Текст книги "Shadow Play: An Eve Duncan Novel"

Автор книги: Iris Johansen

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Her foot pressed the accelerator, and the Jeep leaped forward.

*   *   *

She saw the white FedEx truck a mile before she approached the expressway.

But there was no sign of a crash or another vehicle. Yellow crime-scene tape was barricading the area around the truck. Police squad cars, a forensic van, and an ambulance were parked along the road.

Not good.

She parked behind the barricade and jumped out of the Jeep. She lifted the tape and ducked beneath it.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, you’ll have to go back.” A young policewoman ran forward. “This is an investigation and you’re not allowed to—”

“What kind of investigation?” She looked at the woman’s badge. “Officer Maddox. I just received a call from the FedEx dispatcher to tell me that I’d be receiving a visit from the police and the FedEx rep. Why?”

“I’m sure that one of the detectives will be able to tell you what you need to know. But you really do have to get beyond the tape and let us get your statement. It’s not—”

“Eve, what the hell are you doing here?” Detective Pete Salyer had come around the truck. “I just called Joe and left a message for him. He’s with the captain and the mayor at some council meeting. I thought he’d want to know.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. She’d known Pete for years, and she liked and trusted him. “Know what?”

“A murder practically on his doorstep would interest him.”

Shock surged through her. “Murder?”

“The FedEx driver was shot at close range. No one heard the shot, so we think the weapon had a silencer.” He looked around at the trees lining either side of the road. “No houses. So far, we have no witnesses.”

“Murder,” she repeated numbly.

“She said that the company dispatcher phoned her about the truck,” the police officer said. “We wouldn’t allow that, would we, sir?”

“No way,” Pete said flatly. “What’s happening, Eve?”

“I have no idea.” She shivered. That pleasant young man to whom she’d given the reconstruction only hours ago was dead. “The man who phoned me said he was the dispatcher and there had been an accident. The package I’d given the driver was missing.”

“No accident. And we haven’t had a chance to determine if there was anything missing from the truck.” Pete turned and headed for the truck. “But I think it’s time we checked it out. I’ll talk to one of those FedEx bigwigs and see if they can pull up the info.”

Officer Maddox grimaced. “Look, I’m sorry that I wasn’t more helpful. I was just trying to do my job.”

“And you did it,” Eve said. “I must have looked pretty wild when I jumped out of that Jeep. And my story was just as improbable. Don’t apologize.”

Pete came back fifteen minutes later. “A record of a package being sent by you at 12:42 P.M. No package in the van. We’ll go through the entire van later for other missing packages but that’s a positive.”

“I don’t believe you’ll find any other missing packages,” Eve said. “I think he got what he wanted.” Her phone rang. “It’s Joe.”

“Are you okay?” Joe said the instant she picked up.

“Yes, I’m not the one who got shot. It was that poor driver.”

“Yeah, I got Pete’s message. Right before I got yours. It scared the hell out of me. I’m on my way,” he said tersely. “Are you at the crime scene?”

“Yes.”

“Stay there. Stay with Pete. Twenty minutes.” He hung up.

CHAPTER

4

Joe arrived in fifteen minutes, and he fought his way through the police and media crews that had just arrived to where Eve was standing in the trees. “Talk to me.” His expression was grim. “Tell me everything.”

“There’s not much more to tell.” She went over the entire phone conversation in detail. “He said he was a dispatcher. At first it sounded legitimate, then it got weird. It bewildered me. And all that about the police and FedEx reps coming to see me didn’t sound right. I’ve been standing here trying to piece it together.”

“And what did you come up with?”

“That he wanted me to be suspicious. He wanted me to suspect something wasn’t as it should be.” She met his eyes. “He wanted me to go try to find out the truth.”

“And you did it.” His jaw tightened. “He could have ambushed you, too. Just as he did that FedEx driver.”

“You know I keep a gun in the glove box.” She added, “And I was already suspicious. I wouldn’t have been that easy.”

