Taking Eve

by Iris Johansen

  “Caleb is never just a convenience,” Jane said flatly after she took a sip. “And he didn’t mention that he’d brought you when he visited me last night.”

  “He said that he’d let me tell you.” She suddenly chuckled. “I don’t think he wanted to share the spotlight. Caleb likes to have your full attention when he’s with you. It has something to do with the stalking.”

  “What?”

  “Never mind. It’s not important anyway. Caleb and I understand each other.”

  “Then that’s something I’ve never been able to say about Caleb,” Jane said dryly. She certainly hadn’t understood what he’d done … and hadn’t done to her in that moment of weakness. She hadn’t understood what she felt either. Gratitude for giving her a pain-free night? Or resentment that he’d disturbed and made her so aware of both his power and presence? “And why was it more convenient for you to come with him?”

  She shrugged. “No papers. I knew he wouldn’t care.”

  “Why don’t you have papers?”

  She grinned. “See, that illustrates my point. Caleb never asked that question.”

  “Well, I’m asking. Are you some kind of criminal?”

  “It depends on who you ask.” She tilted her head consideringly. “But my opinion is the only one that matters, so no, I’m not a criminal.”

  “Margaret, you’re dodging.”

  She beamed. “You noticed. I do it well, don’t I?”

  “No, you’re lousy at it.”

  “Not true. I wouldn’t have been able to persuade Caleb into bringing me to you if I wasn’t good.” Her smile faded. “I’m not going to tell you why I have no papers, Jane. It’s … complicated and kind of a mess. I won’t involve anyone else in it. Maybe someday.”

  “For heaven’s sake, you’re only a kid. It can’t be too much of a mess.”

  “No?” A shadow flitted across her face, but it vanished in an instant. “Don’t be too sure. I’m talented beyond my years.” She shook her head, and said gently, “Drop it, Jane. I get along fine without stamps and visas.”

  “Until someone throws you into jail.”

  “That only happened once, and I managed to get out after a week.” She changed the subject. “I called Devon this morning and checked on Toby. He was well enough to put with the other dogs, and Monty won’t leave him. He’s doing fine. I knew he would.” She leaned back in the chair. “Has Joe Quinn called you with any more information about Eve Duncan?”

  “Only that he and Venable were going to spend the night searching the woods near the lake, then visit the farms in the area and ask questions.” She leaned back against the pillows. Why couldn’t she get over this damnable weakness? She’d thought she’d be much stronger after a night’s rest. “Still no word on Ben Hudson.”

  “But the search is centering on the lake cottage.” Margaret’s tone was thoughtful. “That’s where we should start.”

  “We?” Jane shook her head. “I told you that you don’t owe me anything. You’re out of this, Margaret.”

  “I don’t intend to intrude. I’ll just sort of … help a little.” She got to her feet. “And I can tell that it’s better if I leave you right now. We’re going to argue, and you’ll get upset. I’ll get back to you as soon as I have something to tell you.” She squeezed Jane’s hand and smiled. “Stop worrying. It’s going to be okay. I know that you’re going to go to your Joe as soon as you can bust out of here. I’m just going ahead to prepare the way for you.”

  “You’re going to Atlanta? No, Margaret, I’m not taking you away from your work and Summer Island to do anything that—”

  “Shh.” Margaret was heading for the door. “It’s not only for you. I’m very angry at that bastard who poisoned Toby. I’m betting it’s the same person who shot you. It would make sense. I hate people who victimize the helpless.”

  “I’m not helpless.”

  “No you’re not, but Toby was. For all I know, your Eve is helpless, too.”

  Jane shook her head.

  “Good, then when we find her, she’ll be able to help.”

  Margaret was so positive and upbeat that Jane felt an upsurge of hope. She hadn’t realized until this moment how much she needed that hope. “Eve would not only help, she’d take over.” Then she got back to the subject. “But that doesn’t mean that I’m turning this over to—”

  “Just going to prepare the way,” Margaret repeated as she paused at the door. “I’ll be in touch, Jane. You work on getting well.”

