High Stakes, page 25
She shrugged away from him. His hands felt too good, and she was trying to be cool and collected. “I’m the one who decides what I need or don’t need. And right now I need to go to that hotel with you to pick up those papers. And then I need to go over them and see if they’ll be useful, and if we need to do anything with them.”
He gazed at her in frustration for a moment and then muttered a curse. He turned on his heel and headed for the front door. “Do you drive?”
She was right behind him. “I drive very well.”
“Of course you do. A necessity for one of your Trials, I presume.” He handed her the keys to the black Mercedes parked in front. “You’ll drive me to the hotel and let me out, so that I can case the area to make sure that Walker didn’t lay a trap for me. If it’s okay, I’ll go in the back way and retrieve the envelope at the desk. I want to avoid any video cameras. You can wait in the parking lot until I come out. Okay?”
“Yes.” She was already in the driver’s seat. “Give me directions. You won’t want me to use GPS if you’re going to have to possibly move around the area.”
“Right.” He raised his brows inquiringly.
“Drug pickups,” she answered. “Directions?”
He smiled and started to rattle off the directions. When he finished, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a small leather wallet. “Your documents came in. Driver’s license, one credit card, and a Social Security card. All made out to Mary Wayne. All phony, of course, but not bad quality considering I didn’t have time to go to the best.”
She looked down in shock. “Why?”
“Because you need them.” He grinned. “And because I trust you not to grab Maria and run off now. Even if I’d been able to do it, I would have stalled when you first arrived at the airport in Connecticut.”
“And you should have. Maria?”
“They’re in the desk in the library. You can give them to her when you get back. But I wanted you to have yours in case you get stopped by a cop.”
“I won’t.” She started the car. “I told you, I’m good.”
It took Lara forty minutes to get to the general area of the Aria hotel. She glanced sideways at him when she was a block away. “Instructions?”
“I’ll get out here.” He was opening the passenger door. “Go five blocks, make a U-turn, and cruise back in this direction. That should give me enough time. If you don’t see me, park at the hotel.” Then he was out of the car and disappearing among the crowd of tourists strolling on the street.
Lara drew a deep breath and then pressed the accelerator. Not too fast. Give him plenty of time. Don’t get nervous. This was just another Trial.
Ten minutes later she was on her way back toward the hotel.
No Tanner.
She parked on the hotel lot and waited, her gaze on the front entrance.
“Let’s go!” Tanner slipped into the passenger seat from the street side. “Straight home.” He smiled. “And I’ll bet I don’t have to give you directions going back. You probably remember every twist and turn.”
She nodded absently as she left the lot. “It was part of the job.” She looked at him. “Did he leave the envelope?”
Tanner patted his jacket. “But I don’t know what’s in it. We’ll have to see, won’t we?” He leaned back, watching her. “It was interesting seeing you do our particular drug pickup. You’re very good. Volkov did an exceptional job training you.”
“It was Anton, not Volkov,” she said curtly. “It was too easy, and not enough risk. The only time Volkov bothered with any of the training was when there was a chance I might break something, and he’d get to see it.”
“That’s right, what was I thinking? I must remember that when we run across Volkov.”
“Shouldn’t we pull over and go through the envelope?”
“And spoil the suspense?”
She just looked at him.
He grimaced. “Ouch. That hurt. I asked for a map. I’d rather wait to get back to the library where I can check out visual references. Is that okay?”
She nodded. “I’m impatient.”
“Walker might have sent us the location of the casino where Sandrino died,” he said quietly. “I’m a little impatient myself.”
She nodded jerkily. “We’ll wait.”
“And I think Rennell should be with us when we go through it. It might mean a lot to him.”
She hadn’t thought of that. But Tanner had, in spite of the tension that was often between them. “I think he would, too.”
“Thank you.” He was looking out the window. “You did a great job, Lara. I couldn’t have asked for anyone better.”
