“I can’t do it,” Jacobs whispered. “He’ll kill me. You may hurt me, but I have a chance to live. I know he’ll do it.” His lips were suddenly curled with anger. “This is all your fault, Gallo. You may not have killed her, but it’s all your fault. You shouldn’t hurt me.”
“Thirty minutes.” He turned back and taped Jacobs’s mouth shut again. Then he strode to the door and opened the door for Catherine. “No more. I don’t want to hear anything from you until you tell me what I want to know.” He shut the door firmly behind them.
Catherine drew a deep breath as she started down the stairs. “I wasn’t sure that you were going to stop.”
“Neither was I,” he said grimly. “I had to stop now or not at all. It was hard as hell.”
“But you said it would be easier after he has time to think about what might happen to him.”
“That’s the plan. He’s not a brave man. It should be easy to break him.” He frowned. “But I don’t know…”
“I don’t know either.” Catherine was remembering Jacobs’s terrified expression. “He was afraid.”
“And not of me.” His lips tightened. “Which would have meant breaking him would have been twice as hard.”
“He should have been afraid of you. You were very intimidating.”
“Not enough.” He had reached the bottom of the stairs. “But I will be when I go back upstairs. He has to talk.”
“So what do we do now?”
“We sit in that drafty kitchen and have some more of that less-than-pleasant bouillon.” He headed for the kitchen. “And we give Jacobs time to become terrified by his own imaginings.”
“Who is he afraid of?” she murmured as she followed him. “Was I right? Queen did employ other killers for hire besides Black.”
“But what’s the motive?” Gallo shook his head. “I’m not making any more guesses. I’ve spent years wondering and guessing and trying to make sense of Bonnie’s death. I have to know the truth.”
“One truth you do know is that you didn’t kill her,” she said quietly.
“Thank God.” He turned on the pan of hot water. “But that doesn’t mean I’m entirely free of blame. Not with Queen and Jacobs involved.”
“By all means, reserve a little guilt for yourself. You wouldn’t want to let yourself entirely off the hook.” She sat down in the chair. “Gallo, just because they were part of your life doesn’t mean a damn thing.”
“It means that sometimes our lives touch each other, and that has a direct effect.” He poured a little of the bouillon into her cup. “And you know that’s true from your own experience.”
She couldn’t argue with him. Her life had touched Rakovac’s, and it was Luke who had suffered.
His lips twisted. “And the last thing Jacobs said was that it was all my fault.”
“Bullshit. You don’t know what he meant by that,” Catherine said. “He was blaming everyone but himself.” She sipped a little of the bouillon. “I hate this waiting. I hate this whole thing. I wanted Jacobs to break down and sing like a bird.”
“I won’t hurt him unless he doesn’t give me a choice, Catherine.”
“I know.” And it wasn’t as if Jacobs was some innocent victim. He had hired Nixon to kill them. And, in spite of protesting his innocence, he had almost certainly been involved in Bonnie’s death. The nightmare had gone on too long, and only Jacobs could cause it to come to an end. “But I don’t have to like it. I hate hurting people.”
He suddenly smiled. “You’d rather I cut the bastard’s throat and get it over with? You’re a strange woman, Catherine.”
She shrugged. “I’m what life made me. Just like you, Gallo. And you’re not so—” Her phone rang, and she glanced at the ID.
“It’s Eve.” She pressed the button. “Where are you, Eve?”
“About forty-five minutes from you according to the GPS.” She paused. “Is everything all right?”
“Do you mean have we found out anything from Jacobs? Not yet.” She paused. “Except that he said that Gallo didn’t kill Bonnie.”
“And you think he’s telling the truth? From what you told me, Jacobs is as much of a sleazebag as Queen was.”
“I don’t think he’s lying.” Catherine smiled at Gallo across the table. “Jacobs may be a complete sleazebag, but he was telling the truth about that. And he’s scared, Eve. He knows who did kill her, and he’s scared shitless.” She hurried on before Eve could voice the question. “And, no, we don’t know who that is. We’re following up as fast as we can. We may have something by the time you get here.”
