Eve nodded. “Not crazy, just strange. You put together a story with those dreams that had a lot of factual content. I can see why MacDuff might think you’ll find a way to provide a very satisfying ending.”
She shook her head. “I stopped having dreams about Cira years ago. If there was a purpose, it must have been fulfilled. My chances of helping to find that treasure aren’t any greater than yours or Cara’s.”
“And, if you don’t find it, then you’ll know you tried. I hate might-have-beens, don’t you?”
“Yes.” Jane’s lips were suddenly tight. “I do. There’s nothing worse.”
She was thinking of Trevor, Eve realized. She quickly changed the subject. “Who owns this Hazlet Castle?”
“It’s one of MacDuff’s properties. More of a glorified hunting lodge than a castle, I hear. We won’t be staying there long. I think he said we’d be leaving on the search tomorrow.”
“That’s good.” She added slyly, “Off into the wilds of the Highlands. I wouldn’t want to trade one cave for another, even one that looks like a glorified hunting lodge. Someone told me that’s not a smart thing to do.”
“Ouch,” Jane grinned. “But that someone was right, as proved by current events.”
“Perhaps. Joe certainly thought so.” She pulled out her phone. “And I promised to call him when we arrived in Scotland. I’d better do it now.”
Joe picked up the phone at two rings. “You’re there?”
“Safe and sound. We’re on our way to Hazlet Castle to meet with MacDuff. I’ll text you when we reach there. Are you still at the lake?”
“Yes, I’m doing more research on Castino and Salazar and buying time for you.” He paused. “How was the trip? How do you feel?”
“Fine. For heaven’s sake, how else should I feel, Joe? It’s not as if—” She broke off as she glanced at Jane, who was looking at her with raised brows. The last thing she wanted to do was to start worrying Jane unnecessarily. “No problem. What kind of research?”
“A fishing expedition. I’m trying to find a hook to spear Castino or Salazar or both. I turned Manez loose on going in-depth about everything connected with either one … and the kidnapping of the girls.”
“We know about the kidnapping. Salazar wanted to cause Castino as much agony as possible without endangering himself or his status in the cartel coalition.”
“And that may be the sole reason. When Manez finishes his investigation, we’ll be sure.”
“No sign of Franco?”
“Not yet.” He added, “But I’m sure I’m being watched to see if I’m writhing in pain. I’ll go out on the porch occasionally and let him see what he wants to see while I’m waiting on the release of the forensic reports. He’s probably got a bribe in place and will find out there was no one in that car about the same time as I do.”
“Then what?”
“He’ll come after me and try to force me to tell him where you and Cara are.”
“And you’re looking forward to it.”
“It will signal the opening of the game. And give me a chance to pay him back for trying to kill you. Then I move on to the next piece on the table.”
Salazar. Eve’s hand tightened on the phone. “You’re so damn casual. Franco is dangerous. You said so yourself.”
“I’m not casual. I’ll be very careful. You do the same.” He said, “Call me when you’re on the trail. I’ll keep in touch.” He hung up.
“Not wonderfully reassuring?” Jane asked Eve.
“As good as can be expected when it’s Joe.” She slipped her phone back in her pocket. “He’s being very patient, but I can never tell when he’ll take off like a rocket.”
“He won’t do it if he believes it will hurt you or Cara.”
“Unless he gets an idea he thinks will move the play along.” She shrugged. “But maybe that won’t happen. We may have at least until Franco finds out that Cara and I aren’t dead.” She looked in the backseat. “How are you doing?”
Cara nodded. “I’m okay. Sorry you’re so worried about Joe.”
“Hey, it’s not your fault. Joe’s certainly not worried.” She smiled back at her. “I’ll make a deal with you. You concentrate on having a good time chasing after Cira’s gold and doing kid-type things, and I’ll try to do the same thing.”
Cara studied her, then she slowly smiled. “I think that would be fun. I’ve never searched for treasure or anything like that before. Elena didn’t like me to play with other kids.”
“Well, this time you’ll be playing with the big boys,” Jane said dryly. “MacDuff and Jock will be quite an experience for you.”
