He had to live or she didn’t know if she could survive.

Christ, how selfish could she be? He deserved to live long and happily and it didn’t matter about her. The phrase repeated over and over in her mind like a mantra. He had to live. He had to live. He had to live.

“Sophie,” MacDuff said gently. “I think I hear the helicopter.”

Her eyes opened. She heard it too. Hope surged through her. Her hand tightened around Royd’s. “Then let’s get him out of here.”

An hour later they arrived at Santo Domenico Hospital in Caracas. Only a minute later Royd was whisked away from Sophie and taken into surgery.

“Are you okay?” MacDuff studied her expression. “He’s stayed alive this long, Sophie. That’s a good sign.”

“It could go either way,” Sophie said. “I appreciate you trying to comfort me, but I know that. But at least he was able to get a transfusion on that helicopter. That ups the odds.”

“Let me take you to the waiting room and get you a cup of coffee.”

She didn’t want to go to the waiting room. She wanted to barge into that operating room and watch what they were doing to Royd. She wanted to
help
, dammit.

She drew a deep breath. “In a minute. I have to go outside and use my cell phone.” She headed toward the emergency-room doors. “I was going to call Michael anyway. I may as well keep busy.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Royd told me he was with Jock. Is that still the case?”

He nodded. “At the lake cottage outside Atlanta.”