Twice Dead - Catherine Coulter [86]
“Yes, all of it is true. His name is Thomas Matlock. He never died, Becca. There is probably a whole lot more to tell you—”
“Yes,” Thomas said, “a lot more. So many stories to tell you about your mother, Becca.”
“My mom said I had dreamy eyes. You do, too. I have your eyes.”
Thomas smiled and his eyes twinkled. “I guess maybe you do have my eyes.”
Adam said, stroking his chin, “I’m not sure about that. The thing is, Becca, I’ve never before looked at his eyes in quite the same way I look at yours.”
Suddenly, all her attention was on Adam. She said, “Why not?”
“Because—” Adam stopped dead in his tracks. She was actually coming on to him, teasing him. He loved it. He cleared his throat. “Now’s not the time. We’ll talk about that later, you can count on it. Now, are you up to telling us about this guy who took you?”
“You mean Krimakov.”
“Yes.”
“A moment, Adam. Sir, you sent Adam to protect me, didn’t you?”
“Yes, he did, but I screwed up, big-time.”
Becca said, “Sorry, Adam, but you can’t take all the credit. What that monster did was very clever. None of us would have ever guessed that he came back to the house while we were out looking for him. How’d he get me out of the house without being seen?”
“Sherlock figured that one out really fast. He knocked out Chuck and tied him up. That’s how he escaped with you.” He saw the worry in her eyes and quickly added, “He’s okay—a headache for a while. I’m sorry, Becca, so sorry. Did he hurt you?” It hurt to say it, but he did: “Did he rape you?”
“No. He licked my face. I told him not to do it again because it was creepy. That made him really mad, but you see, that drug he shot into me, it also calmed me, made me all loose, so when I woke up that first time I wasn’t afraid of him. I don’t think I was afraid of anything. It was a side effect of the drug, he said, and he didn’t like it. He wanted me to be real afraid, he wanted me to beg and plead, like Linda Cartwright did.” She shuddered as she said the name. “He said she didn’t matter. She was only his present to me.”
“Did he tell you his name?”
She shook her head. She said to her father, “I can’t even describe him. He never let me see him. When he had me tied down to a bed, he always stood in the shadows, beyond what I could make out. I don’t think he was old, but I can’t be one hundred percent certain. Was he young? I don’t know. But when he cursed, he used a mixture, some American, some British, and some in a language I didn’t recognize. Isn’t that strange?”
“Yes, but we’ll figure it out.”
Thomas was standing beside her bed, opposite Adam. He was wearing a dark suit, the dark red tie loosened. He looked tired and worried and, oddly enough, happy. Because of her? Evidently so, and that pleased her very much. He picked up her left hand and held it. His hand was strong, lightly tanned. He was wearing a wedding ring. She stared at that ring, stared and stared, touched her fingers to it, then said finally, “My mother gave you that ring?”
“Yes, when we got married. I wore it all our married lives. I plan to wear it until it finally dissolves off my finger sometime in the distant future. I loved your mother very much, Becca. Like I said, I had to leave both of you so you wouldn’t be killed. I know it’s all still very confusing. There are lots of facts and details, but the bottom line is exactly what I already told you. I accidentally killed a man’s wife and he swore he would kill my family, and then he would kill me, but only after I saw, firsthand, how he had killed everyone I loved. I had no choice. I had to leave my family in order to protect them.”
Adam said, “We believe this man who is stalking you, who murdered that old bag lady, who shot the governor, we believe it’s Krimakov and somehow he found you and began terrorizing you.” He paused for a moment, nodding to Thomas.
Thomas was looking down at this lovely young woman who was his only child. It took him a moment before he said, “Vasili Krimakov was one of the KGB’s top agents back in the seventies,