No One to Trust - Iris Johansen [26]
Manero was a good man and his sources were excellent. If he couldn’t unearth information about Gomez, it meant that Gomez was planning something and was making sure no one got wind of it.
What was he up to? Where was he?
The immediate grounds were secure. Now for the fermenting room.
Bill Carbonari was standing at the rear door of the house when she rounded the corner. “It’s okay, Ms. Kyler. I checked it.” He smiled. “What am I saying? You’ll do it anyway.”
“No offense.”
“None taken.” She could feel his gaze on her back as she walked down the path toward the fermenting shed. Carbonari appeared fairly alert and he was pleasant enough. She could sense a little resentment in the other three agents. She supposed it was a blow to their self-esteem that she didn’t trust them.
She swung her flashlight from side to side as she walked down the aisle between the huge vats.
Nothing.
Nothing but the wooden cylinders and the sound of her own footsteps.
She stopped short, her gaze on the darkness behind the last vat. She had caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye.
Something gleaming, metal.
Shit.
Aluminum ladder.
There hadn’t been any ladder in this room since that first night when she’d asked Forbes to check the vats.
There was one now, propped against the last vat.
She ran forward, kicked the ladder, and brought it crashing to the ground. She raced for the door.
A noise behind her, inside the vat.
She was outside, running for the house.
“Carbonari! Call Forbes—”
Carbonari was lying on the ground and a man was standing over him.
He whirled and blocked the blow she aimed at his head. “Dammit, stop trying to murder me. I’m here to help you.”
Galen.
“By killing Carbonari?”
“All I know is that when I came on the scene, I saw him draw his gun and head for the shed right after you went inside. He didn’t appear to be looking for wine.”
“Someone’s in the vat. I knocked down the ladder but they’ll—”
“Hurry. Get the kid.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the house. “I’ll bet Gomez will be driving up with reinforcements any time now.”
“Gomez?”
“He’s been camping out in the hills.” He was climbing the steps two at a time. “I checked out all the nearby hotels and then went scouting for the last few days. I ran across them—surprise, surprise. Where’s Forbes?”
“Second door on your right.”
“And Dominic?”
“With Barry.”
“Then get them out of the house and down to the vineyard. Avoid any of Forbes’s men. I don’t know if anyone besides Carbonari is on the take. Hide beyond the first rise of the hill until I come.”
“What are you going to do?”
But he was gone, disappearing into Forbes’s room.
She wasn’t about to follow him. She had to get Dominic and Barry out of the house.
“I promised her they’d be safe, Galen,” Forbes said dully.
“She will be safe, if we get out of here before Gomez shows up.”
“I checked out Carbonari. I thought he was the best of the lot. What the hell are you doing?”
Galen was setting fire to the velvet draperies. “We need a distraction when Gomez shows up. You do the same in the kitchen. I want this whole place blazing.”
“Why?”
“Would you want to face Chavez if you were responsible for letting his kid burn up? Gomez will have to try to get inside and make sure Barry isn’t here.” He glanced out the window. “Here they come … about three miles away. Move it, Forbes.”
“It’s burning, Mama,” Barry whispered, his eyes fastened on the hacienda. “The house is burning.”
“Shh, I’ll explain later, baby. You just have to be very quiet. Okay?”
Where was Galen?
She would give him a few minutes more and then she would have to start moving Barry and Dominic out of this field and toward the road.
No, not the road. She could see the headlights of a car racing toward the house.
Gomez.
“Come on, Forbes.” Galen turned toward the door. “Time to get out of here.”
“I can’t leave my agents. They may be wounded and unable to respond.” He thrust the phone into his pocket. “I’ve notified San Francisco to send backup, but there’s no way