She leaned against his strong shoulder. “How do we catch him, Nick? He never seems to make a mistake.”
“He will.” Nick pressed a kiss against her temple. “Where’s Patti?” He hesitated. “I wonder if she has some connection with him. She’s taking a long time. Maybe to allow him time to threaten you.”
“She’s my sister, Nick.”
“She’s not a good person. I think you’ve figured that out by now. I wouldn’t put anything past her.”
Eve shuddered. “I don’t believe she’d do something like that.”
“You don’t remember all the things she’s done. She stole money and used it for drugs once. She’s capable of anything, especially when she’s high. I’m going to have Fraser check her out.”
Eve nodded. “This was a mistake to come here. She probably won’t listen anyway.”
The light on the elevator flickered from floor 4 to 3 to 2. Without realizing she’d moved, Eve was standing with her hands clenched together. Fear gripped her throat, suffocating terror like she’d felt in the car before Bree had found her.
Nothing here should evoke this kind of terror. She forced her gaze to sweep the lobby, but the elevator drew her back. The danger would come from there. Flashes of memory assaulted her: the dark hallway of a familiar building, the scent of peanut butter, a weightlessness of white feathers.
She stumbled back against the sofa, then put down her latte before she could drop it.
Nick sprang to his feet. “Eve, what is it?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “The elevator . . .”
He turned to look at the elevator as the doors dinged and began to open. Eve saw a flash of red, the color of blood. Her vision wavered, and she whirled.
Nick grabbed her arm and hauled her to his chest. “It’s okay,” he murmured in her hair.
Though the safety of his arms calmed her, Eve pulled away and turned her head to the elevator door. Her sister stepped out, wearing a red sweater. Eve peered past Patti, but the elevator doors closed on an empty space. Why was her heart rate still ratcheted up to Mach speeds?
“Eve?” Patti cast an uneasy glance around the room. “You look like you’re about to faint.”
“I . . . I’m fine.” Eve sank onto the sofa, the flashes of insight gone. She felt stupid. There was nothing here.
Patti advanced into the sitting area. “What do you want?”
Eve tried to collect her scattered thoughts. “I’m your sister, Patti. I’d like to be your friend too.”
“Yeah, right. You don’t even remember me.”
Eve chose to believe the hurt in Patti’s blue eyes was genuine, and she reached for her sister’s hand. “Sit down a minute.”
Patti sat on the sofa’s edge beside Eve. “Spit it out and let’s get it over with.”
“Give her a break, Patti,” Nick said. “You don’t have to prove you’re a hard case.”
Eve waited for the explosion, but instead Patti laughed. “I’ve always liked you, Nick. You don’t pull any punches.”
Eve rushed in to take advantage of the broken ice. “Patti, we both only want what’s best for Keri. I’d like to see us work together to resolve this.”
“Like we’d ever agree to what’s best for Keri.”
“Would you like to see her? Come to dinner tonight?”
Patti stared at her. “You’re serious?”
“My mom’s veal stew has been cooking all afternoon,” Nick said.
Patti’s face relaxed. She twisted a lock of lank hair between her fingers. “You know to get me where it hurts, Nicky.”
“It’s her favorite,” Nick told Eve with a smile.
A flare of resentment made Eve grit her teeth. Her ex-husband knew her own sister better than she did. And how had he even remembered that sweet little detail? Patti had been gone for two years.
“How about we head over there now?” Nick stood and put his hands in his pockets.
Patti rose and looked down at Eve. “Okay. But no pressure.”
Eve’s gaze locked with Nick’s. She knew he planned to try to see if Patti had anything to do with Gideon.
20
The swans’ voices lifted in a melody that raised Gideon’s spirit to God. He closed his eyes and drank in the magic of their song. The perfect summer day ministered to his soul where he sat on a grassy knoll in the sunshine.
Miranda sat in a wheelchair beside him. He’d moved her to the Rock Harbor nursing home, and she seemed to love the sunshine. She was strapped in and her head was in a headrest. Her blue eyes blinked slowly.
