Silencing Eve

mistake.”
    “He doesn’t make mistakes like that.”
    “You’re saying she’s here in Chicago.”
    “Samli was concerned, too, since I told him that she was probably in Atlanta or Muncie. So he called me and asked for instructions. I told him to stay with the signal. Do you know to where he followed it?” He gazed at the bank of elevators. “She’s in a room on the floor above you. The room isn’t registered in her name. She’s staying with a Mark Trevor. CIA?”
    Shock after shock. “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of him. He could be, I guess.”
    “Or maybe not. One bed. They’re evidently sleeping together.”
    “I told you, I don’t know. I’ve never heard of him.”
    “And what the hell was she doing at that baseball game?”
    Harriet was afraid that she knew. Wrigley Stadium. Five years ago, Harriet had considered that clock, then told Kevin it wasn’t right.
    The clock.
    That bitch had the journal and was beginning to figure out the code of the game Harriet and Kevin had played. Panic and rage tore through her. “How do I know?” She tried to keep her voice from trembling. “Maybe she was meeting someone there.”
    “Maybe. And if she was at your hotel, you can bet that they’ve wired your place.”
    “Yes.” It wasn’t a sure thing but definitely a possibility. She tried to think back at everything she’d said to Doane. Incriminating. Terribly incriminating. But no information that could prevent them from going forward if care was taken. And screw that those calls were incriminating. If you weren’t caught, there couldn’t be any accusations or evidence, could there? Just change her tickets and transfer the line of credit. Disappear in entirely another direction.
    God, but Cartland was right, she’d been a careless fool. And Jane MacGuire was close to taking her down.
    No! She would not have it. She’d still have it all.
    But she had to control the situation, control Cartland and control the way James was handling the disposal of Zander.
    Cartland, first.
    “So what are you going to do?” She gave him a cool glance. “You said that Tehran still wants you to go forward. Does that mean that you’ll still give me your cooperation?”
    “You mean more money,” Cartland said. He was silent a moment. “It’s possible. If you can convince me that you can pull this disaster out of the fire. I’ve checked all my sources with the FBI and CIA, and there’s no word on any surveillance of you or this hotel. MacGuire’s phone wasn’t protected, and that probably means she’s not linked directly to the CIA. You said you were even sure she wasn’t CIA.”
    “It’s not quite a disaster.” She added grudgingly, “Though I obviously underestimated MacGuire. However, she’s obviously still floundering if she hasn’t contacted Venable to close in for the kill. She can’t know I’ve retrieved the detonator. I told James that wasn’t going to happen. She’s only an artist, and I told you that she had a personal vendetta going. She’s an amateur, and we can run rings around her. We just have to move very fast.” Her thoughtful gaze rose to the crystal chandelier casting a glittering ambience over the lobby. “I need to be out of here tonight and on my way to Seattle. Arrange it. A private jet.” Her gaze shifted to his face. “And if you decide that you’re going to take me to an undisclosed location for questioning, I’ll blow the plane out of the sky. Not only that, but I’ll set off the nukes without giving you warning or time to get out of the city. You and the other members of your group will become martyrs. You don’t impress me as the type of terrorist who is eager for paradise.”
    “You’re bluffing. You wouldn’t sacrifice yourself.”
    “Yes, I would. I’ve waited for five years to get revenge for Kevin’s death.” She met his gaze. “And life isn’t the same without my son. I won’t let anything get in the way.”
    “And what do you intend to do once you’re in Seattle?”
    “What I meant to do in the beginning. Just a day earlier. Zander will die, and I’ll type in the code,” she said. “I’ll give you an hour’s notice to get out of the city. But I wouldn’t wait if I were you. Kevin and I were never sure how powerful the blast would be. Get out the minute you put me on that jet.” She wasn’t sure he was convinced. “In eight hours at the latest it will happen. If I move fast, no one can stop me. No one can stop you. You’ll