Night and Day (22 page)

He shook his head. “Not tonight. I just wanted to tell you what was happening, so you won't be frightened.” He was whisking her into the bathroom and shutting the door. “Natalie didn't come to the gatehouse tonight, so Sabak is still in the garden. There's less chance that he'll hear us in here.”

“I know. I hear them all the time when they're downstairs in the living room.”

“Do you?”

“Yes, they do all that sex stuff. It's pretty noisy.”

“And a kid shouldn't have to listen to it,” he said grimly. “It's not a great introduction.”

She couldn't understand why he was upset about something that didn't matter. “Why can't I go with you tonight?”

“Because tomorrow, Natalie is going to take you to Drostkey Park. She's supposed to be meeting Eve and doing an exchange of you for Cira's gold.”

“No.” Cara's fingers dug into his arm. “She'll hurt Eve. I
know
it, Jock.”

“It's going to be in broad daylight. Joe Quinn will be there, and I'll bet he'll have backup. He won't let anything happen to her.”

“You should tell them not to do it.”

“It's going to happen, Cara. We just have to do it right.”

She shook her head. “Can't you just take me now?”

“Eve wants it this way. I don't like it. But there are a few advantages even if it doesn't go the way she wants it to. At least it will get you away from most of Kaskov's goons here on the estate.”

“Natalie will hurt Eve if she gets a chance.”

“Quinn will see that she doesn't get a chance.” He paused. “But if the exchange doesn't go as planned, you have to be ready for me to take you.”

Her eyes widened. “You'll be there?”

“I'll be there. You won't see me unless it becomes necessary. But then we'll have to move very fast. Okay?”

“No, it's not okay.” She swallowed hard. “I
hate
it. Eve could get hurt. You could get hurt.”

“But we won't, and you'll be out of here.” He touched her cheek. “And the rest of it won't be easy, but we'll handle it.” He brushed his lips across her forehead. “Now, where's your violin?”

“What?”

“I'm taking it with me and having Palik send it out of the country.”

“Why?”

“Because I'm not letting you go through all this without getting something of value out of it. You love that violin.”

“But it's not really mine.”

“It is now.” His lips twisted. “And I don't think, even if this offer to exchange is sincere, that Natalie would send the violin with you as a farewell present.”

“No, Kaskov gave it to me, but she said to consider it a loan.”

“Then you've just paid off the loan. Where is it?”

“On the bed. In its case. I'm finished for the night.”

He opened the bathroom door. “That's why I didn't come earlier. I wanted you to follow your usual routine as much as possible.”

“Because you intended to take the violin.”

“I couldn't take you. So the violin will have to do.” He smiled and moved over to the violin case on the bed. “The next time you play, it will be at Loch Gaelkar.”

“You're trying to make me feel better,” she said unsteadily.

“It might be my mission in life. Is it working?”

“No, I'm scared. I'll feel better once I know you and Eve are safe.” She moved toward him and buried her face in his chest. “But I won't let them hurt either of you. I'll find a way to—”

“Shh. You've gone through a hell of a lot. We're on the home stretch. Stop worrying about anyone but yourself.” He brushed a kiss across the tip of her nose and turned toward the stairs. “See you at Drostkey Park.”

The next instant, he was gone.

Seven minutes until he reached safety he'd told her the last time he'd been here.

She went out onto the balcony. The air was bitter cold, and she remembered that Kaskov had mentioned it was supposed to snow before he'd left for the airport today. She gazed out at the forest beyond the fence. It wasn't because of the weather that she felt cold and sick to her stomach. There wouldn't be any triumphant fanfare this time when that seven minutes had passed.

Everything had changed.

Three minutes.

She stood there, tense, as the minutes passed.

Six minutes.

Tomorrow it would be Eve as well as Jock who was in danger.

Seven minutes.

No music to herald that triumph.

Only gratitude that Jock was safe and a prayer for tomorrow.

DROSTKEY PARK

3:45 P.M.

