Текст книги "Bonnie"

Автор книги: Iris Johansen

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And that seductive wild card that was John Gallo. Eve knew what confusion he could bring to any woman.

“Eve?” Catherine turned away from Venable as Eve strode past them.

“I needed some air.” She nodded at Venable but didn’t stop. A moment later, she entered the trees that bordered the bayou.

That was better. She drew a deep breath. Silence, except for the sounds of the bayou. The fog was a mere wisp drifting over the waters. Peace. No pushing and prodding for action from Catherine. She could relax and try to get her thoughts together.

*   *   *

“SHE ONLY WANTS WHAT’S best. Catherine doesn’t know any other way.”

Bonnie.

Eve stiffened, gazing out at the bayou, remembering the wisp of a spirit that she’d seen on the waters as she’d approached the house. Sad. Bonnie had been so sad, and it had frightened Eve.

“No, I’m over here.” Bonnie was leaning against a tree, dressed in her jeans and Bugs Bunny T-shirt, her curly red hair blazing against the gray bark. “I’m sorry I scared you, Mama. I was scared, too. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want it to happen.”

“Jacobs? Then why did you let it happen? Don’t you have any influence?”

Bonnie shook her head. “What do you expect? I’m kind of new here.” She smiled. “I know it seems a long time since I left you, but it was really only the blink of an eye.”

Bonnie always sounded so adult when she came to Eve. It was one of the reasons why Eve had had problems for years believing that she was anything but a dream. In spite of the fact that Bonnie had scoffed at her and told her that she shouldn’t expect her to be the same seven-year-old child when she had crossed over. “Blink of an eye. Don’t tell me that. It’s been an eternity,” she said unsteadily. “And I want it over. Catherine almost died. She shouldn’t have been caught up in this nightmare. It’s not fair. If someone has to die, it should be me.”

“Not you, Mama. We can’t be together yet.” She sighed. “How many times have I told you that everything has its time?”

“I don’t care what you told me.” She paused. “And you’ve been saying that we’re reaching the end, that’s what you told Joe when he was in that coma. He didn’t imagine that, did he?”

“No, it’s the truth.” Her luminous smile lit her face. “And I had to give him some reason to come back. It’s very difficult turning anyone around when they’ve gone that far. But I was betting that if he knew that you’d soon need him, I could do it.”

“I thought you meant that you were talking about … I was wondering if the end you were talking about was—”

“Dying?” Her smiled faded. “It could be, but I don’t know if that’s coming. I only know that the path is leading somewhere now, and we all have to walk it.”

“And it’s making you sad. You scared me when I saw you before.”

“I was scared, too. I didn’t want it to happen, but I couldn’t stop it.”

“Jacobs’s killing?”

She didn’t answer. “I have to leave you now, Mama. I only came because I knew that you were worried about me.”

“Don’t you dare go away.” Her voice was unsteady. “You’ve told me before that you can’t tell me about the person who killed you, that it’s lost in darkness. But I think that’s changing, isn’t it? Tell me who did it.”

“It is changing. I don’t believe I was meant to know everything before. It’s as if I’ve been moving back and forth on two levels, and neither of them is clear. One has to be with you here and the other one is somewhere else with…” She shook her head. “It’s gone. Once I leave one level, it’s forgotten, yet something lingers, and I know I’ll be going back. I’ve been wondering if the reason there’s no recollection is that it’s a kind of trade-off for letting me come to you. That I’m not allowed to have everything. But lately I’ve been getting glimpses, memories, and I think maybe the two levels are coming together.”

“That’s confusing as hell.”

Bonnie smiled. “I’m sorry, Mama. It’s confusing for me, too. I just have to trust that it’s how it should be. Everything else seems to have a wonderful order.”

“Well, it doesn’t seem very orderly to me. All I want to know is one thing. Ted Danner. Was it Ted Danner?”

Bonnie didn’t speak for a moment. “I don’t … I’ve been getting glimpses of him. He has something to do with…” She shook her head. “I get a little wisp, but then it goes away.” Her face was grave. “But there’s so much anger and darkness in him. I think that’s part of the reason that he won’t come clear. But he’s part of that other level, and he’s coming closer and closer to you. You have to be careful with him. Watch him.”

“Closer and closer. Oh, yes, he was pretty close to Catherine today. He almost killed her.”

“Watch him,” Bonnie repeated. “The levels are coming together. There’s some reason why I have to know now. Some reason why you and my father have to know.”

“Gallo?”

