“Who’s this Bechtol?” Kade wanted to know.
“Nick and Cyril thought he might be Gideon,” Rhea said. “But Gideon is still around.”
“The shootout turned into a firestorm,” Cyril said. “Five of the group’s leaders ended up dead or dying. The guy who took over cried foul and filed charges against Nick.”
“Won’t the kidnapped woman testify?” Eve asked.
“That’s where it gets sticky,” Cyril said, his mouth pressing to a grim line. “She sides with the group. She’s a tree hugger—back to nature and all that. My take is she felt sorry for the kids.”
Eve winced. “Kids?”
“A dozen or so saw the whole thing. Some lost their fathers.”
“Are they all okay?”
Cyril’s eyebrows arched. “You know how Nick is about kids. You honestly think he’d put them in danger?”
She knew how he was about Keri, but that was all. “So can you get the woman to tell the truth?”
“No dice. She says there were three fatherless kids, and someone had to pay.”
“What did she think Nick should have done? Let them cart her off to somewhere else?” Kade put in.
“Exactly what I asked her.” Cyril snorted. “She said Nick was just trigger-happy.”
“So what is Nick facing?” Eve wanted to know.
“I think he’ll be cleared. Eventually. When our boys went through the compound, they took out enough weapons and ammo to keep an army stocked for a year. ATF is having a field day trying to figure out how they got the firepower. And Nick’s version of how events went down is borne out by a boatload of expended shells. They were bent on taking him out.”
Eve shuddered and clutched herself. The thought of Nick being killed hurt her.
16
Once he’d come to the unwelcome realization that his hands were tied on the investigation, Nick jogged to the lawyer’s office but missed Eve. When he tried to call her at the house, he was dumped into Bree’s voice mail, so he spent the long day watching Jason cast the skull. It came out a little lopsided, and Nick wondered how this guy had even gotten the job.
If he dared leave Jason alone with the skull, he would have walked around town looking for Eve.
Nick glanced out of the van but saw no one he recognized among the people who had gathered at the sight of the news crew. He would have welcomed a distraction from Jason’s ineptitude. Sighing, he cast his gaze back on the bust.
Jason wiped wet plaster from his hands. “Once this is hardened, I can start putting on clay. Maybe tomorrow.”
Tomorrow. No wonder the bust looked odd. While Nick sometimes got impatient with Oliver’s meticulous attention to detail, it was necessary. Though he was tempted to say something, Nick held his tongue and glanced at the reporters.
The pair looked as if they’d been in a food fight. Bits of plaster clung to their clothing and hair. A streak of white stretched across the woman’s left cheek. But her eyes shone, and she still used her hands to punctuate her words. Nick thought she would have kissed Jason if she thought she could get away with it.
“This is so exciting,” she gushed. “You’ll be famous, Jason.” She looked to the photographer. “Did you get enough pictures?”
I took 100 pictures,” the photographer said, his shoulders drooping and fatigue pulling at his lips.
“Perfect. When can I see them?”
He looked at his watch. “It’s nearly six. I can email them to you tomorrow.
He looked at his watch. “It’s nearly six. I can email them to you tomorrow. “Tonight,” she said in a hard voice.
He must have been used to her demands, because he just nodded and stumbled out the back door of the van.
Nick wondered how hyped she’d be about this process when it failed to bring an identification. Once Jason made the model, he could get the skull to Oliver. Oliver would redo it the right way.
But how long would it take before Jason let loose of it? Nick sighed and ran his hand around the neck band of his T-shirt. His stomach made a low growl, and he realized he hadn’t eaten since the beef pasty around ten. He glanced at Jason, who stood talking with the female reporter. Ogling was more like it. Nick rolled his eyes and hopped out of the van.
Music rolled in bright waves from somewhere, maybe a nearby park. The music was an interesting blend of folk and string band. Must be White Water. He’d heard they were hitting town. He walked to his SUV, jabbed in the key, and gunned it for the lighthouse. He felt faintly miffed that Eve hadn’t called him all day. Didn’t she realize he was as concerned as she was and would want to know what the attorney said? And he would have thought she’d be at least a little curious about what had caused him to miss the appointment.
