Iris Johansen 1998 - The Face of Deception

by The Face of Deception(lit)

  Eve turned and started down the hill. They dont depress me. Sadden me, maybe. Particularly the babies graves. Before modern medicine, so many children didnt live to grow up. Do you have any children?

  Margaret shook her head. I was married once, but we both had careers and were too busy to think about kids.

  Your job must be very demanding.

  Yep.

  And varied. She paused. Like this one. You cant say that skeleton hunting is in many peoples job description.

  I dont hunt, I just do what Im told.

  That could be dangerous.

  John will keep me clear of trouble. He always has before.

  Hes done this before?

  Bones? No, but hes been known to walk some mighty thin lines.

  But you trust him?

  Hell, yes.

  Even if you dont know what hes looking for? Or do you?

  Margaret grinned. Stop pumping me. I dont know anything about anything and I wouldnt tell you if I did.

  You wont even tell me if it was Logan who left in the middle of the night?

  Sure. Johns still here. I saw him before he disap-peared into his study this morning. It was Gil who left.

  Why?

  Margaret shrugged. Ask John. She added bluntly, You came here because John made it worth your while. I handled the transfer to the Adam Fund. Hell tell you everything when he thinks its time. Trust him.

  I dont have your faith in him. She glanced at the carriage house. Is that where the gates are monitored?

  Margaret nodded. Its a pretty elaborate system with video cameras all over the place. Mark Slater does all the monitoring.

  I havent met him yet.

  He doesnt come up to the house much.

  Does Logans house on the West Coast have se-curity like this?

  Sure, there are lots of nuts out there. Men in Johns position are prime targets. Her pace quick-ened. I have some work to do. Will you be okay if I leave you alone this afternoon?

  Yes. You dont have to baby-sit me, Margaret.

  Actually, I enjoyed it. Youre not what I expected from a bone lady.

  Bone lady. Thats what Gil had called her. The correct term is forensic sculptor.

  Whatever. Like I said, I expected someone very cool and professional. Hence the mistake I made with the lab. Not that Id admit to John that I made a mis-take. I told him it was all his fault because he didnt let me know what I had to contend with. Its not good for him to know that Im not perfect. It would make him feel insecure.

  Eve smiled. I cant imagine that.

  Everyone has insecure moments, even me. She added gloomily, But only when I stand next to giants like you. It comes from growing up a shrimp with four six-foot brothers. Is your mother tall?

  No, only medium height.

  Okay, then youre a freak and Ill magnani-mously forgive you. I wont mention it again.

  Thank you. I appreciate the

  I was wondering where you were. Logan had come out of the house and was walking toward them. Did you have a good night? he asked Eve.

  No.

  I have those reports to finish, Margaret said quickly. See you later, Eve.

  Eve nodded, her gaze on Logan. Dressed in black jeans and sweatshirt, he looked very different from the man she had met that first day. Not only because of the clothes, but because he seemed to have stripped off the sleek image and completely discarded it.

  Strange bed?

  Partly. Why did Gil Price leave right after we got here last night?

  I had an errand for him to run.

  At four in the morning?

  He nodded. It was a rather urgent errand. He should be back tonight. He paused. I was hoping youd have a day or two to become acclimated to the situation, but we may have to pick up the pace.

  Good, I dont need to become acclimated. Just bring me the bones and let me get to work.

  We may have to go to them.

  She stiffened. What?

  You may have to do a cursory examination right after we excavate and determine if its worthwhile to bring the skeleton here. My source could have lied, and the skull might be damaged too badly for a face to be reconstructed.

  You want me to be there when you dig it up?

  Maybe.

  Forget it. Im not a grave robber.

  It may be necessary for you to be there. That could be the only

  Forget it.

  Well talk about it later. It may not be necessary. Did you enjoy the graveyard?

  Why does everyone assume I enjoy grave Her gaze narrowed on his face. How did you know I was at the cemetery? She glanced at the carriage house. Of course, your video cameras. I dont like being spied on, Logan.

  The cameras scan the grounds continuously. They just happened to catch you and Margaret at the cemetery.

  It could be true, but she doubted if anything just happened in Logans life. I liked the fresh flowers.

  Well, Im living in the Barretts house. I figured that was the least I could do.

  Its your house now.

  Is it? The Barretts built the inn, they lived and worked here for over a hundred and sixty years and saw a lot of history troop by. Did you know Abraham Lincoln stayed here right before the end of the Civil War?

  Another Republican. No wonder you bought the place.

  Some of the places Lincoln stayed in I wouldnt have touched on a bet. I value my comfort too much. He opened the front door for her. Have you called your mother?