“No, you wouldn’t.” His hand reached out and gently touched her cheek. “But I think you wouldn’t have been so eager to run out of the house if your precious reconstruction wasn’t in danger.”

“I don’t know if I would or not.” She could feel the fury that she had been trying to subdue start to rise. “I do know I’m angry as hell that Jenny’s reconstruction was stolen. All I have now are those computer photos that I—” She stopped. “The photos.” She whirled away from Joe. “The photos, Joe. That’s the only documentation I have on the reconstruction. I was going to send them to Nalchek later today, but I—”

“You were interrupted.” He took her elbow and strode toward his car. “And you weren’t ambushed because the killer had something more important he had to do first.”

*   *   *

There was a squad car in their driveway, and the front door was wide open.

“It’s okay,” Joe said, as Eve tensed beside him. “At least, this part is.”

“This part? What’s happening?” Eve asked.

“Don’t panic. I phoned ahead when I was on the highway and told one of the officers at the crime scene to check out our house and surrounding area to make sure that—”

“You could have told me.” She got out of the car and headed quickly for the steps. She had panicked when she’d seen that open door.

And the panic didn’t abate when she saw the face of the gray-haired officer who met them at the door.

“Officer James Kiphart, ma’am. You’re Ms. Duncan?”

“That’s right.” She looked beyond him to her workstation. “Dammit, where’s my computer?”

“It’s missing?” the officer asked. “I was hoping that we’d scared the thief off before he was able to steal anything. The lock was broken, and the door was wide open, but nothing appeared to be missing.”

She ran over to the worktable. The place that her computer usually occupied was vacant. The notes and measurements she’d used to reconstruct Jenny were no longer in the binder on the dais.

“Would you like to fill out a report?” Officer Kiphart asked.

“Not now.” Joe was standing beside her. “Maybe later. You checked out the other rooms?”

“Clean as a whistle. Like I said, I hoped that I’d scared him off.” He was looking sympathetically at Eve’s stricken expression. “Maybe your home insurance will cover the computer.”

“Maybe,” Joe said. “We’ll look into it. Thank you for coming so promptly, Officer. I’ll help with the paperwork and give you a statement when I get back to the precinct.”

It was a clear dismissal, and the officer nodded and headed for the door. “I’m sorry that I didn’t get here in time to catch your thief, Detective Quinn. I’m afraid you’ll have to replace that lock.” He nodded at Eve. “Good day, ma’am.”

“Good day.” She was still looking at the place on the worktable where her computer had been and paid no attention to the door closing behind the officer.

“How bad is it?” Joe asked quietly.

“Bad,” Eve said. “He took all my notes on the reconstruction. And he made sure the photos couldn’t be copied by stealing the entire damn computer.” She swallowed. “And I don’t have the actual reconstruction of the skull. He took care of that when he killed that FedEx driver.” Her hand was shaking as she brushed a strand of hair back from her face. “I have nothing left of Jenny. She’s gone.”

“God, I’m sorry, Eve. Look, you know exactly what she looked like. Can’t you draw a sketch and send it to Nalchek?”

“Yes, but that wouldn’t be enough without the reconstruction. Nalchek wouldn’t be able to persuade any of the media to act without proof it was based on the actual skull. It would just be my word, and it’s a damn cynical world.”

“It was a great reconstruction.” He pulled her into his arms. “I know how hard you worked, how glad you were that you had something concrete to send to Nalchek.”

And Jenny had been so much more to her than that. The spirit of that little girl had reached out and touched her, stirred her curiosity, her sympathy, and something … deeper. “I’ve lost her, Joe.” She nestled her head in his chest. “It’s all crazy. Why would anyone be so paranoid that he’d kill someone just to get his hands on that reconstruction? She was only a nine-year-old little girl.” She had a sudden aching memory of Jenny in that white eyelet long dress smiling at her across the room. “I hate this. I can’t stand feeling this helpless.” She stepped away from him. “That call I got had to be from him to lure me away from the cottage. He’d gotten his hands on the reconstruction, but he had to have the complete package.”

