Iris Johansen - Pandora's Daughter

"Am I?" Renata looked away from her. "Do you trust Grady?"

"Yes."

"And Harley?"

"Yes. Though I don't know him as well."

"I don't trust any of you. So you might as well stop pushing me.:

Megan shook her head. "That's not going to fly. You will trust me. All right, we'll start at step one. You can't trust someone you don't know. You said you know only the bare bones about me? I don't like confiding in strangers. I'm a private person and it hurts me. But you're going to know as much about me as if you were my sister." She drew a deep breath. "And I have to start with my mother. She was kind and funny and she always made me feel safe. That was important to her but I didn't realize why until I…"

"GOOD GOD, THEY'VE BEEN TALKING for over an hour." Grady's gaze was on Megan and Renata, who were now sitting on a park bench several yards ahead of them. "What the devil are they saying?"

"I wouldn't presume to guess," Harley said. "And I'm completely without curiosity." He gave him a sly glance. "But I'm sure it's driving you crazy. You have to be in control and it's very hard when you're shoved out of the picture. However, I'd bet that Renata Wilger is proving to be a hard nut to crack. Megan is probably doing well to keep her from running off. I'm surprised she's being this patient."

Grady wasn't surprised. Megan was volatile in some areas, but she could be completely focused. "She wants the Ledger and Renata is the key. She's not going to let her walk away. What do we know about her background?"

"Father and mother both dead. Her father was German and her mother was a U.S. citizen. She spent most of her childhood in Boston with her mother. No brothers or sisters. She's been pretty much alone since she was thirteen except for a distant cousin, Mark Altman, who took her in for the holidays when the schools were closed. She's evidently on the genius level and got all the scholarships going. She received her doctorate in finance from Harvard two years ago and took a job with a brokerage firm, with whom she's been interning since she was sixteen. She's totally focused and been on the fast track with them." He paused. "It's going to be rough on her if she has to abandon the job and go on the run."

"It will be worse if Molino gets his hands on her," Grady said. "What about this cousin? Can Molino use him to get to her?"

"He'd have a hard time. Mark Altman was an agent for the Mossad, the Israeli secret service, before he retired." He shook his head ruefully. "And I have an idea he taught our Renata a good many things books couldn't teach her. She's a lethal little scorpion."

"I imagine those lessons could be the most valuable she'll ever learn. Was her father Jewish?"

"Yes. His grandparents were in the concentration camp at Auschwitz and most of the family immigrated to Israel after the war. He stayed in Munich but remained close to the family in Israel."

"Any family connection with Edmund Gillem?"

"Not as far as I know. Give me a break. I haven't had a chance to do any in-depth probes." His gaze went back to the two women. "But Megan may be doing it for me."

"Don't count on it. Megan seems to be doing all the talking right now." But even as he spoke Megan and Renata Wilger stood up and were coming down the path toward them. "At least your scorpion isn't running the other way."

But the expressions on both women's faces were wary, he noticed. Not hostile, not friendly, wary.

"She's not going to let us have the Ledger," Megan said. "But she's kindly consented to let us try to save her neck."

"I can save my own neck," Renata said. "But she said you were after Molino and I can't do that alone." She stared at Grady. "I want Molino dead. He has to die. I'll do everything I can to help make that happen. But if I believe that the Ledger is in any danger, I'm gone."

"Will you stay at the hotel where we can keep an eye on you?" Harley asked.

She shook her head. "But I'll be in touch."

"Do you have friends you can stay with, Renata?"

"Are you joking?" She shook her head. "If I stayed with them, I wouldn't be a true friend. Edmund told me years ago that he was going to give me the guardianship of the Ledger if things went wrong for him. He'd been watching me since I was a little girl. He'd stayed with us every time he came to Munich and it was like having a big brother. I thought he was just my friend Mark's friend, but then he told me I was going to be the Keeper. He said I was perfect. I had no family except Mark and he was pretty safe. I was such a bookworm that I didn't have time to make many friends. After he told me that I was going to take over the Ledger, I let those drift away." She turned away. "Don't worry, I've been preparing for this for a long time. I'll call you tomorrow after I'm settled." She didn't wait for a reply but walked down the path toward the park gates.

"What the hell," Megan murmured as Renata disappeared from view. "She gave up any friends she had because she knew she was going to have to shoulder the responsibility for the Ledger? She couldn't have been much more than a kid."

"Gillem must have really brainwashed her," Harley said.

She whirled on him. "He did not . He wouldn't do that. He cared about her. I know he did."

"Okay. Okay." He held up his hands defensively. "Just a comment."

"She had to want to protect the Ledger as much as he did. And it had to be hard for him to put her at risk." Megan started toward the park gates. "Evidently their whole world revolved around that damn Ledger."

"And still does," Grady said as he followed her. "And it seems that our world is beginning to be a mirror image. Coming, Harley?"

"Not yet. I'm going to give Renata a few more minutes and then go after her."

"What?"

"I planted a bug in her jacket on the way here." He took out a miniscule receiver from his pocket. "I originally meant to use it at her apartment but I didn't want to take a chance on her walking away from us into the sunset. I don't trust her."

"I spent a long time convincing her that she was safe with us," Megan said. "I'm not going to be pleased with you if she finds that bug and gets pissed."

"You'd like it less if she decided to take off and we didn't know where she was." Harley moved toward the gate. "Trust me. I'll be careful."

RENATA FLIPPED OPEN HER CELL PHONE as soon as she got into her car. Another moment later she had reached Mark in Berlin. "I had to kill a man tonight. Molino knows I have the Ledger. Megan Blair came after me and that tipped him. I'm on the run."

"Megan Blair…" Mark repeated thoughtfully. "You said she might be coming after you."

"It was one of three possible scenarios I ran. This result depended if she came together with Grady. She did. She wants to use the Ledger to trap Molino."

Mark chuckled. "Incredible. But, at least, she's got her goals right. Can you find a way to use her?"

"Maybe." She was silent a moment. "She's a Listener, Mark. She was with Edmund at the end. It was… bad."

"We suspected as much."

"But I didn't know." She tried to keep her voice steady. "She said… he prayed for me."

"He was praying that you'd be strong enough to keep the Ledger safe."

"I don't think so."

"Renata."

"I'm okay. It just came as a shock." She cleared her throat. "And you know I'll always keep the Ledger safe."

"Then find a way to use Megan Blair. Molino's coming too close."

"She's family, Mark."

"And this is Molino, Renata."

He was right, of course. Megan Blair had already jeopardized Renata's safety and the safety of the Ledger by coming here. She had to ignore her instincts to protect family members. Sometimes sacrifices had to be made. "I know we have to get him. I won't fail you."

"It's not me you'd fail, it's the family. I'm sure you'd never do that. Call me if you need any help. I'll come to you through hell and high water." He hung up the phone.