It sounded to Eve as if any play or association of any sort would have been an experience for Cara. Always in danger, always having to be careful, always having to accept adult responsibilities while she was still a child. She smiled gently but her voice was determined. “And we’ll make it a good experience.”
* * *
He was out there somewhere.
Joe could feel it.
He moved across the porch to stare out at the lake. It wasn’t like that first night when he’d been uncertain that Franco was in the vicinity. Franco was not only out there, he was probably getting ready for a move. It was logical that Joe be eliminated to make the cleanup complete.
But that move wouldn’t come until Franco was sure that his initial kill was a success. Joe wasn’t sure that Franco would make that decision, but Salazar was seasoned and wouldn’t be hasty.
But this waiting was making Joe edgy. He almost wished Franco would get overeager and make his try.
No, give Eve her chance to become lost in those barren Highlands. He could wait. As long as he knew he was accomplishing—
His phone rang. Manez.
“That was fairly quick,” he said when he picked up. “You’ve got something for me?”
“You could say that. I don’t have details, but I heard a rumor from a prisoner, one of Salazar’s men we picked up on a murder charge. It was secondhand from another prisoner in the same cellblock. He’s trying to make a deal.”
“Rumor? What the hell good will a rumor do us?”
“I’ll leave that up to you to decide,” Manez said. “Do you want to hear it or not?”
“I want to hear it. Spit it out.”
Manez did just that, in one single sentence.
Joe inhaled sharply. “Holy shit!”
HAZLET CASTLE
Hazlet Castle was a small, two-story, stone structure built around a courtyard and set in rolling hills and surrounded by deep forests.
“It’s pretty,” Cara said as she got out of the car in the stone courtyard. “But not what I’d expect of a castle. Not like the history books, or fairy tales, or Disneyland.”
“As I said, there are castles, and then there are castles,” Jane said. “MacDuff’s primary residence, MacDuff’s Run, on the coast, is more what you’d imagine.” She got out of the car. “But you still might like to explore it. I don’t believe MacDuff would object.”
“Object to what?” A tall, muscular man in black trousers and a herringbone jacket was coming toward them across the courtyard. He looked to be in his late thirties, with dark hair pulled back from his face, olive skin, a lean, interesting face, and eyes that sparkled with intelligence and vitality. He moved with swift, springy strength and he was smiling as he took Jane’s hand. “A favor, is it?” The words were spoken with a definite Scottish accent. “I always like the idea of your owing me, Jane.”
“I think it’s a question of your owing me, MacDuff.” She smiled back at him. “Why else am I here?”
“According to Joe Quinn, that’s questionable.” He turned to Eve. “Hello, Eve, I’m glad to see you. I understand you may make our project more interesting than I anticipated.”
“And you’re still glad to see me?”
“Quinn was very persuasive. He appealed to my sense of noble purpose.” His face creased in a smile. “However, as Jane will tell you, my fa
mily earned our title as bands of renegades and cutthroats. But that’s not a bad thing as far as you’re concerned. I’m much more likely to find your situation interesting.” He turned to Cara. “And you’re Cara? I’m delighted to meet you.”
Jane stepped forward. “Cara, this is the Earl of Cannaught, Lord of MacDuff’s Run and sundry other properties here in Scotland and Wales. Known by all his subjects as the Laird.” She smiled. “He’s John Angus Brodie Niall Colin—”
“Stop.” MacDuff held up his hand. “I’m sure that you don’t intend this girl to remember any of that so you must be doing it to annoy me.”
“Just giving you your due measure of respect, MacDuff.”
“It’s about time.” He turned back to Cara. “Are you going to follow her example?”
“How do you do, sir,” she said gravely. “You have a very pretty place here.”
“But you find it small and unlike a Disney castle.”
“I didn’t know you heard me. Was I rude?”
“Honest. But I don’t take offense. I completely agree with you. It’s small and gradually crumbling into the earth. That’s one of the reasons we’re going to find Cira’s gold and invest in a multitude of renovations on this and my other properties.”