“That’s my take on it.”

“Why? Why does Jenny have to remain lost?”

“You’ll have to ask him.”

“Him? I don’t even know if it’s a male or female. I just instinctively call him he.”

“The biggest percentage of little girls are killed by males. Sexual predators go after—”

“I know that. I don’t want to hear it again. I don’t want percentages. I want Jenny’s killer to be tied up and sent to the electric chair.” She whirled away and headed for the porch. She felt stifled in this room. “Can you get forensics out here right away to test for trace and prints?”

He nodded. “No problem.” He started down the steps. “And I’ll take another look around the cottage grounds just to make sure that he didn’t leave any evidence. Stay here where I can see you.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She pulled out her phone. “But I have to call Nalchek to tell him he won’t be getting that reconstruction … and why.”

He nodded and disappeared around the side of the cottage.

She could hear him moving through the brush, and she knew that he was doing that so that she’d feel safer. Joe was usually panther-silent courtesy of his SEAL training. He needn’t have bothered. She wasn’t frightened, she was only angry.

She punched in Nalchek’s number. “You won’t be getting the reconstruction,” she said jerkily when he picked up. “You can’t be sorrier than I am.” She briefly went over the events of the afternoon. “You were right, the killer came looking for that skull.”

“Are you all right? You’re not hurt?”

“I’m not hurt. But as I told you, that FedEx driver is dead.” She was looking out at the lake. “And I have no idea where that computer and reconstruction are going to end up. They may be at the bottom of the lake right now.”

Nalchek was cursing beneath his breath. “There’s nothing that you can do?”

“Not unless you can find that skull. I can go back and re-create the reconstruction, but I can’t do it out of air. No one in the media will touch it without proof that I used that skull to do it. And what are the chances of that killer’s not destroying it now that he has it?”

“Zero. Unless he’s a trophy collector.”

“Then he wouldn’t have buried the skull in the beginning. No, he wanted her lost forever.” Another wave of anger poured through her. “And I won’t let it happen. He’s not going to win, Nalchek.”

“You just told me you couldn’t do anything.”

“I told you I couldn’t do the reconstruction again. But I’m not going to let him get away with this. I’ll make sure he won’t stay free and gloating over killing that little girl.” Her voice was shaking. “There has to be a way, but I’m not thinking straight right now. I’ll call you after I go over everything and see what my options are.”

“Very sparse, I’d say.” He paused, then said harshly, “I can’t deny I’m disappointed as hell. But whether you can do anything more or not, thank you for what you’ve already done. You’ve been the only one in my corner since the night I found Jenny. Maybe they’ll believe me and move on this after that driver was killed.”

“Maybe. Good-bye, Nalchek. I’ll get back to you.” She hung up.

She doubted if Nalchek would get anyone to push forward on a cold case when they didn’t have proof of identity. It had been her experience that any excuse was good enough for manpower-strapped law-enforcement departments to file away the records in a bottom drawer and look the other way. But they’d had a chance with that reconstruction, dammit. She defied anyone to look at that face and turn away.

I won’t let it matter, Jenny. I won’t let what he did make a difference.

Somehow, I’ll make it work.

*   *   *

“You’re very quiet,” Joe said as he pulled her closer in bed that night. “Depressed?”

“Yes.” She stared into the darkness. “And angry. I can’t let him get away with it, Joe.”

“I knew that was coming.” He paused. “We have a chance. I found tracks of a vehicle near the road and sent the imprints to the lab. That may help, but what else are we going to do about it?”

“We? It’s my job.”

“Not with a killer out there.”

She would feel the same way about him. “And I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. I’m trying to put something together. I feel as if the rug’s been jerked from beneath me.” She was silent. “I was so sure that I was doing the right thing sending the reconstruction back to Nalchek. I wanted desperately for Jenny to find her family. She seemed so … lost.”

“Lost?”

