Jeff Abbott - Fear

‘Sit up.’

Groote obeyed.

‘You came here first?’

‘Yes. I figured they would go for the cheapest motel.’

‘You followed them all the way from New Mexico?’

‘Of course not. I flew to Fresno this morning. I saw on Celeste’s computer the Frost files were transferred to a server owned by Wallace.’

‘But you haven’t been to see Doctor Wallace?’

‘No. I got delayed in Santa Fe answering questions from the FBI. About Kendrick. The Bureau’s looking for him.’

‘Because he’s a missing witness?’

Groote nodded.

‘You think Kendrick has Frost?’

‘I believed he did.’

‘Did you kill Allison?’

‘Hell, no.’

‘Did you kill Sorenson?’

‘No but I would if I could.’

‘They – and Nathan – all worked for me. At least they did. Sorenson killed Allison, tried to kill Nathan, ran off with Frost, I suspect,’ Dodd said.

‘To sell it,’ Celeste said, and they all looked at her. ‘None of this is about helping people, it’s just about the money. It’s always money.’

‘Mrs. Brent,’ Dodd said, ‘I know I have Nathan’s loyalty, and I have enough of Dennis’s to let me sleep with one eye closed. You’re the open question.’

‘Sir,’ Nathan said, ‘Celeste is cool. She killed Hurley. He can’t talk about his work.’

‘Well, thank you, Mrs. Brent,’ Dodd said. ‘You did me a great favor.’

‘Allison worked for you?’ Celeste said. ‘Allison?’

‘She and Nathan were my spies, one inside, one outside, on how Quantrill and Hurley were improving Frost. I’m sorry Allison dragged you into this situation. I assume she needed a way to hide Frost from Sorenson and she used you in that cause. It’s regrettable.’

‘Are you going to kill me?’ Celeste asked in a whisper.

‘No,’ Nathan said. ‘No way. She can stay quiet. Can’t you, Celeste?’

‘Yes,’ Celeste heard herself say. ‘Sure.’

Dodd flipped open a cell phone, dialed a number, waiting, and then she saw a black fury cross his face as he asked who was speaking and his chest heaved in a disappointed sigh. Dodd raised the gun and aimed it straight at Celeste.

The bullet zoomed a good two feet left of Miles’s head and he didn’t shoot back, he barreled forward, stiff armed, and jammed his gun against Wallace’s throat. Wallace dropped the gun and Miles thought, He’s scared shitless, doesn’t know what he’s doing.

‘Stupid,’ Miles said. ‘Very stupid.’

‘Please. Please. He told me I had to kill you.’

‘Who?’

‘Dodd,’ Wallace said.

‘You wanted me to leave with you so you could bring me to him.’

‘Or to shoot you somewhere else. Not in my house. I’m sorry, I’m sorry… my wife is dead. I don’t want to die too.’ Wallace started to cry.

‘Tell me the truth. Do you have Frost?’

‘No. God, no. If I had it I’d have given it to Dodd immediately and I’d be a freaking hero to him, I’d be safe.’

‘Be honest with me.’

‘I found out Allison was dead on Wednesday. Dodd called me. I was devastated. I’ve hardly been out of bed the past few days; I haven’t been working, I haven’t hardly touched the server. I didn’t know the Frost files were sitting there. Please don’t kill me.’

‘You didn’t retrieve the files, then cover your tracks by wiping the server?’

‘I wouldn’t be in league with the man who killed my wife,’ Wallace said. ‘Jesus. I gave Dodd the server password as soon as he asked for it. He found nothing. He’s coming to be sure I’m not lying to him, to check. Please.’

The phone rang.

Miles tucked Wallace’s gun into his back. He picked up the phone. ‘Wallace residence.’

‘Who’s this?’ A quiet voice.

‘Miles Kendrick.’

‘Ah.’

‘Mr. Dodd?’

‘Yes. I have your friends with me. Rooms twenty-four and twenty-five at the Yosemite Gateway.’

