Chapter 6 #3
His lips twisted sourly. “Hell, no. And I’ve been on the hunt since Justice started screaming that I should never have left him without protection.
” He muttered a curse. “It’s not as if they didn’t know he could take care of himself.
And he was probably meeting someone he had no business dealing with without Justice’s permission. ”
“You don’t know that, and Griffin seemed to believe your superiors were worried about him and not what he was doing.
” She went on the attack again. “And that last day before I came to London, Roland Metcalf identified two of Vlad Korkil’s very ugly cohorts who were trying to intercept me after I left Lynch’s house in San Diego.
Did you find out what they had to do with his disappearance? ”
He was silent for a long moment. “We know that Korkil has set up his yacht somewhere on the North Sea and probably has a crew to do his bidding here in England. He’s even been seen in the hills where I took Lynch.
But we haven’t discovered precisely what he’s doing in the area.
” He shrugged. “Except he’s no doubt up to his usual narcotics skulduggery. ”
“Most of his money comes from a security agency, doesn’t it?”
“True. He has his own platoon of grunts. He’s a classic nihilist—he’ll take any job, legal or illegal, no matter how dirty, as long as the paycheck is big enough. That’s why we have no idea what he’s really up to. It could be anything.”
“Charming guy.”
“You don’t want to tangle with him unless you really have to.”
“Is that what happened to Lynch?” she asked bitterly.
“We’re still investigating,” Cambry said. “We’ll get there.” He frowned. “And you’re not helping. Did you believe it was clever for you to slip into London and then disappear before we could talk to you?”
“I didn’t have anything to say to you, and I was hoping that I might be able to find Lynch and learn what was going on.”
“Did you really believe that we wouldn’t discover what you were up to?
I assure you we’re not that unsophisticated, Dr. Michaels.
You do realize that there were television cameras filming that fire at the Eye, and we have an agreement with the local police?
We spotted you in that crowd within an hour of the explosion. ”
“Good for you. Though it doesn’t surprise me. I’m afraid I wasn’t thinking very coherently at the time.”
“Understandable considering the circumstances. But you were sharp enough to get away before we could pick you or your friend up for questioning. That was Jessie Mercado, right? Where is she now?”
“Jessie has nothing to do with this,” Kendra said quickly. “She’s a tourist, a travel companion to keep me company. She’ll be returning to the States right away.”
“I think we might have to delay her return,” Cambry said slyly. “I believe I detect a hint of weakness in your attitude toward her. Suppose we discuss it.”
“Not a good idea,” Kendra said flatly. “I don’t like to be used and tend to get a trifle stubborn. Suppose we go back to square one and leave her out of it.”
He frowned. “I guess it might be possible.”
“Good. Then you arrange to rent the helicopter while I give Jessie a call and tell her I’ll see her back at our hotel after you finish showing me what I might need to see at the Isle of Skye.
She’ll be disappointed, because that sounds like just the kind of day trip a tourist like her would enjoy, but I’m not about to put her through an interrogation from you.
” She added flatly, “She’s out of it. Take it or leave it. Okay?”
He was scowling. “No, it sounds very . . . singular. I want to know everything about what you’re doing up here and who you’re doing it with. Not what I had in mind at all.”
“But you still have my word that I’ll give you Lynch’s address.
You don’t need Jessie.” She took out her phone and strolled back toward the airport gates.
“I’ll be ready to take off in thirty minutes.
I have to call Jessie and tell her that I won’t be back at the hotel for a few hours and not to wait for me if she wants to go sightseeing.
” Actually, she knew it would probably take longer than thirty minutes to tell Jessie their destination and give her time to arrive there before their helicopter landed.
Though Kendra could probably just tell her that she’d contact her by phone once she was in position on the ground and to wait for a call.
Jessie wasn’t going to lose this chance to scout the area on her bike.
Either way, Kendra might have to stall Cambry a little longer.
“Then we’d both better get moving as quickly as possible.
I do hope that airport manager has a helicopter available and won’t disappoint us . . .”
“Don’t worry. I’ll get it. You may not have any respect for me or my position with the U.S.
government. But I’ve already arranged to lease a helicopter for the next month in case I need it for any future searches.
These locals realize how many strings I can pull with the politicians here in Britain if I choose. ”
Arrogant asshole. “How nice for you,” she murmured as she started to dial her phone. “Then why don’t you get busy, and I’ll meet you at the airport general office?”
TWO HOURS LATER
HIGHLANDS
“Dear God, it’s magnificent.” Kendra whispered as she leaned out the helicopter window to look down at the breathtaking panorama spread out before her as the helicopter started to descend.
The wild heather-covered hills with the sandy gleam of beach in the distance made for perhaps the most dramatic view she’d ever seen.
“And unexpected. Not exactly what you’d think Lynch would choose for a meeting place with one of his rather complex international groups of bad guys.
It brings to mind Rob Roy or maybe a Highland raider. ”
“No mistake,” Cambry said bitterly. “I assure you, he was the one who gave me the precise directions to this area. He knew exactly where he was going. I was surprised by it, too, but I should have known that Lynch would be hard to read. The main island tourist area is located about five miles from where he had me land. He just told me he’d see me back at the airport, then jumped out of the copter and disappeared into those woods.
” His jaw clenched. “He shut me out completely. I don’t need to tell you how pissed off I was. I wanted to murder the son of a bitch.”
“I can imagine,” she murmured. “But I don’t believe you just left it at that. Didn’t you follow him?”
“Of course I did,” he said curtly. “But he must have known that entire area like the back of his hand. Those woods were a nightmare. I was lost in no time. When I eventually gave up the hunt, it took me over an hour just to find my way back to the copter.” He was landing the copter now, and he turned off the engine.
“But don’t think you’ll get away with that same bullshit.
I came back to these woods after he disappeared and stayed here until I learned every foot of the area. ”
“I’m tempted to try,” she said as she opened the passenger door.
“But I made a bargain with you and I’ll keep it.
All I’ll ask is that you lead me down the same route you took when you were trying to follow Lynch that last day.
” She added, “And that you try to remember any details Lynch might have mentioned even casually about the person he was going to meet in these woods.”
Cambry shrugged. “Weren’t you listening? Do you think I haven’t already gone down that path? I have my career to think about. I never met his contact, and I know nothing about him.”
She jumped out of the copter and tightened the strap of her backpack before she started toward the pine forest. “Then you won’t mind if I go very slowly and ask a lot of questions if I happen to notice a few things that you might have ignored?”