pines and down the other side of the hill toward where he had left his pickup.
He phoned Tucker Andersen.
“Have you heard from Eva?” Tucker’s tone was worried.
“Not a word. What’s happened?”
“She called the Farm this afternoon to say she had a family emergency and didn’t know when she’d be back. It could be the truth, but I’m not ready to believe it. I’ve sent a man to watch her house. I phoned her parents. They said they hadn’t heard from her in a month. Does she have a boyfriend?”
“Not that I know of.” Ryder kept his voice even while emotions pumped through him.
“I’m sorry about this, Judd. I know you’re fond of her. It’s entirely possible I’m wrong to be concerned, and she’s fine. Now tell me what happened there.”
Ryder paused, collecting himself. “First, the limestone pieces aren’t random—they’re part of a tablet, or at least that’s what Eli Eichel said. I checked the three pieces I have. They fit together and seem to form a corner, but of course I don’t have a clue what the cuneiform says.”
“Just one more reason to wish Eva were here.”
“Yes, maybe she could read it. Here’s a shocker—Eli Eichel said the Carnivore, Seymour, and Krot know about the limestone pieces, too. Who are Seymour and Krot?”
Tucker swore. “This is getting to be a Who’s Who of assassins. They’re old war horses who got their starts during the Cold War, too. Seymour has used many names. He’s formerly Islamic Jihad. Same with Krot. He’s ex-KGB.”
“Swell. I wonder whether they want the tablet pieces, too.”
“And how many more pieces there are, and who has them?”
Ryder was halfway down the hill. “Before he left, Eichel shot his undercover man to death.”
“Did he take the body?”
“No, dammit. I can’t listen to any more conversations, and of course the bug’s still with the corpse, which means I can’t track the Eichel brothers either. I got the license plate number.” He related it. “They stole a laptop from one of the lodges because it had background information the Padre’s people had dug up about how to find me. Probably about how to find Eva and you, too. So now they’re going to the source—the man who told the Padre we worked with the Carnivore—”
“Martin Chapman,” Tucker said instantly.
“Yes, that arsehole.” He heard the fury in his voice, then the sense of irreplaceable loss. It does not matter what others say, what the criminal evidence against your father is, if he put you on his knee and listened to you when you were young, took you fishing, never missed any of your football games, and told you he was proud of you even when you rebelled by choosing a different direction for your life, your father is still your father, and Judd had loved his. But his father had also been a member of a group of international businessmen led by Martin Chapman that had not only skirted the law but broken it many times, making large personal fortunes in the process. Still, his father had had a line he would not cross—he would not hurt U.S. security. When he discovered terrorist money might be flowing through the Library of Gold, the organization that was central to the powerful group, he had told Tucker. As a result, Chapman had ordered his death.
“You’re planning to go to Chapman’s place,” Tucker realized.
Ryder took a deep breath, controlling his rage. “I figure it’ll take me a couple of hours to get there. I’ll be in touch.”
22
Washington, D.C.
Tucker Andersen was sitting at his desk at Catapult, reading the file on Danny and Eli Eichel, when the phone call from Bash came in.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“At the hunt club.” Bash’s tone was strong and angry. “We were too late. The club’s sanitized. No cars, no weapons, no blood, no bodies. No breathing people either. The place looks like any well-tended sports club after a snowstorm. We searched the buildings and didn’t find any computers,
He phoned Tucker Andersen.
“Have you heard from Eva?” Tucker’s tone was worried.
“Not a word. What’s happened?”
“She called the Farm this afternoon to say she had a family emergency and didn’t know when she’d be back. It could be the truth, but I’m not ready to believe it. I’ve sent a man to watch her house. I phoned her parents. They said they hadn’t heard from her in a month. Does she have a boyfriend?”
“Not that I know of.” Ryder kept his voice even while emotions pumped through him.
“I’m sorry about this, Judd. I know you’re fond of her. It’s entirely possible I’m wrong to be concerned, and she’s fine. Now tell me what happened there.”
Ryder paused, collecting himself. “First, the limestone pieces aren’t random—they’re part of a tablet, or at least that’s what Eli Eichel said. I checked the three pieces I have. They fit together and seem to form a corner, but of course I don’t have a clue what the cuneiform says.”
“Just one more reason to wish Eva were here.”
“Yes, maybe she could read it. Here’s a shocker—Eli Eichel said the Carnivore, Seymour, and Krot know about the limestone pieces, too. Who are Seymour and Krot?”
Tucker swore. “This is getting to be a Who’s Who of assassins. They’re old war horses who got their starts during the Cold War, too. Seymour has used many names. He’s formerly Islamic Jihad. Same with Krot. He’s ex-KGB.”
“Swell. I wonder whether they want the tablet pieces, too.”
“And how many more pieces there are, and who has them?”
Ryder was halfway down the hill. “Before he left, Eichel shot his undercover man to death.”
“Did he take the body?”
“No, dammit. I can’t listen to any more conversations, and of course the bug’s still with the corpse, which means I can’t track the Eichel brothers either. I got the license plate number.” He related it. “They stole a laptop from one of the lodges because it had background information the Padre’s people had dug up about how to find me. Probably about how to find Eva and you, too. So now they’re going to the source—the man who told the Padre we worked with the Carnivore—”
“Martin Chapman,” Tucker said instantly.
“Yes, that arsehole.” He heard the fury in his voice, then the sense of irreplaceable loss. It does not matter what others say, what the criminal evidence against your father is, if he put you on his knee and listened to you when you were young, took you fishing, never missed any of your football games, and told you he was proud of you even when you rebelled by choosing a different direction for your life, your father is still your father, and Judd had loved his. But his father had also been a member of a group of international businessmen led by Martin Chapman that had not only skirted the law but broken it many times, making large personal fortunes in the process. Still, his father had had a line he would not cross—he would not hurt U.S. security. When he discovered terrorist money might be flowing through the Library of Gold, the organization that was central to the powerful group, he had told Tucker. As a result, Chapman had ordered his death.
“You’re planning to go to Chapman’s place,” Tucker realized.
Ryder took a deep breath, controlling his rage. “I figure it’ll take me a couple of hours to get there. I’ll be in touch.”
22
Washington, D.C.
Tucker Andersen was sitting at his desk at Catapult, reading the file on Danny and Eli Eichel, when the phone call from Bash came in.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“At the hunt club.” Bash’s tone was strong and angry. “We were too late. The club’s sanitized. No cars, no weapons, no blood, no bodies. No breathing people either. The place looks like any well-tended sports club after a snowstorm. We searched the buildings and didn’t find any computers,
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