He averted his eyes from her scars. “Isn’t it lovely, Miranda? I was thinking about the geocaching tournament coming up. I was trying to think about what I want to hide. I think I’ll do a treasure hunt and lay about five clues that lead to the big cache.” His face tingled at the thought.
A nurse approached from across the lawn. “I need to take Miranda back inside,” she said. “The doctor would like to speak with you.”
Gideon drew back. “I don’t have time today.”
“He’s rather insistent,” the nurse said gently. “It won’t take long.” She nodded back toward the building. “In fact, here he comes now.”
Gideon stood and mentally armed himself as the nurse wheeled his wife away. The doctor’s grim expression lightened with a forced smile. “Hello, Doctor,” Gideon said.
“I thought I might find you out here.” The doctor waited until the wheelchair was out of sight. “I’m afraid your wife has been declining since you brought her here.”
Gideon stared at the doctor until the man looked away. “She’s fine,” he said. “It’s temporary. She’s had these episodes before, and she’ll rally.”
“I’m afraid not this time.” The doctor hesitated. “I ran some routine tests. She’s got leukemia too.”
Gideon closed his eyes and sank back onto the lawn chair. “No,” he said. His weak voice disgusted him. Miranda deserved a strong defender.
“She only has another month or so.”
“No!” Gideon jumped up with his fists balled. “What about treatment?”
“She’s too weak to withstand any chemo or bone marrow transplant. The treatment would likely shorten her life even more. I’m sorry.” The doctor laid his hand on Gideon’s arm.
Gideon shook it off. His wife would not die. They would all see the miracle that would happen. He would take Eve, and Miranda would rally.
PATTI WAS SILENT IN THE BACKSEAT. NICK CLEARED his throat. “Hey, Patti, where’ve you been all this time, anyway?”
“Around.”
“Where? You seem to be off the drugs now. How’d you do that?”
“Some friends helped me. Which was more than you ever did.”
“We tried,” he said. “You have to want to get well before it happens. I just wondered how you got to that point.”
“No, you’re trying to figure out who Keri’s father is. Well, I’m not saying. So drop it.”
Nick waggled his eyebrows at Eve. Patti wouldn’t tell them anything. He parked the SUV outside the lighthouse. When they got out, he could hear the children squealing and shouting in the backyard.
“Go on in, and I’ll get Keri,” he told the women.
Eve nodded and ushered Patti to the front door. He stepped around back.
“Watch me, Keri!” Davy shouted. He ran along the sand and hurtled himself into a cartwheel, but his feet didn’t go very far up.
“Good try,” Nick shouted.
The little boy gave a delighted grin. “She can’t do it yet. She’s too little. But I’m big.”
“You’re quite the little man,” Nick said. He rubbed the boy’s head as he passed. “With you showing her, Keri will learn it in no time.”
“I’ll teach her.” Davy turned to try another one.
“You practice. I need to take her to see her mommy a little while.” He scooped up Keri, sand and all. “Hey, baby girl, let’s go inside.”
“No!” She wiggle
d to get down.
“Your mommy wants you.” Holding her over his head until she squealed and laughed, he crossed his eyes at her, then cradled her against his chest. “And Grammy made you cookies.”
“Tookies?” She quit fighting.
Nick carried her onto the back porch, then brushed the sand off both of them before stepping inside.
His mother was still working at the stove when he walked through. “I can’t believe you’re letting that woman see her,” she said, shooting him a glare that usually made him quail.
He snagged a cookie for Keri and himself. “It’s for the best, Mom.” He didn’t want to argue with her. Stepping through the doorway into the living room, he listened, but there was no fighting. In fact, there was no talking.
Patti sat on the sofa, and Eve sat opposite her on the armchair. Patti was staring at her hands, and Eve looked out the window. Both looked up with relief lighting their eyes when he arrived.
“Here she is,” he said in a voice he recognized as too hearty. “Keri, this is Aunt Patti. She’s kind of your mommy too.” He set her on the floor.
