Erica Spindler - Cause for Alarm

"Or we'll be shit out of luck, is that what you're telling me?"

"This is the real world, Dallas. Not one of your stories. The good guys don't always win."

Luke laughed, the sound tight and humorless. "And the line between right and wrong is rarely clear."

"I didn't make the rules, Dallas. I only play by them." Condor laid several dollars on the table and stood. "The coffee's on me."

They left the restaurant. Outside, the cold, wet night curled around them like a snake.

"You never saw me tonight," Condor said. "I'm out of this."

"Agreed."

"One last piece of advice. Don't let that book out of your sight. If Morris or the Agency gets their hands on it, they'll break Ice's code. Once they have what they need, you and your friends will be left high and dry. And if Powers gets it back, you'll have no bargaining chip at all."

"And we'll be dead."

"Yes." Condor turned and looked him straight in the eyes. Again, Luke had the feeling the man was saying much more than what his words conveyed. "Morris will ask for the book. Expect that. But don't give it to him. No matter what he promises you. That's important, Luke. Don't give it to him. That book is your life. Do you understand?"

Luke said he did; in the next moment Condor was gone.

Kate and Julianna were awake and waiting for Luke when he got home. They met him at the door, their expressions so hopeful it hurt to look at them. If they expected a miracle, they weren't going to get it.

"We have a chance," Luke said. "Not easy or without risk, but a chance nonetheless."

They went to the kitchen. Kate made coffee while Luke relayed the details of his conversation with Condor. As he spoke, Kate's expression went from hopeful to uncertain.

"Decipher one of the entries?" she said when Luke had finished. "But how do we do that?"

"I've given this some thought already and it might not be as hard as it sounds." Luke stood and went to the coffeepot and poured himself a cup. "Since the dates entered in the book are not in code, the way I figure it, if we can find something that positively ties Powers to a place on a certain date, we can do a search for murders committed in that locale on that date."

"And if we're lucky," Kate murmured, "we'll find something."

Luke met her eyes. "If we're very lucky."

"This isn't going to work," Julianna said, looking from him to Kate. "It's not. And then where will we be? Trapped? Dead?"

"Where will we be?" Kate repeated, bright spots of angry color staining her cheeks. "I know where I was, Julianna. Before you decided to steal my husband and ruin my life. Before you invited this…this killer through my front door."

"I didn't know!" Julianna cried. "I never thought he would hurt you. Or Emma or Richard. Me, yes. But not you." Her eyes filled, and she looked pleadingly at Kate. "Why would he? You never did anything to him."

"That's just it," Kate snapped, "you didn't think. Not about anyone or anything but yourself."

"I'm sorry," Julianna whispered, tears slipping down her cheeks. "I didn't know." She brought her hands to her face. "I'm so scared. I just want to go home."

"And you think I don't?" Kate rounded on the other woman, shaking with the force of her fury. "I'd love to go home, Julianna. But because of you I can't. Because of you, my husband is dead. Because of you a psychotic kil-"

Luke laid a hand on her arm, stopping her. "I know you're angry, Kate. You have a right to be, but fighting with each other isn't going to do anything but make us more vulnerable to Powers. If we're going to beat him, we've got to work together." He met Kate's eyes. "You know it's true."

She spun away from him and crossed to the picture window that looked out over his backyard. She stood stiffly, arms curved across her middle; Luke saw that she struggled to get a grip on her emotions.

After a moment, she took a deep breath and turned back to the younger woman. "Just running is out of the question. Because we can't outrun him. You know we can't.

But if that's what you want to do, you have my blessing. But I'm taking this route with Luke."

"What's it going to be, Julianna?" Luke asked. "You have a choice. Are you sticking with us or not?"

"With you," she whispered, wiping the tears from beneath her eyes. "I'm staying with you."

"Then I need your help. We need your help." He crossed to stand directly in front of her. "Is there anything you haven't told us about Powers? Anything at all, no matter how insignificant you might think it to be. It could be something you observed or overheard and thought nothing of at the time. Or maybe something he told you in the heat of the moment or mumbled in his sleep."

"No." She shook her head. "I've told you everything."

"Think, Julianna. It's important."

"There's nothing." She shook her head again. "We had an…agreement. He never discussed what he did, who he worked for. When he went on a trip, he never told me where he went. And I wasn't allowed to ask."

She looked away, then back. "Until the end, not knowing what he was doing or even where he was didn't bother me. I never questioned him."

"Then you got curious," Luke prodded. "And you started snooping around."

"Yes. That's how I found the book."

"What about gifts?" Kate asked, swinging away from the window once more. "What kinds of things did he bring you? Was there anything that you recall being specific to a place? You know, like chocolates from Switzerland or perfume from Paris?"

Julianna brought her hands to her ears, to the diamond studs that twinkled when they caught the light. Luke had noticed them before; the size of the diamonds had made them hard to miss. "Nothing like that," she murmured, sounding frustrated. "He brought me these. Sometimes he would bring me a…a doll or a hair ornament. He'd bring me books. Flowers he picked up at the airport shop. Everything was generic."

She looked at Luke, then Kate, her expression earnest. "You have to believe me. Even his apartment was plain. So without…identifying features. There was furniture, and stuff for the kitchen and bathrooms, but nothing else. Do you know what I mean?"

Kate looked at Luke. "Are you thinking what I am?"

"Powers' apartment?" When she indicated yes, he turned back to Julianna. "Do you still have a key to his place?"

She nodded. "Though I don't know why. I'm never going back there."

"Never's a long time, kid." Luke smiled and rubbed his hands together. "The last thing Powers will expect is for us to take the offensive. I say we have a place to start."

Julianna looked sick; Kate determined. "Are you certain the Agency will make the commitment to take Powers down?" she asked.

"My contact thought so. If we can deliver the goods on Powers." He looked from Kate to Julianna. "And I don't see that we have another choice."

"I agree." Kate turned toward the other woman. "How about you, Julianna?"

The girl hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Agreed."

"All right, then." Luke checked his watch, saw that it was after 2:00 a.m. and smiled grimly. "We leave for D.C. today."

Kate forced herself to rest, though she couldn't quiet her mind enough to sleep. She lay in the bed, listening to her baby daughter's gentle breathing, alternately praying for the best and imagining the worst.

Some minutes were better than others. During the bad ones, the worst ones, fear smothered her. She imagined her beautiful Emma dead, her life force obliterated in all manner of gruesome ways. She imagined Emma crying out, helpless and in pain. She imagined herself, unable to reach and comfort her daughter, unable to save her. If it came to it, Kate had decided, she would beg John Powers to kill her instead.

Someone tapped lightly on her door. Kate glanced at Emma, then climbed out of the bed and crossed to it. "Yes?" she whispered.