“When Bonnie first came back to me, she wasn’t like Jenny. She was just the way she was when she was alive. Oh, she had things she didn’t know, like about where she was, and a few lapses of memory about how she died. But she knew me, she knew what we were together.”

“And Jenny isn’t like that?”

She shook her head. “She doesn’t remember her parents. She doesn’t remember anything about who killed her. She has only fleeting memories about anything connected to her life. As for her afterlife, that’s terribly vague. She only knows she’s been waiting.”

“Waiting to know who killed her?”

“I don’t know, Joe. Maybe waiting for her parents to bring her home? Though I think that things were starting to come back to her.” She paused. “That last day I actually saw her.”

“What?”

“I saw her. I’d said something about how happy I was that I knew what she looked like after I finished the reconstruction. And later I saw Jenny in her white dress and black, patent-leather shoes. She wanted to please me. She was so sad when I told her I was sending her away.”

“You actually saw her? The way you see Bonnie?”

She nodded. “I was surprised, too. She said that she’d thought she might be able to do it, so she tried. I think that she was exploring, stretching…”

“Since she was no longer lying in that grave, waiting,” he said bitterly.

“I don’t believe that’s what she meant.”

“You’ll have to forgive me. Your Jenny is a little out of my experience.”

“And mine.” She closed her eyes. “Hold me tighter, Joe.”

His arms closed around her. “There has to be some kind of cosmic justice for kids like Jenny. I don’t believe God would saddle you with that responsibility. She’s kind of out of our jurisdiction.”

“How do you know? Jenny was sent to me. Maybe that’s a sign that I’m the one who should help her. Oh, I know I did my best with that reconstruction. But it wasn’t enough, was it? She’s back with that monster who killed her.” She shuddered at the thought. “And that’s not justice, cosmic or otherwise. That’s a horror story.” She opened her eyes as a thought occurred to her. “Or maybe it’s payback time. I had a miracle come into my life, and her name was Bonnie. Even when she was taken from me in the cruelest way possible, she was allowed to come back and visit me. That was a miracle, too. Perhaps I’m being tapped to return the favor.”

“Perhaps you are.” His lips brushed her temple. “In any case, you’ve convinced yourself that it’s possible. Now go to sleep, and we’ll start planning what to do in the morning.”

“Okay.” She nestled closer. She doubted if she could sleep, but she mustn’t keep Joe awake. She’d try to persuade him to go to work in the morning. It was foolish to expect him to hold her hand while she was trying to think of a way to trap that bastard. “When is the report on those tires supposed to come in?”

“Tomorrow sometime. As soon as I get it, I’ll try to match it to a vehicle, then visit the properties on our road and the farms to the north and start questioning. He was operating in broad daylight today. Someone must have seen him.”

She could only hope. The lead was flimsy at best.

But at least it was a lead. Not someone creeping up in the dark woods to kill, then vanishing as it had happened in California.

And she’d take whatever she was given.

Because it just might take her to Jenny.

*   *   *

It was chilly sitting here on the porch swing. Eve tightened the belt of her robe and stared out into the darkness. It was a little after four in the morning, but there was no light on the horizon.

No light on the horizon. It seemed a fitting phrase at this particular moment.

No, dammit. She wouldn’t accept that defeatist attitude.

If she couldn’t see a break in the darkness, she’d blast one through herself.

How?

Joe was relying on tried-and-true police work, and that was sensible and logical.

But she wasn’t Joe, and she had only one asset that Joe didn’t possess.

Jenny.

This was all about Jenny, who was once more a victim.

And her reconstruction and computer photos that were in the possession of that murderer.

If they hadn’t already been destroyed.

Assume it hadn’t happened yet. Assume that Jenny had gotten a break in that cosmic justice scenario Joe had talked about.

There was only one way to be sure.

Try to reach Jenny.

Again, how?

She had never tried to reach out and contact. Jenny had just been there.

“Jenny?”

She concentrated. Thinking.

Nothing.

The skull. Think about the face that she’d been so close to during the reconstruction.

Nothing.

