“You’re grasping at straws.” But Mac’s voice was hoarse, his nerves raw. Could I be wrong? No! “You’re KGB and I’m going to see you stand trial for what you are.”

Wakefield sighed. “Balaton won’t permit that. He’s here, don’t you understand? And he’ll stop you— again. Ask yourself why I thought I could blackmail him with the Balaton jewels. Ask yourself if he will permit the jewels to be used as evidence in a trial against me. Peel back the face of Andrew Balaton and you will find the face of an officer of the ÁVH. Peel back the face of József Major and what will you find? You don’t know, do you? It’s something the Americans never bothered to do.”

“What are you saying?”

But there was a rustling in the brush behind them, and Balaton came forward. He was wet and shaking, but he held a .38 at both men. “That’s enough.” He licked his lips. “No more lies.”

Mac continued to level his Smith & Wesson at the farmer, but he didn’t like the look of Balaton. The man was stretched tight and ready to snap. “It’s all right,” Mac said soothingly, ignoring his own fear. “We’ve got him. We’ll let the courts decide his fate now.”

Balaton was staring at the farmer. “I want the jewels.”

The man who called himself Bartholomew Wakefield nodded slightly, but there was no defeat in his face, only renewed determination. “I knew you would.”

“Forget the jewels,” Mac yelled. But as he swung around at Balaton, he saw the ugly terror in the Hungarian’s eyes...and the determination. “Oh, bloody hell,” Mac whispered, “how could I have been so wrong?”

There was a flicker in Balaton’s expression, something there quickly and then gone, like a flash. The farmer jumped forward. “Get down, Stevens! Now!”

Mac hesitated in confusion. Was it a warning or a lie? Then he felt his legs go out from under him and he didn’t know why and he tried to stop himself from falling but couldn’t. He heard the explosion. And he felt the searing pain in his shoulder, as he had before, thirty years ago, and he sank into the blueberry bushes and the rocky soil. Groaning mindlessly, he saw only the face of Elaine...the love of my life.

34

Mercifully, the fog had lifted and Ashley was able to land her tired little Cessna on Badger Rock Island. She grabbed her satchel and bounded out of the plane, but it immediately began to rain. She didn’t give a damn. In fact, the rain felt good—like a nice cold shower. She felt revived as she started down the wide gravel path.

She heard the pounding footsteps of someone running, and she thought of lurching off the path, but then Jeremy came into view, wild-eyed and there. Her arms opened and she was running, too, and then he caught her up in his arms. Thousands of dollars' worth of gems bounced in the bottom of the satchel as it swung against his back.