“I hope you do.” She was silent a moment. “If it’s true, I’m happy for Gallo.”
“But you’re still skeptical. Oh, well, maybe Jacobs will be able to convince you when you get here. I’m tired of being the only positive voice. I’ve just had a depressing conversation with Gallo about touching people’s lives and changing them for the worse. It works the other way too, dammit.”
“Yes, it does. And you’re proof of it, Catherine. I’ll call you when I’m within a few miles of your place.” She hung up.
“She’s happy that Jacobs cleared you,” Catherine said to Gallo as she hung up.
“But skeptical.” He added quietly, “I’m glad you’re not skeptical. You’ve been a beacon in the darkness, Catherine. I know I’ve been a pain in the ass.”
“Yes, you have. In more ways than one.” She met his eyes. “And you’ll owe me when this is done.”
“I’ll pay you. Anytime. Any way. I’ll invent new ways to pay you.”
She tore her gaze away. “How much longer do we have to wait down here?”
“Another ten minutes.”
She hesitated. “Maybe we should wait for Eve and Joe.”
“And maybe we should have everything settled before they get here. I’ve never encountered Joe Quinn except for those few minutes before Black stabbed him, but he’s never had any warm feelings toward me.”
“That’s an understatement. You can hardly blame him. Eve is his whole world, and he considered you a threat to her.”
“I don’t blame him. If I’d been in his position, I would have tried to wipe me off the face of the Earth. I’m just saying that there are giant hurdles to overcome, and this may not be the time to do it.” He added, “And do you want to have Eve feeling the same way you do about squeezing the information out of Jacobs? I’m the only one who should have to bear responsibility for dealing with the bastard.”
No, she didn’t want to saddle Eve with anything more than she was bearing now. But on the other hand, she didn’t want Eve arriving and thinking that Jacobs had cleared Gallo because force was used. She wanted Eve to see the situation and judge for herself. Gallo deserved at least that from Eve and Joe. She said, “I’d like to wait, please. They should be here in another forty minutes.”
He opened his lips, and she thought he was going to argue with her. Then he closed them again. “Whatever you like. It’s your call.” He lifted his shoulders in a half shrug. “Who knows? An extra forty minutes of waiting may be the time it takes to make Jacobs more willing to cooperate.”
She wasn’t at all sure that call she’d made was the right one. It was a delicate situation, and Eve and Joe were as strong-willed as Catherine and Gallo. It could all blow up when they came together.
“And I know why you made it,” Gallo said softly. “I believe you may have a protective gene or two yourself, Catherine.”
“I do. I’m protective toward my son.” She lifted the bouillon to her lips. “You can take care of yourself, Gallo.”
CHAPTER
17
“DO YOU WANT ME TO TAKE a turn driving?” Eve asked Joe as she hung up the phone. “This fog is a hell of a strain on the eyes. We’re having to creep along.”
“I’m fine.”
Yes, he was fine, thank God, she thought as she gazed at him. He was still a little pale, and he’d lost at least ten pounds, but other than those two signs of weakness, h
e was the Joe she had always known. Since he’d left the hospital, he had been quiet, conserving his strength, but that strength was there. And so was his sharpness and incisive decision making. During their frustrating journey, he had managed multiple flight cancellations, rebookings, and dealing with airport and rental-car personnel with far more patience than Eve had.
He shot her a glance and smiled. “It’s not my eyes that kept me in that hospital, Eve. And the rest of me is doing just fine, too.” His smile faded. “Jacobs said that Gallo hadn’t killed Bonnie?”
She nodded. “But if he didn’t kill her, who did? Maybe Jacobs or Queen did it themselves?” She rubbed her temple. “I just don’t know. Catherine said Jacobs knew who did it and seemed scared to death to tell anyone.”
“He’ll be more scared when I get my hands on the bastard,” Joe said grimly. His foot unconsciously pressed harder on the accelerator, and the car jumped forward.