“You're sure everything is ready?” Natalie asked Sabak as she watched Cara walk ahead of them toward the large, glittering carousel several yards away. “He's in place?”

“Of course, he's in place.” Sabak glanced at the refreshment stand, his gaze on the window above the awning. “I don't make mistakes.” He had to raise his voice a little to be heard above the music of the carousel. “It will go off as planned.”

“It's starting to snow.” She looked up at the faint white dusting that was starting to fall. “Will they stop the carousel? It would be terrible if they—”

“This is nothing. It's not supposed to snow hard until later in the day. The park will want to squeeze every ruble out of those customers before they close it down.”

“What about the guard to watch her?”

“Judok is freelance. He has no connection to your father. I saw to that. And neither do the guards who are going to follow us back to the mansion with the chest. Now stop questioning me.”

She didn't like his attitude, but she wasn't going to challenge him at this delicate juncture. She hurried ahead as the carousel stopped. “Get on the carousel, Cara.” She looked appraisingly at the horses, lions, and various other figures. Which one…? “Sit down in that seat with the swans on either side.”

Cara looked at her. “Do I have to do it? It's sort of silly. I haven't ridden on a carousel since I was eight.”

“Yes, you have to do it.” She smiled. “And, if you do as you're told, I'll have a surprise for you at the end of the ride.”

Cara hesitated, then turned and got on the carousel. The next moment, she was sitting down on the swan seat.

Natalie could see Sabak talking on the phone, his gaze on Cara.

It was good to see that Sabak was being careful. She smiled maliciously. It was clear that Cara was now set up for her great surprise.

And Natalie had to get across the lush, manicured grounds to that red-awning-covered enclosure she'd rented to prepare for her own reward. She had chosen this place well, she thought with satisfaction. Glittering carousels and these scarlet awnings that looked like ermine-trimmed velvet, children's carriage rides with coaches painted gold. All this nonsense meant to honor an empress who had lived in dishonor since the Revolution. Natalie didn't care. She liked the idea of playing empress. It seemed a precursor of things to come.

Eve.

She tensed as she saw Eve coming through the ornate, carved gates across the park.

But where was the chest?

Then she saw the medium-sized wooden box on the wheeled cart that was being guided by Joe Quinn. She relaxed, for a moment she had been worried. But Eve would never have taken a chance like that. Soft, she thought again with contempt.

Natalie had reached the awning, and she sat down and waited for them to approach her. It made her feel like the pictures she'd seen of Catherine the Great as she'd waited for tribute to be brought to her. Yes, this sort of treatment was what she wanted.

And this treatment was what she was going to get …

*   *   *

“Dear God, she looks arrogant,” Eve murmured, as they walked toward Natalie. The last time she had seen Natalie Castino, she had been covered in dirt, her clothes torn. Now she was wearing a fashionable red-velvet maxiskirt and black-suede jacket, every hair in place, her gaze fixed on them with mockery. “So sure of herself. Does she have a right to be that sure of herself, Joe?”

“I had Palik check over the park, and he didn't report any of Kaskov's men but Sabak anywhere near that carousel or Natalie.” He kept his gaze fixed on Natalie. “And we have four men scattered around the park that Palik hired to back us if we need them.”

“But where is Jock? I don't see—” Then she forgot Jock as she saw Cara sitting in the swan seat as the slowly revolving carousel brought her into view. Dressed in a black jacket over a white blouse and pleated navy skirt, she looked thinner, older than she usually did. Her face was pale, her lips tense. “She looks scared. I want to
kill
Natalie.”

“Easy.” His gaze was on a muscular young man in a black-leather jacket who was standing a short distance away from Cara, holding on to one of the brass poles. “She's being watched. That's definitely not the type who'd be hanging out at a carousel.”

Eve nodded. “I repeat, where's Jock?” But they were already only a few yards from Natalie, and all of her attention was focused on her smiling face. “We're here,” she said curtly. “Let's get this over with, Natalie.”