The longer he thought about it, the madder he got. The vehicle barely hit the high spots in the road to the lighthouse. When he drew nearer, he realized they had company. He winced when he saw his mom’s big Cadillac in front.
He took the steps to the porch two at a time. Bree and Kade had told him to come right in without knocking. He pushed open the door and stepped into the foyer. Samson’s nails clicked on the wood floor, and the dog pushed his wet nose into Nick’s hand. “Hey, boy, where is everyone?” The dog whined as if he sensed Nick’s state of mind.
The kitten ran to him too. She purred and tried to climb his pant leg. He gave the animals a final pat, then went down the hall toward the low murmur of voices.
His parents were in the living room with Bree, Kade, and Eve. “I didn’t expect you for hours, maybe not until tomorrow,” he told his mother.
“We thought we’d surprise you.” His mom hugged him. “We can only stay a couple of days. I wanted to see Eve.”
He looked around, eager for a glimpse of his daughter. “Where are Keri and Davy?” he asked.
“In Davy’s room. He’s trying to teach her to play Candy Land,” Bree said. “You look tired.”
“I’m bushed. That idiot from Marquette is going to ruin this case.”
His dad took on a bulldog stance. “Let me take it over until you get the problems sorted out. You need to get to Detroit and handle the inquiry.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Nick said. “Not until we catch that monster.”
“You have to go,” his mother said. She touched his arm. “You’re tense, Son.”
“I’m fine, Mama.” He managed to smile to show her. “But no one is making me leave when Eve and Keri need me.” Why wouldn’t Eve look at him? Was the news about Keri that bad? “Eve? What did the lawyer say?”
His mother’s head came up to look at Eve. “Lawyer?”
“Patti is back,” Nick said shortly. “She wants Keri. Why the heck didn’t you call me? What did the lawyer say?”
She finally met his glance. “I tried to call but got your voice mail. She says it would be best to try to settle it amicably. I was going to invite Patti for dinner tonight but got . . . distracted. Why didn’t you come? I needed you there. I couldn’t answer any of her questions very well.”
He winced. “Sorry. I had to babysit the guy from Marquette. He’s beyond incompetent.”
“Is this how it always was—you putting your work before me and Keri?” Eve whispered, too softly for anyone’s ears but his.
He looked at the ceiling and spread his hands. “This was for you, Eve. I have to find Gideon to protect you.” She shrugged and headed out of the room, and he knew she wasn’t buying it. Nick’s guilt surged. He always made the wrong decision, it seemed.
“I need to talk to you for a minute, Nick,” his dad said. The men walked away from the group, and Cyril lowered his voice. “We’ve got some new developments. I think you’re right about that verse in Proverbs. Sophie Tallmadge testified in a trial a week before her death. She claimed the defendant spent the night with her, and the officers investigating were able to prove she perjured herself.”
“The lies mentioned in the verse?” Nick asked.
Cyril shrugged. “It fits. So maybe Gi
deon is watching these women, trying to catch them out in what he calls a sin.” He hesitated. “I know you wanted to believe Eve when she said she never slept with that guy, but there has to be a reason Gideon targeted her. We got some information back on the body we thought was Eve. She’s been identified as Melissa Howard. The coroner thinks her eyes were gouged out. No indication yet what her sin of pride was—if that verse is connected.”
“How’d you figure out who she was?”
“Another clue left by Gideon. Our boy can’t stand to have them unclaimed. Or else he likes to taunt us.” Cyril’s brows gathered into a frown. “Another thing, Nick. It looks like he might have killed Melissa Howard the same night Eve escaped. Maybe as a substitute for Eve. I think you should tell her she’s in danger.”
Nick was shaking his head before his dad finished the sentence. “He called here already, Dad. She knows he’s after her. I don’t get it though. If he found a substitute, why is he still after Eve?”
Cyril grimaced. “Would he be satisfied with a substitute now that he’s found her again?”
And the pattern. Nick ran through the order of the proverb in his mind: proud look, lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, heart that devises wicked plans. “Feet are next,” he said.