“Joe.”
“Sorry.” He lifted the pressure, and the car slowed. “You’re right, we don’t want to go off the road into the bayou. Hell, I can’t even see the side of road in this muck.”
“Then just crawl along. I allowed extra time when I told Catherine we’d be there in forty minutes.” She glanced out the thick white nothingness beyond the window. Every now and then, she’d catch a glimpse of the twisted branch of a tree jutting out of the bayou, but almost immediately it was gone. “But I wish this fog would go away. It’s really eerie.”
“You think so?” Joe shook his head. “I was thinking it was kind of … comforting.”
“You’ve got to be kidding. Why?”
“I don’t know.” He thought about it. “Or maybe I do. Before I came out of that coma, it was like this. It was like a soft blanket of fog that I was traveling through. Only it was dark and glowing, not this white mist. But I knew where I was and where I was going, and I wasn’t afraid. The fog around me felt warm and it somehow…” He searched for words. “… filled my heart. I could occasionally see something jutting out of the fog, but nothing was clear. Except you, Eve. ” He added simply, “And Bonnie.”
Her throat was suddenly tight. “And there’s nothing frightening about either one of us.” She reached out, and her hand clasped his on the steering wheel. “Because we love you.” She laughed shakily. “But I don’t believe that this particular fog is warm and comforting. And I’ll definitely disagree if you end up by dumping us in the bayou. I don’t care for either swamps or bayous. It makes me remember—” She inhaled sharply, her body stiffening.
His gaze flew to her face. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. I saw something.” She turned in the seat, her gaze on the fog-shrouded bayou. “Someone.”
“A fisherman?” Joe asked. “Those would be the only people I’d think might be out in weather like this. Was he in a boat?”
“No. Maybe. I only caught a glimpse—” But that glimpse had startled her. “And it wasn’t a man. Or I guess it could have been, but I got the impression— Pull over, Joe!” Her gaze was fixed on the bayou just ahead. “Now.”
“Why?” He was frowning as he pulled over to the side of the road. “You think there’s someone in trouble?”
“No,” she whispered. “Not any longer.” She hopped out of the car and ran to the edge of the road, her gaze fixed on the billowing mist hovering over the water. “She’s not in trouble. That’s all over.” Her eyes were straining to catch another glimpse of that small figure moving slowly through the fog. No, she had vanished as quickly as she had come.
“It’s Bonnie. But why is she here? And why didn’t she come closer? This isn’t like her. She’s acting as if she’s—” A ghost, a spirit, a mystery from the mist. Not like her Bonnie. Her daughter had always been so real when she came to her that Eve had felt as if she could reach out and touch her, hug her.
“Bonnie?” Joe had come to stand beside her, his gaze on Eve’s face. “Are you sure? We were just talking about her. You could have been thinking about Bonnie and it translated thought into—”
“Imagining that I saw her?” Eve finished. “No, I did see her. That first glimpse could have been imagination, but then I saw her again as we rounded that curve. She was right there before me. I saw her face.” She gestured at the bayou. “She was there, Joe. You didn’t see her?”
He shook his head. “Not this time, Eve.”
She shook her head in frustration. “I tell you, she was there.”
“I’m not questioning you about anything concerning Bonnie,” he said gently. “I’m far beyond that, Eve. If you say you saw her, then she was here. I’m only saying that I didn’t see her. I’ve no idea how all this works. It’s new to me. Maybe she didn’t want me to see her this time. Maybe she only wanted you. You saw her for years and years before she ever deigned to pay me a visit.”
“But I never saw her like this before. It … scared me.”
“Why?”
“She wasn’t … herself.” How to explain it to him when she was bewildered, too. “She was always happy when she came to me. I was the one who was anxious and worried and full of guilt. She’d laugh at me and tease me and tell me that everything was all right with her. That I shouldn’t fret so much about finding her and bringing her home.”
“And that’s a wonderful thing.”
“But she wasn’t like that when I saw her a few moments ago.” She repeated, “She scared me.”