  Before Jane could speak, Margaret had glided out of the room. She gazed after her in helpless frustration. Yes, “helpless” was the word. She wanted to jump out of bed and go after her. It wasn’t enough that Margaret was going to put herself in danger out of some mistaken sense of obligation to Jane. The girl obviously had baggage that could toss her into a volcano of trouble even if Eve’s situation hadn’t been front and center.

  “You’re frowning.” Caleb was standing in the doorway. “Don’t tell me. Margaret?”

  “That was an easy enough guess. You must have seen her in the hall.”

  He nodded. “And she looked a lot happier than you do. But then, not much seems to bother her.”

  She had a sudden memory of that brief, shadowed expression. “I’m not so sure. Why didn’t you tell me you’d brought her from the island?”

  “I wasn’t certain that you’d approve.”

  She raised her brows.

  “Okay, I had to do a little juggling and hunting for her. She needed better credentials. I didn’t want to make you an accessory.”

  “But you didn’t mind doing it yourself.”

  “She made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

  “I see.”

  He smiled. “No, you don’t. She’s not my type. Much too sunny. She offered to make herself useful to me.”

  “Stalking.”

  “What?”

  “Just something that Margaret said about you.”

  “I can imagine.”

  “She also said that you didn’t tell me she was here because you wanted to be the center of attention.”

  “Possibly.”

  His hand on her cheek. His tongue outlining her lip.

  He was smiling, but she was relieved that he was obviously not going to pursue the details of that nocturnal visit. She moistened her lips. “She’s talking about going to the lake cottage. I think she’s going to ask you to take her.”

  “Do you want me to do it?”

  “No, I want her to go back to the island.”

  “She won’t do it. She’s on a mission. But I can delay her if I refuse to take her.”

  “Then do it. Maybe I’ll be out of here by that time.”

  “Of course I did manage to get her a very authentic-looking passport and driver’s license last night after I arrived here.”

  “Why?”

  “She wanted it, and it seemed a good idea at the time. She might not need me. She might decide to hitch a ride on a cruise ship to Miami. There’s always that possibility. Then you’d lose track of her and what she’s doing. Do you really want that?”

  “No, I just want to find Eve without having to worry about anyone else,” she said wearily.

  “Then I’ll see what I can do about stalling her.” He smiled. “Now rest. I talked to Dr. Perez and he said you’re doing well and he thinks that he can release you day after tomorrow.”

  She shook her head. “He can release me when I can get out of this bed and get dressed.”

  “Whatever.” He tucked the sheet around her. “Whenever you call me, I’m at your disposal. Any news from Quinn today?”

  “No, I’m going to call him by noon if he doesn’t call me.” She shivered. “They were searching the woods. I suppose it’s good news he hasn’t called me.”

  “But you don’t feel as if it’s good news. You feel as if you’re treading water. I can—” His cell phone rang, and he glanced at the screen. His brows rose in surprise. “Your Joe Quinn.”<
br />
  Jane tensed. “Why would he call you?”

  “You’re thinking bad thoughts,” Caleb said. “Relax. I assure you that he wouldn’t call me to cushion bad news for you. He wouldn’t trust my sensitivity.” He turned up the volume before he answered the call. “Caleb.”

  “I’m sending you a file,” Joe said briefly. “I gave Venable the disk when I got in yesterday, and he had it processed within a few hours, then checked the data banks. The shooter’s name is Terence Blick, but he doesn’t appear to have much of a record.”

  “What’s his connection to Jane or Eve?”

  “Not a damn thing that I can see. At least not in the file that Venable gave me.”

  “You think there are omissions?”

  “I don’t know what I think. It’s possible. Venable is being entirely too enigmatic. I’m going to check some of my own sources and see if I can find out anything else. How is Jane?”

  “Better. She’s right here. Do you want to talk to her?”