He was sincere, and she felt a sudden rush of warmth. “Not even Mallory?” she asked lightly.
“Absolutely not. I don’t think he ever made a drug pickup in his entire career.” He looked back at her. “And I wish you hadn’t.” He quickly held up his hand. “But I’ll take advantage of any other skills you show me. And I’ll try to watch my tongue.”
“I only drove you. You’re the one who has the damn envelope.” She paused. “And I’m wondering if Rennell was right about you being able to persuade anyone to do anything. Did you just play me?”
He smiled. “Not this time. I promise. Though I do admit I was upset with you being angry with me. What can I do to make it right?”
“Promise me that you’ll never play me.”
His smile ebbed and then vanished. “I promise.”
She chuckled. “Swear on your gorgeous Gulfstream?”
He shook his head. “On Sandrino,” he said quietly. “Will that do?”
Her smile disappeared. “Oh, yes, that will do.”
* * *
Library, Taj Safe House
“I’ll make the coffee,” Lara said as she followed Tanner into the library. “You call Rennell and get him here.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said solemnly.
“Stop that.” She made a face at him as she headed for the entertainment bar on the other side of the library. “I just want to get this going. I’ll call Maria, too, and see if I can get her down here. I told her last night that we might be getting closer, and I want to prove it to her.”
“I’ll get her.” Tanner was already on the phone, and within five minutes Rennell was striding into the library with Maria in tow. While he’d been waiting, Tanner had opened the envelope and taken out four or five yellow scratch sheets of paper covered with scrawled, ink-stained notes and diagrams. He spread them out on the large coffee table. “They’re not exactly things of beauty. Walker was no artist. But let’s see if he gave us anything that we can use…” He reached deeper into the manila envelope and pulled out a smaller plastic envelope. “But this is what I want to look at first.” He slid a postcard out of the envelope and examined it. “Shit, if it’s a phony, it’s a damn good one.” The postcard itself looked a little weathered, and the Bolivian postmark appeared totally authentic. He turned it over and the photo of a smiling Sandrino sitting on a stool at a rattan bar jumped out at them. He was in a white suit, and his shirt was a colorful silky print. It was the first time Lara had seen anything but the photo from Tanner’s phone, and she leaned closer. “Is it him?”
“It could be.” His lips twisted. “Or it could be a very expensive and beautifully crafted phony. I’d bet the postmark and stamp are genuine. We both know Volkov has the money and the contacts to have this made on the spot in that Bolivian town. We’ll have to send someone down there to Santa Rosa to make certain.” Yet his fingers were lingering on that photo of Sandrino. “I’d like to take off and go myself, but I can’t let it distract me right now. We’re getting too close. I’ll get Kaskov to send one of his people to do it.”
“It’s a wonderful smile,” Lara said softly. “He looks happy.”
“Yeah, which can be easier than the postcard to counterfeit if you already have a photo to work with.”
“He’s right.” Rennell met Tanner’s eyes. “Because people always want to believe in the smile of someone they love. Don’t send one of Kaskov’s errand boys. We’ll check it out ourselves after we tie this up.” He turned away and bent over the coffee table, flipping through the scratch sheets. “This one looks like it might be a diagram of the interior of the casino.” He went to another sheet. “This one could be a trail and a lake. Lots of rocks? Or is it a mountain? I can’t really tell.”
“I can tell what’s written on the other side.” Lara had come to stand in front of Rennell and was looking at the opposite side of the scratch sheet. She turned it over. “Sandrino.” She looked at Tanner. “You told Walker you wanted to know where he went, anything he did. He gave it to you.”
“If I can interpret it.” Tanner had picked up another sheet. It was a panel of pointed jags and something that could have been trees. There was a huge letter V in the center of the jags. “Mountains? I believe the V is self-explanatory.”