The little girl in her white dress smiling at Eve across the room.

She tensed. Something different was there.

Something …

Bewilderment. Darkness.

But no fear.

“Jenny?”

“Here!”

“Jenny, listen to me. I don’t know what’s happening with you, but I want to help.”

“Sent me away…”

It was Jenny.

Excitement surged through Eve. “I know, and I was wrong. I thought it was for the best, but it didn’t turn out that way. We have to make it right.”

“He won’t let us.”

“Who?”

“Walsh.”

Darkness. Evil. Fear. So much fear.

“Who is Walsh?”

“He’s here with me now. He shot that driver.” Ugliness. Evil. Fear.

“Is he the man who also killed you?”

“Yes. He hates me. He wants me back in the dirt where he buried me. He keeps thinking about it. He’s angry with you, angry at the police who found me.” She paused. “But most of all, he’s angry with me. He’s scaring me, Eve.”

“You don’t have to be frightened. He can’t do anything to you, Jenny.” She added gently, “It’s all been done. All the fear and suffering is over.”

“I don’t think so. But I can’t let him see he’s scaring me. He likes it too much. I have to pretend to him, just like I did before.”

“Before?”

“It’s not the first time. I told you, I think … he’s the one.”

The one who had killed her. The one who had thrown her into that grave. “How do you know that man’s name is Walsh, Jenny?”

“That’s what he signed on the credit card slip at the gas station. He scrawled it, but it was clear enough to read the last name. He bought groceries and smiled at the girl behind the counter. She thought he was nice. He’s not nice, Eve. He was thinking terrible thoughts about what he’d like to do to her.”

“You can tell what he’s thinking?”

“Sometimes. It goes in and out. I don’t want to know. I have to force myself. It scares me.”

She could tell that from her voice. Try another path.

“Where are you now, Jenny?”

“Car. Trees. Lake. Dirty. Not pretty like your lake, Eve.”

“You’re aware of all that?” She tried again. “Why are you still with him? Is it because of the reconstruction?” She held her breath. “Does he still have it?”

“Yes, he put the box in the backseat.”

Yes.

“And the computer?”

“I think so.”

But Jenny was certain about the reconstruction. She asked again, “Is it because you have to stay with that reconstruction that you’re still with him? Because it’s part of your earthly body?”

“No, why should I have to do that? That’s kind of silly. I don’t believe that makes any difference any longer.”

“If it doesn’t make a difference, why did you follow that skull to my home? Why did you appear to me after I created that reconstruction?”

“I told you, I didn’t know you wanted to see me.” She was troubled. “And I didn’t follow the skull. I just came to you. I knew I had to come to only you.”

“And tried your best to ram that reconstruction through at record pace.”

“I thought maybe that was what I was supposed to do, why I was there.”

“Then if you don’t have to stay with the reconstruction, why are you still with that killer?”

“Because that’s what I’m meant to do. That’s the one thing I’ve always known. Everything else is still confusing, but I was sent to stop him.” She added simply, “Besides, you sent me away.”

“To Nalchek, to someone who would help you, not to that monster.”

“But I’m not important now. Every minute makes that more clear.” She paused. “But I’m glad you’re here, Eve.”

“I’m glad I am, too.” She drew a deep breath. “And I’m a little confused myself. But I know we have to work together. Will you help me, Jenny?”

“I’ll always help you, Eve. What do you want me to do?”

“The reconstruction. I don’t want it to be tossed away or destroyed. It’s important. I think that he’ll try to do that.”

“I think he will, too. He took it out of the box and looked at it. He hates it as much as he hates me.”

“It could be proof of who you are. I’m surprised he hasn’t done it already.”

“He keeps thinking about burning it. He sees it burning, Eve.”

“But he’d have to have time to do that. It takes a long time to completely destroy bones by fire. Maybe he’s waiting until after he’s far enough away from here that he feels safe. We can’t let him do it. I need that reconstruction.” She paused. “If he tries to do it, you have to stop him, Jenny.”