“Kind of?” Patti’s eyes narrowed, and venom spread over her face. She opened her mouth, then shut it again when he shook his head. The smile she turned on Keri didn’t reach her eyes. “Hi, sweetie. Come see me.”
Keri hung back, her eyes wide and questioning. She backed up until she bumped against Nick’s legs. “Where Mommy?” Spotting Eve, she ran to her and climbed into her lap. “Mommy,” she said, her gaze still on Patti.
“Let’s go see your Aunt Patti,” Eve said. Carrying Keri, she moved to the sofa beside her sister.
“Would you like some candy?” Patti asked, rummaging in her purse. She pulled out a Jolly Rancher.
“She’s not old enough for hard candy,” Eve said, intercepting the candy when Keri reached for it. Keri began to cry, and Eve jiggled her legs. “Eat your cookie.”
“I can say whether she’s old enough or not,” Patti snapped.
“You don’t have any experience,” Nick told her. “Eve knows what’s appropriate.”
“I’m her mother. I should be able to say if she can have candy or not.” Patti took another piece out of her purse and dangled it in front of the little girl.
Eve stood with Keri in her arms. Keri started to cry. “This isn’t going to work. Patti, you have to always think about what’s best for Keri, not about who’s got the most power.”
Nick could see the meeting going south in a hurry. “Sit down,” he whispered to Eve. He pointed to the chair.
Carrying the squalling child, she went back to the armchair. “Hush, Keri,” she said. “You’ve got a cookie.”
Keri threw the cookie onto the coffee table. “Want tandy!”
Nick picked up the cookie. “That’s enough, Keri,” he said, his voice stern.
She sniffled with her gaze on him. Her wailing stopped, and she took the cookie he held out. Her eyes wide, she watched him go back to his chair.
He decided the firm, direct approach would work best. “Patti, we asked you here for two reasons. We want you to get to know Keri, and we’d like to find a way to settle this out of court. How about if we agree to liberal visitation? How often would you like to see her?”
“How often would you like to see her?” Patti countered. “I’d let you have liberal rights to her too. Maybe every other weekend?”
“We’re not giving her up,” Eve said. “You don’t even know how to take care of her.”
“You don’t know any more than I do. I bet you don’t remember her favorite snack or which toy she likes best. When the judge hears you can’t remember anything, I’ll be awarded custody.”
“You don’t know those things either,” Eve pointed out.
“I remember,” Nick put in. “How will you get around that?”
“You’re not married,” Patti pointed out. “That’s not going to help you.”
“I’m her father. The only one she’s ever known. Keri’s never even met this great guy who’s so ready to throw his wife over for you. Who is he?”
Patti snapped the latch on her purse open and shut several times. Nick could almost see the wheels turning.
“None of your business,” she said finally. “You’ll meet him at the right time.”
“He’s a real stand-up guy if he lets you do all the dirty work.” Nick had disdain in his voice. “A real man would help you.”
Patti unwrapped the Jolly Rancher she held without looking at him. “He’s a great guy. You don’t know him.” She popped the candy into her mouth.
“But we’d like to.” Eve’s voice was gentle. “Could we meet him?”
“No! He wants to stay out of the picture until it’s all over.”
Nick didn’t like the sound of this guy. What a weasel.
“Would you like to hold Keri?” Eve stood again and approached the sofa.
Patti put her purse on the floor and held out her arms, but her hands shook. “Come see your mama, Keri.”
Keri’s small brow wrinkled, and she looked up at Eve. Nick wanted to slap someone. Patti was determined to push her own way. He and Eve locked gazes, and he saw the same awareness in her eyes. They should have kept Patti as far away from Keri as possible.
Eve settled the little girl on Patti’s lap and sat beside them. Patti jiggled the child awkwardly on her knees. “Can you say Daddy, Keri?”
Keri’s head swiveled toward Nick. “Daddy,” she said. She reached her arms for him.
Patti exhaled. “He’s not your daddy, not your real daddy.”
“Daddy. My daddy,” Keri said, pooching out her lower lip.