“But which mountains?” Maria asked quietly from where she was sitting a few feet away. “Sheep Mountain, the Spring Mountains, the Muddy Mountains, Sunrise Mountain? I could go on. I’ve been researching on my computer ever since we got here. The Muddy Mountains might be where that casino is located, but what about that last sketch of Walker’s? The V has to be Volkov, and it might not be in the same mountain group.”
“You didn’t tell me you were researching the area,” Lara said.
Maria smiled. “But why wouldn’t I? I have that fantastic computer at my disposal just waiting for me to unlock the secrets of the universe. I told you I’d be watching your back. I didn’t tell you that was all I was going to do.”
Lara nodded. “I should have known.”
“You’ve been busy.” Maria’s gaze went back to Walker’s notes. “What else?”
Tanner had picked up the last one. “I hope it’s the map that should lead us from Las Vegas to that casino. It looks like there’s a Highway Fifteen on it, which is north of Las Vegas.” He made a face. “Again, it’s not that clear. I’m beginning to think Walker sent us a teaser to tempt me into making a deal to save his neck.”
“Then go after the bastard and get what we need,” Rennell said harshly. “Or let me do it. We’re almost there.”
“Stay away from him. I don’t want him taking off in a panic. We agreed to a division of labor and so far, it’s working. He gave us a part of what we needed; all I have to do is push him the rest of the way.” He looked through the scratch sheets again. “If we had the time, we might even be able to figure it out from these.”
“We don’t have the time. We’ve already wasted more than eighteen months.”
“Do you think I don’t know that? Back off, Rennell. I’ll move as fast as I can. Leave Walker to me. You concentrate on maintaining security and keeping Volkov from pouncing before we’re ready for him.”
“I’m ready for him right now.”
“I’m not. I want the whole story before I cut the son of a bitch’s throat. Even Walker doesn’t know what happened to Sandrino. There’s still a chance that postcard is legitimate, and Sandrino is down there in South America winning another fortune from all those unlucky billionaires.” He added fiercely, “I want to know everything. Tell me that you don’t.”
Rennell gazed at him for a moment, fists clenched. Then he muttered a curse and turned on his heel. “It had better come soon. Let me know when you squeeze more out of Walker.” He slammed the door behind him.
Maria gazed thoughtfully after him. “He’s furious. Can you keep him away from Walker?”
“If I move fast enough. I empathize, I know exactly how he’s feeling.” He picked up the sheet with the highway indicator. “And I think I’d better study this map and see if I can make heads or tails of it before I talk to Walker. I’ll give him until later this evening to sweat a little before I contact him.”
“Are we going to make a deal with him?” Lara asked. “I’m upset he didn’t give us exactly what we wanted, but he was only bargaining for his life. He didn’t ask for anything else.”
“That may be in the second negotiation,” he said dryly. “But we’ll see what he comes up with.”
Maria got to her feet. “Would you like me to make copies of all these notes?” she asked. “Even if they’re not exactly what you need, perhaps you can work with them if Walker gets stubborn.”
Tanner nodded. “If you would.” He smiled wryly. “But we all have to hope that he doesn’t get stubborn. Rennell isn’t going to be patient for long.”
“That was patient?” Lara asked.
“Definitely.” Maria finished gathering the notes and was heading for the door. “He didn’t pull a gun, did he?”
* * *
11:10 P.M.
The first words that Tanner spoke when he called Walker that night were, “Was it supposed to be a joke, you son of a bitch? I wasn’t amused.”
“I kept to my word,” Walker said quickly. “I gave you everything you asked for. If I’d been there with you, I could have pointed it all out in detail. I just hedged a little on the descriptions. You couldn’t expect me to do anything else. If I showed you the whole picture, you wouldn’t have any reason to get me out of this mess I’m in.”
“I still don’t,” Tanner said flatly. “Give me one.”
He was silent. “I didn’t quite tell you the truth. After I came back from Yuma, I waited a couple of days to make sure Volkov was gone for good, and then I went searching at his place up in the mountains.”
Tanner tensed. “And?”
