Final Target

Chapter Seventeen

Dawn was lighting the sky when Melissa came back to the cottage.

Travis met her at the door with a cup of coffee. She took a swallow before she asked, "Cassie?"

"I just checked her," Galen said from the chair across the room. "I think she's asleep." He grimaced. "Though I'm not sure how you can tell."

"I'll take a look." She opened the bedroom door. Cassie was curled up on the bed across the room. "Cassie."

She sensed a withdrawal, a scuttling away. Melissa didn't know to what extent Cassie had been aware of what was going on at the museum, but it had frightened her enough to make her retreat. How far she'd gone Melissa would have to find out later. "Everything's okay, Cassie. Just rest. We'll talk later." She shut the door and came back into the living room. "She's not asleep, but she's all right for now." She sat down on the window seat and leaned back. "How safe are we here?"

"I've arranged to have some of my guys positioned around the beach, so we'll have warning. On a scale of one to a hundred, I'd give it a sixty," Galen said. "It was a seventy before you made Travis snatch the Wind Dancer. It will go down to a forty if Andreas decides to release the story about the theft."

"He hasn't done that yet?"

"Not yet." Travis sat down on the couch across from Melissa, "He may be waiting for us to contact him and make a deal."

"Why would he do that?"

"It's the smartest way to dispose of an art treasure that's instantly recognized by everyone in the world. The only alternative would be to sell it to some closet collector who would bury it in a vault somewhere."

"Would Deschamps have contacted Andreas?"

" I believe he has another agenda."

"What agenda?"

"It wouldn't be the first time some weirdo fixated on the statue."

"And if Andreas did agree to deal, it would probably be so he could set a trap?"

"That's my reading. Getting Cassie well is what's been driving him all these months. The statue's been in his family for centuries, but he'd give it up in a heartbeat to find Cassie. That's all he really wants."

Melissa nodded slowly. "And to get the terrorist who did this to her. He doesn't know it's Deschamps, right?"

Travis shook his head.

"But he has the power to locate Deschamps for us?"

"Maybe. But it wouldn't be for us. If we told him Deschamps was the man at Vasaro, he'd go after him himself."

"Then maybe we wouldn't tell him. We could just use him for information."

"Use Andreas? He's not that pliable."

"Stop putting roadblocks in my path." Her lips tightened. "You're the one who caused all these damned complications. What's our alternative? I suppose you could spend some of those diamonds and buy the information."

He grimaced. "I'd rather not." He paused. "Actually, I'm going to retrieve the diamond I gave Thomas."

"Why?"

"I need to get Karlstadt off my back. Having to dodge him will get in my way of finding Deschamps."

"Even if you get the diamond from Thomas, you won't be able to retrieve the ones I gave to Guilliame," Galen reminded him. "They're probably in the possession of either the French police or the CIA by now."

"I can work around that. Karlstadt won't like it, but if the diamonds are in a secure place and not in circulation, I can probably stall and keep him from taking a contract out on me."

"They're still not going to be in his pocket. What difference would their not being in circulation make?"

"All the difference in the world." He took a sip of his coffee. "The diamonds are not exactly what they seem."

Melissa's eyes widened. "They're phony?"

"It depends on how you look at it."

"They're either phony or they're not."

"It's all in the eye of the beholder. Those particular diamonds could meet every test the most qualified jeweler could put them through. For nearly fifty years scientists have known how to transform carbon-rich substances into small industrial diamonds, but they haven't been able to create gem-quality stones. There were all kinds of problems. The amount of pressure needed and the graphite, which is soft but very resistant to change. The bond between the layers is weak, so the graphite flakes apart, but the inner layers are incredibly strong. The carbon atoms-"

"I don't want to hear all this. The bottom line, Travis."

"There's a group of Russian scientists funded by the local Mafia that has managed to create perfect diamonds indistinguishable from those grown in the ground."

"That's not possible. There have to be tests that can tell the difference."

"The diamond industry developed one test that detected the defects caused by nitrogen concentrate in synthetic stones. The residual luminescence was unmistakable."

"But the Russians solved the problem?"

Travis nodded. "That they did, and it's scaring the diamond syndicates shitless. I found out about it from one of my sources and decided to go to Russia and see if there was anything interesting in it for me. I was there for about six weeks when there was a convenient explosion at the lab. The equipment and the scientists were blown to kingdom come."

