Double Take

CHAPTER 47

SHERLOCK HOUSE

Wednesday morning

Savich handed Sean a piece of his freshly baked croissant, which he’d smeared with a big dollop of strawberry jam. Sean grinned up at Isabel and said, “My mama says you make the best croxants in the known world.”

“Yes, indeed I do,” Isabel said and ruffled the little boy’s dark hair. “You look just like your daddy and that’s a fine thing. He’s so handsome one of the neighbor women said she wanted to take over my job for a while so she could get close to him, maybe steal him away from my little Lacey.”

“Who’s little Lacey?”

“That’s your mama, sweetie.”

Sean shook his head. “No, Isabel, Mama’s name is Sherlock. Everybody calls her Sherlock, except me, and I call her Mama.”

Ruth frowned as she stifled a yawn. “I didn’t even know her name was Lacey. Well, how about that, speak of the sweetie and Sean’s mama. Dix, meet Lacey.”

Dix looked up from his cereal bowl. He looked tired, his eyes dark with shadows. “Hi, Lacey. No, that doesn’t feel right—it’s got to be Sherlock.”

“Or Mama,” Sean said.

Sherlock was wearing her usual FBI uniform of black pants, white blouse, short black boots, her SIG clipped to her belt. Her curly hair shone brightly in the morning sunlight flooding through the kitchen windows, thick and red as Isabel’s lipstick. Her blue eyes were as bright—a soft summer blue. She kissed Sean’s cheek, nipped her husband’s earlobe.

Ruth said, “Hey, where are Cheney and Julia?”

Isabel said, looking down at the fork in her hand, “Julia told me she had to talk to Cheney, so she went down to the gym. I look down a big plate of croissants and a pot of coffee a half hour ago and from the sound of it, they were having a nice full-bodied, loud, ah”—Isabel shot Sean a look— “discussion.”

“What are they fighting about?” Sean wanted to know.

“Well, nothing really, Sean,” Isabel said. “It’s more a discussion, like I said.”

“A full-bodied discussion,” Ruth said.

Isabel cleared her throat. “Maybe they’re going to work out a bit.”

Dix smiled into his orange juice.

Sean said, “When Mama’s mad at Papa, she jumps on him.”

“Ah, well, yes, sometimes,” Sherlock said. She grinned at her husband and poured herself some tea from her mother’s prized Edwardian teapot.

Sean said, “Julia told me about her little boy. She said he died.”

“I didn’t know that,” his father said.

“Do you think Julia and Cheney are working out with Grandpa and Grandma?”

Isabel poured Dix and Ruth more coffee. “Could be, Sean, but first I think they wanted to be alone for a little while, you know, talk things over.”

“The discussion,” Sean said. “But, Isabel, I don’t understand. What—”

“Oh my, Sean, I believe some toast just popped up.” And Isabel escaped to the other side of the kitchen.

Sean said to Dix, “Rob and Rafe told me how their mama, Christie, died a long time ago, Uncle Dix,” and he slipped his hand into his mother’s.

Dix said, tightening all over, “Yes, she did, Sean.”

“I don’t want my mama to die and leave me.”

“She won’t,” Dix said. “That’s a promise from a big bad sheriff, okay?”

Sean nodded.

Dix rose. “That reminds me. I need to speak to my sons, see what they’re up to and hope they’re telling me the truth.”

“Say hello for me,” Ruth called after him. She added, “Hey, Sean, I hear you’re going to go check out the courthouse with your granddad this morning.”

Cheney and Julia appeared in the kitchen doorway. They looked well-rested, and relaxed, and Julia’s eyes were shining.

Nothing like full-bodied discussions to jump-start a person’s day, Ruth thought.

Cheney’s cell phone rang, and he turned away.

When Cheney walked back into the kitchen, he took a quick look at Sean, and said, “That was Makepeace. He told me where Kathryn Golden is. He told me to come get the worthless idiot, she’s of no use to him at all. She’s at the Mariner Hotel in Palo Alto, Room 415.”

“It’s obviously a trap,” Savich said.

“Yes, but it doesn’t matter,” Julia said. “We have to go get her. Let me get my jacket, Cheney.”

