“But why the hell did you hide that Queen’s Walk postcard at your place in San Diego?”
“The situation had changed and I had to change with it.”
“What are you talking about?”
He shrugged. “All you saw in the sunroom today with Stevie and the robot was only the tip of the iceberg. I’d been involved with it for much longer. Six months ago, I had a call from Nolan telling me that Korkil had made a direct threat to him and Stevie if he refused to turn over the robot within the next few months. Nolan didn’t want to tell Stevie and worry her, but he asked if I’d be willing to come to London and get the bastard off his back.” He grimaced. “And hopefully either behind bars or in the nearest cemetery.”
“And you agreed to it?”
Lynch nodded. “But I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Korkil is a big-time drug kingpin, and his organization has been involved with quite a few nasty massacres around the world. So I told Nolan to stall while I did my research and tried to get him off the hook. I went undercover in London several times during the next months, which allowed me not only to do theresearch I needed but also to keep an eye on Stevie to make sure that Korkil didn’t snatch her to put pressure on her father. It was working out pretty well and I was getting closer and closer to the point when I might be able to take Korkil down.”
“But you said the situation changed,” Kendra said. “What happened?”
“Korkil got impatient and decided to go after both Stevie and her father. He managed to get Nolan but not Stevie and that’s when I knew I’d have to set up permanent residence on Korkil’s virtual front porch to keep both of them alive and safe. That’s when I left for London.”
“And dropped off that postcard with George and Matilda? Why not justcallme, dammit?”
“You’re not getting the picture. Korkil is totally deadly. I didn’t want you anywhere near him if I could make other arrangements.” He looked down at his bloody bandage. “It turned out that I couldn’t. Before I left, I set up a ‘dead man’s switch’ email to Olivia from my server.”
“That sounds grisly.”
“It’s just an email that will be sent unless I periodically log on and stop it. People use them to send final wishes, locations of wills, insurance policies, that kind of thing. If something happened to me, I wanted to leave you some breadcrumbs to follow.”
This surprised Kendra more than anything else. Lynch had always projected an aura of invincibility. “You actually thought you were going to die?”
“I knew it was a possibility, but I thought it was even likelier that I might be held hostage at least for a little while as they tried to get me to reveal Stevie’s location. I needed to be careful howI parsed out information to you, because I didn’t want anyone else to find Stevie. Of everyone I know, you’re the one person I knew who could piece it together.” He smiled. “And whocaredto piece it together.”
“You’re lucky on that count.”
“If there was any other way, I wouldn’t have chosen to endanger your life. Quite honestly, I thought that if the worst happened and these people were trying to get to me by hurting you, this approach would have the advantage of taking you away from home, where you could be a sitting duck. In a weird way, I thought I would be protecting you.”
Kendra thought about this for a moment. “Well, it’s true that I’ve always been more comfortable as a moving target than a sitting duck.”
“In the end, I couldn’t even get in touch with you. When they were holding me, I didn’t have access to a phone, of course, and afterward I couldn’t think straight for days between my injury and the torture chemicals that Dekker injected in me. Even when I could call, it was too dangerous to let Stevie use her phone, since we had reason to believe Korkil could track her if it was used.”
Kendra nodded. “So you thought Elizabeth Porter was the one person who might know enough about Stevie and her country house to lead me here?”
“Yes. And even if I was dead, I thought Stevie would be in good hands with you.”
“But why was that bookseller murdered?” Kendra asked. “She didn’t answer my questions about you and told me nothing about Stevie Nolan.”
“Would it make you feel better if I tell you that you probablyhad nothing to do with why they went after Elizabeth Porter that night?” he asked gently. “It was probably just about my presence in Palmer Nolan’s life.” His lips twisted bitterly. “Though it could be that Korkil has a passion for sweeping anything the least bit marginal out of his path. Or the pleasure he receives from the pain he inflicts while he’s doing it. I could show you the morgue reports.”
“No, thank you. I’m feeling bad enough already.”
“Then believe what I’m telling you. Is there a possibility you could have something to do with her death? Of course, but it’s likely the responsibility lies at my door—or even more likely, at Korkil’s. I won’t lie. I had planned to pluck Elizabeth Porter out of harm’s way. That was the plan, but I was more worried about Stevie and Archie. And I ended up being shot and then taken to that damn gas station for Korkil’s fun and games. I wasn’t pleased. I was so mad, he didn’t stand a chance of getting any info out of me.
“But Korkil could have realized you were a potential problem because of your connection with me. He’d probably already had me investigated because I’d asked too many questions about him and his organization during the past six months. Since Porter was also under scrutiny as a friend of Stevie Nolan, it was almost a sure thing that Korkil would eventually give the order to eliminate her if she wouldn’t give him the information he wanted. As you found out, that woman could keep a secret.”
Kendra shook her head in disbelief. “Aren’t you just trying to make me feel less guilty?”
“Nah, it’s too much effort, and we know each other too well to play games when the truth is easier. Right?”
“Maybe.” She frowned. “I’m still upset with the way you handled all this. But you may be partially correct with some ofthe conclusions you’ve drawn.” She paused. “And I think you’ve told me the truth as you know it.”
“Amazing,” he murmured. “You mean I’m not a total asshole?”
“I didn’t say that. You were wrong in so many ways that hurt me.” She hesitated again. “But I do think perhaps you were right about that wound not needing immediate attention.” She turned and headed for the door. “It’s definitely no longer bleeding, but I’ll still send Archie to put on a fresh bandage.”
