Iris Johansen - Quinn

“You should know. Evidently, you became buddies with him and the entire sheriff’s office.”

“It seemed the thing to do at the time. So did Jacobs get his hands on the ledger?”

“No, the sheriff wasn’t that gullible. Though Jacobs tried to tell him that it was evidence and was needed to save military lives. It was in Korea, so Jacobs had a good shot at convincing him of his story. It hadn’t been translated.”

“Has it been translated yet?”

“No, clearly things move slowly up here.” She added, “And Sheriff Rupert was a little suspicious when Jacobs didn’t mention claiming Queen’s body for burial. It didn’t seem to be the proper way to behave when Jacobs was giving him this sad story about Queen’s giving his life for his country.”

“And he had Eve’s statement to compare with Jacobs’s story.”

Catherine nodded. “Anyway, the sheriff refused to turn over anything to Jacobs since he was implicated in the story that Eve told him. He told Jacobs to have his superior contact him, and he’d cooperate. So Jacobs didn’t get the ledger, and everything must have seemed to be going downhill for him. His partner was dead, and he was probably going to be revealed as a crook and his Army career would go down the drain.” She picked up her knapsack. “Which means we’d better get on the move. Jacobs has had too long to tie up loose ends and destroy any other evidence against him. We’ll be lucky if we’re able to locate him.”

“We’ll locate him.” Gallo was already moving down the trail. “Call your chief Venable as soon as we get to the car and see if he can trace him.”

Gallo’s tone was as grim as his face. He was in battle mode.

Well, so was she, Catherine thought. It was strange that after being enemies these last weeks, they were walking this path together.

Strange and somehow right.

AN HOUR LATER, SHE HUNG UP from the callback she’d received from Venable and turned to Gallo, who was in the driver’s seat. “Jacobs took a leave of absence from the office the day after he returned from Milwaukee. His superiors have been trying to get in touch with him since all hell broke loose about Queen’s death. The questions began to fly about Queen’s and Jacobs’s possible criminal involvement. No luck. Jacobs is not answering his phone, and he’s just recently moved out of his apartment.” She shook her head. “We may be too late. He could have panicked and decided to go on the run. He’s probably flown off to someplace in the South Seas from which he can’t be extradited.”

“Possibly.” Gallo was thinking. “But Jacobs wasn’t the type to turn into a beachcomber. It would be too savage for his tastes. He was very urban oriented.”

“How do you know? I thought you said he was the invisible man.”

“That doesn’t mean I didn’t make the effort to see him for what he was. He worked closely with Queen. There was always a chance that I’d find a use for him. If he did go on the run, it shouldn’t be too hard to track him.”

“You don’t think he’d go undercover?”

Gallo shook his head. “Maybe. But if he did, then I know what to look for.”

“What?”

“A casino. Jacobs is a gambler, an addict. It’s one of the reasons that he never left Queen no matter how hot the situation got. He was nervous all the time, but he couldn’t let go. He needed the money, and he lost more than he won at the tables.”

“There are a lot of casinos in the world.”

“Then we’ll narrow them down.”

“How?”

He shrugged. “First, we’ll go to Jacobs’s apartment and see if we can find a clue as to where we’d have our best shot. Did you get his address?”

She nodded at the number she’d typed into her phone. “His apartment is in Georgetown.”

“Then call and see what’s the quickest flight we can get to Washington out of either Milwaukee or Chicago.”

She hesitated. “Orders, Gallo?”

“I believe in balance. You were giving me enough orders before we got on the road.”

And now he was moving, thinking, functioning with lightning efficiency. Why was she complaining? She should be glad she was going to have to fight for dominance. It would make the possibility of finding Jacobs all the more likely. “Have you forgotten that the police are looking for you? We’d do better to hire a private plane. I have a contact with-”

“No time. I have several sets of false ID that Queen and Jacobs supplied me and a couple I purchased from private sources. I could never be sure when Queen or Jacobs would decide to send one of their hired killers after me, and I might have to go undercover for a while.”

“Like Jacobs.”

“Exactly like Jacobs.”

“You’re not afraid that security will recognize you?”

“I’ll send you through in front of me. No one is going to look at me when you’re around. Like Jacobs, I’ll be the invisible man.”

“Yeah, sure. But if you’re willing to take the risk, it’s okay with me.” She took out her phone. “I’ll bet we’ll find our flight out of Chicago. The traffic is much heavier…

CATHERINE RECEIVED A CALL from Eve two hours later, when they were heading for Gate 23 at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

Dammit, she didn’t want to face Eve now. Should she ignore it?

Of course not. Eve would not forgive her.

Deal with it.

“Where are you, Eve?” she said when she picked up the phone. “And is Joe with you?”

“I’m on my way to Gallo’s place in the hills. I wanted to see you.” She paused. “And by the noise I’m hearing in the background, you’re not there. An airport?”

“Yes, I knew I blew it when I was talking to you before. I had to get out of there before you descended on us. Joe?”

“He’s not with me. I needed a little time to persuade you to forget this idiocy. Jane is trying to give me a day before she tells him.”

“She won’t be able to do it. You know it as well as I do. Joe is too sharp.”

Eve ignored her words. “Us. You said us. You’re with Gallo.”

“You knew I was, or you wouldn’t have come running to save me,” she said quietly. “I don’t need saving, Eve. He’s not going to hurt me.” She paused. “And he didn’t kill Bonnie.”

“For God’s sake, he has you believing him.” Catherine could hear the despair in her voice. “He did it, Catherine. I know how convincing he can be, but you have to think.”

“No, you have to think,” Catherine said. “You and Gallo are both so twisted and turned around about how you feel about Bonnie that you’re willing to jump at any explanation that sounds halfway reasonable. Only this isn’t reasonable. Just because Black believed what he was saying is no sign it was the truth.”

“You’re the one who is jumping at explanations. What did he do to persuade you?”

“Nothing. Except try to get himself killed. I figured that was unusual behavior and deserving of a little thought.”

“What?”

“Never mind. There’s no way that I have time or enough valid arguments to make you listen. All I can say is that I know you’re on the wrong track. I feel it. You’re a great one for believing in instinct. You believed in Gallo when I thought you were a gullible fool for doing it. Now the situation is reversed. All I can ask is that you trust me.”

Eve was silent. “I do trust you. But I think you’re- Where are you going, Catherine?”

“When you can tell me honestly that you’ll help instead of try to stop me, I’ll talk to you.” She drew a deep breath. “Please. I don’t want to do this without you, Eve. I’ve fought my way through this. I’m doing the right thing.”