“He’s my father, Mama. Of course he has to know. And he’s not like Joe. I’m having trouble leading him. He’s too alone. He’s hurting too much. You may have to help me.”

“Me? You have more influence on him than I do, Bonnie. You have more influence on all of us. All we want to know is how to find the man who killed you.”

“I’ll do what I can.” She gazed out over the bayou. “The darkness is getting lighter, and soon I’ll be able to see everything. Maybe I should have seen it already, maybe I’ve been hiding away.”

“Then don’t look,” Eve said quickly. “Not if it’s going to hurt you, baby. Let it go.”

“You never wanted me to hurt. When I scraped my knees or I got a cold, I think you felt it more than I did,” she said gently. “And you blame yourself that you weren’t able to keep me safe. No matter how many times I tell you that you did everything you could to make my life everything that it should be.” Her glance shifted back to Eve. “You gave me such love, Mama. Love doesn’t die. It can change, strengthen, become something more than it was in the beginning, but it can’t die.”

“No, it can’t die.” Eve’s eyes were stinging. “I love you, Bonnie. I’ll always love you.” She swallowed and tried to smile. “But I think someone made a major mistake in taking you away from me before I could spend a lot more years showing you.”

“And I can’t stop you from being bitter, no matter how hard I try. I don’t know why it happened,” Bonnie said soberly. “Maybe we’ll find out soon. I think I know when I’m on that other level. I’m going now, Mama. Look out at the bayou. You don’t want to see me leave.”

“Because it would make me remember those years when I thought I was dreaming or hallucinating when you came to me? I’ve accepted you for what you are now, Bonnie.” She made a face as she looked out at the bayou. “Though Catherine is going through a major case of skepticism where you’re concerned.”

“I know. But you’re handling it well. Maybe someday…”

*   *   *

BONNIE WAS GONE.

Eve didn’t have to look back at the tree where Bonnie had stood to know that her daughter had left her. She could tell by the emptiness, the loneliness, that always came when that small figure disappeared.

She drew a deep breath and turned away. This visit from Bonnie had not been like any other she could remember. Yes, in one way it had been the same. Bonnie had come to her because she had sensed that Eve was disturbed and unhappy and had wanted to comfort her. That was how the first visits had started about a year after she had lost Bonnie. She had been spiraling downward and would probably have died before she had begun to dream of Bonnie. At least, she had told herself they were dreams. She had not been able to accept that Bonnie was a spirit at that time. Eve was a realist, and ghosts were not acceptable in her life.

But Bonnie kept visiting her, healing her, and gradually Eve began to believe. Through all the searching that had taken place in the years that had followed Bonnie’s kidnapping, Eve had been able to cling to those visits. Because every visit had been filled with love, and there had been nothing frightening or strange about them.

Until Bonnie’s appearance when Eve and Joe had been driving up here. It had just been an eerie glimpse, shimmering in the bayou. That had been strange because of the sadness and frightening because in that moment Bonnie had not been the daughter Eve had known.

But surely it was going to be all right. Bonnie had come back to her and been as loving as always. She had known of Eve’s disturbance and wanted to soothe her and give her peace.

Soothe her? Not likely. Not when Bonnie’s murderer was out there. Not when Bonnie herself had said that the years of searching were coming to an end.

Bonnie’s murderer. Bonnie had not really answered her about the possibility of Ted Danner’s being that killer. For a moment, Bonnie had seemed to be on the verge of being able to tell Eve something about Danner. But as usual, Eve had backed away from talking about the details of Bonnie’s actual killing as she had done in the past. She couldn’t bear to bring that terror back to Bonnie. Her daughter had spoken of the darkness surrounding her death more than once and how could Eve ask her to try to pierce that darkness and remember?

But that darkness was coming closer. Bonnie had said that those two levels, two paths, where she existed were coming together. Eve could feel it and so could Bonnie or she would never have said that she might need Eve’s help.

That was strange in itself. Bonnie had never asked Eve for help before. She had been the healer, the one who came and gave and drifted away.

Perhaps to that other level where she could not take Eve?

You may have to help me.

Could that request for help be the real reason why Bonnie had come to her?

“Eve!” It was Catherine, waving at Eve to come to where she was still standing and talking to Venable.

Eve shook her head to clear it. The darkness might be coming, but this was the real world intruding and she had to deal with it. She’d talk to Venable, then get Catherine to go with her to New Orleans and take the first step toward finding Ted Danner.

If he was alive. If he was truly the man who had tried to kill Catherine and murdered Thomas Jacobs. That was still not a certainty.