  “No, just show her the file. That’s all I know right now. I’ll call her later. I kept my word, Caleb. Now we’re quits.” He hung up.

  “He sounds tired. He didn’t have the strength to insult or abuse me.” Caleb pressed the disconnect and brought up the file. “I’m sending the file to your phone for you to study.” He dropped down in the chair beside her bed. “It will give you something to occupy you while you’re stuck here.”

  He began to read the file.

  She immediately grabbed her iPhone on the bedside table and pulled up the file.

  Photo, first.

  She didn’t even know what the man who had shot her looked like.

  Thirties, curly red hair, freckles, large nose, and blue eyes. She had never seen him before. No, that wasn’t right. His curly hair and thick neck bore a resemblance to the photo of the man who had been at the dog day-care center, the man who had poisoned Toby. A slender, fragile connection that was totally baffling.

  She began to quickly scan the file.

  Terence Blick. Age thirty-four. Born in Chicago, lived for his first fourteen years in a suburb on the north side. Father, a bus driver, mother a waitress. Several charges of petty theft and shoplifting during that period, but he was never convicted. He had dropped out of high school and left town right after his fourteenth birthday. A few years later he had joined the Army and was sent overseas. He was honorably discharged eight years later and returned to Chicago. His mother and father died in an automobile accident shortly after he returned home. He sold the home that he’d inherited from them and began drifting around the country, taking minimum-wage jobs whenever he got low on funds.

  Caleb was sitting waiting for her to finish when she looked up a few minutes later. “There’s not much here.” She frowned. “Nothing to tell me why he did this.”

  “And no significant criminal record. Just a few petty crimes when he was a boy. Then, apparently, he straightened himself out and joined the Army. No trouble while he was in the service. He made sergeant.” He looked down at the file on his phone. “Evidently, even after he left the service, he didn’t get into trouble. A few speeding tickets, one for drunken driving, a barroom fight that was pretty violent but not fatal.”

  “Then did he suddenly go crazy? He poisoned Toby. He tried to kill me.”

  He shook his head. “I’m leaning toward Quinn’s theory and betting that we don’t have the full story on Blick. I think that there would be an entirely different picture if we could read between the lines. I’d be interested to see what else Quinn comes up with.” He grimaced. “But I don’t think that I’ll get a chance to do that unless you intercede with him. He considers me paid off and out of his way.”

  “I’ll find out.” She looked down at the file. “It takes a certain vileness to kill a helpless dog. Yet none of that shows here. He’s either very clever or been very lucky.”

  “Or there’s something in his past we’re not seeing.” He suddenly chuckled. “And only you would comment on the vileness of hurting an animal when you’re lying there with a bullet wound.”

  She made a face. “Margaret would understand. She feels the same way about attacking those who can’t protect themselves. I’m not helpless.”

  “And I’m very glad,” he said softly as he rose to his feet. “It makes the game so much more interesting.”

  He was standing there, legs slightly parted, looking at her with that slight smile that was part sardonic, part wickedly sensual.

  She felt the blood tingle through her, making her heart pound. She knew that he was capable of that kind of physical manipulation. Was he doing it?

  He slowly shook his head. Dammit, he knew what she was thinking. He had always been able to read her.

  No, it was just her basic physical response to him. Even her breasts felt tauter, and her breathing was shallow.

  She would much have preferred it the other way.

  It was just another sign of how Caleb could stir her even now, when she was so distraught and worried. The responses seemed to exist apart and on different planes from each other.

  She looked away from him. “I’ll let you know if I hear anything more from Joe. I’d appreciate if you’d keep an eye on Margaret.”

  “I told you I would.” His tone was rough. “I take it I’m dismissed?” He was moving toward the door. “Okay, I’m going. I’m not going to let you close me out forever, Jane. You might remember that I didn’t do anything to make you push me away. For God’s sake, you’d think Margaret was right when she said that you’re afraid of me.”

  “I’m not afraid—” She broke off as he strode out of the room.

  Margaret had told Caleb that she was afraid of him?