"You obviously managed to survive and get ou"t Galen said. "With your pockets full of diamonds?"

"And a disk with the process."

Galen chuckled. "I thought you were only smuggling. This is much more interesting. And who does Karlstadt represent?"

"He does the strong-arm work for a South African diamond syndicate. Naturally, they don't want the diamonds to appear anywhere. If they did, the bottom could fall out of the market. No one would know whether the jewels they bought were real or made in the lab. Prices would plummet because the element of rarity would be gone. It could spell disaster for the entire diamond industry."

"The Russians could build a new lab."

"I'm sure they're doing that now, but it will take time. Meanwhile Karlstadt can negotiate or use muscle to keep the Russians from duplicating their efforts. The diamonds and the process are the only danger to him right now."

"I don't care about the danger to your South Africans," Melissa said. "What's important is that you don't have money to buy information."

"I have some in a Swiss account, but those accounts aren't altogether safe from CIA snooping."

Melissa turned to Galen. "Can you raise the money?"

"Not enough. I can tap some sources, but Deschamps is a dangerous man and wells tend to dry up when you're as hot as we are."

"Then it has to be Andreas." She got up and put her cup down on the end table. "We have to find a way to deal."

"You have a suggestion?"

"Give him what he wants."

"Cassie?" Travis asked. "What about her nightmares? We can't send her back in the shape she's in now."

"Then we have to give him a Cassie on her way to recovery." Her gaze went to the bedroom door. "Jessica told me to help her. She probably meant for me to save her from Deschamps, but Jessica died trying to bring Cassie back. One of the last things she said to me was how close Cassie had been to coming back." She blinked back tears. "She was so happy that Cassie-Oh, shit." She was silent a moment before she could continue. "Cassie's coming back. I'm going to see to it. And we might as well find a way to screw Deschamps by doing it."

" It's a long sho"t Travis said.

"I'm going to do it." Melissa headed for the bedroom. "You just make sure that Karlstadt and all the rest of the baggage around you don't get in my way."

"I'll try to oblige."

"Oh, and I want a set of keys to that new van."

"Is that necessary?"

"You're damn right. Cassie's keeping me tethered, but I'm not going to be any more of a prisoner than I have to be."

"I'll have a set made today. Galen is going to have a small car picked up in town by one of his guys. I'll see that you have keys to that car too."

"Thanks."

"What are the odds she'll be able to help Cassie?" Galen asked Travis when the door closed behind her. "The kid seems almost comatose to me."

" I don't know. She has…responses."

"But not when she's awake."

Travis shook his head. "Jessica seemed to sense a response. Like I said, it's a long shot. But maybe it's just as well that Melissa's going to be absorbed with Cassie. It will be safer than having to chase after her while she scours Europe for Deschamps."

"And leaves you free to make a deal with Karlstadt."

"Yes." He paused. "But it will also give you time to track down another missing piece of the puzzle for me."

"And what is that?"

"Henri Claron's widow, Danielle. She disappeared the night of Claron's death. She grew up in the same village as Cassie's nanny, and she may have known more about Deschamps than just his identity. If we have her, we may not need Andreas or anyone else."

"You believe she's still alive?"

Travis shrugged. "It's a chance. Since her body's not been found, she may have gotten lucky."

"And we may get lucky." Galen turned away." I'm on it."

"Cassie?" Melissa whispered as she gazed down at the child. "I know you're not sleeping. Answer me."

No response.

Melissa hadn't expected it, but she had felt obliged to try Jessica's method. Jessica had been the voice summoning from the ramparts. Melissa had been the guerrilla behind the lines. Cassie had become accustomed to dealing with both of them.

But now there was no Jessica with her gentle voice and persuasive words, and Melissa had to take her place.

Good God, how was she going to do it? It was impossible. She was as different from Jessica as night and day. She wasn't even sure that Jessica's soft approach was the right way to bring Cassie back. The child was strong, perhaps stronger than Melissa had been at that age. She had willed herself away from the world, and persuasion wasn't working. Perhaps if they had the time…

They didn't have the time. Melissa had to follow her own instincts, and they were not leading her down an easy path.

Poor Cassie.