Is he alive, Bonnie? Is he the one?

But there were no answers from the darkness.

*   *   *

“YOU WERE TALKING TO VENABLE for a long time.” Eve turned to Catherine, who had just started the car and was driving away from the house. “Were you right? Did he want something from you?”

Catherine nodded. “A job in South America. The director is pressuring him. Venable doesn’t take pressure well. He tends to explode like that BP well that caused all the havoc down here. It surprised me that he even bothered to come. He knows I won’t go back there now that I have Luke home. He was just feeling me out to see if there was any way he could manipulate me.”

“You don’t resent that?”

“Why should I? It’s what he does. It’s what makes him valuable to the Company. You just have to learn how to ignore it and do your own thing.” She shot Eve a glance. “But we may be able to use him. He knows he doesn’t have a chance with me until I find Bonnie’s killer. He’s willing to put manpower on it just to clear my decks.”

“I don’t know if manpower will do it,” Eve said. “We need information first.”

“I’ve already told him I need to know when, where, and if Ted Danner died. That’s a start.”

She should have known that Catherine would already have been on top of things. “Yes, that’s a start.”

Catherine’s gaze narrowed on Eve’s face. “You’ve been very quiet. Are you okay?”

Eve nodded. “I’m having a few problems with the idea of its being Ted Danner out there this morning.” She grimaced. “It doesn’t compute. Not with the Danner I met when I was a teenager.”

“I don’t have that disadvantage,” Catherine said. “I only know the bastard who wanted to cut my throat. You say he looked like him, and he had Ranger training. Gallo had trouble putting him down, and there has to be a reason for that. That’s enough for me to go on.”

It should be enough for Eve, too. Why wasn’t it?

Because there was something else bothering her, nagging at her.

The darkness, looming, impenetrable.

I may need your help.

Help with Gallo. It was Gallo whom Bonnie wanted Eve to help.

Why?

He’s hurting too much.

What could she do? She thought in frustration. For some reason Bonnie wanted both her and Gallo to be together in this. It wasn’t enough that Eve had her own problems with Gallo.

What the hell do you want from me, Bonnie?

“You’re scowling,” Catherine said. “I’m sorry, I can’t feel the same way you do, Eve. I have to go with reason, and Danner is the logical suspect.”

Catherine thought Eve was still brooding about Ted Danner, she thought. It was just as well that Eve didn’t set her straight. It would only disturb her if she began talking about Bonnie and this frustrating realization that she wanted Eve to help Gallo. Catherine wasn’t ready to embrace concepts like that one. Hell, she’d start to close up and edge away from Eve if Eve even gave her a hint. No, she’d keep her own confidence. She didn’t need to cope with anything else right now.

Not with the darkness closing in around her.

And the beginning of the realization of the steps she would have to take to find her way through it.…

CHAPTER

6

New Orleans

“PULL OVER HERE,” EVE SAID suddenly. “Now, Catherine.”

Catherine looked at her in bewilderment, but she slowed the car. “Why? This is only Canal Street. We’re in the French Quarter. I thought you wanted to go downtown to the police department to meet Joe.”

“Pull over.” Eve put her hand on the knob. “I have to get out. Now.”

Catherine muttered a curse as she pulled to the curb, ignoring the blaring of horns of the cars behind her. “Dammit, what’s happening?”

Eve grabbed her suitcase and jumped out of the car. “I have to go after Gallo. You try to work through Venable, but I think Gallo is the key.”

“Then we’ll both go after him. Don’t you leave Joe and me out of this, Eve.”

“I won’t. I’ll be in touch.” She moved toward the alley beside a souvenir shop, ducking past a mime who was performing on the street. “But I have to contact Gallo on my own. He’s on the run, and Joe and you aren’t going to be able to make him stop and listen. He’s on guard. If he knows that you’re with me, he may not listen to me either.”

“And you’re sure he’ll stop and listen to you?”

“No, I’m not sure.” She looked over her shoulder. “But he may decide to listen to me. I have a weapon that you don’t have, a card that I can play. I’ll call you.” She vanished into the alley and headed for the door of a restaurant with a wrought-iron balcony on the far end of the street.

Would Catherine follow her? She wouldn’t have been surprised if Catherine abandoned the car and ran after her. But Catherine was smart and would know that if she did try to intercept Eve, she’d just find another way to handle this on her own.

Eve ducked into the restaurant and moved past a jazz quartet on the small stage to the left of the door. Move fast. Weave in and out of the stores of the Quarter until she was sure Catherine had decided not to search for her. Then stop and make the call.