“I don’t know how to do that. How could I stop him?”

“Big problem. As far as I know, spirits can’t use force to make their displeasure known. At least, in my limited experience. Let me think a minute.” She was silent, going over options in her mind. There weren’t many.

But there might be one possibility.

“Jenny, when you appeared to me in that pretty white dress, you said you thought you could do it, so you tried. And then you managed to do it. How?”

“I just knew. I concentrated, and it happened.”

“Because it was me and we’ve become close?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Silence. “I guess it could be, but it felt … right. It had something to do with why I’m here. It’s a gift. Like the music.”

“Do you think, if you concentrated, you could make Walsh see you?”

“Why would I want to do that? I don’t want him to see me. It would be like that other—” She stopped. “I feel safe where I am now, Eve.”

“And you almost remembered something that wasn’t safe at all,” Eve said gently. “I hate having to remind you of that time. But you think that there’s a reason that you’re with Walsh now. You said you have to stop him. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Bonnie, it’s that she doesn’t believe anything is random after you cross over. There’s a kind of order.”

“I don’t know about that.” She was silent a moment. “But he does have to be stopped. Why would letting him see me help to keep him from burning the reconstruction?”

“Most people are frightened of ghosts. I think Walsh would be afraid of you, particularly if you’re his victim. Maybe you could intimidate him into not destroying that reconstruction.”

“He’d be afraid of me?” she asked doubtfully. “I don’t believe he was afraid of me before. I’m just a kid.”

“Not just. And you’ve grown more mature during those years. Reach down inside yourself for strength. You probably have a few powers that you didn’t have in life. Use them.”

“I don’t even know what they are.”

“Stretch. Think. Feel your way.”

“I’ll … try.”

“That’s all I ask. I don’t know how much time we have.”

“Time,” she repeated. “Yes, it’s all about time. He wanted to kill you, but there wasn’t time. He kept thinking how you’d interfered with him. He’s intending to go back to you … afterward.”

“After … what?”

“The little girl…”

Eve felt a chill. “What little girl?”

“I don’t know her name. He just thinks about her as the little girl. But she’s special to him. He keeps thinking of her as ‘the one.’ He’s been searching for her for a long time, and now he thinks he may have found her. Special. Not like the others who are all the same to him. Not important. With them, it’s what they make him feel that’s important.”

And eerily similar to the psychological philosophy of every serial killer she’d ever heard about. “Jenny, is this little girl still alive?”

“Yes.”

“And what does Walsh intend to do to her.”

“What he always does,” she whispered. “It’s always bad things. He had it all planned before they found me. He was thinking that she might be the one, and he was excited that the hunt was almost over. He was in Carmel, then he had to drop everything and rush back to the forest to make sure that he was still safe. He was in a panic because no one should ever have been able to find me. It was important I never be found. He’d be in trouble if they knew about it. He was scared and angry.”

“So angry he abandoned a potential victim?”

“He didn’t totally abandon her. He couldn’t. He has to go back to Carmel because she’s on the list. He’s marked her.”

“Marked?”

“I don’t know what he meant. But she’s one of the reasons why I have to stop him. She may be the most important reason.”

“I don’t understand about this … hunt and why Walsh was disappointed.”

“Neither do I. All I can tell you is what he was feeling. That’s all I know about her, Eve.”

And Eve knew far more than she wanted to know.

Except that little girl’s name.

Except a way to save her.

“Do you know how many … little girls … there have been, Jenny?”

“I don’t know any numbers. Lots and lots. And not only children. He likes them best, but it’s the kill itself he likes. Do you have to know?”

“No, of course I don’t.”

“But one of them was me?” A pause. “Then why can’t I remember it? You’d think I’d remember.”

“Perhaps … mercy?”

“I guess so.” A silence. “There are so many things that I don’t know. I suppose you’re impatient with me, but things are becoming clearer. The longer I’m with Walsh, the more memories are coming back to me. I’m changing, Eve. I can feel it inside. It’s as if I was asleep, and now I’m beginning to wake. You woke me, Eve.”