Joe put his hand on her arm and pulled her close. “You said that before. Why? What was different?”
“She was sad. Her face was so sad. Bonnie was never sad.” She could feel the tears sting her eyes. “Or if she was, she never let me know. Did she hide it, Joe? Did she hide it so that I wouldn’t be unhappy?” She swallowed hard. “And what is she doing here, dammit? First, you’re talking about that death fog you went through. Then I see Bonnie, and she’s not my Bonnie. Is she trying to tell me something?”
“If she was, then she’d come right out and say it, wouldn’t she?”
“No, she can be enigmatic as hell.”
He smiled. “That sounds very human and very special.”
“Yes.” Bonnie had always been special, and she had remained special even after that monster had taken everything else from her. Her gaze searched the bayou, but she saw nothing but mist. She could feel nothing. She turned away. “She’s gone.” She moved back toward the car. “And you’re probably thinking I’m acting as neurotic as hell.”
“No.” He got into the car and stared thoughtfully out at the bayou. “It’s not neurotic to be upset about a change in someone you love. And you love Bonnie with all your heart. The whole thing is very strange. I’ve just been trying to piece together the puzzle.”
“That’s like you,” she said as she fastened her seat belt. Joe’s mind was always delving and striving to make logic out of chaos. And most of the time, he was able to do it. “When you come up with something, let me know.”
He started the car. “I’m working on it. Bonnie appeared to you and wanted you to know she was unhappy about something.”
“Maybe she’s always been unhappy. She’s dead, dammit.”
“But you have to balance the experience of years against this one episode. That would mean that there was something unusual happening to change that balance.” He paused. “Something to do with Gallo?”
“If he didn’t kill her, why would she be sad?” She shook her head and smiled with an effort. “Only you would analyze ectoplasm and try to make it rational.”
“Would Bonnie like you referring to her as ectoplasm?”
“Yes, she’d probably giggle.”
“You said that without even thinking. So it doesn’t seem to me that you have to worry about this one case of melancholy.”
She nodded, and this time the smile was genuine. “Not as long as I have you to set me straight.”
“No problem.” He was gazing straight ahead. “But as you said, this is unusual. We should probably be looking out for
‘unusual.’”
“Why?” She tilted her head. “I assume you’re not just being cryptic?”
He didn’t look at her. “No, I’m just remembering what Bonnie told me, that we were coming to the end. Ends aren’t always happy, Eve.”
She was silent for a long moment. “You’ve been telling me that for years in one way or another. Sometimes, I resented it. Sometimes, I was grateful. But you’ve been preparing me for this, haven’t you?”
“I’ve been preparing both of us for it. I knew the first time I met you that we were going to have to be strong to face what life had dealt us. And the end may be the hardest part of all. It’s been a long time coming.”
“That’s what I thought. I tried and tried again, and nothing came of it. I couldn’t find Bonnie. I couldn’t find the monster who killed her.” She whispered, “And I couldn’t see why. I thought if there was a God, then He should help me find my little girl. She was so wonderful. Everyone loved her. God must have loved her, too.” She turned her head and gazed out at the thick mist flowing by the window. No Bonnie in that mist. She had come and gone. But she was near …
“But lately I’ve wondered if there’s a reason that I had to wait. I don’t think I was ready. You’re right, whatever I have to face, I’ll have to be strong enough to take it. Perhaps I had to learn something about myself before I could bring her home. Perhaps I had to learn about you, Joe. I think I learned a lot about both of us when I was waiting for you to wake in ICU.”
“And are you ready now?”
“I think so.” Her hand reached for his and clasped it tightly. “We’ll have to see, won’t we? Lord, I hope I’m ready, Joe.”
* * *
“THEY’RE COMING.” Catherine turned away from the window. “At least, I think they are. I can barely see the headlights in the fog. They should be here in a couple minutes.” She leveled a glance at Gallo. “And, no matter what Joe says or does, you’re not to respond with any antagonism, do you understand?”
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