  Well, maybe she was right. She had always been uneasy and wary when she was with him. But it hadn’t stopped her from being drawn to him. No, what she felt for Caleb was so complicated that it was safer to keep the walls high.

  Yet Joe and Eve had never clung to safety in their relationship. They had walked the edge and thought every step worth it.

  But she wasn’t Eve. She didn’t have her trust.

  Eve.

  The tension washed over Jane again.

  Call, Joe. Tell me you know where she is. Tell me you at least have a place to start.

  Lake Cottage

  “YOU SHOULD GET SOME SLEEP, Quinn,” Venable said quietly as he came up the porch steps. “You’re looking pretty ragged. I’ll call you if I hear anything about Eve or that kid.”

  “I’m not sure you would,” Joe said coldly as he put away his phone. “That would require a certain amount of trust. I’m not willing to give you that trust at the moment. I think you know more than you’re telling me.” He looked him in the eye. “Do you?”

  Venable hesitated, then nodded. “Yes.”

  “At last,” Joe said sarcastically. “It’s about time you admitted it. Are you going to let me know how you involved Eve in this?”

  “I didn’t involve her. It wasn’t my fault.”

  “And that report on Terence Blick was completely undoctored?”

  He grimaced. “For the most part. Perhaps a few things were left out.”

  “You son of a bitch.”

  “Nothing that would keep you from finding Blick. Forget him, he’s not important.”

  “I gathered that. Two-prong attack. Blick couldn’t have been in two places. He was on the island shooting Jane. Who was here, Venable? Who took Eve?”

  Venable didn’t answer.

  “You’d better tell me.” Joe’s voice was casual, almost conversational. “You do know I’ll kill you if anything happens to her?”

  Venable nodded. “There are things I can’t tell you. I made a promise, and I’ll keep it. I’m in the dark, too. Nothing I can tell you is going to get you any closer to finding her. It’s not as if I haven’t got men looking for Eve, Quinn. I’m doing everything I can to find her.”

  “Except give me a better chance to do it myself.” His voice harshened. “I ca
n find her, Venable. No one can keep her from me. Just give me a name and a direction.”

  Venable shook his head.

  Joe drew a deep breath and unclenched his hands. “I’ll give you a little more time, Venable. I’m only doing that because of past history, and I’m hoping that you wouldn’t let Eve be in danger. After that, you will tell me. I don’t care how you have to hurt before you give me every single detail.”

  “I might point out that the present administration doesn’t approve of torture of prisoners,” Venable said sourly.

  “No, they’d rather kill them. I’m not against that either. Screw the present administration. You talk to me, or you’re going down.” He picked up his phone. “And I’ve just sent that report on Blick to a friend at FBI headquarters and told him to give me anything else he has on Terence Blick. If I find out anything that will lead me to another name, your time will run out. I’m also calling the police in Chicago and asking them to trace—”

  Venable’s phone rang, and he picked up. “Venable.” His hand tightened on the phone. “No, keep him there. We’re on our way.” He hung up and turned to Joe. “They’ve found Ben Hudson.”

  “Alive?”

  He nodded. “He’s at an urgent-care facility in Floyd County. The staff found him behind some bushes on the grounds this afternoon. By his condition, they think he may have been there for hours. He’s been in and out of consciousness since they brought him into the clinic. They’re getting him ready to transport to the local hospital.”

  “But he’s alive.” Joe was halfway down the porch steps. “That’s more than I hoped. We’ll take my car.”

  “You mean I’m going to be permitted in the same vehicle?” Venable murmured. “I thought you’d have me trailing behind.”

  “It’s not because I want your company. You can be a very slippery customer,” Joe said curtly. “I don’t want you more than an arm’s length away from me until I get the info I want from you.”

  * * *

  THEY’D ALREADY TRANSFERRED Ben to the hospital in Rome by the time they were on the road thirty minutes, and they drove directly there.

  Ben was just going in for X-rays when Joe got permission to see him.