“The reconstruction?”

“No. Oh, maybe, a little. But I felt as if I were meant…” She stopped. “There’s so much I have to learn. It’s all coming at me now like a giant wave. I’m getting stronger and stronger. That little girl … If she was the reason that I’ve been waiting. Maybe I was meant to help her, Eve?”

“I don’t know.” Yet Eve had said much the same thing to Joe about Jenny. “If that’s true, I do know it’s worth doing. But Walsh has to be caught first, or that can’t happen.” She added, “And I’m not forgetting you. We’ve got to bring you home to your parents. You’re important, too, Jenny.”

“Am I?” Her voice was fading away. “I told you, I don’t think so. Not yet…”

“Jenny, I’m losing you!”

“I can’t … help it. As I said, I’m in and out…”

She was gone.

Eve drew a shaky breath. Those moments had flown by, and yet she had to go back and try to remember every word that had been uttered. As Jenny had told her, she was learning, changing, moving back and forth from child to adult, from weakness to strength. And Jenny wasn’t the only one who was learning every minute.

And the primary thing Eve had learned from that conversation was a name.

Walsh.

*   *   *

“Walsh,” Joe repeated. “No first name. Initials?”

“Don’t be greedy,” Eve said. “We have a name. What are databases for?”

“Not generally to be used by ghosts searching for their murderers. You’re sure that your Jenny got it right?”

“I’m not sure about anything. But it’s our best bet.” She thought about it. “Yes, I’d trust her.”

“General location?”

“Unknown. But I’d think he was going back to California.”

“Because he was going to try to find the evidence he’d left at Jenny’s crime scene?”

“And because he had another victim in mind.” Her lips tightened. “He’d marked her. Whatever that means. He wouldn’t just have gone on to another kill.”

“Then I’d better get down to the precinct and start running this name through the databases with emphasis on California.” He got to his feet. “And the chances of Walsh being his real name are slim to none. But if it’s the one he’s been using most recently, we might get lucky. What are you going to do?” His brows lifted. “Try for a séance?”

“Very amusing. I’ve told Jenny what I need from her. I’ll just have to see if she can do what I asked.” She took out her phone. “And I have a few calls to make myself.”

“Nalchek?”

“That’s one of them.” She started to dial. “And the other is to a friend who came through for me a few months ago. I’ve just got to hope she’s still in California…”

*   *   *

“I’m not sure where you can find Margaret Douglas,” Kendra Michaels said. “I think she’s still in California, but you never know with Margaret. She’s something of a gypsy.”

“I thought she went to California because you were there,” Eve said. “But she’s not answering her phone. I was hoping that you might still be in touch.”

“I tried, but Margaret marches to her own drummer.”

“Like several other people in our circle,” Eve said dryly. Including Kendra Michaels, who was sometimes a music therapist and sometimes worked with the police and FBI. She was truly an original since she had been blind until her twenties and had learned to use all her senses with incredible accuracy. “No idea where Margaret could be?”

“She worked as a volunteer at the San Diego Zoo,” Kendra said. “But it wasn’t challenging enough, so she moved on. Maybe she went back to Summer Island to work with those dogs in that experimental program.”

“I’ll check with them and see if they’ve heard from her. But it would be difficult for Margaret to go back there when she has no papers.”

“That’s never stopped her before. Margaret is an expert at jumping over obstacles like a lack of ID.”

So Eve had been told. But she had never questioned Margaret about it, and neither had Joe. They had been too grateful for Margaret’s help in finding Eve when she had been kidnapped months ago. Jane, who had brought Margaret into their lives when she had taken her dog, Toby, to Summer Island to be treated for ingesting a rare poison, had told them that Margaret was incredibly gifted with animals. It hadn’t mattered to Jane that Margaret apparently skipped around the world under the radar and no one knew anything about her. All she cared about was that Margaret had saved her dog because she had the ability to bond with animals.