Fifteen minutes later, she had left the Quarter and was in the coffee shop of the Marriott Hotel. She dropped down in a booth and took out her phone.

Would Gallo answer her? He would know from the ID that it was her, and he might choose to ignore it. And, for all she knew, he might be on an airplane. He had driven away from the house hours before she and Catherine left.

Stop wondering and make the call.

She quickly dialed the number.

It rang three times before he picked up.

“I don’t want to talk to you, Eve.”

“Yes you do, or you wouldn’t have picked up the call. You might not want to make explanations or answer accusations, but you do want to talk to me. Even if you don’t, you’ll do it anyway. I’ve gone to a lot of trouble to lose Catherine and Joe so that you’ll feel comfortable about this. I’m not going to let you turn away from me.”

“I’ve already done that. I turned away from you a long time ago, when you were only sixteen.”

“But before you did that, I conceived Bonnie. That changed everything between us. You told me once that no matter what happened, there would always be a bond we couldn’t break. Bonnie. Neither of us can get away from that, John.” She paused. “You ran away, and whatever you’re going to do now you want to do it alone. I can’t let you do that.”

“The hell you can’t. You don’t have a choice,” he said roughly. “Everything has changed. Look, there’s been nothing but trouble for you since I came back into your life. I never meant that to happen. I did enough damage to you when I was a nineteen-year-old kid who didn’t care about anything but getting you into bed.”

“You tried to protect me then.”

“Not hard enough.”

“I’m not going to argue with you about the past.” She added, “But you’re wrong: I do have a choice. Because I won’t accept it any other way. It has to be you and me, John. Joe and Catherine will try to help, they’ll support and do everything they can. But in the end, it goes back to what we did together when we were those kids back in Atlanta. Everything else that happened had to have rippled out from that time like a rock thrown into a lake.” She hesitated, then said quietly, “And one of those ripples was Ted Danner.”

Silence. “You finished that damn sketch. I thought it would take you longer.”

“Or hoped I’d do a lousy job.”

“No, that wasn’t a possibility. Not you.”

“You told me he was dead.”

“I thought I was telling you the truth. That’s what I was told when I got out of the hospital in Tokyo. I even saw the death certificate signed by the doctor at the VA hospital.”

“He looked pretty healthy to me when he was running to jump into that bayou. He’s not a young man, and I remembered him to be almost crippled.”

“He had a bad back injury that he got in Syria.” He added impatiently, “Look, it might not have been him. I have to find out.”

“So do I.”

“No,” he said sharply. “My uncle is my business. I’ll take care of it.”

“It stopped being your business when he killed Jacobs because he didn’t want Jacobs to talk to us. If what he was trying to hide had to do with Bonnie’s death, then it’s my business.” Her voice was steely. “And that means I’ll take care of it. Did he, John?”

Silence. “Oh, God, I don’t know, Eve.”

The agony in his voice hurt her, but she had to push it away. “Then we have to find out. Where do we start?”

He was silent, then finally said, “The death certificate. I’m going to Atlanta to see the doctor who signed it.”

“Then I’m going with you. Where are you now?”

“New Orleans airport.”

“If I join you there, I run the chance of Catherine or Joe being there to intercept us. Get a car and pick me up. I’m at the Marriott in the French Quarter. We’ll leave from Mobile.”

“You’re avoiding Catherine and Joe?”

“Only for the time being. I don’t know what’s coming down with all this business, and I don’t want to deal with conflict. How soon can you get here?”

“I didn’t say I’d take you with me.”

“No, you didn’t. But if you think about it, you’ll know I’m right. How soon?”

Silence. “Thirty minutes. Be outside the entrance on Canal Street.” He hung up.

It was done. She had isolated herself from everyone but Gallo, and she couldn’t be sure that his allegiance would ever be as strong toward her as it was to the uncle who had been his savior as a child. Eve slowly pressed the disconnect and leaned back in the seat.

Are you happy, Bonnie? This is going to cause me all kinds of turmoil with Joe and Catherine. Is this what you wanted?

No answer. No feeling either way that Eve had done the right or wrong thing. She would have to rely on herself … and John Gallo. But Gallo wasn’t Joe, who had never failed her. There had never been trust between her and Gallo. All they had shared was sex.

No, they had also shared Bonnie.

She would just have to trust in Bonnie.

But she would not run away and leave Joe without talking to him.

She braced herself and quickly dialed Joe’s number.