Nick had had enough. He stood and scooped his daughter out of Patti’s arms. “This was a mistake,” he said. “You don’t even know the proper way to behave around children, Patti. I thought maybe you’d grown up the last few years, but I was wrong. We’ll have to deal with this in court.”
Patti blinked, then bit her lip. She reached down and grabbed her purse. “The judge will give her back to me. You’ll see.” Casting an angry glance at her sister, she rushed to the door, slamming it behind her.
“HAVE ANOTHER PIECE OF TIROPITA,” RHEA URGED Eve. “You too, Nicky.”
The darkness outside the kitchen windows made the bright kitchen seem even more welcoming, and Eve’s full tummy contributed to her sense of well-being in spite of how badly it went with Patti. She refused to stay for dinner, so Nick had run her back to the hotel. Oliver had emerged from the basement, following the aromas of Rhea’s meal.
“I’m stuffed, Mom,” Nick said.
Eve wondered how many family dinners like this she couldn’t remember. From the familiarity Nick’s parents showed, she would guess there were a lot.
“I’ll get the kids ready for bed,” Bree said. She lifted Keri from the booster seat and took Davy’s hand. “I’ll be right back.”
“Thanks,” Eve called after her.
“How’s our Jane Doe coming?” Cyril asked Oliver.
Oliver was on his third helping of stew. “Almost ready to paint. After dinner I will show you. She’s quite lovely.”
Oliver looked totally drained—as well he should when he finished the thing in record time. Eve wondered if he’d had more then two or three hours of sleep a night.
“Let’s go see her.” Nick half rose, but Oliver waved him back down.
“Not until I have some dessert. Your mother has cooked in the kitchen all day, and the least we can do is appreciate her labor. The meals I get at the bed-and-breakfast are not nearly so excellent.”
The doorbell sounded, and Bree called from upstairs. “I’ll get it.” She passed the kitchen and returned with Deputy Montgomery in tow.
“Sorry to interrupt your supper,” Montgomery said.
“Have an almond biscuit.” Bree grabbed the plate and offered them to the officer, who grinned and took one.
“I was hoping to find all of you here,” Montgomery mumbled around his mouthful of biscuit. “Tow
n is crawling with cops. I’ve been sent to ask you something, eh? I don’t agree with it myself, but I’m just the messenger, so don’t shoot me.” He glanced at Cyril. “You tell them yet?”
Cyril shook his head.
“A lead on Gideon’s threat today?” Nick asked.
Cyril looked down at his plate. “I was just getting to it,” he said. When he looked up, his face was set and strained. “Son, you aren’t going to like this, but it’s the only way we can go with this. We want to use Eve as a decoy to flush out Gideon.”
Eve came forward in her chair, moved first by shock, then by surprise that someone hadn’t come up with a plan like this before now. She gripped her water glass. The idea wasn’t terribly far-fetched.
“No!” Nick slammed his fist on the table, and the dinnerware rattled. “That’s not going to happen. No way. I can’t believe you’d even ask.”
Cyril spread his hands. “What else have we got, Son? Gideon’s a phantom. He’ll just keep killing.”
“I’ll find him. I’m not risking Eve.”
“I’ll do it,” Eve said, projecting as much confidence into her voice as possible.
“You will not! I won’t allow it.”
“You have no say in it.” Eve tried to say the words with gentleness, but Nick flinched. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let this guy keep on going just because I’m afraid.” The water glass shook in her hand, and she put it back on the table.
“You don’t get it,” Nick said. “He’s following a plan, a script. I think when he gets through it, he’ll start over at the beginning again. With you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The passage from Proverbs. A few more deaths, and he’ll make his move on you to be the first in a new round.”
Eve’s hands shook, but she clasped them together. “If that’s the case, I’ve got some time. I’m not going to just sit and wait for him to show up when he’s good and ready. Maybe I could even save someone’s life.”
Nick’s eyes flashed, and he glanced to his dad. “What did you have in mind?” he asked.
“The geocaching event is this weekend.”
Bree nodded. “I need to get my team assembled. Eve could be part of my team, and she’d be visible.”
Haven of Swans Page 21