believe she set him up?”
“It looks that way, but I don’t know why she would have. He would have gone anywhere with her if she just asked.” A new thought was occurring. “Maybe they took her, too. Maybe they only took Harvey to get to Rachel, or because he happened to be here in the way.”
“Why would they take her?”
“It all comes back to this company Betelco. I told you about Fratello, right? This embezzler who disappeared? Fratello’s wife told me Rachel brought Russian partners into Betelco.”
“There are no such things as Russian partners,” he said. “Only victims waiting to be.”
“That’s pretty much what she said. This Tishchenko must be one of those partners. Maybe he’s really looking for Rachel.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I do know that Tishchenko is looking for something or someone. He tore Susan’s house apart and threatened to kill her children. And now Rachel is missing, at least to me. Harvey claims not to know where she is.”
Bo sat there nodding while I rattled off the facts as I knew them. I wasn’t sure whether he derived as much benefit from hearing them as I did from saying them out loud. It helped me organize the bits and pieces into a coherent story. Well, a story. I sat back in the chair. “Somewhere in all this might be a private military firm called Blackthorne, but we hope not. And Fratello might have been hijacked. That’s all I know.”
Bo tapped his big fingers on the couch’s wide armrest. The thumping seemed loud in the quiet room. He pushed forward on the seat and assumed the tilt of confidentiality. He didn’t speak until I did the same. Other than Harvey asleep in his bed and Radik patrolling outside, we were completely alone, yet he still insisted on the cone of silence.
“There is a way,” he said. “But it is dangerous, and we must move carefully. You must think about whether you want to be involved with this man.”
“With Tishchenko?”
“Yes.”
We were very nearly touching noses at this point, close enough that I could see his pores. “Do you know him?”
“We have a professional relationship.”
“Then can’t you talk to him? He’s the one who started this. He took Harvey. He should recognize our right to come and take him back, shouldn’t he?”
“It does not work that way.”
I hesitated to ask the next question. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer. “Are you afraid of him?”
There was no hesitation from him. “I would be a fool not to fear him. So would you.”
“What would—” My tongue wouldn’t work right. My body, generally smarter than my brain, had already chosen its course. “What would I have to do?”
“We must go and see him. He knows where we are. It is best to go to him before he comes again.”
My chest, already tight, was getting to the point of shutdown. “What would happen if I said no?”
“He will come again, but this time he will come for us all.”
“Then what choice do I have?”
12
BO HAD OTHER BUSINESS TO ATTEND TO, SO HE TOOK off and left me pacing around the big house. I checked on Harvey several times. He never moved.
Timon had joined Radik for guard duty, so I didn’t have to worry about the house being safe. That left me free to devote all my energy to worrying about my meeting with Tishchenko. Before he’d left, Bo said he would set something up for the next day. The sooner the better, he said. Easy for him to say.
I went back to Harvey’s office and turned on his computer. It would take a while to get fired up. I checked my watch. I felt as if I’d lived three days in the past twelve hours, and yet it was just after midnight. I thought about calling Dan again but then remembered that Felix had left me two messages. It never bothered Felix to get a phone call in the middle of the night, so I dialed him up.
“Hey, Miss Shanahan. You’re up late.”
“We found Harvey. He’s home, and he’s fine, thanks to you. He was exactly where you said he would
“It looks that way, but I don’t know why she would have. He would have gone anywhere with her if she just asked.” A new thought was occurring. “Maybe they took her, too. Maybe they only took Harvey to get to Rachel, or because he happened to be here in the way.”
“Why would they take her?”
“It all comes back to this company Betelco. I told you about Fratello, right? This embezzler who disappeared? Fratello’s wife told me Rachel brought Russian partners into Betelco.”
“There are no such things as Russian partners,” he said. “Only victims waiting to be.”
“That’s pretty much what she said. This Tishchenko must be one of those partners. Maybe he’s really looking for Rachel.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I do know that Tishchenko is looking for something or someone. He tore Susan’s house apart and threatened to kill her children. And now Rachel is missing, at least to me. Harvey claims not to know where she is.”
Bo sat there nodding while I rattled off the facts as I knew them. I wasn’t sure whether he derived as much benefit from hearing them as I did from saying them out loud. It helped me organize the bits and pieces into a coherent story. Well, a story. I sat back in the chair. “Somewhere in all this might be a private military firm called Blackthorne, but we hope not. And Fratello might have been hijacked. That’s all I know.”
Bo tapped his big fingers on the couch’s wide armrest. The thumping seemed loud in the quiet room. He pushed forward on the seat and assumed the tilt of confidentiality. He didn’t speak until I did the same. Other than Harvey asleep in his bed and Radik patrolling outside, we were completely alone, yet he still insisted on the cone of silence.
“There is a way,” he said. “But it is dangerous, and we must move carefully. You must think about whether you want to be involved with this man.”
“With Tishchenko?”
“Yes.”
We were very nearly touching noses at this point, close enough that I could see his pores. “Do you know him?”
“We have a professional relationship.”
“Then can’t you talk to him? He’s the one who started this. He took Harvey. He should recognize our right to come and take him back, shouldn’t he?”
“It does not work that way.”
I hesitated to ask the next question. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer. “Are you afraid of him?”
There was no hesitation from him. “I would be a fool not to fear him. So would you.”
“What would—” My tongue wouldn’t work right. My body, generally smarter than my brain, had already chosen its course. “What would I have to do?”
“We must go and see him. He knows where we are. It is best to go to him before he comes again.”
My chest, already tight, was getting to the point of shutdown. “What would happen if I said no?”
“He will come again, but this time he will come for us all.”
“Then what choice do I have?”
12
BO HAD OTHER BUSINESS TO ATTEND TO, SO HE TOOK off and left me pacing around the big house. I checked on Harvey several times. He never moved.
Timon had joined Radik for guard duty, so I didn’t have to worry about the house being safe. That left me free to devote all my energy to worrying about my meeting with Tishchenko. Before he’d left, Bo said he would set something up for the next day. The sooner the better, he said. Easy for him to say.
I went back to Harvey’s office and turned on his computer. It would take a while to get fired up. I checked my watch. I felt as if I’d lived three days in the past twelve hours, and yet it was just after midnight. I thought about calling Dan again but then remembered that Felix had left me two messages. It never bothered Felix to get a phone call in the middle of the night, so I dialed him up.
“Hey, Miss Shanahan. You’re up late.”
“We found Harvey. He’s home, and he’s fine, thanks to you. He was exactly where you said he would
Similar Books