  No, Ill do that this evening when she gets home from work. She smiled. Providing shes not out on the town. Shes keeping company with a lawyer from the D.A.s office.

  Hes lucky. She seemed very nice.

  Yes, and shes smart too. After Bonnie was born, she finished high school and then went to technical school to learn court reporting.

  She finished school after your daughter He stopped. Sorry, Im sure you dont want to talk about your daughter.

  I dont mind talking about Bonnie. Why should I? Im very proud of her. She came into our lives and made everything different. She added simply, Love can do that, you know.

  So Ive heard.

  Its true. Id tried to get my mother off crack, but couldnt. Maybe I was too bitter and resentful. God knows, sometimes I thought I hated her. But Bonnie came and I changed. Somehow all the bitter-ness was gone. And my mother changed too. I dont know whether it was just the right time and point in her life or it was because she knew she had to get off the crack in order to help me raise Bonnie. My God, how she loved Bonnie. No one could help but love her.

  I can understand that. I saw her picture.

  Wasnt she beautiful? She smiled luminously. So happy. She was always so happy. She loved every waking hour that she She had to swallow to ease the tightness in her throat and then said brusquely, Im sorry, I have to stop talking now. I can go only so far, and then it starts to hurt. But Im getting better all the time.

  Christ, stop apologizing, he said roughly. Im sorry I made you talk about her.

  You didnt make me do anything. Its important that I keep her with me, that I never let myself forget her. She existed. She became a part of me, maybe the best part. She turned away from him. And now I think Ill go to my lab and see if I can do a little work on Mandy.

  He looked at her in surprise. You brought those fragments with you?

  Of course. Theres probably not much I can do with them, but I couldnt give up without trying.

  He smiled. No, I can see you couldnt.

  She felt his eyes on her as she walked away. She probably shouldnt have shown him how vulnerable she could be, but the conversation had seemed to flow from one subject to another. Logan had listened in-tently and sympathetically and made her feel as if he really cared. Maybe he did care. Maybe he wasnt the manipulator she suspected him of being.

  And maybe he was. What the hell difference did it make? She wasnt ashamed of how she felt about Bonnie, and there was no way he could twist anything she had said and use it against her. The only advantage he might
have gained was that she felt a little closer to him now; the very act of talking to him about Bonnie had caused the most tentative of bonds to be formed. But a connection that tentative was easy to break and wouldnt influence her in any way.

  She opened the door of the lab and went directly to the briefcase she had left on the desk. She unlocked it and began taking the skull fragments out of the case. Putting them together would be like working on a jigsaw puzzle with some pieces the size of tiny splin-ters. What was she thinking? she wondered in despair. It was crazy, probably impossible.

  The task would be impossible if she took that attitude, she thought impatiently. Reconstructing Mandy was her job, and shed find a way to do it. The connection with Mandy was one she could trust, a bond she could afford to hold on to.

  Hello, Mandy. She sat down at the desk and picked up a nasal bone, the largest left intact. I guess well start here. Dont worry. It may take a long time, but well get there.

  Dora Bentz is dead, Gil said baldly when Logan picked up the phone.

  Shit. His hand tightened on the receiver.

  Stabbed to death and apparently raped. She was found by her sister in her apartment about ten this morning. They were planning on going to an aerobics class together. The sister had a key and let herself in after she kept knocking and didnt get an answer. The window was open and the police think its a simple rape-murder.

  Simple, hell.

  If its not, it was done very well, Gil said. Ex-tremely well.

  Like the vandalism of Eves lab in Atlanta. Were you followed?

  No doubt about it. You knew I would be.

  Can you find out from one of your old buddies who Timwick might be using?

  Maybe. Ill put out some feelers. Do you want me to come back there?

  No. Ive been trying to contact James Cadro all morning. According to his office, hes camping with his wife in the Adirondacks. He paused. Hurry. I wasnt the first one to inquire about him.

  Do we know where in the Adirondacks?

  Somewhere near Jonesburg.

  Great. Thats what I like. Precise directions. Im on my way.

  Logan replaced the phone. Dora Bentz dead. He could have saved her if hed acted yesterday. But, dammit, hed thought theyd all be safer if he didnt display any interest in them, if he seemed to ignore their existence.

  He was wrong. Dora Bentz was dead.

  It was too late for her but maybe not for the others. A distraction could possibly save lives and give him the witnesses he desperately needed.

  But he couldnt move fast without Eve Duncan. She was the key. He had to be patient and let her begin to trust him.

  Trust building would be a slow process with someone as wary as Eve. She was smart and some-where along the way she would find out that there was more danger to her and her family than an act of vandalism.

  Scratch trust.

  Then find a way to overcome her resistance and catapult her into his camp.

