He hung up the phone.

She slowly sank down in the chair by the phone. She felt sick. The inference was clear. Deceit. Nicholas had told Jamie not to reveal something to her. How much was Nicholas still keeping from her?

She glanced down at the number on the pad. The number was vaguely familiar. What city was that area code?

Minneapolis.

And she had called that number before and knew to whom it belonged.

Her hand was shaking as she dialed the number.

"Hello."

"What are you doing at Joel Lieber's house, Jamie?"

"Christ. I should have given you the beeper number."

"What are you doing there?" When he didn't answer, she demanded, "Let me talk to Tania."

"That's not possible."

Fear leapt through her. "What do you mean, it's not-"

"Look, I can't talk anymore. Tell Nick to call me."

She crashed down the phone when she heard the disconnect.

She jumped to her feet and ran toward her bedroom. "Michaela."

She didn't arrive at the Lieber house until almost eight hours later. Yellow tape. It was barricaded with yellow tape. They always did that with crime scenes, she remembered frantically as she paid off the taxi. How many times had she seen that yellow tape on the evening news? But that was always somebody else's house, not the house Tania had made her own.

There was a burly policeman standing in front of the barricade. He looked cold. Almost as cold as she felt.

"Nell."

Jamie was getting out of a car parked at the curb. "You shouldn't have come," he said gently. "This was what Nick was trying to avoid."

"What happened here?"

"Maritz. He's been stalking Tania, waiting for you to come back."

She felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. Her fault. She had brought this down on Tania. She and Joel had tried only to help her, and she had brought the monster into their lives. "She's dead?"

He shook his head. "She's in the hospital with a broken ankle."

The relief that surged through her made her limp. "Thank God." She looked back at the yellow tape and a wave of fear washed down her. "Joel?"

"He wasn't here." He took a deep breath. "But Phil was. Maritz had disabled his car and Phil took it to the garage. The mechanic told him someone had tampered with one of the intake lines below the carburetor. He borrowed the service station's truck and barreled back here in time to save Tania." His lips tightened grimly. "But not himself. Maritz killed him. But they struggled long enough to give the security company men time enough to get here. Maritz had to leave before he could finish Tania."

Phil. Sweet, sunny Phil. She felt tears rise to her eyes as she remembered how gentle he had been with her in the hospital. She whispered, "I liked him so much."

"So did I." Jamie cleared his throat, but his eyes held a suspicious moisture. "He was a great guy."

"I want to see Tania. Will you take me?"

"That's why I've been waiting around." He took her elbow and led her toward the car. "Nick told me not to let you out of my sight until he could get here."

"You talked to him?"

"Three hours after you left for the airport. He was ready to strangle me ... and you."

"You were here already? You knew they were in danger."

He shrugged. "The funeral director had disappeared. We wanted to be certain Joel and Tania were safe."

"But they weren't safe." She got in the passenger seat. "And neither was Phil."

"Do you think I don't feel bad enough?" he said roughly. "Phil was my friend."

"I don't care how bad you feel. Maritz killed Phil and tried to kill Tania because he wanted to get at me. And Nicholas didn't even tell me."

"Because we knew you'd come back here. Nick wanted to keep you safe."

"What right did he have to-" She broke off. There was no sense in arguing with Jamie when it was Nicholas who was to blame. "I don't want to talk anymore. Just take me to Tania."

"She's on the fifth floor," Jamie said as he drew up in front of the hospital. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No." She got out of the car and slammed the door.

Joel was in the hallway outside Tania's room.

"You look terrible," Nell said. "How's Tania?"

"Broken ankle, lacerations, shock," Joel said. "She saw Phil stabbed to death." He smiled bitterly. "Other than that, she's just fine."

"It's my fault."

"I'm the one who forgot to turn the alarm on when I left for the day. The bastard just walked into the house." He shook his head. "He just walked in."

"I'm sorry, Joel."

"She almost died." He gave her a stony stare. "Stay away from her. I don't want you near her."

She flinched. She couldn't blame him for his resentment, but it still hurt. "After today I promise not to see her until all this is over. I just want to tell her how- May I see her?"

He shrugged. "After Kabler is through talking to her."