Miles’s skin went cold. ‘Don’t hurt them.’

‘Actually, I saved them. Dennis Groote was drowning your friend Mrs. Brent in the toilet. Tell him that you’re well, Mrs. Brent.’

Miles heard Celeste’s voice, a few feet from the receiver. ‘I’m okay. But he’s pointing a gun at me.’ She sounded calm.

‘I don’t want them hurt,’ Miles said.

‘Neither do I,’ Dodd said. ‘We need to come to an agreement. Now, Miles, I’m wondering what you’re doing at Doctor Wallace’s house.’

‘Hunting for Frost. Same as you. Wallace says he doesn’t have it.’

‘Should we believe him?’ Dodd sounded almost coy.

‘I don’t think so. But I’ll give him to you in exchange for my friends and you can figure out if he’s telling the truth. You know him better than I do.’

Wallace’s eyes went wide but Miles mouthed, It’s okay, it’s cool, and raised an open hand to calm the doctor.

Dodd said, ‘Edward’s a strong scientist but not a truly strong man; I always thought Renee married him because he’d give her no trouble. I don’t mean your friends any harm. Nathan-’

‘-works for you. You planted him at the hospital when you got wind of Frost being tested. And you left him there to die when it all went wrong.’

‘I didn’t know he was in danger.’

‘Bullshit. I heard your name. When Sorenson was getting ready to kill Allison. I was in her office. Hiding. I heard him on a phone say, “Dodd doesn’t know.”’

‘That would mean that I didn’t know what Sorenson planned,’ Dodd said. ‘I wonder who he was talking to, don’t you?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘His hired help, I suppose. I came to bring Nathan back in from the cold, and to help you and Mrs. Brent.’

‘You came to get Frost and nothing else.’

‘Talk to me. Face to face. I’ll come there.’

No. The Wallace house was too remote, too quiet. Dodd wanted silence around Frost, around how it had been developed and tested. ‘No. I want public, highly public, to meet you.’ He thought quickly. Public, with limited access roads so if Dodd had backups, others with him, they couldn’t easily sneak up. Distance, to thwart any last-minute plans Dodd might put into place.

Wallace seemed to read his mind. ‘Inside the park. Bridalveil Falls.’

Miles said, ‘Bridalveil Falls. As soon as you can. If you hurt Nathan or Celeste, I’ll guarantee you never get Frost and that everyone in the press knows about Shaman. We understand each other.’

‘We certainly do.’ Dodd clicked off.

‘Hurry.’ Miles hauled Wallace to his feet. ‘We’re going now. Dodd could cut us off, be here in minutes.’

‘But, goddamn you, you said you would help me…’ Wallace sputtered. ‘I gave up the gun, I told you what he wanted me to do…’

‘I am helping you,’ Miles said, ‘do you want to stay and wait for Dodd? That doesn’t make sense to me. If you’re so scared of him, you should have run. You didn’t.’

‘I can’t hide from him, not for long.’

‘You were waiting to cut a deal with him, and you don’t want to cut a deal with me. Allison sent Frost to you for protection. Or she wanted a scientific analysis of the work, free from Dodd. Now she’s dead and you’re desperate for a bargaining chip to stay alive.’

‘I don’t have Frost, I swear I don’t!’

‘I’m your best hope for walking out of this mess alive, Doctor Wallace. I can protect you. If Dodd’s Pentagon, maybe he’d like to talk to my high-ranking friends in Witness Protection or a few hungry prosecutors I know in the Department of Justice; I’m one of their favorite witnesses.’ He hoped this was still true – he could always tell the WITSEC inspectors and the federal lawyers that he’d lost his mind when he ran from Santa Fe and throw himself on their mercies. They still needed him to convict the remaining Barradas. But even if he was trash to the government now, and he had no official allies left to help him deal with Dodd, he needed to bluff Wallace. ‘So I’m going to play good citizen, and I’m going to cut a deal with Dodd…’