Donovan parked on a road that had no direct access to the camp and was not visible from it, then began the hike uphill to the property where his father and half brother were staying. Far from being a hardship, he enjoyed the opportunity to be outdoors and test skills he could not easily use in Las Piernas. Moving silently among the trees in the moonlight, he felt exhilarated, a sensation seldom part of his life these days.
He was armed, though he did not believe that the weapons would be necessary. Still, with these individuals, any possibility was a deadly possibility, so he came prepared. He was an expected visitor, although he was sure there were aspects of his visit that would be a surprise. He didn’t know how well they would handle that.
He spotted all the cameras. He had to admit that Quinn’s arrangement of them provided good coverage, but would anyone be watching the monitors? He doubted it. He waited patiently and was rewarded with the sound of a car coming up the drive. Quinn. Perfect.
He entered through a side door and was sitting in a comfortable chair with his back to the large stone fireplace when Parrish and Kai came in with Quinn. He gave them no indication that, inwardly, he was struggling not to laugh out loud at the shocked looks on their faces. A memory he would store away, treasure for another time. Best not to reveal reactions of any kind to these three.
Parrish, not surprisingly, was the first to recover. He smiled broadly and said, “Oh, excellent, Donovan! Quinn, before Donovan leaves, please ask him if he can… improve… on the security arrangements you have in place.”
“Certainly,” Quinn said, not quite able to keep the irritation out of his voice.
“You’re looking well,” Donovan said to Parrish. Parrish, now in his fifties, was not the man Donovan had seen in footage taken of him before his injuries-one of his shoulders seemed to bother him, and his movements were a little stiff. All the same, Donovan knew it would be extremely foolish to think of him as a weak old man.
“Thank you. I continue to improve.”
They seated themselves, Parrish lounging back in a large overstuffed armchair, Quinn imitating his posture-all too consciously, Donovan thought-on one end of a matching sofa. Kai sat upright, on the edge of the other end of the sofa. Kai didn’t bother trying to look relaxed.
“Now,” Parrish said, “why don’t you bring me up to date, Donovan?”
Quinn, obviously expecting to be the one called upon to do this, opened his mouth as if to object, then subsided.
Donovan chose his words carefully. “The police obtained warrants to search Kai’s home, including his backyard.”
“That much we know of from the news broadcasts,” Parrish said. “But, as usual, there are so many missing details. How did this focus on Kai come about?”
“Through the surviving prison guard-”
“The one Kai was supposed to kill?” Quinn asked.
“Through the surviving guard,” Donovan began again, “the reporters were able to identify Kai and found his home.”
“The guard learned Kai’s name?” Parrish asked incredulously. Kai tensed.
Donovan saw Quinn tense in response but answered calmly, as if neither of them were in the room. “He didn’t know Kai’s name, no. I don’t think he would have even been able to tell you the fake names Kai and Quinn gave him, if the investigators hadn’t asked about them by those names.”
“So how…?” Quinn asked.
“The frozen young woman you left in the trunk of the car.”
“He couldn’t possibly know about her!” Kai protested. “There’s no connection between the two of them.”
“You are the connection!” Quinn said. “Don’t you get that?”
“He didn’t know about her,” Donovan said, “but he knew that the police in Las Piernas-the town most closely associated with Nicholas Parrish-learned her name, and that the public radio station there has been determined to find her killer. Reporters for the station posted photographs of her on its Web site, and asked those who might have met her and taken her picture to send additional photos in to them. Amazing response, really. You could practically follow her history in the city if you really looked at the details in the photos.”
“So what has this to do with the guard?” Parrish asked impatiently.
“The guard recognized Kai as one of the people near her in one of those images.”
“This seems weak,” Parrish said. “How did he convince the police that Kai and the ambulance attendant were one and the same? The last we heard, his head injury prevented his being useful in the investigation of the escape.”
