The Heart of the Jungle, стр. 63

"Oh no, Watson is not going to kill you. He's going to bring you to me. I have one more important task for you. You see, there may be a way you can salvage the situation after all."

"Anything," Brunner cried. "I'll do whatever you say."

George laughed on the other end of the line, but there was no humor in the sound of it. Brunner cringed. The hairs on the back of his neck rose. His moment of hope withered. Perhaps he had been too hasty in promising to do anything. From the ugly tenor of George MacQuery's chuckle, anything was exactly what he was going to have to do.

THE elegantly appointed corporate jet turned out to be a boon. Not only was it lavishly furnished and infinitely more comfortable than a commercial airline, but it was equipped with everything Frank and Jason needed to keep abreast of the operation unfolding on the ground.

Frank made liberal use of the satellite telephone to check in on the surveillance on MacQuery's residence. He contacted the Las Vegas field office and learned that, surprisingly, the letters had been faxed over as requested. Unsurprisingly, there was nothing about the diamond in any of them, nor anything about David James's suspicions of MacQuery.

They were, Frank was told, full of remorse and apology for the way Chris had been treated and nothing more of note.

"There are two possibilities here," Frank said after disconnecting.

"Either MacQuery has withheld the letters that were germane, or he's telling the truth and Michael Blake is the one who passed them on to Brunner."

"I agree it's a possibility," Jason admitted, "but I just don't think so. Something is seriously fishy about MacQuery, and it's been bugging me all along. It was only when we learned about the diamond mine that I really started to question his actions." Jason paused. "Forget the fact that he was so helpful and forthcoming on the telephone, he kept important information from Chris and the police. Chris knew nothing about Michael's drug habit or his affair with Brunner. It makes no sense that George would cover it up. If he loved Chris as much as he says he does, he wouldn't want him to stay in a relationship with a cheating drug addict. Aside from that, even if he didn't want Chris to find out, you'd think he would have at least mentioned it to the police."

"If he was trying to protect his firm's reputation---"

"Yeah, that seems a bit far-fetched. I mean, all he would have to do was say that Michael had been operating on his own and his personal affairs were completely outside of George's control."

Frank thought for a while. "I agree. Here's what I think: As I said before, David James went to a lot of trouble to keep MacQuery from getting his hands on the rock. He kept it out of his estate, hidden from the world, didn't tell anyone about it. He must have expected his life was in danger and made provisions for its safe transfer to Chris if anything happened to him. Somehow, he must have ensured that only Chris would be able to retrieve it."

"Safety deposit box," Jason said. "That's how he did it. Has to be."

Frank agreed and continued. "If Chris found out about the diamond, it would also mean that he'd read his father's warnings about MacQuery in those letters. So MacQuery needed him out of the way---"

"And there could be no question about his death because of the previous investigation," Jason concluded for him, seeing the direction his train of thought was taking him.

"There is a jagged edge to this," Frank said, trying to think around the one snag he couldn't readily find an answer for. "If Chris James committed suicide and he had no apparent heir, everything he owned would have become property of the state."

"Yes, that's why Brianna was being kept safe. Brunner's maid, Rosalita Morales, said she heard him tell Michael they needed her to get to the Heart of the Jungle."

"But why bring Michael in?" Frank wondered.

"I think they intended to make him the fall guy. He was so far gone on drugs it would have been easy to overdose him and have him and Brianna turn up somewhere they would be sure to be found. That way it would look like some sick, elaborate kidnapping plot."

Frank whistled shrilly. "Shee-it," he exclaimed. "That's just about crazy enough to be the truth. I feel like it's twenty years ago and I'm working with your old man." Frank chuckled. "This is another one for the books."

"In any case, whatever is happening," Jason said seriously, "it's all going down in Seattle. One way or another, that's where everyone will end up eventually."

"Another hour and forty," John Abel called back to them from the cockpit. He'd apparently been listening to their conversation---the ETA was too "on cue" to have been coincidental.

Jason looked out the window anxiously. I hope that's soon enough.