The Charlemagne Pursuit (Cotton Malone 4)

"What makes you so sure?" Isabel asked.

"I pay attention."

"All right. I knew they would be here, and they did think us allies." "Then they're bigger fools than I am."

"Maybe not them, but certainly the man who sent them. Can we dispense with the theatrics-on both our parts-and talk?"

"I'm listening."

"I know who's trying to kill you," Isabel said. "But I need your help."

He caught the first rumors of nighttime outside the bare window frames from air turning colder by the second.

He also caught the drift of her words. "One for the other?"

"I apologize for the deception, but it seemed the only way to attract your cooperation."

"You should have just asked."

"I tried that at Reichshoffen. I thought this might work better."

"Which could have gotten me killed."

"Come now, Herr Malone, I have much more confidence in your abilities than you seem to."

He'd had enough. "I'm going back to the hotel."

He started to leave.

"I know where Dietz was headed," Isabel said. "Where your father was taking him in Antarctica."

Screw her.

"Somewhere in this church is what Dietz was missing. What he went there to find."

His vehemence subsided into hunger. "I'm going to eat dinner." He kept walking. "I'm willing to listen while I eat, but if it isn't damn good information, I'm gone."

"I assure you, Herr Malone, it's more than good."

SIXTY-TWO

ASHEVILLE

"YOU PUSHED SCOFIELD TOO HARD," STEPHANIE TOLD EDWIN Davis.

They were still sitting in the alcove. Outside, a glorious afternoon illuminated distant winter forests. To their left, toward the southeast, she caught a glimpse of the main chateau a mile or so away, perched high on its own promontory.

"Scofield's an ass," Davis said. "He thinks Ramsey cares that he's kept his mouth shut all these years."

"We don't know what Ramsey cares about."

"Somebody is going to kill Scofield."

She wasn't so sure. "And what do you propose we do about it?"

"Stick close to him."

"We could take him into custody."

"And lose our bait."

"If you're right, is that fair to him?"

"He thinks we're idiots."

She didn't like Douglas Scofield, either, but that shouldn't factor into their decisions. There was one other thing, though. "You realize, we still have no proof of anything."

Davis checked the clock across the lobby. "I have to make a call."

He left his chair and approached the windows, nestling into a floral sofa ten feet away, facing away, toward outside. She watched him. He was both troubled and complex. Interesting to know, though, like her, he struggled with emotions. And he didn't like to talk about them, either.

Davis motioned for her to come closer.

She walked over and sat beside him.

"He wants to talk to you again."

She cradled the cell phone to her ear, knowing exactly who was on the other end.

"Stephanie," President Daniels said, "this is growing complex. Ramsey has maneuvered Aatos Kane. The good senator wants me to bestow the Joint Chiefs position on Ramsey. There's no way in hell that's going to happen, but I didn't let Kane know that. I once heard an old Indian proverb. If you live in the river, then you should make friends with the crocodiles. Apparently, Ramsey is practicing that truism."

"Or it may be the other way around."

"Which is what really makes this complex. Those two haven't joined forces voluntarily. Something's happened. I can kick the can down the street for a few days, but we need to make progress on your end. How's my boy?"

"Eager."

Daniels chuckled. "Now you see what I have to put up with from you. Tough to keep a leash on things?"

"You could say that."

"Teddy Roosevelt said it best. 'Do what you can with what you have, where you are.' Stay with this."

"I don't think I have much choice, do I?"

"No, but here's a tidbit. The Berlin station chief for naval intelligence, a captain named Sterling Wilkerson, was found dead in Munich."

"Which you believe is not coincidental."

"Crap, no. Ramsey is working something here and over there. I can't prove it, but I feel it. What about Malone?"

"Haven't heard from him."

"Tell me straight up. Do you think this professor is in danger?"

"I don't know. But I think we ought to hang around till tomorrow, to be sure."

"Here's something I didn't tell Edwin. I need a poker face."

She smiled. "Okay."

"I have my doubts about Diane McCoy. I learned a long time ago to pay attention to my enemies 'cause they're the first to learn your mistakes. I've been watching her. Edwin knows that. What he doesn't know is that she left the building today and drove into Virginia. Right now she's at Fort Lee, inspecting a warehouse the army leases to naval intelligence. I checked. Ramsey was there himself yesterday."

Something she already knew, thanks to her staff.

Davis motioned that he was going to get something to drink from a hospitality table near the hearth and with gestures asked if she wanted anything. She shook her head.

"He's gone," she said into the phone. "I assume you're telling me this for a reason."

"It seems Diane has made friends with the crocodiles, too, but I'm worried she's going to get eaten."

"Couldn't happen to a nicer person."

"I do believe you have a mean streak."

"I have a realist streak."

"Stephanie, you sound worried."

"As much as I may object,

I have a feeling our man is here."

"You want help?" Daniels asked.

"I do, but Edwin doesn't."

"Since when do you listen to him?"

"This is his show. He's on a mission."

"Love is hell, but don't let it be his downfall. I need him."

SMITH WAS ENJOYING THE PIANO MUSIC AND A CRACKLING FIRE in the hearth. Lunch had been great. The salad and appetizer were both superb and the soup was delicious, but the fresh lamb with seasonal vegetables had been the best by far.

He'd come upstairs after the man and woman approached Scofield and whisked him away from his meal. He hadn't been able to hear what was said downstairs or here. He wondered, were these the same two from last night? Hard to say.

For the past few hours Scofield had been approached by one person after another. In fact, the whole conference seemed a lovefest geared toward him. The professor was listed as one of the event's original organizers. He was the keynote speaker tomorrow night. He was also conducting a candlelight tour through the main mansion this evening. Tomorrow morning was what the brochure called Scofield's Hog Wild Adventure. Three hours of boar hunting with bow and arrow, in a nearby forest, led by the professor himself. The woman at the registration desk had said the early-morning jaunt was popular, and about thirty folks went along each year. Two more people interested in Dr. Douglas Scofield was not necessarily cause for alarm. So Smith quelled his paranoia and did not allow it to get the best of him. He didn't want to admit it, but he was shaken from last night.