“He didn’t convince them. He’s quite impaired from the blow Kai gave him, after all. They were sure he was confused, or wanted so much to be of help he created a false memory. But Irene Kelly believed him.”
He noticed the reactions that name got from all three of them. Interesting.
“I’m not exactly sure,” Donovan went on, “whether it was the station’s pressure or her connections to the police department through her husband, but in any case, I believe she’s directly connected to the issuing of the search warrant. She was walking around asking questions in Kai’s neighborhood just before the police showed up.” He paused, then added, “I have it on good authority that, within the next twenty-four hours, there will be news reports about a secret basement room.”
Kai came to his feet.
Parrish held up a hand. “Sit down,” he said quietly.
Kai obeyed him. Donovan noted that if Kai in any way resented being ordered around by his father, he didn’t show it.
“What a mess,” Quinn said.
Parrish stared hard at him, and he, too, fell silent.
Parrish returned his gaze to Donovan and smiled. Donovan would have preferred the stare he’d just given Quinn. “You’ve been reluctant to help us, Donovan, and yet your work is always superior. Your foresight, your perfectionism, these are traits I’ve passed down to you, whether you acknowledge it or not.”
“I have no doubt you’re my father.”
“Biologically, if not in other ways?”
Donovan stayed silent.
Parrish’s smile widened. “Yes! You see, Quinn? He does not rise to bait. You two could learn from him.”
“If only he were willing to teach us,” Quinn said with false sweetness.
“You could learn just by observing him. I am pleased.”
“You’re better suited to teach them,” Donovan said. “I don’t have your experience.”
“Of course you don’t,” Parrish said. “No one does.” He turned to Kai. “You’ll have to stay on the property for a time. Perhaps even indoors during the day.”
“Yes, sir,” Kai said.
“What of you and Quinn?” Parrish asked Donovan. “Any renewed police interest?”
“Not since the first questioning.”
Quinn shrugged. “I was, of course, shocked that any of my properties had been put to such foul use and have taken appropriate security measures since.”
“Both of you must be extremely careful now, but I need not say more on that subject. I can’t tell you how pleased I am to be with individuals who truly understand me.” He turned to Quinn. “I believe you have a special treat for Donovan before we begin the next phase of our plans?”
Quinn gave a little bow and slid one pale hand into his jacket.
Donovan watched him but didn’t show any particular excitement over what could have been a reach for a weapon. He was certain he could outdraw, evade fire, and aim better than Quinn.
Quinn smiled as he handed over a disk in a slender plastic jewel case. “You can watch it here, if you’d like, on Kai’s computer.”
“I’ll wait,” Donovan said, tucking it inside his own jacket.
“I’m surprised you care,” Kai said, watching this exchange.
Donovan stared at him. “I don’t.” He turned to Parrish. “If that’s all?”
“The security system?”
“No use having cameras if you aren’t going to monitor them. Otherwise-Well, I’m sure you’ve already implemented other defenses.”
“Yes,” Parrish said, but Donovan saw a bit of doubt in his eyes. Parrish quickly went on. “Well, then, no need to delay your return. You’ll have new instructions soon.”
Donovan gave an acknowledging nod and stood.
The others stayed seated and silent as he left.
Donovan supposed that idiot Kai was going to watch the monitors now that he was on his way out. He had considered and rejected the idea of going upstairs to visit Violet, something that always seemed to make Quinn and Parrish uneasy, even though Kai almost always accompanied him.
“She can’t communicate,” Parrish had once said. “She can’t move. What do you find so fascinating about her?”
“The same thing you do,” Donovan had replied, always willing to lie to his father. “Her helplessness.”
Parrish had laughed, and Donovan had known then that he had inadvertently told at least half the truth-that was part of why Parrish kept her around.
Donovan thought of her now, as he made his way back to his car. She would be lying in the dark in a windowless room upstairs, receiving very few visits from anyone other than Kai.
He wondered if Parrish had brought her to the mountains as a living reminder of the fate that had nearly been his own.