Page 26 of The Death
“I’m glad to hear that,” Celine said jerkily. “But it won’t stop me from going after Caldwell, too. I couldn’t bear it if those bastards managed to walk away after they killed Barnaby.”
“Dominic told me about his killing,” Catherine said gently. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“I’m sorry, too. He had a wife and children,” Celine said bitterly. “And he died because he was my friend.” She drew a deep breath. “But if you don’t mind, I prefer not to talk about it. It seems as if I can’t think about anything else right now. Why don’t you tell me instead about Eve Duncan. How long have you known her?”
“Years,” Catherine answered. “But I’ve never seen her happier than she is right now. A few days ago, she was showing me photos of her ward Jane MacGuire’s baby…”
LAKE COTTAGE
NEXT DAY, 9:40 A.M.
“It’s charming,” Celine murmured as they drove down the road from the freeway toward the Lake Cottage. She gazed at the staircase leading up to the covered porch overlooking the deep-blue lake. “It looks like everyone’s dream house.Certainly mine. I grew up on army bases all over the world and my father tried to get the nicest houses possible, but we always knew we’d have to move on soon, so we just planted beautiful flowers in the front yard and left it at that. My dad made sure there were always books and games in the cupboards, and he made time to play them with me.”
“Sounds like a great home to me,” Dominic said. “And a very decent father.”
She nodded. “He was wonderful. It nearly killed me when he died in a terrorist explosion in Kabul. I didn’t know what to do without him for a long while. But then I got hold of myself when I realized that the only way I could honor all the love and care he’d given me was to become the person he’d wanted me to be.”
“So that’s what you did?”
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” she corrected. “I’ve got a long way to go. That was the reason I became so angry when Jossland tried to attack me that night. It was difficult enough working two jobs to make ends meet without that asshole getting in my way.”
“I can see that.”
“Can you?” She was gazing at him curiously. “Perhaps you can. You don’t allow anyone to know enough about you to judge. All I know is that you have a hell of a lot of contacts all over the civilized and uncivilized world. And that Catherine Ling believes you’re some kind of super warrior, and she’s glad that you’re going after Caldwell.”
“Super warrior?” He grinned. “I’m sure she didn’t use those words. She’s much too pragmatic, and she’s one tough agent herself when the chips are down. We’ve known eachother through a number of very difficult engagements, and she seldom agrees with my solutions.”
“Because they’re too ruthless?”
“Sometimes. I don’t stop until I’ve completed my objective, and I try to get it any way I can. I’ll never be as kind or basically decent as your father, but I do have my own code.”
“My father?” she repeated, startled. “I would never compare you with my father.”
He chuckled. “Thank God for small miracles.” Then his smile faded. “But to reinforce that divine intervention, I’d better make sure that you realize how far apart we are in every way. I was born in the slums of Rome. My father was a gambler, and my mother had the good sense to leave us when I was four. I was on the streets of half a dozen European cities from the time I was nine—at least when I wasn’t working in a casino or the nearest bar. The only reason my father kept me with him when he moved to Las Vegas was that he found that I was better at numbers than him. He was grooming me to be a gambler and probably destined to support him. Unfortunately, after a client became irritated when they caught him cheating, he was found in the back room of the casino, very dead. Needless to say, I was not heartbroken. I didn’t want to end up in a foster home, so I took off and hit the streets again. I surveyed the possibilities, and they didn’t look good. But there was one way that I could see a way to control the world around me. So I ended up lying about my age and joining the army.”
“What? Like my father?”
“I assure you, I was nothing like your father. He was evidently an exemplary human being and father. I, on the other hand, was a self-serving sixteen-year-old kid who was willingto take on the whole world to get what I wanted. But while I was doing it, I ran into a good many people whom I admired. I’m very competitive, so I couldn’t bear not to study and work until I was better than them at their particular specialties. I regarded my time in the service as a good decision, and I used it to pattern the way I operated when I moved on to other endeavors.”
“What endeavors?”
“Now, that would be another tale, and I believe I’ve told you enough about my troubled childhood to content you for the time being.”
And it had been a sad yet fascinating story, she thought. But there had been no hint of self-pity in his words. It had been told with casual acceptance and hard cynicism. What a life he must have had. She found she wanted to hear more about those “endeavors” that had shaped him. “But I haven’t heard anything about this so-called code you were telling me about. I’m particularly interested in how it applies to those guards you supposedly put out here to protect Eve Duncan. Were you lying to me?” Her gaze raked the lakefront property. “I don’t see any guards.”
“There’re two on the rear of the boathouse.” He pointed at the woods. “One near that pine tree at the edge of the woods.” He added, “And there were two on guard right after we left the freeway. As for that code I mentioned, I keep it very simple. I tell the truth to those I know will tell it to me. And I do unto others as I would have them do unto me.” He paused. “Naturally, there are exceptions. And I admit that my temper does explode on occasion, and then I say to hell with codes. But I work on it, and it’s much rarer now than it used to be.”
He’d reached the Lake Cottage, and he parked near the staircase that led up to the covered sunporch. “Here we are.” He turned off the engine. “I had Catherine call Eve to introduce you. I would have called her myself, but I wanted you to have a chance to be welcomed by someone you admire and appreciate. She knows that I was behind Fallon and Catherine trying to persuade her to do the death mask. I’d be lucky if impatience is the worst thing she feels toward me at the moment. So I’ll wait for you here. Take your time. I hope you get what you want.”
“That’s very generous of you considering you told me that you don’t stop until you get what you want,” she said dryly.
He smiled. “And that hasn’t changed. If I decide that you’ll turn out to be a hazard, I’ll just go in another direction. But there’s nothing wrong in hoping perhaps we can both get what we want.”
She was already climbing the flight of steps leading to the sunporch. “I’m not a hazard, dammit.” Then she added over her shoulder, “Though I admit I’m a little nervous right now.”
“Don’t be nervous,” he said. “If she attacks you, I’ll come running.”
“Don’t you dare. This is my battle.” She winked and was already knocking on the door. “If you try, I’ll knock you down and stomp on you.”
