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“I will be after I hang up. Get back to that village and find Caleb!”
***
Caleb called Palik when he was on his way to Palik’s hotel. “Has Bohdan showed up in the city yet?”
“Not at the brothel. But I’ve heard he’s been checking on his drug houses in Milan and Campania. And there was an explosion at a meth house near Maggiano Beach. Probably Bohdan was unhappy with their output. He usually saves the brothels for more personal entertainment. Other than that, he’s been playing his visit here very low-key. He has to know that MI6 is after him for the Tiber murder, and he might be facing a war crimes accusation in the Congo. I think he’s trying to keep his investments here in line until he can go back there and take over the general’s position. Which means he’s been principally occupied with trying to locate you.” He paused. “Why? Restless?”
“I want it over.”
“Jane MacGuire is safe. Did you check with Rodland?”
“She seems pleased enough with him.”
“He’s a good man,” he said. “And he’ll take care of her.”
“So will MacDuff and his Royal Marines,” Caleb said bitterly. “I’ve got the situation covered, haven’t I?”
“Yes, you have.”
“But it doesn’t stop me from imagining Bohdan sitting on the doorstep waiting for a chance to pounce.”
“And that means that we’re not going to wait for that to happen? What are you planning?”
“I need him to come out in the open so that I can targethim. I believe Bohdan has too many businesses to take care of. I think we should lighten his load.”
“You don’t think you’re high enough on his kill list?”
“He’s obviously thinking too much about hunting me. Let’s give him something else to think about. I’m pulling into the parking lot of your hotel now. Gather all the info you have on Bohdan and meet me in the bar. Concentrate on his most expensive and profitable assets. We have choices to make.”
***
Storage Room
MacDuff’s Run
Two Days Later
“You’re leaving me to check out all those diaries by myself,” Rodland complained. “There’s nothing of interest. I’m sure Fiona was a fascinating young woman, but she definitely wasn’t as well rounded as any modern-day lass. She visits the castle to see Uncle Colin, she goes to chapel, she helps nurse the ill in the village. But she never even says what she’s thinking about any of it. She might as well be a mummy.”
Jane took a drink of water from her bottle. “And you’re bored.”
“You could let me study those historical tomes about those trains that you’ve been devouring for the past few days. You’ve been totally absorbed. They’d be much more my cup of tea, too.”
She shook her head. “Waste of effort. You already know all about trains. You went through hell building that crude one in Kashmir. And you’re the one who told us that Fiona was drawing pictures of railroad tracks.” She smiled. “I’m the one who needs to learn why she was doing it. Sorry she’s not entertaining you. But I’m not giving them up.” When he made a face, she chuckled. Oh, what the hell, he might make fun of her, but they’d become friends and it didn’t matter. “But I’ll share this one of the Reiver car with you.” She handed him the book. “It has some of the later photos of the train as a whole, but there are also several shots of the car when they were first building it back in 1869. Look at the photos of the murals painted on its wall. They’re exceptional. I particularly like the one of the lake in the Highlands.” Her smile deepened. “Although that might be because I’ve seen it before. It’s not too far from MacDuff’s Run.”
“Really?” He looked closer. “Remarkable.”
She nodded, waiting a moment before adding, “Or it might be because I recognized the technique of the artist. Those brushstrokes are almost unmistakable.”
Rodland glanced up at her. “And you’re so excited you obviously want to tell someone about it. What did you find out, Jane?”
“I’m almost sure that the artist was the same one who painted the portrait of Fiona. I won’t know definitely until I find a larger, more detailed photo of that picture. Or the picture itself.”
“If it still exists,” he said gently. “It’s not likely. That was at the time of the American Civil War. A mural that old, from a railcar that might have been scrapped over a hundred years ago?”
“It wasn’t,” Jane said. “I called the railroad and talked to a clerk yesterday afternoon. It’s no longer in use, but the car is considered an antique and is sitting sidelined in one of the company rail yards.”
“Which one?”
