“Has she been identified?” Eve asked.
Cyril nodded. “We thought it was you for a while. I put Oliver’s bust out on the news as soon as I knew it wasn’t you, and her mother identified her as Melissa Howard.”
“What was the clue for that one?” Kade asked.
Nick read from the file. “The clue reads, ‘For pride is the beginning of sin, and he that hath it shall pour out abomination: and therefore the Lord brought upon them strange calamities, and overthrew them utterly.’” He looked up. “The same as the one he left for you.”
“What was missing?” Bree asked.
“All we had were bones, so we aren’t sure. We suspect the eyes were taken maybe. And of course the face,” Cyril said.
“How do you know for sure it was Gideon who attacked Eve?” Kade asked.
Nick’s mouth tightened. “He left his calling card.”
“Which is?”
Cyril frowned. “I’d rather not say. It’s something we’re holding back for identification.”
“It’s a peanut butter sandwich,” Eve blurted out. She closed her eyes, and she could smell peanut butter.
They all stared at her. “How do you know that?” Nick asked.
Eve rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know, but that’s right, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Nick said, shooting a swift glance toward his father. “But that goes no further than this room. It’s the one clue we’re holding back.”
“Are you remembering anything else?” Cyril asked.
Eve wanted to bolt, but she stayed in her chair and shook her head. She could get through this. “Who’s next?”
“Yvette Crandall. Her hands were cut off. And the face, of course.” The women covered their mouths. “Sorry,” Cyril added.
“Holy cow,” Kade said softly.
Eve wasn’t sure she’d be able to sleep tonight. “What’s her story?”
“I found her when I went out geocaching with my friend Zack.” Nick glanced at Eve. “He used to be our neighbor—German Baptist, wears black. Does that ring a bell at all?”
She shook her head. “I can’t even remember what our neighborhood looks like.”
“Clue?” Bree asked.
Cyril grimaced. “‘Oh, ye! Think ye that Incal will accept the blood of innocent animals for your crimes? Whose sayeth this doth lie! Incal, God, will never take blood of anything, nor symbol of any sort which placeth an innocent in a guilty one’s stead!’”
“What the heck?” Kade asked. “Where’s that from?”
“Dweller on Two Planets by Phylos the Tibetan.”
“What religion?” Bree asked.
“New Age,” Cyril said. “Our guy gets around.”
“What was her sin?” Eve asked. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
“She had her cat put down when she moved to take a new job. At least that’s what we make of the reference to innocent animals. Again, she took ballet as a kid and continued with it as a hobby.”
Bree crossed her arms. “That’s just wrong. She should have taken the cat to a shelter.”
“Evidently Gideon thought so too.”
Eve rested her hand on her chin as she thought about it. “So he’s punishing women for what he calls a sin and using different religious texts for justification.”
“Yeah, that seems to be the tie-in,” Nick said.
“How about the next victim?” Kade asked.
“The bones Bree and Eve found. No identity yet, though now we know this one might actually be the first victim.”
“Clues?” Bree asked. “I can’t remember.”
“‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.’” Cyril leaned back in the chair.
“So he probably took her heart,” Bree said.
Cyril agreed. “Knife nicks around the rib cage would suggest that.”
Kade rubbed his forehead. “And the one he just killed. Hannah Pelton?”
“‘Her feet go down to death, her steps lay hold of hell.’ Proverbs 5:5,” Cyril said. “Pretty obvious with her. Her friends said she had sex with some guy she just met in the parking lot before she disappeared.’”
“Could Gideon be someone who teaches world religions?” Oliver asked. “He knows a lot of different religious books.”
“Maybe,” Cyril said. “He’s what we call a missionary killer. He’s on a mission to rid the world of sinners, ones that he picks out for some reason.”
“He could catch every one of us in something if he looked long enough,” Bree said. “Since the women he chooses are all blondes, is he picking the victims, then watching to see what he can convict them of?”
Nick was flipping to the next page, but he stopped. “There’s an idea. I assumed he identified the sin first, but you might be right, Bree.”