Savich said, “Wait. Neither of you is going anywhere. You know very well that Makepeace is probably waiting there with a scoped rifle. No, you’re staying right here.” Savich went into command mode. “Ruth, Dix, you guys head down to Palo Alto. Sherlock and I will follow once I’ve made some calls and gotten as much protection as I can.”

Ten minutes later, Dix and Ruth were on 280 South headed to Palo Alto.

In the Sherlock home entrance hall, not a foot from the front door, Julia stood toe-to-toe with Cheney. “I’m not staying all snug and hidden in the Sherlocks’ damned gym. I’m coming with you and Sherlock and Dillon.”

“No, you’re not, Julia. And don’t even think about comparing yourself to Sherlock. You’re a woman like she is, I’ll go along with that, but she’s a professional, and she’s trained to kick butt. It would be incredibly stupid for you to show up at that hotel. He’s after you, he wants to kill you. I’m not about to take the chance.

Forget it.”

“He’s after you too, Cheney,” Savich said mildly. “I would be if you’d stuck your nose in my business as many times as you have and beaten me. No, both of you are staying right here. Captain Paulette just pulled up. You two tell him what’s going on. I’ve got phone calls to make.”

Cheney and Julia continued to argue. “He’s down in Palo Alto, waiting for us to show.”

“For all you know, he’s off trying to kill the mayor.”

“Don’t be cute. Look, Julia, if I have to tie you down, I will.”

“Or the two of you could pay a nice visit to the gym downstairs again,” Sherlock said.

Savich said, “Listen, when we’ve gotten Kathryn Golden back, all of us need to meet at Julia’s house. We need to find August Ransom’s journals. Just be patient. Sherlock, we’re outta here.”

A minute later, they were on the road in the judge’s black Beemer.

Frank said to Cheney, “If they get the psychic safe and everyone’s back up here, I’ll get everything ready to go—I’m thinking a couple of undercover cops, no SWAT, that’s overkill, what with Makepeace in Palo Alto.”

“You know the available resources better than I do,” Cheney said.

Forty minutes later, Savich dialed Dix’s phone from the car. “You there yet?”

“Yeah, we just drove up.”

“Okay, you’re going to meet a Lieutenant Ramirez of the Palo Alto PD. I told him a good bit, but not all of it.”

Dix said, “It’s obvious Ramirez has already set things up here. He’s got plainclothes cops searching around the hotel. We were talking—what if Makepeace is setting a trap in some other way?”

A bomb, Savich thought, Dix meant a bomb. He said slowly, “Makepeace would have to have contacts to purchase explosives, if that’s what you’re thinking. It could be anything. Tell Ramirez to be very careful.”

‘All light. The doorman’s looking nervous. He knows something’s going on. Can’t anybody keep a lid on things?”

“You know that’s impossible. You keep your eyes open, Dix.”

Savich heard Dix speaking, and then Ruth said something to the valet.

Dix said, “Okay, we’re walking into the lobby. There’s Ramirez, trying to look like he’s waiting for his damned luggage or something. He might as well be wearing a sign around his neck that says Hey, I’m a cop. I’ve got to go, Savich. I’ll call you as soon as we’ve got Golden.”

Savich didn’t even bother to question himself about it. He simply thought, Kathryn, Dix Noble and Ruth Warnecki are on their way up to your room with the local Palo Alto police. You’ll be fine.

Savich was disgusted with himself. Why had he believed for a single instant that she’d heard him?

He pictured Makepeace jumping out of the elevator at them, mowing them down, and dialed Dix’s cell again. He couldn’t help it, he had to talk to him again. He pressed harder on the accelerator. The Beemer shot forward. They were still about a half hour away.

Dix said, “Savich, stop your worrying. We’re being very careful, everyone is. No sign yet of Makepeace. We’re going into the room now.” Savich heard a door open.

“We’re in the room. Kathryn Golden’s in the middle of the room, tied to a chair. She’s gagged. Let me get to her, just a second—”

“Dix—”

Savich heard a loud explosion.

He frantically dialed Dix’s cell again.

There was no answer.

He dialed Ruth’s cell.

He got voice mail.

Kathryn!

There was no answer.