Deadly Echoes by Philip Donlay Page A

ones. It was an honest comment and the truth in the words had stuck with him.
    Twenty minutes later and an entire bottle of shampoo and three bars of soap, a stench-free Donovan emerged from the bathroom with a towel secured around his waist. He opened the minibar fridge and pulled out a cold beer. He pressed it to his forehead for a moment, extracting its coolness, then found the opener, popped the cap, and took a long pull. He walked to where he’d set his phone and called William.
    William picked up immediately.
    â€œI found something today.”
    â€œWhat is it?”
    â€œA picture of Meredith, when she was younger, it was tacked up in the bridge of the fishing boat.”
    â€œAny idea what the message is?”
    â€œNo, not beyond the obvious. My guess is the picture is a message aimed at me. They want to rattle me, for me to know that they’re serious.”
    â€œI think the events aboard the fishing boat put a strong emphasis on how serious they are.”
    â€œHow many views are there now on the video?”
    â€œLast I checked there were 2.8 million and climbing.”
    â€œI was afraid of that. Not the kind of publicity I wanted.”
    â€œYou sound tired. You should get some rest. Remember, you don’t have to do this alone. I’ll see you at breakfast.”
    Donovan ended the call, but William’s words lingered. Lauren had accused him of operating alone and leaving her on the periphery, and at some level, they were both right, but he wasn’t ready to address those issues. He retrieved another beer, and then against his better judgment picked up the picture of Meredith. He sipped his beer and stared into her innocent, yet expectant, eyes. So young and idealistic, with no idea that she was truly going to change the world. She hadn’t yet written her wildly bestselling book
One Earth.
She hadn’t traveled the world producing and starring in her documentary nature film series. She hadn’t become the global ambassador to save our planet, had no idea how loved and famous she was going to be, that her receptions across the globe would rival that of leaders of state, and she’d have the ear of politicians and kings alike.
    His cell phone rang and as he picked it up he saw that the area code was 808, which meant the Hawaiian Islands.
    â€œNash,” Donovan answered, expecting it to be the FBI or the Coast Guard.
    â€œHello, Robert. I’m happy to see you were so quick to arrive in Hawaii.”
    Donovan stiffened at the raspy voice. Wide awake this time, he caught the faintest hint of an accent. “You have my full attention. You don’t need to kill any more people. What is it you want?”
    â€œOh, I’m just getting started.”
    â€œI found the picture you left. Is that how you and I are connected? Through Meredith?”
    â€œYou were never connected to her. You used her so you could silence her.”
    â€œI didn’t kill her.”
    â€œThat’s a lie, and I’m here to punish you for your crimes. It’s payback time, Robert. I just sent you an e-mail. You’ll find a video I made. It’s just between us. I believe the person is important toboth you and your friend William. Take note that he died exactly like Meredith. Good-bye, Robert.”
    The line went dead and Donovan closed his eyes. This call confirmed that Meredith was the common link with this man. Donovan yanked his laptop out of his briefcase and fired it up. He sat down and logged on to the hotel’s wireless signal, opened his browser, thumbed through his e-mails, and found the latest message. He opened it and then clicked on an attachment. He was immediately assaulted with the image of a tortured John Stratton. His friend was blindfolded, tied to a chair on the teak deck of the
Triton.
It looked as if the skin on parts of his face had been burned. There didn’t seem to be any sound. Then, without warning, a gun went off and a round