“I was waiting for your call,” Joe said when he picked up the phone. His voice was tight and she could sense the effort at control. “Catherine just phoned me and filled me in. What the hell are you doing, Eve?”

“Gallo has to be in this. Danner is his uncle, and I have to work with him. And he wouldn’t cooperate if you or Catherine were involved right now.”

“Then tell him to go screw himself.”

She was silent. “I can’t do that. It has to be this way.”

He didn’t speak for a moment. She could almost hear the mental wheels clicking. “Bonnie?”

“He’s her father. She wants him to stop hurting,” she said wearily. “Do you think I want it to be this way? I want you with me. I want to hold you. But I told Gallo that the two of us had started all of this, and we had to face the results together. That was the truth, Joe.”

“You’re shutting me out.”

“No, how could I do that? You’re always with me. I thought you’d realize that we’re way past that now. I’ll bring you into this as soon as I can. Help me, Joe.”

“I hate this.”

“I know you do. So do I.” She repeated, “Help me. From the moment you came to my house after Bonnie was taken, you’ve made my life worth living. There hasn’t been an hour that I haven’t felt that I could get through anything if you were there to help me.”

“But I won’t be there, dammit.” She could sense the struggle that he was going through. For an instant, she thought he was going to lose it. “Okay, I’ll give you a little time to work this out with him and try to find out about Danner. But that’s not going to stop me from going forward on my own. To hell with Gallo.”

She felt a rush of relief. She had not been sure that she could persuade Joe to agree to what she was doing. It was a testament to the way that their relationship had grown in the last weeks that he trusted her to such an extent. When Gallo had first come back into her life, there had been an element of jealousy in his resentment of Bonnie’s father. There might still be a little competitive emotion in the way he viewed Gallo. Hell, that was Joe and the way his character worked. If he cared about something or someone, he wanted to be first. But he now knew there was no question about that truth. “I’ll let you know where I am and what I’m doing.”

“You’d better. Or I’ll hunt you down.” He paused. “Be careful, Eve. I know that you think Gallo had reason to hesitate when he should have acted at that bayou.” His voice was sour. “Catherine says he was in shock. Screw that. Catherine almost died. If he cares so much about Danner, how the hell do you know he won’t act the same way if it’s your life in the balance?”

“I don’t. I won’t give you any arguments as Catherine did. I only know I have to do this.”

“Then do it, but don’t be surprised if I’m right behind you.” He hung up.

She wouldn’t be surprised, she’d be grateful to have Joe hovering over her. He’d probably be even more concerned if he knew the love that existed between Danner and Gallo. How could you fight an affection a victim had for his savior? It was a tie so strong that it was nearly unbreakable.

Stop sitting here and thinking about all the problems ahead. Be grateful that Joe understood even if he hadn’t approved. She wouldn’t dwell on it, taking one step at a time. She would just do what she had to do. She checked her watch. It was time to meet Gallo.

She got to her feet, grabbed her suitcase, and headed for the Canal Street entrance.

That was easier than I thought, Bonnie. I wonder … did you give me a little help?

*   *   *

“YOU HEARD FROM EVE,” Catherine said the moment she pulled up in front of the police station. Her gaze scanned the grimness of Joe’s face as he got into the passenger seat. “Where is she? Did you talk her into—”

“I didn’t talk her into anything.” Joe slammed the door shut. “She’d made up her mind, and there wasn’t anything I could have said that would have shifted her even an inch. She thinks that she has to work with Gallo and that we’ll cause him to shy away.”

“She may be right,” Catherine had to admit. “Though it surprised me that she managed to persuade him to let her go with him.” Yes, she’d been surprised, and there was a touch of some other emotion she refused to identify. “She said that she had a card he wouldn’t refuse. I guess it’s that they have a history.”

Joe shook his head. “Maybe, in a way.” He was looking out the window. “But that’s not what she meant.”

“Don’t tell me.” Catherine pulled away from the curb. “Bonnie, again.”

“Okay, I won’t tell you. But that’s what this is all about.”

“I know what this is all about. Bonnie’s murder, Bonnie’s killer. I can accept both of those things as the prime motivators. It’s the rest of the other baggage that I have problems with.” She held up her hand as Joe started to answer. “And I don’t need to accept what you believe or what Eve and Gallo believe. All I have to do is do my job and let the rest of you worry about all that mystic stuff.”

Joe smiled faintly. “It’s a deal. Do you know, you sound like me a few years ago. I promise I won’t try to ram any of this weird bullshit I feel down your throat.”