Eve swallowed the bile in her throat. “What about our Jane Doe? Why is Gideon only now showing her to us?”
“Maybe she doesn’t fit the mold in some way?” Bree suggested.
“She looks the same as the others,” Cyril pointed out. “And she suffered like the others.”
Eve couldn’t think about it anymore. She rose. “I’m going to bed.”
BUILT IN THE LATE 1800S, THE GRAND OLD COURTHOUSE WAS constructed of dressed fieldstone. Eve’s pumps echoed on the polished marble floor of the hallway. Anu had kept the children so Bree could come along. Her sneakers squeaked in time with Eve’s heels. Nick walked on Eve’s other side, and his parents followed him. Eve tried not to notice the way his hand brushed hers as though he wanted to hold it.
At least they hadn’t been forced to bring Keri. Eve had been afraid the judge would want to talk with the little girl. Fortunately, Keri was too young.
Ronja met them at the door to the courtroom. “Smile,” she whispered. “Act confident and in control.”
Eve felt anything but confident, but she managed to put on a weak smile. Her lawyer held the door open for her. The smell of old wood and leather felt comforting somehow. Eve stopped at the last row of seats and looked around. The imposing judge’s bench loomed over the room, but at least it was empty. Patti wasn’t here yet either.
Ronja led Nick and Eve to a table and chairs while Bree and Nick’s parents took seats behind the bar. Eve rubbed her cold hands together, even though the action might betray how scared she was. She pulled out her chair and sat down, then sprang to her feet as Patti entered with her attorney. The sharp, put-together African-American woman had penetrating eyes capable of skewering a person. The attorney’s competence made Eve clench her hands together. She guessed Patti had brought her in from Detroit or Milwaukee.
Nick leaned over and whispered, “Where’d she get the money for a big gun like that? She has to be costing a fortune.”
“Maybe her man is loaded,” Eve whispered back. She smiled at her sister, but Patti looked away with her chin hiked in the air.
Patti and her attorney were barely seated before the bailiff entered. “All rise,” he said. “The Honorable Judge Haskins presiding.”
Eve bolted to her feet and forced her hands to relax at her sides. A tall, thin man entered the courtroom. His black robe flapped around him like wings on a giant bat. His scowl made her shiver. Talking to a judge when he had a wild hair about something might not be a good idea.
“Be seated,” the bailiff called.
The judge riffled through the papers in front of him. The echo of a cough and a foot shuffling made Eve even more tense. How long would it take for him to decide to listen to them? Ronja’s smile reassured her, but Eve caught herself tapping her foot.
The judge finally put down his glasses and pressed his fingers together in a steeple. “You’re Patti Ostergard?”
Patti nodded jerkily. “Yes, Your Honor.”
“Can you explain to this court why you have not had any contact with your daughter for the past two years?”
Patti tucked a lank lock of hair behind her ear. “I have no good excuse, Your Honor. I was young and immatur
e. While I was away, I grew up and realized my daughter needed me. I want to make it up to her.”
The judge nodded, and his gaze went to Eve. “You’re the adoptive parents?”
“We are, Your Honor.” Eve stood. Nick bolted up beside her. “We’d like to follow through with the adoption we started.”
“You’re divorced now, according to my file. Is that true?”
Nick answered. “Unfortunately, yes, Your Honor. But we’re working on ironing out our difficulties.”
The judge harrumphed. He shuffled his papers again. “You didn’t finish the adoption proceedings, and you had good reason to do so. Why not?”
“We’d intended to, Your Honor,” Eve said, choosing her words with care. “We started the procedure six months ago. Then our marriage began to struggle, and we never followed through. That was a mistake. Keri is our baby. We love her very much.”
She took hope in the way the judge smiled and nodded. He had to see they’d been the responsible party. They’d taken care of Keri when no one else would.
