Iris Johansen - Pandora's Daughter

"He's not in Miami now, dammit."

"No, but you can get the CIA to go to his apartment and get me that personal object I need to find him. They don't seem to be able to get anything from anywhere else."

"Are you sure there's something you can use in that apartment?" Megan asked.

Renata's lips twisted. "Oh, yes. Hedda Kipler says he keeps the things she brought him in the second drawer in the chest by the bathroom door. Tell them to bring me any object in that drawer and I'll be able to find Molino."

"You seem certain."

Renata's gaze shifted to meet the malevolent glare of Hedda Kipler. "Absolutely."

"Megan is supposed to meet with Molino at Redwing, Tennessee, tomorrow night. Redwing could be a starting point for you." Grady shrugged. "Or maybe not. He could have chosen a place to meet at the opposite end of the state from his headquarters."

"I'll try Redwing. If you can make the CIA move fast, I'll be out there on the road tomorrow."

"I'll call Venable right away," Grady said. "He can send someone to pick up Hedda Kipler and get a man out to Molino's Miami apartment. Will Molino be expecting a contact from her?"

Renata shook her head. "She phoned Sienna when she left the hospital. Darnell had left over an hour before with Phillip in an ambulance. He'd pretended to be delivering a new patient to the annex and he and another of Molino's men were sent into Phillip's room to see Gardner. After that it was all over." She glanced at Megan. "You did know that Gardner was in Molino's pay?"

Megan nodded. "Molino told me."

"Gardner had it all set up. At that time of evening there are only two nurses on duty at a time. There's not much to do for coma patients after they're tucked in for the night. Gardner said he didn't need them and to save money he sent both of them back to the main nursing home. Hedda's job was to stay until Megan was inside the room and Molino could contact her."

"Cold bitch."

"She's foul. I was almost hoping she'd give me an excuse to put her down," Renata said. "But she has guts. Anyone could have come in and questioned her right to be there. She obeyed orders and stayed."

"And she didn't make any other calls?"

"She would have told me if she had." Renata sat down in the chair. "Now patch me up, will you? My damn shoulder is starting to bleed again."

HARLEY ARRIVED AT THE HOTEL while Megan was still stitching the wound.

"Tsk-tsk." He shook his head. "All my excellent first-aid work going down the drain because you got careless." He grimaced as he saw the gaping wound. "It looks worse than it did before. I hope you're not going to ask me to do your rebandaging again. I hate wasting my time."

"I wouldn't think of it," Renata said. "I always knew you were squeamish."

"True. Where's Grady?"

"He took Hedda Kipler to the Publix parking lot a few blocks from here to turn her over to the CIA agents Venable sent to pick her up," Megan said.

"Good idea. He was telling me on the phone that the Kipler woman was a little worse for wear and he didn't want them to have to enter Renata prominently in their report." He reached in his back pocket and pulled out a brown leather sunglass case. "I brought you a present, Renata. This case was in Darnell's glove box. As long as you're in this Finding business, I thought you might as well try your hand at Darnell."

"Leave her alone," Megan said. "You can talk to her after I finish."

But Renata was already picking up the case. "This Darnell was the one who killed Gardner, Jordan, and the nurse?" Yes.

Her fingers lightly moved over the leather. "He's nowhere near. I'm getting only a vague impression. He's… happy. Almost exultant."

"Is he with Molino?"

"I don't know. I told you, it's vague."

"He may be with Molino." Megan finished the stitching and started to bandage. "If he's delivering Phillip to him."

"I don't like this Vague' business, Renata," Harley said. "You sound like something on one of those psychic TV shows. I thought you were supposed to be the genuine article." He sighed. "I'm losing faith in you. Maybe all this paranormal business is only a bunch of malarkey."

"Which you suspect anyway," Renata said dryly. "I don't have to account to you, Harley." She stood up and pulled on her shirt. "Be as skeptical as you wish. Just don't get in my way."

"I'll stay humbly in the background while you sniff and howl like a bloodhound on the trail. But I hope you won't mind me tagging along. You may need someone to stand in for Megan when it's time to change your bandage."

"You can come." Her gaze slid away from him. "If Venable manages to get what I need. Perhaps he won't. Maybe Molino has moved his stuff somewhere else."

There was a note in Renata's voice that Megan had never heard before. She studied her expression and saw the usual trace of bravado, but there was something else. "What is it? You don't want to do this, do you?"

She didn't answer directly. "I wouldn't have told you where to find the damn thing, if I wasn't willing to do it." She headed toward the door. "I'm heading for Redwing. If there's a chance of locating Molino or Darnell before Megan has to meet him tomorrow night, I'll do it. I'll take the glasses case and see if I can get any vibes close to there. If Venable comes through, call me and I'll meet you." She glanced at Harley. "Coming?"

"Of course, how can I resist such a gracious invitation?" Harley murmured. "I'll follow you in my car."

"You're shutting me out, Renata," Megan said. "I'm not going to let you do that."

"Yes, you are. If you can contribute, you can come along. Otherwise stay here with Grady and let us do the groundwork. Your job is to make sure Venable comes through for me." She didn't wait for an answer but walked out of the motel room.

"I'll keep an eye on her, Megan." Harley made a face. "Though it may be from six feet behind her."

"I don't like this. There's something wrong about how…" She drifted off in frustration. "We'll be in Redwing as soon as we can tomorrow. Don't let anything happen to her, Harley."

"I won't. I may not have any voodoo talents, but there's something to say for superb intelligence and experience." He moved toward the door. "And the willingness to duck and run to fight another day is really handy. You should learn to cultivate that philosophy. I've noticed you have a tendency to attack first and worry about repercussions later. See you tomorrow, Megan."

She watched the door close behind him with frustration and a sense of helplessness. She was the one who should be going after Molino. Phillip was her responsibility and the reason he was in this predicament was because Molino had found her Achilles heel and was using it against her.

She turned, and began to straighten her medical bag. It was surprising that Renata had managed to subdue Hedda Kipler with that wounded shoulder.

No, not really surprising. Renata had a determination and endurance that Megan had seldom seen before. She would never give up and ignore all obstacles in her path.

"You're frowning." Grady had opened the door and his gaze was on her face. "What's wrong now?"

"Me," she said unevenly. "It appears I'm not qualified to go after Molino. Renata and Harley have taken off for Tennessee and I've been told to sit here and stay out of their way."

"Which promptly goads you to do the opposite."

"Yes. But I won't do it, because they're right. I'm not a Finder. I'm not a Controller. I'm not some hot-shot soldier of fortune like Harley. I have a talent that's not going to help Phillip one bit." She snapped her medical case shut. "So I'll step aside and let everyone do their thing until I can see a way to help."

"That's the smart course to follow."

"Smart, hell." She whirled on him. "It's the only path. I opened my mouth and made Molino come after me frothing with craziness and venom. Do you know what could happen if Molino pulls those feeding tubes?"