“You’re certain you can find it?”
“Life is never certain, but I believe with Jane I have an excellent chance.” He glanced at Jane. “Now all I have to do is convince her.” He turned and gestured to the huge oak door. “Please, come in, and I’ll ask Jock to show you your rooms while I finish making the soup I put on when we arrived a few hours ago. Nothing fancy. There aren’t any servants here, a circumstance of which I’m sure that Quinn would approve. So you’ll have to tolerate dust and the most basic of food.”
He threw open the door. “Jock,” he called. “Come and see Jane and Eve and meet our young guest.”
A fair-haired young man with light eyes and a brilliant smile came across the paneled foyer toward them. “At last. Saved from boredom and kitchen duties.”
Cara stopped, gazing at him, dazzled. She had never seen a more beautiful person or a warmer smile. Beautiful, yes that was the word. She would no more call him handsome than she would call a concerto handsome. His shock of blond hair framed a face with perfect features and gray eyes that seemed to glow against the tan of his skin. And that smile seemed to hold all the warmth and understanding in the world. He was now embracing Jane, and Cara couldn’t stop looking at him.
“Hello, Jane. It’s been a long time. I heard about Trevor.” His voice was gentle. “Is there anything I can do…”
“No.” She hugged him, then turned away. “Nothing. Thank you.”
“You’re staring, Cara,” Eve whispered with amusement.
Cara couldn’t take her eyes from Jock’s face. “He’s wonderful,” she whispered back. “It’s not only that he’s so—there’s something else … inside.”
Eve nodded. “You’re right. I’ll tell you about him later.”
MacDuff suddenly chuckled, his gaze on Cara’s face. “Jock, I believe that you’ve managed to redeem my humble estate in her eyes. This is Cara Delaney. Jock Gavin. Tell me, Cara, is he Disneyland enough for you?”
“MacDuff,” Jane said with a frown.
Jock’s gaze swung to Cara. With one swift look he saw, analyzed, and stepped in to heal any hurt. “Don’t pay any attention to him.” His tone was light, teasing. “MacDuff is just jealous that I fill his shoes better than he does. You’re perfectly right, I should have been the earl and he the housekeeper’s son. Now tell the lass you’re sorry, MacDuff.”
“He doesn’t have to do that.” Cara looked MacDuff in the eye. “Yes, I do think he’s like a prince from a Disney fairy tale. But life isn’t a fairy tale, and people aren’t always what they seem. I’m sure you do have some qualities that people admire.”
“Ah, no backing down yet no overt rudeness that might be detrimental to Eve or Jane. Extraordinary.” MacDuff tilted his head. “And I appreciate your trying to spare my feelings when I was so impolite as to poke fun at you.” He bowed. “Shall we start again, Cara?”
She smiled. “You do seem more like an earl now. Though I’ve never met one.”
“And you’ll never meet another one like him.” Jock laughed. “He passes muster every so often.” He turned and headed for the staircase. “I’ve been ordered by MacDuff to find you rooms. Would you like to come with me?”
“By all means.” MacDuff turned and went down the hall. “I’ll be in the kitchen. We’ll have a bite to eat in an hour or so. Then we’ll go over the maps I have of Cira’s castle, Gaelkar. I believe that’s the place we have to start…”
* * *
There were several bedrooms on the second floor, and the three that Jock showed them were furnished comfortably. But all the rooms were dusty, and Jane gazed ruefully around the last bedroom. “I feel like getting a broom and starting in to work.” She turned to Jock. “But it would take too long. I’ll just open the windows and freshen it up. I hope there’s decent plumbing?”
“Sufficient.” He shrugged. “And MacDuff did the best he could when he realized that it might be up to us to offer protection to Eve and Cara. He decided it would be best to disappear and not leave any trace, so he whisked everyone out here.”
“And I appreciate it,” Eve said quietly as she crossed to the window and gazed out at the hills. “Though I hope we won’t need that protection.”