“Eve can’t even remember my daughter, Your Honor!” Patti bolted out of her chair and pointed her finger at Eve. “She has amnesia. She’s wording things so you can’t tell, but ask her. Ask if she even remembers the day Keri was born.”
Ronja bolted to her feet. “Objection, Your Honor. Hearsay, and besides, it has no bearing on this case.”
“I think I’d like to hear this,” the judge said. “I’ve heard rumors to that effect. Could one of you illuminate this court?”
Eve closed her eyes and prayed for strength. She’d known Patti would likely bring this up, but it seemed so cruel that she’d held on to a tiny glimmer of hope that her sister wouldn’t put her through this.
“Judge, if I may answer?” Nick said. When the judge nodded, he rushed on. “A serial killer targeted my wife. She barely escaped with her life and somehow managed to protect our daughter during the attack. Her injuries caused a temporary amnesia, but if you would see her with Keri, you would know her mother’s love is still intact. She is a wonderful mother, even in the face of danger and trauma.”
“You talking about this Gideon I’ve heard so much about?” the judge asked.
“Yes, Your Honor.”
“You close to finding him?”
“Closer than ever, sir,” Cyril called out.
The judge banged his gavel. “There will be no outbursts, or I’ll order the courtroom cleared.”
Rhea tugged on her husband’s arm, and he sat back down.
“What about danger to the child?” The judge closed his folder.
“We have police protection.”
Judge Haskins directed his gaze to Patti. “I’m not convinced you’re a better choice. The file says you abandoned your daughter at a day care when she was two weeks old. Just never went back to get her.”
Patti hung her head. “That’s right, Your Honor. It’s a poor choice that haunts me.”
“How do I know you won’t do it again?”
Patti lifted her head, and her eyes held a shimmer of tears. “You don’t. But I know. I’d do anything for my daughter.”
Good performance. Eve’s cynicism grew. Patti was no more ready to put Keri first than she’d ever been. She hoped the judge would see through her claims.
“I’m not going to make a decision today. I’m going to order an in-home study of both of you and wait for that report.” He banged the gavel on the desk. “Adjourned.”
Eve glanced up into Nick’s eyes. “Thanks for sticking up for me today,” she whispered. Tenderness stirred in her heart, catching her by surprise. Was it possible to learn to love this man? She’d like to believe that.
“You would have done the same for me.” He squeezed her hand.
His parents and Bree joined them at the table.
“That went well, I think,” Rhea said. She hugged Eve. “It will be okay.”
Ronja gathered her papers. “She’s right. I think you made a good impression on the judge.”
“I hope so,” Eve said.
Patti stopped at their table. “I knew he would believe me,” she said. “Why fight it, Eve? You’re just going to get hurt. The court always rules in favor of the real mother.”
“Then Eve will retain custody,” Rhea snapped. “She’s Keri’s real mother. And what century are you living in? The court strips rights away from parents all the time. Don’t think the judge bought your tearful act. He’s seen better actresses than you come through his courtroom.”
Patti flushed and ignored the older woman. She shook her finger in Eve’s face. “You can’t keep her away from me.”
“Neither of us is going to look like a prize, Patti. Have you thought of that?” Eve asked. “I’m living with friends, and you’re living at a hotel with no visible means of support. Where are you getting your money for this, anyway? The social service worker is going to ask those kinds of hard questions. You’d better be ready for them.”
Patti’s confident smile twitched. “You’d better be ready to turn my daughter over to me. I won’t be denied my rights.”
“Do you think she’d try to take Keri and run if this goes badly for her?” Eve asked, watching her sister’s stiff shoulders.
“Over my dead body,” Rhea said fiercely. She hugged Nick and Eve. “We’ve got to get going, kids. Cyril will turn around and come right back as soon as he takes me home. I hate to go, but the nursing home called about Mother. They’ve been adjusting her Alzheimer’s medication.”
Patti turned and flounced away. Rhea and Cyril followed as if they were making sure she wasn’t coming back.