“You’d better not.” She smiled back at him. This was the Joe Quinn she knew and respected, her friend, her partner. “So, I take it that we’re not going to sit around and wait for Eve to call for help? You can’t count on her doing that.”

“I think I could. She realizes that we’re part of the equation. She’s just trying to strike a balance, and right now, Gallo is on the upswing.”

“You’re being very reasonable.” She gazed at him appraisingly. “I’m not sure why.”

“Maybe getting so close to the hereafter had a sobering effect on me.” He grimaced. “Nah, near-death experiences give you an appreciation for life. And maybe a glimmer of what people are all about. That may be it. I thought I knew Eve before, but it’s different now. When I have time, I’ll have to analyze what I went through. But I don’t believe it made me any more reasonable.”

But there was a difference in him, Catherine thought. It was the first time she had been with him for any length of time since he had gotten out of the hospital. He was familiar, yet there were … depths. Good God, she was thinking like someone from a soap opera. “I’ll take your word for it. But I still don’t believe you won’t go after Danner.”

“Of course I will. That’s what I told Eve. Only I’ll give her space.” He leaned back in the seat. “But not too much.”

“What did you find out about the fingerprints?”

“What I suspected. No prints on the truck from anyone but the kid he stole it from. But I think we might have gotten a couple from the storeroom at the alligator farm. The minute you told me about the sketch of Ted Danner, I asked Julian to run a match check through the National Database. He’ll call me as soon as he gets the report.”

“And then we’ll know for sure if Danner is alive.”

“Presumably,” Joe said dryly. “Ghosts don’t leave fingerprints. Now let’s head for the airport.”

“Where are we going?”

“You tell me. You said Venable was supposed to start checking on Ted Danner. Get on the phone and see what he’s found out.”

*   *   *

GALLO WAS TEN MINUTES late pulling up before the Marriott in a gray Mercedes.

“You know this isn’t a good idea,” he said, as she got into the car. “Can I talk you out of it?”

“You know you can’t. We’ve already discussed it. Drive.” She leaned back in the seat. “And tell me everything you know about Ted Danner. You can bet that Catherine will have a report from Venable anytime now and will be sharing it with Joe.”

“And will he share it with you?”

“If there’s anything that might threaten me. Otherwise, he’ll probably try to beat me to the punch.”

“To protect you.”

She nodded. “To protect me. Since Danner almost killed Catherine, I have to assume that he has reason to think it’s needed. Tell me about your uncle.”

He glanced away from her. “You know he’s supposed to be dead. We’re not sure that he’s not.”

“You’re sure,” she said. “No one knows Danner better than you do.”

“I only got a glimpse of his profile.”

“And it shocked you so much that you couldn’t move.” She paused. “I didn’t see his face at all. I only saw him moving toward Catherine. That was why I couldn’t even make a connection with Danner until I saw the finished sketch. That man at the bayou moved like an athlete, a young man. There was a springiness to his step. The Ted Danner I met was almost crippled. He moved slowly, like an old man.”

“Yes, he did.”

She was studying his face. “But you still recognized him.”

He nodded jerkily. “He wasn’t always crippled like that, only after that last mission. All the time I was growing up my uncle was strong as a bull and could beat me in any race. When we were up in the woods, he was so quiet, so good, that he could get within a yard of any forest animal before it knew he was there. I watched him do it any number of times.” He paused. “Just as I watched him when he was coming up behind Catherine. It was as if he’d turned back the clock.”

“Or had an operation on his spine that turned it back for him. Was that on the books before you left for basic training?”

He shook his head. “He said they had to do all kinds of testing.”

“I saw him when Bonnie was six months old, and he still looked crippled. That’s a long time to wait for surgery.”

“Maybe they weren’t sure they could do it.” His lips tightened. “He had spells when he was in terrible pain.”

“You told me once he was on prescription drugs.”

“But he kicked the habit. He wouldn’t let himself fall into that hole.” He glanced at her. “You’re trying to build a case for his being a drug addict, and that would be a reason for his killing Bonnie.” He shook his head. “He hated drugs. He told me he’d rather have the pain than mess up his head like that.”

“I don’t know what I’m trying to do,” she said wearily. “Yes, drugs were a possibility. They can turn men into monsters. I thought your uncle was a gentle man, but the man who almost stabbed Catherine wasn’t gentle. He was a monster. So I’m trying to make a connection.”

“He’s not a monster. Killing Jacobs doesn’t make him a monster. Jacobs was a total son of a bitch. You don’t know why he did it.”