The Vanishing Stair (Truly Devious #2)(44)

“That might have worked,” Slater said. “But he would have had to be a very good actor to convince Royston. Collectors tend to be secretive and suspicious. We need to get to Fogg Lake.”

“What? That’s a three-and-a-half-hour drive. Four hours if the weather turns bad. We don’t have time to go to Fogg Lake. The kidnappers won’t be hanging out there.”

“We’ve got to find out what that original crime scene can tell us.”

You can’t go back into the caves. You will go crazy. You’ll throw yourself into the lake and drown.

Catalina pushed the old nightmare to the back of her mind and struggled to come up with a logical reason for avoiding the caves.

“If we go to Fogg Lake today we’ll be stuck there overnight,” she said. “You can’t get in or out of town after dark because of the fog.”

“We have to start at the beginning,” Slater insisted.

“There’s no way a couple of murderous sociopaths like those two clones could hide in Fogg Lake. That is still one very small town. Everyone knows everyone else. Strangers stand out.”

“I don’t expect to find them there,” Slater said, impatient now. “But with luck we’ll get some sense of whoever is running those clones.”

“But—”

“We don’t have time to argue, Catalina. I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to trust me.”

“Trust you? Just because you’re from the Foundation? We should be looking for those two men who grabbed Olivia.”

“I’m not going to ignore those damned twins. I’ll have Victor send someone to Seattle today to run down any leads that originate here in this gallery. The Foundation cleaners are good.”

“Yes, but they work for your uncle.”

“Believe it or not, I know what I’m doing here,” Slater said.

She had to give him that much, she thought. He was the expert when it came to chasing old artifacts, and it looked like they were after one. She had to trust him. Olivia’s life might depend on it.

“All right, I agree that you’re the expert,” she said. “If you’re convinced there are answers to be found in Fogg Lake, then I guess we’d better get on the road. It’s a long drive. We have to arrive there before it gets dark, otherwise we’ll end up sleeping in the car overnight while we wait for the fog to lift.”

Slater did not look thrilled by the reluctance of her capitulation, but he gave her a brusque nod.

“Thanks,” he said. “The sooner we get there, the sooner we can conduct the investigation. We’ll stop by your apartment so you can grab whatever gear you think you’ll need. I don’t suppose your hometown ever got around to allowing a hotel or a B and B to open?”

“Of course not. Fogg Lake has a long and proud tradition of discouraging tourism.”

“Yeah, I heard that.”

“Relax, we can stay in my parents’ house. They have a home here in Seattle and a condo in Scottsdale but they still spend some part of each summer at the lake. I think they held on to the Fogg Lake house in case I, uh—”

“In case you what?”

“In case I, you know, have kids and need to raise them in a safe environment.”

“Right.” Slater nodded. “Kids. Speaking of parents, where are yours now?”

“They’re away on a world cruise.”

“What about Olivia’s mother and father?”

“Olivia’s father died when she was just a baby. Her mother was killed in what the authorities called a hiking accident about a year and a half ago.”

“Sounds like you and Olivia aren’t so sure about that.”

“Olivia thinks she was murdered but we’ve never been able to find any proof. When you die in the mountains, nature has a way of concealing the evidence.”

“True.”

“We can’t even establish a possible motive. If she was killed, it was probably a random act of violence. Maybe she surprised someone who was running a drug lab. We just don’t know.” Catalina cleared her throat. “We’d better get moving. Long drive.”

“Yes,” Slater said. He still had the old phone in one hand. “Grab that tray of index cards for me, will you?”

“All right.”

She picked up the file and followed him out of the vault. He moved swiftly toward the stairs. She had to hurry to keep up with him.

He reached the concrete steps and started up to the ground floor of the big house. He stopped so suddenly that she almost stumbled into him.

“What?” she said, grabbing the handrail to steady herself.

He hit the light switch, dumping the basement into deep night. He closed and locked the door, spun around and aimed a small flashlight at the steps.

“Under the steps,” he said. “Hurry.”

Clinging to the rail with her free hand, she bounded back down the stairs to the floor of the basement. Slater was right behind her.

Heavy footsteps echoed in the hall at the top of the stairs. Two men.

“We’ve got ’em,” one man said.

There was a series of dull thuds, followed by a grinding noise and a sudden crack of sound. A couple of seconds later the door crashed open.

Slater leaned out from the shelter of the concrete stairs and fired two shots in crisp succession.