the cabin, Lord could almost feel their presence. The sun had set and the air had turned cold. Thorn had started a fire using some of the split logs abutting one of the exterior walls. The interior was about fifteen hundred square feet filled with thick quilts, varnished wood, and a lingering scent of hickory and pine. The kitchen was stocked with canned food and they'd suppered on chili with beans washed down with Cokes from the refrigerator.
Thorn had suggested the cabin. If the police thought he was being held against his will, they would never look on his own property. Most likely, the roads all the way into Tennessee were being watched and a bulletin had been issued on the Jeep Cherokee, which was all the more reason to get off the highway.
"Nobody lives within miles," Thorn said. "Back in the twenties it was a great hiding place."
Lord noticed that nothing in the decor pointed to the cabin's unique heritage. But it was certainly the dwelling of a nature lover--framed prints of skyward birds and grazing deer decorated the walls. No mounted trophies, though.
"I don't hunt," Thorn said. "Except with a camera."
Lord pointed to the framed oil of a black bear that dominated one wall.
"My grandmother painted that," Thorn said. "And the rest, too. She loved to paint. She lived here until the end of her life. Alexie died in the bedroom over there. My father was born in the same bed."
They were gathered before a fire, two lamps illuminating the great room. Akilina sat on the plank floor, a wool quilt around her. Lord and Thorn filled two leather chairs. The dog was curled up in the corner, beyond the heat of the open hearth.
"I have a close friend in the North Carolina Attorney General's office," Thorn said. "We'll call him tomorrow. He can help. I trust him." Thorn sat silent a moment. "My wife must be a wreck. I wish I could call her."
"I wouldn't advise it," Lord said.
"Couldn't if I wanted to. I never put a phone here. I have a mobile that I bring when we stay the night. Electricity was only added in the past decade. The company charged me a bunch to run the line out here. I decided phones could wait."
"You and your wife come here often?" Akilina asked.
"Many times. I really feel a connection with my past here. Margaret never fully understood, only that this place seemed to calm me. My spot of solitude, she called it. If she only knew."
"She will soon," he said.
The borzoi suddenly alerted and a soft growl rumbled from his throat.
Lord's eyes locked on the dog.
A knock came at the front door. He sprang to his feet. None of them said a word.
Another knock.
"Miles. It's Taylor. Open the door."
He hustled across the room and glanced out one of the windows. In the dark he could see nothing except the form of a man standing before the door. He moved toward the locked entrance.
"Taylor?"
"It isn't the tooth fairy. Open the damn door."
"You alone?"
"Who else would be with me?"
He reached for the hasp and released the lock. Taylor Hayes stood in the doorway, dressed in a pair of khaki pants and a thick jacket.
"Man, am I glad to see you," Lord said.
"Not half as glad as I am to see you." Hayes stepped into the cabin. They shook hands.
"How did you find me?" Lord asked, after closing and relocking the front door.
"When I got to town, I learned about the shooting. Seems two Russians are here--"
"Two of the men who have been chasing me."
"That much I gathered."
Lord noticed the quizzical look on Akilina's face. "Her English isn't the best, Taylor. Speak Russian."
Hayes faced Akilina. "And who are you?" he asked in Russian.
Akilina introduced herself.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I understand my associate has been dragging you across the globe."
"We have had quite a journey," she said.
Hayes looked at Thorn. "And you must be the object of that journey."
"Apparently so."
Lord introduced the two, then said, "Maybe now we can get something done. Taylor, the local police think I killed a deputy."
"They're quite intent on that."
"Did you speak with the sheriff?"
"I decided to find you first."
For the next forty-five minutes, they talked. Lord related everything that had happened in detail. He even showed Hayes the shattered egg and gold-leaf messages brought inside from the Jeep. He explained about the gold bars and where they were stored, and all about Semyon Pashenko and the Holy Band that had