Her glance flew to the door. "Kabler is here?"

"He got here a few minutes ago. He said he had to question her about Maritz."

"Do they have a chance of catching Maritz?"

"Kabler says he's probably already on a plane out of the country."

"But Tania saw him do it. What about extradition?"

"Extradition is good only if they can find him."

"He'll go back to Gardeaux for protection."

He shook his head. "I don't know. I just want him to stay away from Tania."

"So do I." She touched his arm. "Surely he wouldn't dare come back now that he's been identified."

"No? The bastard's crazy. He could do anything. He's been watching her, stalking her, and he just walked into the house and-" He broke off. "Just have your say and get away from her. She's had enough of-"

"I expected you, Mrs. Calder," Kabler said as he closed the door of the hospital room behind him. "Where's Tanek?"

"I came alone." She asked Joel, "May I go in now?"

"As soon as I check to make sure Kabler hasn't done any damage." He went into Tania's room.

"Too bad about young Phil," Kabler said. "You knew him well?"

"Yes. No, I guess not. What are you doing here?"

"I've had a man monitoring the situation here in Minneapolis since we heard about Birnbaum's disappearance. You remember I was curious about his involvement?"

She leaned against the wall. "Evidently your man didn't monitor it close enough."

"You weren't aware that Maritz was stalking Ms. Vlados?"

"Of course I didn't know," she said impatiently. "Do you think I'd let her run the risk of-"

"Easy." He held up his hand. "I'm just asking. Since Reardon was on the scene, it appears that Tanek knew." He shook his head. "I told you he couldn't be trusted. If he used Ms. Vlados for bait, do you think he wouldn't use you?"

"He didn't use her for bait."

"Then why didn't he tell you?" He shook his head in despair when she didn't answer. "You still believe him."

"He wouldn't put Tania in danger."

"Did he tell you what he found out from Nigel Simpson?"

"Yes."

"No, he didn't. You wouldn't be so calm about it." His lips tightened as she turned away. "I'm not going to let this happen again. Meet me downstairs in the lobby when you're finished talking to Ms. Vlados."

"Why?"

"I'm going to show you proof that Tanek can't be trusted. Not for a minute."

She watched him walk away. She was furious with Nicholas, but she had instinctively defended him. What a fool she was. Clutching at her trust in him as if it were a lifeline.

She had never felt so alone.

"You can go in now." Joel stood in the open doorway. "But only for a few minutes. She needs to rest."

Tania looked pale and terribly fragile propped up against the white pillows.

Her words, however, were brusquely characteristic. "Stop looking like that. There's nothing much wrong with me. My ankle will be fine."

"I guess you know how sorry I am." Nell came forward. "I never dreamed this would happen. It should have been me. I was the one he was after."

"Don't flatter yourself. Maybe at first, but he found me a very appealing victim." She smiled without mirth. "He thinks I'm special. Isn't that nice?"

"How can you joke?"

Tania's smile vanished. "It's the only way I can cope," she whispered. "I don't think I've ever been that frightened. He just kept coming at me. I couldn't stop him. It was like that with you, wasn't it?"

Nell nodded.

Tania's eyes filled with tears. "He killed Phil."

"I know."

"Phil saved me and Maritz killed him. I saw one of those horror movies once about a bogeyman whose sheer evil kept him alive. No matter what happened." Tania's hand tightened with bruising force on Nell's. "He just kept on going, killing. It wasn't like that in Sarajevo. They didn't have faces. Maritz has a face. But he looks so ordinary, like anybody else."

"I'm upsetting you. I'd better go. Joel will have my head."

Tania tried to smile, but it was a weak effort. "Yes, he's being very protective, isn't he? Maybe you'd better go. I'm not very good company right now. Keep in touch."

"I will. I promise." She bent down and brushed a kiss on Tania's cheek. "Get well."

Tania nodded.

"Nell."

Nell stopped at the door.

"Be careful," Tania whispered. "He really is the bogeyman."

Tanek stood waiting outside the door. "How is she?"

"Not good," Nell said coldly. "How did you think she'd be? She was almost killed and saw Phil stabbed to death in front of her eyes." She started down the hall.

"Where are you going?"