“And I found some dog tags in the brush. I’d seen Sandrino wearing them once when he’d been playing cards with Volkov. I remarked on it and he laughed and said you’d given them to him. He said you’d told him that since he’d been the one who’d talked you into joining the service, he might as well have them because you had no intention of going back.” He paused. “There was a trace of blood on them.”
Tanner swore, long and vehemently.
“I’ve still got them,” Walker said. “Do you want them?”
“Yeah,” Tanner said hoarsely. “Yeah, I want them.” He was silent. “Anything else?”
“I don’t think so. You already know about the postcard. I didn’t look hard. I wanted out of there. And after I received the postcard, I thought maybe the dog tags weren’t important.” He hesitated. “But the bastard will be coming back, won’t he? And he’ll be coming after me. You’ve got to get me out of here. Sandrino trusted you. You’ll find a way to keep me safe until I can come home to Vegas.” He was silent again and then said shakily, “Look, I liked Sandrino. I thought he was kind of funny. I wouldn’t have done anything to hurt him.”
“You didn’t do anything to save him.”
“No. I was scared. I was out of my league. I told myself that Sandrino could take care of himself.”
“Most of the time he could,” Tanner said wearily. “And maybe this time he did, too. I’ll have to investigate that postcard from Santa Rosa.”
“I’ll still have to hedge my bet. Volkov is mean, but he’s smart, too,” Walker said. “That’s why I have to get away from here. Will you take me somewhere safe?”
“Yes. But no more tricks. I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning and we’ll go over those notes. Then I’ll put you in the custody of someone I trust who will take you out of Vegas and keep you safe until it’s secure enough for you to come back here. Is that good enough?”
“That’s great, thanks,” Walker said eagerly. He rattled off an address. “I’ll be packed and ready to go by nine.”
“See that you are.”
“And I’ll dig up those dog tags and have them ready to give to you. Thanks again, Tanner.”
“No problem.” He cut the connection.
“Is there really no problem?” Lara asked from the chair where she was sitting. “You seemed upset.”
“A little.” He turned to her. “He hit me where it hurt.” He smiled sardonically. “But on the other side of the deck, he didn’t ask me for money. Your faith was restored.”
“Sometimes money doesn’t help, it gets in the way.” She met his eyes. “Are you going to let me go with you tomorrow morning?”
He nodded. “I’ve given up that battle. I know you’d only find a way to go by yourself. At least, I can keep track of you if you’re with me.”
“And it’s where I should be.”
“Which is debatable.”
“Yes, but I’m right, and you’re wrong. End of debate.” She got to her feet and crossed to the desk. “Now be still for just a minute.” She took his hands and held them tight. “Look at you, stiffening up. Go ahead. This isn’t any more than I’d do for Maria if I felt she needed someone to reach out to her. I swore I wasn’t going to touch you again. I was very angry with you. I was even insulted. But it doesn’t seem to make a difference. For some reason I don’t like to see you hurting. It would be easier if you didn’t sometimes have that black cloud hovering over you. I know you’re tough. I know you don’t need comfort. But for some reason I need to give it.” Her grip tightened for an instant in a caress that wasn’t really a caress. Then she pushed him away. “And now it’s done. And neither one of us was hurt by it.”
“I’m not so sure,” he said quietly.
“Then do what Maria told me to do,” she said. “Figure it out the best you can. Even though I didn’t do so well this afternoon. I guess every step prepares you for the next one.” She was heading for the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Tanner.”
* * *
“Do you want me to drive?” Lara asked as she walked toward the car the next morning. “I checked that address and it’s about forty minutes from here. Though you probably haven’t got any reason to have me do it today.”
“On the contrary, I’d like you to drive.” He got in the passenger seat. “I need to check out the grounds before I go in and get Walker to go over these notes with me. We might have to move fast if he has visitors.”
“Wouldn’t he have contacted us if there had been trouble?”