“What?” his dad asked.
“Later,” Nick whispered.
Eve returned to the room. “Nick? Is there news about Gideon?”
He turned and forced a smile. “Nothing new, really. We’ve identified one of the victims is all. Nothing for you to worry about. Listen, I’ll go find Patti. Do you have any idea where she’s staying?”
“No. She didn’t say.” Eve dropped her cool manner a bit and touched his arm. “We’ll worry about it tomorrow, Nick. Have you eaten?”
What a dolt he was. The least little crumb of encouragement from her and his pulse leaped and he went dry-mouthed. He and his dad followed Eve back to the group.
“I’ll bet you haven’t had Greek food since you left, Eve.” His mother kicked off her pumps and headed toward the kitchen. “Cyril, I may need you to run to the grocery.”
“I’m up for it if you make kreatopita,” his dad said from behind Nick.
His mother wouldn’t find the ingredients for the meat pie here. Lamb was tough to find in a small town like this. Listening to his parents banter, Nick wondered if Eve missed the family meals with everyone around his mother’s dinner table. He did. His mother saw through his excuses, but she’d made her disappointment clear. Maybe he was a coward. The empty spots at the table beside him were too painful to face more than once a month.
When he finally dared to look at Eve, she didn’t seem affected. “I’ll go see Keri,” he said. At least she’d show how glad she was to see him.
“KADE AND I WILL GO TO THE STORE. WE KNOW where it is,” Bree said.
Eve glanced at Bree. Her friend’s smile looked a little strained. Eve followed her and Kade toward the door. “You okay?” she asked.
“Montgomery says they found Kade’s shovel near the body,” Bree said. “We haven’t had a chance to talk about it.” She turned her gaze to her husband. “Did you know your shovel was missing?”
He ran his fingers through his thatch of dark hair. “I don’t use it every day. I’ve been trying to think when I saw it last. Maybe last weekend? I moved some hosta.”
“Why?” Eve asked. She didn’t want to suspect Kade, but she found her gaze drawn to his face. The man was her friend. How could she even entertain a hint of suspicion against him?
“The fire in that area three years ago burned the treetops out. There was too much sunlight for them there, and they were suffering for it.” He looked at his wife, his mouth sagging. “You don’t doubt me, do you, Bree?”
“Of course not!” Bree cupped his face in the palms of her hands. “I know you, Kade Matthews. You couldn’t hurt anyone. Doug should know better than to suspect you.”
“What about you, Eve?” Kade asked, his voice quiet.
Eve tried to infuse confidence in her voice. “Of course not.” Kade couldn’t be involved. “You don’t think he did this deliberately, do you?” she asked Kade.
“Who?”
“Gideon. Maybe he took your spade. Used gloves to bury her without leaving prints.”
He stared at her. “If he did, he probably made sure there was DNA on the metal.”
“And Montgomery will buy it. I wish the sheriff were here,” Bree said.
Eve needed to understand it better. “How did your shovel turn up there, Kade? Any idea?”
“Nope. I’m sure I put it into the back of my truck. Of course, I can’t find it now. So it must be mine.”
“Why would Gideon want to cast suspicion on you?” Bree asked.
“Maybe he didn’t. Maybe I accidentally left it in the forest, and he took the opportunity. I don’t think I did, but it’s possible.”
Bree glanced to Eve. “You’re his focus, Eve. But I don’t get it. He left a body here to let you know he’d found you, but he hasn’t made any attempt to come after you.”
Eve shuddered. “I don’t know what he wants,” she whispered.
THE LOONS CRIED OUT ON THE LAKE, AND THE swans’ trumpets sounded in unison all around the island. Such a symphony. The generator hummed beside Gideon, but not enough to distract from the job at hand. The satellite Internet link had been spotty, but it seemed to be working well tonight.
He sat at a makeshift desk and stared at the flickering computer screen. A composite of the woman he’d relocated for Eve to find showed in the window, and he laughed. If this was the best the forensic re-creator could do, they’d never identify the woman. Were they so inept that he had to spoon-feed them every single identity?
