Iris Johansen - Deadlock

"Don't ask him, tell him," Emily turned back to Joslyn. "Staunton has a list. I'm sure you're on it. I'm not sure if your wife and children are on his kill list. I'd bet they are because Staunton is very thorough, and he couldn't be sure that you hadn't talked to them. If I were you, I'd send them somewhere safe, then help eliminate the threat."

Joslyn was silent a moment. "My family?"

"Do you think he'd stop because they were innocent? He's like Mikhail Zelov, who killed those poor young royal children just because it was convenient. Staunton wouldn't think twice."

Joslyn turned to Garrett. "It seems that I won't be talking to the po¬lice anytime soon. I have to protect my family."

"Good," Garrett said. "Will you come with us now?"

"No, I've got to get home as quickly as possible. My family may need me."

Garrett said to Dardon, "Follow him to his car, and we'll check it out.

Joslyn's brows lifted. "For explosives?"

"For explosives, for bugs. Whatever. It won't take long. Dardon is an expert. But you have to be safe." Garrett shrugged. "We have our orders. Emily wants you kept alive."

"I don't want it," Emily said. "That's the way it has to be. And we may be able to use him."

"I'll do anything I can for you," Joslyn said quietly. "After I take care of my family." He turned and strode down the street.

Emily leaned back in the seat as Dardon started the car and cruised slowly after him.

"He's not a wicked man." Irana's gaze was on Emily's face. "I be¬lieve him when he said that he didn't know what Staunton was doing. I think he and the bishop were both trying to do what they thought was right."

"It doesn't matter. He paid out the money. He made it possible for Staunton to do what he did to Joel," Emily said. "And even if he honestly wanted me to forgive him, I wouldn't do it. I may have to work with him, but that's all."

"It's more than I expected," Garrett said. "You're angry enough to cut him loose for Staunton to take down."

"Yes. You're the one who said you wouldn't be satisfied until you found the man who funded Staunton."

"And we have him. I'm just not sure exactly what we have." Gar¬rett turned around to look at Emily. "Now tell me exactly what Staunton said on the phone. Every word."

She wouldn't tell him every word. She wouldn't tell him the part that had frightened her almost more than the threat to Irana. The ter¬ror was still hanging over her like a dark cloud.

"77/ make sure it's worse for him than it was for Levy."

Don't think about it. It won't happen. I'll make sure it can't hap¬pen.

"I got the call after I'd been in the study for about thirty minutes. Staunton was…"

PAULEY WAS WAITING IN THE lobby when they walked into the inn an hour later. "You should never have left me here alone," he said reproachfully. "It was very cold of you after all I've done. I was won¬dering if I was going to have to come and rescue you. That might have been a disaster, since I'm not exactly experienced at search and rescue. It would have been much better just to have let me come-"

"Pauley, be quiet," Garrett said. "We have enough problems with¬out you yammering."

"I don't yammer. I speak with great-" He broke off as he met Garrett's eye. "Problems? What can I do to help?"

"I'm not sure. But you can bet I'll let you do whatever you can."

He headed for the elevator. "You can start by getting the desk clerk to change all our rooms to the same floor. I don't want anyone more than hailing distance away."

"That may be difficult," Pauley said. "The inn is full now. No one is going to want to move."

"Can you do it, or not?"

Pauley glanced at the desk clerk, who was frowning as she studied her computer. "It's not the kind of work I really like." "It's what I need from you."

He sighed as he turned back toward the desk. "Give me an hour."

The last thing that Emily saw as the elevator doors closed was Pauley leaning his elbows on the desk. He was smiling with a voltage that was stunning in intensity as he spoke to the desk clerk. Good heavens, he was mesmerizing. Emily had never seen Pauley operating with more than a casual charm. This was not casual, this was pure charisma, and it was meant to captivate and sway. "I believe we may have found something that Pauley handles better than computers," she murmured.

"Just so he gets it done," Garrett said.

"I thought you'd want me to change hotels," Dardon said. "Since Staunton evidently knows where we are."

"This is as good a place as any," Garrett said. "And we're not run¬ning anymore." He smiled as he looked down at Emily and quoted her words. " 'We've drawn a line.' Isn't that how it goes?"

"That's how it goes." Emily turned to Irana. "Are you all right? All of this was pretty rough on you."

"It was pretty rough on you, too. You were faced with your bogey¬man again. I just had to deal with an old man who wanted to do good and did evil instead." She got off the elevator as it stopped on her floor. "And now I'm going to my room and pray for that old man's soul. I'll call you later."

"Stay where you are. I'll send Pauley and Dardon to move you as soon as Pauley arranges it." Garrett punched the hold button on the elevator and watched until she reached her room and unlocked the door.

Emily was glad to see his caution. That moment in the garden when she'd thought Irana was the target was still with her. She was trying to maintain her composure, but she kept seeing Irana shot, Irana dead. "She should pray for herself. If that bullet had been six inches to the left, she'd be dead."

"She won't pray for herself," Garrett said. "She told me once that prayers should be for those who can't help themselves. She's not sure if she wasted them on herself that God would pay attention when she prayed for someone else."

"That sounds like her," Dardon said. "You can't say that she's not an original." He got off the elevator at his floor. "Do you want me to go down and try to help Pauley?"

"I think he's got it under control," Garrett said dryly. "Just pack up and get ready for the move." He added, "And be careful."

Dardon tilted his head. "You're really worried about this Staunton. I don't think I've ever seen you this uneasy."

"Because I can't figure out what he's doing," Garrett said. "It doesn't make sense to me. And I don't like not knowing which way he may jump. Just take care of yourself."

Emily didn't speak until after they'd entered her room a few min¬utes later. "I've told you which way he's going to jump," she said curtly. "He told me. He's killing witnesses and anyone who knows about the Tsar's treasure."

"But why now? It seems a little unreasonable. Think about it."

"I don't want to think about it." She was barely maintaining con¬trol. "Maybe later." She threw her purse on the bed. "All I want to think about is how we're going to trap Staunton before he kills you and Irana and-" She stopped and had to fight to keep her voice steady. "No more, Garrett."

"Shh." He took her in his arms. "No more. I promise."

"You can't promise. You can only promise to do your best." Her arms slid around him, and she buried her face in his chest. "And sometimes best doesn't do the job." "It will this time."

"How do we trap him?" she repeated. "He's like a phantom." "We start with his phone call." She took a step back. "What?"

"We have Pauley dig out Staunton's number as he did Babin's. It will be harder, since you can bet Staunton has been even more careful than Babin. When we're ready, you call Staunton back, and we put a trace on his location. Then we move in for the kill."

"What do you mean 'ready'?"

"It has to be in a place that we can get to him." He added, "And he can't get away as he did today." "Won't that be hard?"

"Extremely. But that's why we have Pauley. Maybe he can do a lit¬tle satellite magic again."