"I'll be back. You can play possum while I'm taking my shower and brushing my teeth." She moved toward the bathroom. "Then we're going to talk, Cassie."

It took Melissa two hours to break through the barriers Cassie had erected against her.

"It's about time you stopped hiding from me," Melissa said. "And why did you go deeper? It was almost too dark for me to find you."

"I didn't want you to find me."

Not good. "Why not?"

"You're…different now. You make me feel funny."

"I am different. That doesn't mean that I'm not your friend. People change."

"Not in here." She paused. "Why did you change?"

"My best friend was taken away from me."

"That wouldn't have happened here."

"Yes, it would. It happened because you were here." She added deliberately, "So it's partly your fault, Cassie."

"No, I didn't do anything."

"You hide away and close your eyes."

"I'm afraid."

"We're all afraid. You have to fight what you're afraid of…or people get taken away."

Silence.

"Jessica was your best friend, wasn't she? She's…gone?"

"Yes."

"I thought so. I've been missing her."

"So have I."

"The monsters took her?"

"Yes."

"I'm not to blame." A pause. "Am I?"

"We didn't fight them hard enough."

"They're too strong."

"They're not too strong. They'll fade away if you face them."

"Won't do it. Blow me apart like they did Jeanne."

"I'll be there to keep that from happening."

"Won't do it." Withdrawal "Goingaway…"

"I'll follow you. I'll find you and bring you back. I can do it now whether you're awake or asleep."

"Why are you being so mean to me?"

"You have to come back. It's what Jessica wanted most in the world. She wanted you back in the world and not afraid any longer."

"Have to be afraid. The monsters…"

What could she say to that? Melissa thought wearily. No one knew better than she did that there were real monsters waiting for Cassie. "You're more afraid now than you will be if you face them. I promise we'll fight them together. I'm your friend, Cassie."

"I thought Jeanne was my friend." Betrayal. Distrust. Hostility.

"She only pretended. I don't pretend. I believe you know that."

"I don't know it." Panic. Terror. "You want to let the monsters into the tunnel."

"They can never come into the tunnel. You're imagining them only so that you have an excuse to stay here. If you faced them, they'd vanish like a puff of smoke."

"No, they come and chase me…"

"They won't do it any longer. Travis and I have stopped them." She paused. "And on the outside the Wind Dancer has stopped them. Didn't you feel it when you were looking at him? You were so happy. For just an instant you were outside and yet you knew you were safe."

"I'll find him again."

"Not in the tunnel. He has no reason to be in the tunnel. He's not afraid and he doesn't want you to be afraid either."

"How do you know? He took me away."

"Because you needed to be away until you were strong enough to come back and face the monsters."

"I'm not strong enough."

"Yes, you are. Think about it. Jessica told me that you made up all kinds of adventures with the Wind Dancer. Were you ever afraid?"

"They were only stories."

"But weren't they about duty and saving the good guys and punishing the bad?"

"Maybe."

"Well, that's what life's about too. It's not about curling up in a tunnel. Think about it."

"I won't think about it. I'm afraid and I won't come out. I'll go deeper so the monsters won't hurt me."

"Your friend the Wind Dancer won't let you go deeper. You were searching for him in the wrong place. Did it ever occur to you that he always wanted you to leave the tunnel and come back? He knows it's time for you to come out even if you don't."

"You lie."

"There are no monsters in the tunnel. You'll just stay there until you're ready to come out and fight the bad guys with the rest of us. Your mom and dad and Travis and me. We're all waiting for you. We need you."

"No."

"I'm telling the truth. We do need you. I'm going away now, but I'll be back."

"I don't want you."

Poor kid. Melissa couldn't blame her for her anger or panic. She'd yanked away the security blanket Jessica had folded around her and told her she had to be a warrior and not a victim. Pretty tough fare for a seven-year-old.

And what if Melissa was wrong? What if she was inflicting serious damage on Cassie?

"I hate you."

"Right now. But you hate the monsters and the way they make you afraid more."

"You're the one who's making me afraid."

"Because I'm telling you that it's your duty to come out? Didn't you ever want those stories you made up to be true? If you see wrong, you have to fight it. Doing your duty isn't as easy in real life."

"Go away."

"I'm going. But I'll see you soon, Cassie…"