Maybe he should wait until the second composite came out. Give them an opportunity to figure it out on their own. The struggle would be beneficial for them, and they would learn from it.
His phone rang with a call from his daughter. He opened the phone. “Odette, is anything wrong?”
“When are you coming home? Betsy and I had a fight, Dad. I miss you.”
“It’s good for you to learn to deal with that. The pain will make you stronger.”
Odette began to cry. Her childish sobs told him he was doing the right thing. Spare the rod, spoil the child. The rod of this psychological pain would strengthen her spine, make her self-reliant. “That’s enough, Odette. I don’t want to hear any more whining. Buck up and be an adult.”
“Grandma is so awful.” Odette hiccupped. “She’s got a new boyfriend. He . . . looks at me weird, Dad.”
Gideon’s fingers clenched around the phone. “Has he touched you?”
“No. But he looks like he’d like to.” Disgust coated her words. “He’s old and has no hair.”
“Take a knife to bed with you. If he comes in, stick him with it.”
“Daddy! That’s gross.”
“Do what I say, Odette. Learn to defend yourself.”
“Should I tell Grandma?”
“It will do no good. She never believes me. I mean, she won’t believe you. Take care of it yourself. It will make you stronger.”
“You’re my dad!” Her voice rose on a hysterical note. “You’re supposed to take care of me. I want to get out of here.”
“When the time is right, you will, Odette. You can handle this.” He ended the call. I did.
The swans trumpeted again, and he smiled. He sat back and glanced around the small structure. He’d paneled it with stainless steel to keep it sanitary for the upcoming operation. All the lights, the operating table, his tools were in order, awaiting their shining moment. Just a few more days to get everything ready.
THE SCENT OF CARAMEL CORN SWEETENED THE air. Through the open window, Eve could hear the crash of waves on the rocks below the lighthouse. Her attempt at a normal evening of playing Go Fish with the kids fell flat as soon as she’d burned the caramel syrup. Keri hadn’t wanted to sit still and insisted on sitting on Nick’s lap all evening.
Davy had been whiny as well and rarely left his mother’s side.
It was as if they sensed change in the wind.
She snipped some dead leaves from the plant on the table and carried the debris to the kitchen to throw it away. She was just trying to put off the inevitable. Sighing, she went back to the living room, caught Bree’s gaze, and nodded toward Davy.
Bree nodded. “Time for bed, kids.”
“Aw, Mom,” Davy said. “I’m beating Dad.”
Kade clenched his fist and jerked it in the air. “Yes! And you have to leave before you can say you stomped me.”
Davy jumped up and tackled his dad. “I stomped you bad!”
Kade tickled him, and the little boy’s giggles rang out. Kade stood and hoisted Davy over one shoulder, hanging the boy upside down. “You’ll get another chance tomorrow, little man.”
Eve watched the Matthews family walk upstairs. If only she could give her daughter that kind of security and stability. She laid her head against the back of the sofa and watched Nick with Keri. The toddler had her head tucked into her daddy’s shoulder with her left hand gripping his shirt. The love they shared almost made her feel excluded.
Her gaze locked with Nick’s. Keri had to be told tonight. No more waiting for the proper time, no more telling herself that Keri was too young.
Eve wet her lips. “Sweetie, come sit with me for a minute.”
Keri tightened her hold on Nick. “Daddy read story.”
Forcing her daughter to leave Nick wouldn’t be the best way to move into the necessary conversation. “I need to talk to you about something, baby girl.”
The trust in Keri’s blue eyes stabbed at Eve’s heart. How should she put this? Eve would sooner poke out her own eyes than hurt her little girl. She picked up Keri’s hand and kissed her palm. It smelled sweetly of caramel and butter. “I love you very much, Keri.”
“Love oo.” Keri pulled her hand away and patted Eve’s cheek.
This was so hard, with love and grief rising in her chest and choking her. “I’m going to tell you something really wonderful.” Eve waited until Keri’s eyes grew wide and expectant. “Sometimes little girls and boys are loved so much that they have more than one mommy and daddy who want to share the love.”
Haven of Swans Page 17
