Chasing the Night - Iris Johansen [94]
“It depends on what you call well. I took care to make sure that he wouldn’t resemble that cute little toddler that you knew and loved. He’s a young savage. He’s killed, you know.”
“For God’s sake, he’s only eleven years old.”
“I killed my first man on a raid when I was nine. As his guardian, I thought it fitting that he follow in my footsteps. So I set him on the proper path.”
“You bastard.”
“Now Catherine, you’ve been asking me questions about your Luke all these years. Yet when I oblige you, all I get is abuse.”
He had been lying and playing cat and mouse with her emotions since the moment he had taken Luke. The only reason he was giving her all the painful details was that it didn’t matter to him any longer. “No matter what you did to Luke, you couldn’t change him.”
He laughed. “How naïve you are. Life changes everyone, and I helped the process along. You’d be surprised what a corrupt little son of a bitch he’s become. And I use that term with complete accuracy. You’d never be able to recognize any of the qualities you think Luke possessed. Are you sure that you even want to make the attempt to regain your little darling?”
“Why should I believe you? You’ve lied to me before. Maybe this is just another lie.”
“I think in your heart you know that there’s no reason for our little charade to go on. Luke is what I’ve made him. Not the child you created in your womb.”
He was speaking with absolute certainty, and his words terrified her. “I’ll never give up on him.”
“That’s what I hoped you’d say. I just thought I’d give you the opportunity to walk away from him and save your life and lives of your friends. Wasn’t that kind of me?”
“I won’t walk away. But the people who have helped me have nothing to do with this any longer. You don’t have to go after them.”
“But I do. I told you what would happen to them, and I always keep my word. You should know that by now, Catherine. Our involvement during these past years should have been ample proof. And I already have plans to have you watch their removal. Guilt and regret should add a spice to the occasion.”
She shuddered. “So many deaths. The adults are bad enough, but the children…Did you kill that little boy whose skull Eve reconstructed?”
“Oh, yes, that’s what gave me the idea of using the skeleton to lead you here. He was the youngest son of Karl Taskov, a Georgian guerilla that Russia paid me a handsome fee to hunt down and eliminate.”
“One of your old comrades like Kelsov?”
“Yes, I had my new nest to feather after I went to Moscow. And I feathered it well.”
“But why kill the son? You didn’t get money for the murder of a child.”
“He got in the way. I found Taskov on his farm with his wife and three children. I didn’t want his wife to blab to the other members of the resistance that I was the one who was doing the executions. You can never tell when it may become profitable to go back to your roots.”
He jumps back and forth. It’s part of the pattern.
Kelly had hit the nail on the head with her analysis, she thought sickly. “You killed all of them?”
“It was the practical thing to do. I buried the bodies at different locations. I had to think for a moment to remember where I’d buried the little boy.”
“Because he wasn’t important.”
“Exactly. You understand me so well. But your Luke is important. I kept very good track of him over the years.”
She drew a shaky breath. “What’s next, Rakovac? You’re calling the shots.”
“Yes, I am. Strange you should use that phrase. I called the shots figuratively with you and literally with your son. Did I tell you what a fine shot he is?”
“It doesn’t matter how you’ve twisted him. He’s still my Luke. Tell me where he is.”
“Come and get him.”
She drew a deep breath. “How? Where?”
“I assume you’re still in Russia?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t leave here without Luke. Not this time.”
“So eager. Your determination amazes me. A mother’s love…”
“It shouldn’t surprise you. That’s what you’ve relied on all