“You're in such a hurry,” Natalie said. “I, on the other hand, want to enjoy this a little.” Her gaze was on the wooden box. “And that box doesn't appear to be very interesting or promising.”

“Did you expect us to transport the coins in the original chest? It would have attracted too much attention.” She flipped up the lid of the wooden container. “Besides the fact that I wasn't sure it would have withstood the journey. It's a bit fragile.”

Natalie's gaze was hungrily devouring the sight of the bronze chest. “I can see that.” She reached out and touched the hawk emblem on the lid with one finger. “All those centuries … I imagine the chest may be worth a fortune, too.”

And Natalie was buying the authenticity of the chest, Eve thought thankfully. First test passed. “We weren't concerned with the chest itself. It was what was inside that interested us.” She looked around. “I thought you'd have an expert here to examine a few of the coins. Where is he?”

“Why, I trust you, Eve.” She was lifting the lid of the bronze chest. “And I took the precaution of having the other coins you sent me appraised, and they were adequate.”

Two million dollars' worth of adequate, Eve thought cynically.

“But I'll just have a look at these coins.” Natalie's cheeks were flushing as she stared down at the heap of glittering gold and silver coins before her. “Beautiful…” She picked up one of the Greek drachmas, then reached out and picked up another. “I recognize these coins. You sent me one that was something like these.”

It was the reaction for which Eve had hoped. “Did I? I don't remember.” She picked up a gold coin. “These gold Roman coins look more valuable.”

“Maybe.” She was dipping her hand in the coins and letting them flow through her fingers. “We'll have to see, won't we?”

Natalie's motion was making Eve extremely nervous. The last thing she wanted was for Natalie to notice the false bottom on the chest. “You, not we. You've seen to it that I have nothing more to do with Cira's gold.”

“Yes, I have.” To Eve's relief, she was closing the lid of the chest. “But you don't care about that, do you. All you're concerned about is our dear Cara.” Her gaze lifted toward the carousel. “My father is going to be so sad to part with her.”

“We've given you the treasure, now have Cara brought to us.”

“Presently. I want to see Cara enjoying herself one last time. You can't blame me for that, can you?”

“Yes, since it's a huge lie.”

“But no one else would blame me.” She gestured to Sabak to come forward and take the chest. She smiled at him as he guided the wooden box and bronze chest to a spot a few yards away. “And now that this troubling business is over, I really wish to watch Cara for a few minutes. Do you want to know why I arranged to have the exchange in broad daylight in such a public place?”

“Because it would make me feel safe?”

“Oh, no, why would I care about your feelings?”

“I forgot,” Eve said sarcastically. “It's all about you.”

“Of course,” she said. “And my father, who has true affection for his granddaughter.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Well, he thinks he does.” She pointed. “Look, she's coming around again. Such a pretty child. She looks like me.”

“I don't want to look at her. I want her here with us. Keep your word, Natalie.”

“But I never told you why I chose this place. It's because I'm going to tell my father that Cara was so despondent that I decided to take her out for a little treat. But I found that I'd been followed.” She smiled at Eve. “By you.”

“And I kidnapped her?”

She shook her head. “I've prepared the way for something more to my satisfaction.” She said softly, “I'll tell Daddy that you hired an assassin to kill her because I killed your lover, Salazar.”

Eve's heart stopped, then started to race. “You're crazy,” she said. “No one would believe you.”

“My father would believe me.” She looked at her watch, then rose to her feet. “It's starting to snow a little harder and perhaps I'd better leave you and take my treasure home.” She added softly, “And now you'd better have your Joe Quinn run for that carousel to try to save Cara.” She turned and hurried toward the gate entrance. “Because when she comes around again, she's going to be a target.”

“Joe?” Eve exchanged a panicky glance with him. “My God, she means it.” She started running toward the carousel, but Joe was already ahead of her.

The cacophony of the carousel music.

The blinking lights.