  He leaned back in his chair and began to go over the possibilities.

  Hi. Margaret stuck her head into the lab. The decorators in charge of warming up the lab are here. Can you vacate the place for an hour and let them do their thing?

  Eve frowned. I told you it wasnt necessary.

  The lab isnt perfect, therefore its necessary. I dont do my job halfway.

  Only an hour?

  I told them you didnt want to be bothered and theyd lose the sale if they took longer. And you do have to eat. She checked her watch. Its almost seven. How about having soup and a sandwich with me while we wait?

  Just a minute. She carefully moved the board with Mandys bones to the bottom drawer of the desk. Tell them not to touch the desk or theyll lose more than a sale. Ill murder them.

  Right. Margaret turned and disappeared.

  Eve took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. A break would probably be good. She had made only a little progress in several hours and her frustration was growing. But a little progress was better than none. Shed tackle the work again after eating.

  She encountered six men and two women in the hallway, bearing accent pillows, chairs, and carpets, and had to press back against the wall to avoid the stampede.

  This way. Margaret took her arm, maneuvered her around two men carrying a rolled carpet, and led her toward the kitchen. Its not as massive an under-taking as it looks. One hour, I promise.

  Im not timing you. A few minutes either way isnt going to matter.

  Not going too well? Margaret asked sympa-thetically. Too bad. They entered the kitchen and Margaret gestured to the two places set at the kitchen table. I made tomato soup and cheese sandwiches. Is that okay?

  Fine. Eve sat down, picked up her napkin, and spread it on her lap. Im not that hungry.

  Im starved, but Im on a diet and trying to be good. She sat down opposite Eve and looked at her accusingly. Youve obviously never been on a diet in your life.

  Eve smiled. Sorry.

  You should be. She reached for the TV remote on the counter. Mind if I turn on the set? The Presi-dents having a press conference. John has me tape and listen to all of them and report to him if theres any-thing interesting.

  I dont mind. She began to eat. If you dont mind my not paying any attention to it. Politics isnt my cup of tea.

  Nor mine. But John is fairly obsessed with it.

  I heard about the fund-raisers. Do you think he wants to go into politics himself ?

  She shook her head. He couldnt stand the bull-shit. She watched the TV for a moment. Chadbournes damn good. Hes practically oozing warmth. Did you know theyre calling him the most charis-matic president since Reagan?

  No. Its a big job and charisma doesnt get the work done.

  But it can get you elected. She nodded at the TV. Look at him. Everyone says he might carry Con-gress this time.

  Eve looked. Ben Chadbourne was a big man in his late forties with a handsome face and gray eyes that sparkled with life and humor. He answered one of the reporters questions with a good-natured jab. The room erupted into laughter.

  Impressive, Margaret said. And Lisa Chadbournes not chopped liver. Did you see her suit? Valentino, I bet.

  I wouldnt know.

  Or care. Margaret grimaced. Well, I care. She always attends every press conference, and the only kick I get from watching them is seeing what she wears. Someday Im going to be skinny enough to wear suits like that.

  Shes very attractive, Eve agreed. And shes doing wonderful work raising money for abused children.

  Is she? Margarets tone was absent. That suits got to be Valentino.

  Eve smiled with amusement. She would never have dreamed a dynamo like Margaret would be so interested in clothes.

  The suit in question was precisely cut to enhance Lisa Chadbournes slim, athletic body. The soft beige color made her olive skin and sleek dark brown hair gleam in contrast. The Presidents wife was smiling at him from the sidelines, and she appeared both proud and loving. Very nice.

  Do you think shes had a face-lift? Shes sup-posed to be forty-five but she doesnt look a day over thirty.

  Maybe. Eve finished her soup. Or maybe shes just aging well.

  I should be so lucky. I saw two new lines in my forehead this week. I stay out of the sun. I use mois-turizer. I do everything right and Im still going downhill. Margaret flicked off the television set. Looking at her depresses me. Chadbournes just saying the same old things. Lower taxes. More jobs. Aid to children.

  Nothing wrong with that.

  Tell that to John. Hell, Chadbourne says and does everything right and his wife smiles sweetly, has as many charities as Evita Peron, and bakes her own cookies. Its not going to be easy for Johns party to oust an administration that everyones calling the second Camelot.

  Unless he could find a way to smear the other party. The more Eve thought about it, the more likely that explanation seemed, and she didnt like it one bit. Where is Logan?

  Hes been in the study all afternoon making phone calls. Margaret stood up. Coffee? />
  No, I had some in the lab an hour ago.

  Well, evidently I did something right by pro-viding the coffeemaker.

  You did a great job. I have everything I need.