22
THE COOL BREEZE HIT EVE’S FACE, BUT NOTHING STOPPED the burning in her cheeks. They were in danger of losing Keri because of her sin. How could she have torn her family apart for another man? What kind of person was she? Maybe she didn’t want to get her memory back—not if it meant facing all kinds of sordidness.
Holding on to the handrail, she raced down the stone steps to the water. She kicked off her shoes when she reached the shoreline and let her toes sink into the cold sand.
“Eve?” Nick’s voice came from behind her.
She turned and saw him coming across the beach. “Just leave me alone,” she told him.
He slogged through the sand to her side, stopping about four feet away with his hands in his pockets. “Eve?”
“We’re really nothing alike, are we?” Eve was just beginning to realize how different they were. “You’re the savior, the rescuer in the darkest hour. You thrive on responsibility. I love music, art, dance. Spontaneity is what I crave, and you long for regimented hours, isn’t that right?”
“I thought you couldn’t remember.”
“I don’t. But I’m not blind.” She turned her back and stared out over the water. “How can you even want to try again when I might remember my love for another man at any minute?”
“I don’t believe you’re in love with Will,” Nick said. He turned her around to face him. “You only used him to find the courage to tell me you’d had enough.” His fingers tipped her chin up.
She didn’t resist. When she tasted his minty lips, she knew her heart had never forgotten him. Her soul remembered his strength, his commitment. Her arms went around his neck, and she pressed into his embrace. Her fingers touched the rough stubble on his cheeks, then moved around to the back of his head to become entangled in his thick hair. She closed her eyes and gave herself to the kiss.
His strong arms were a safe haven, her port in the storm. Nick loved her unconditionally.
He broke the kiss, then trailed his lips across her cheeks, her eyes. “Come to the hotel with me tonight. Let’s start over.”
The tender yearning in his gaze scorched her, and she was tempted to go with him, to ignore what she’d learned about herself. But she would hate herself tomorrow if more terrible revelations were to come. She couldn’t love Nick until she knew she could trust herself. And the only way to know that was to regain
her memory.
She pulled away from his embrace and ran for the safety of the house.
EVE TOSSED AND TURNED ON THE BED UNTIL THE CLOCK READ 12:05. She was never going to get any rest like this. Maybe some chamomile tea would help her relax. Gracie objected with a loud meow when she moved the kitten off her chest and got up.
Samson’s nails clicked on the wood floor as he moved to meet her outside her door. Eve rubbed his ears, then went past him down the stairs and through the silent house to the kitchen. Nick was staying at the hotel with his parents tonight. She thought her rejection had cut especially deep.
She filled the kettle and put it on the stove. Nights were the worst, when those gossamer memories teased her, flitting so briefly through her thoughts.
At the sound of the whistle, she poured the steaming water into the waiting cup. Setting the kettle onto a cool burner, she picked up her cup and started toward the living room.
The hair raised on the back of her neck. Did she hear something, a slight scratch? She should go get Kade, but she hated to wake him if a squirrel or raccoon had taken up residence on the back porch. Maybe she should call Samson from upstairs. She approached the kitchen’s rear door and listened. The only sound was the wind.
She looked at the doorknob, then backed away. What was she thinking? No way was she going to open the door and look. She turned to leave the kitchen, but something about the door bothered her, and she looked back at it. The deadbolt lever was in the wrong position. It hadn’t been locked.
She set her cup on the counter and moved to the door to lock it. She heard a whisper of movement behind her, and her danger registered. Before she could turn, an arm came around her waist and pulled her against a man’s chest. His other hand clasped her mouth and forced her head back into his neck.
“Hello, Eve. We meet again,” the man whispered. “I hope you’ve been anticipating this as much as I have.”
She couldn’t see him, but she could feel some cloth over his face where it rested against her cheek. Fear drained the strength from her limbs, moving through her legs and arms with an icy grip. She tried to scream, but nothing made it past his hand over her lips.
The arm tightened around her waist, and his thumb moved to caress her cheek. “So lovely. Your skin is the finest I’ve ever seen. So much better than the others.”
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