“It will be what it is.” He turned to Cara. “You couldn’t ask for a finer man or a better defender than MacDuff. He can be impatient, and he’s not always gentle, but he’s been my friend since I was a boy, and I could not ask for anyone more loyal.”
“Were you really the son of his housekeeper?” she asked curiously.
“Aye. From the time I was a toddler, I was in and out of his castle, MacDuff’s Run.”
“You were his friend?”
“As much as a wild lad could be a friend to anyone. He was the Laird, and sometimes I fought it. He was a better friend to me than I was to him. I tried to make that up to him later.” He changed the subject. “Do you have many friends?”
She shook her head. “I had a friend, Heather, but she wasn’t…” She stopped. “I couldn’t spend much time with her. So I don’t really know if she was my friend at all. I guess my only real friend was Elena.” She moistened her lips. “But she was enough. I didn’t need anyone else.”
Time to step in, Eve thought. She could see Cara was on the edge, and she didn’t need the trauma of explaining the loss of the woman who had cared for her all these years. Cara was in a strange new world and surrounded by people who meant her well but were also alien to everything she knew. “I think it’s time to wash up and go down to have supper with MacDuff, Cara.” She made a shooing motion with her hands. “Use that first bathroom down the hall. It looked fairly clean. Jane and I will try to freshen up these bedrooms.”
“I can do it,” Cara said.
“Yes, you can, but I prefer to do it myself. We’ll take turns in the bathroom.” She was opening the windows. “Jock, is it safe in the courtyard?”
His brows rose. “Yes, I went over the entire castle and made sure it was all safe when we first got here. I didn’t expect anything else. MacDuff alerted the guards that watch over this property to go through it when he knew we were coming. They’re some of his old Marine buddies and very sharp. And there was no way anyone not authorized could get close to it after that without our knowing it. They’d report everything to MacDuff. Why?”
“There’s no use making Cara stay around when we’re going over MacDuff’s plans. It will only bore her. After supper, we’ll let her go outside in the courtyard and amuse herself.” She turned back to Cara. “Be sure to take your violin when we go down to supper.”
“My violin?” Her face suddenly lit. “I won’t bother anyone? Is it okay?”
“More than okay. I doubt if anyone will even hear you through these thick walls. If they
do, they’ll receive a gift. Now get going.”
Cara whirled toward the door. “I’ll hurry, then I’ll come back and help you.” She suddenly looked back at Jock. “I do have another friend. I have Eve.” Then she was gone.
Jane gave a low whistle. “Now that’s a responsibility. She reminds me a little of myself at that age.”
Eve shook her head. “No, you were much tougher. She had her Elena to remind her that the entire world wasn’t garbage.”
“She seems pretty tough to me,” Jane said. “Most kids would have fallen apart after what she’s gone through.”
“You’re probably right. It’s just that she seems to quietly endure while you were such a fighter. Though I believe that leaf may be turning. I’m seeing signs that there’s a change in the offing.”
Jane was smiling. “And, however like or unlike we are, we have one thing in common. We managed to seek out one Eve Duncan and chose her as our friend.” She came across the room to where Eve was standing. “And we thank God that she took us into her life.”
“This may be only temporary as far as Cara is concerned. We may not be able to give her the life she needs.”
Jane leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Let’s take one day at a time. I have a hunch that new things are going to happen in your world.”
“Do you?” Eve smiled curiously. “You may be right. We’ll have to see.” She turned to Jock, who was staring at them with a quizzical expression. “What do you think, Jock? Are there new things on the horizon for all of us?”
“That would be interesting.” He turned toward the door. “And now I’d better go down and help MacDuff prepare us supper. He’s fairly competent, but you can’t trust these upper-crust types with the basics.” He glanced back and smiled. “I’m glad to see you both again. It’s been too long.” He had a sudden thought. “And, Jane, Seth Caleb phoned and asked me to tell you that he’d see you tonight.”
“I can hardly wait,” she said without expression.
“Did I detect a hint of sarcasm?” He paused. “Do you wish me to get rid of Caleb for you? MacDuff thought he might prove helpful in an emergency, but if you want him gone, just say the word.”
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