Rock Harbor Series - 04 - Abomination

by Colleen Coble

  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 Gideon 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 cell phone rang, and he saw his daughter’s cell number. 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 shut his phone. 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.”

  Nick tried to help. “And you’re a very lucky little girl, Keri, because you have two mommies who love you very much.”

  This was all wrong. Keri was only two. How could she possibly understand this? Eve wanted to roll back the clock to last week, to before she realized Keri hadn’t been carried in her womb. “Yes, you’re our own little girl forever. But you have another mommy too. She wants to come see you.”

  Keri’s blue eyes mirrored confusion as she stared from Eve to Nick and back again. “Mommy?” Her eyelids drooped, and she put her thumb in her mouth.

  Nick’s gaze met Eve’s in a helpless plea. “She’s sleepy,” he whispered.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t try to explain,” she whispered. “She’s really too young to get it.”

  “I know your sister. She’s going to come in here being melodramatic and telling Keri she’s her real mommy.”

  “Maybe we can ask her not to do that.”

  “You might not remember her, but you saw how determined she was.”

  Eve bit her lip. “Should we prevent her from coming here?”

  “She’ll just go to the court and get it ordered.”

  “Surely a judge will see the confusion is harmful to Keri.” What a mess she was making of this. She knew Keri would never understand. “Time for bed, sweetie,” she said, giving up the struggle.

  “Dance?” Keri suggested. She scrambled down to the floor and circled her arms over her head, then went demi-pointe.

  Eve smiled. “Good form, Keri. Arch your neck a little.” She ran her palms over Keri’s neck.

  “You remember all that?” Nick asked.

  Eve arched her brows. “Crazy, isn’t it? I can’t remember anything important, but I can remember the dance.”

  “Your ballet has always been important to you.”

  His tone indicated that maybe her talent had cost him. Eve looked away, knowing there was nothing she could say to that. She didn’t remember. Had she put her dance before Nick just as he had put his work first?

  She shied away from the thought of bringing up Will.

  They watched Keri dance around the room for a few minutes, then Nick insisted she go to bed. Though Keri protested, Nick scooped her up and carried her to Davy’s bedroom.

  The two children had grown so close that Keri insisted on staying in Davy’s room. Eve turned out the lights and followed.

  “Bed,” Keri said, pointing to the bottom bunk. Davy was a small hump on the top bunk.

  Nick slipped her between the covers and planted a kiss on her forehead. “’Night, baby.”

  “Night-night, Daddy.” Keri’s lids fluttered, and her voice was soft.

  Eve watched the two of them together. Guilt crept up behind her and toppled her hopes for ever reclaiming what this small family unit once had. Like Humpty Dumpty, the pieces of their previous lives would never be mended.

  17

  SINNERS GATHERED AT THE FISHERIES EVERY NIGHT TO GIVE IN to their flesh. Its blinking neon sign attracted them like bugs. Gideon’s gaze swept the revelers. It wouldn’t be hard to find one deserving of death. He should wait, but something drove him on.

  Tonight he was Shiva, the Destroyer.

  A group of men and women came reeling from the bar, spilling cigarette smoke and the yeasty odor of beer into the clear air. Their laughter rang into the night. He watched as their little group finally broke apart, each one scurrying to individual cars.

  Except for one.

  She stood under the watery wash of lamplight looking uncertainly into the darkness. Maybe she felt him hiding there, an avenging puma waiting to rip out her throat. He knew she would come to him though. They always did. Most people tended to ignore that still, small voice inside, dismissed it as superstition.

  He knew better.

  Dressed in a red dress that barely covered her shapely derriere, and teetering on heels too flimsy to walk in, the woman started toward his hiding place. The silk scarf in his right hand, he waited, his breath catching in his chest.

  Fashioning the scarf into a garrote, he was behind her in one movement. Then he had the scarf around her neck, twisting so tightly she couldn’t scream. He dragged her back into the welcoming darkness of the trees.

  EVE HADN’T SLEPT A WINK. THE THOUGHT OF LOSING K
ERI KEPT her tossing and turning most of the night. She needed help. Sitting on the edge of her bed beside a napping Keri, she looked from the phone to the number in her hand. What would she say? And why hadn’t her parents called her? Nick told her he’d spoken with them, given Bree’s number in case they wanted to talk to her.

  She slowly punched in the number and gripped the phone while she waited for someone to pick up. Did she look like her mother? Her father? Were she and her brothers close? It was already obvious there was no love lost between her and Patti. While it was ringing, she tended to the plants in her room.

  “Ya.” The voice on the other end had a gruff tone as though the woman smoked three packs of cigarettes a day.

  “H-hello, this is Eve.” The silence seemed long, but Eve knew it couldn’t have been more than a couple of seconds. She longed to hear her mother’s concern and love.

  “Eve,” the gruff voice snapped. “About time, it is! You disappear without a word, to death you worry me and your Fa.” The Swedish accent thickened as she talked.

  It took Eve a moment to form a response. Nick said he told them she’d lost her memory. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I—I don’t remember anything.”

  “Ya, your Nick, he tell us.”

  The silence between them fell heavy and thick. Too thick to saw through with the sharpest blade. Eve didn’t know what questions to ask, how to visualize the woman who raised her.

  “I’m afraid,” Eve whispered. “I don’t know anyone. A man wants to kill me.”

  “You come home, ya?” The words were said grudgingly.

  Eve winced. Her mother obviously didn’t really care. “It’s okay. I have police protection, but it’s frightening not to even know my family. Could you send me some pictures of you and my father? My brothers?”

  “We do not take pictures. Is silly,” her mother said. “You want to see us, you come home.”

  “When was I home last?”

  “Last Christmas, it was.”

  Six months ago. There was a world of information in those three words.

  “We live not so far you cannot come to see your Fa and Mor more often. Too busy, always too busy.”