Shattered Mirror (Eve Duncan #23)(63)

“Go on.”

“Manard was to accept a major percentage of the selling price to settle a gambling debt Akim owed him. He even invested some of his own money in the project. It would have been a fairly peaceful transaction until Akim got greedy. He decided to risk muscling in on territory some of your people had already established with the Pakistanis to get a bigger fee to make up for what he had to pay Manard.” He paused. “Very stupid. Your organization would never permit that to happen. It had the expected result. Akim and his men were shot, and the cargo disappeared into the mountains.”

“That often happens, doesn’t it? Pakistan is still such a primitive country.”

“But Manard wasn’t that philosophic. He’d lost a bundle when your ‘associates’ hijacked that shipment from Akim. He found out you were the kingpin in the background, and he was mad as hell. He wanted revenge.”

“Unfortunate. But it was unlikely I’d even know who Akim’s investors were nor would I care … if any of my associates happened to be involved. Strictly small potatoes. Nikolai approves of statements, and it seems as if a statement had been made and a transaction completed.”

“I believe you probably didn’t know about Manard. As you said, small potatoes. You’d just keep an eye open for any fallout. And there was no immediate fallout. It came a few months later. Manard wasn’t about to take you on, but he wanted his revenge. So he did some research and found Cara. He sent his favorite hit man to see if he could cause you a little pain and suffering and still keep his ass intact. Sean zeroed in on her like a true professional, but he wasn’t all that good. That’s why he had left Dublin; he didn’t want to be compared to his twin. Even my man, Stanton, spotted Sean, and he thought he might have scared him off.” He paused. “But that wasn’t it, because someone else also evidently spotted him. You mentioned to Cara that you’d had someone watching her. And when it was reported back to you that Sean was a possible threat to her, you decided elimination was necessary. Of course, nothing close to Cara’s school. There was a car-bomb explosion in Harlem the next day. Very big explosion and vaguely designated as gang-related. But there was not even enough evidence to identify the victim.”

“The C-4 was Sean Norwalk’s,” Kaskov said. “He was planning to set off an explosion in Cara’s suite at the residence.” Kaskov added softly, “Only a touch of poetic justice. Tell me that you wouldn’t have appreciated that poetry, Jock. Though you would probably have preferred using your hands. The thought of Cara’s being blown to bits would have been difficult for you to handle.”

“Yes, and I’m not arguing that Sean Norwalk wouldn’t have died whether you’d been involved or not.”

“I regret robbing you of the pleasure. But I admit I thoroughly enjoyed giving that order.”

“And why didn’t you go after Manard?”

“I wasn’t sure he was involved. I didn’t know that much about Norwalk. He was going under an assumed name, Marc Sanford, and he wasn’t under an exclusive contract to Manard. There were at least four other organizations who used Norwalk’s services in France and Spain. I didn’t even know about Manard’s connection to Akim at the time. So I decided to watch and investigate and be certain. Only fools act hastily. I thought the immediate threat was over, and Cara would be safe now that I’d issued a statement.”

“Until she almost got choked to death,” Jock said harshly.

“I was watching Manard. I didn’t know Sean Norwalk even had a brother. As I said, he’d changed his name when he left Ireland. Yes, there were reports a Rory Norwalk visited Manard during the time I had him under surveillance after I’d disposed of the threat to Cara, but I didn’t see a connection.” He added, “But after the attack on Cara that night, I let you look for connections for me. You did exceptionally well, Gavin.”

“Always pleased to serve,” he said ironically. “It didn’t occur to you that you could have been a little more open.”

“It’s not my nature. I did give you considerable information. That’s not my custom, either. However, I will tell you that Rory Norwalk did me a favor in disposing of Manard. If he wasn’t such a totally erratic psychopath, I might have decided to let him live.”

“Really? Not likely. It was inevitable that he’d kill Manard. He had his own share of responsibility, and Norwalk is getting rid of everyone connected with his twin’s death. He probably went to Manard, crying vengeance, and pressured him into doing what he wanted. It wouldn’t have been that difficult. Manard had to know what a nut job Norwalk was from his visits to his brother during the preceding years.” He added, “And Cara is on that list. It’s a wonder he didn’t kill her that night. But we both know why he didn’t, don’t we?”

“He wants me to see her die,” Kaskov said without inflection. “And probably in the most painful and bloody way possible. It’s the customary ending in a situation like this.”

“Aye, so it is. But it’s not going to have a customary ending. Because you’re going to use yourself as the bait to trap Norwalk. It’s the only way to keep him away from her.”

Silence. “Oh, am I going to do that? It sounds like a fine plan, but I believe Nikolai would have objections to its effect on my many enterprises. Along with damage to my rather vulnerable body. Besides, there’s also the fact that I make my own decisions, Gavin.”