Her cell phone rang, and she glanced down at the ID. Kendra Michaels.
It wasn’t the first time she had phoned in the past week. Margaret had been too busy to take her calls and had put her off. She was tempted to do that now.
No, Kendra was her friend, and she was the one who had called to ask Margaret to get in touch with Eve when she’d been unable to reach her. She deserved to know what had happened.
“Hello, Kendra. I don’t have much time. I have to help get Eve sprung out of this hospital.”
“Hospital? And why is Eve in a hospital? And what the hell is going on?”
“I’m going to tell you. I just have to keep it brief, okay?”
“It’s not okay, but I clearly have to put up with it. Eve told me practically nothing when she came out here to California except that she needed someone who was woods savvy and wanted you. Since I’m definitely not woods savvy, I had to find you.”
“You sound distinctly grumpy.”
“I couldn’t see why I couldn’t help,” she said impatiently. “I still don’t. Tell me.”
“Eve came out here because Sheriff Nalchek had discovered the grave of a nine-year-old little girl at Sonderville, California. He sent Eve the skull to reconstruct. She did a great job and FedExed the reconstruction back to him. But the FedEx truck was hijacked, the driver killed, and the reconstruction stolen. Eve’s computer and notes were also stolen that same day. Someone had no intention of letting that little girl’s identity be discovered.”
“And that pissed Eve off.”
“Big-time. She had become very involved emotionally with that little girl, who she called Jenny, while she was reconstructing her skull. She and Joe Quinn came out here to try to find a clue to who that little girl was.” She added, “And to catch her killer. That’s why she wanted me to go to that grave in the forest and see what I could find.”
“And what did you find?”
“Not as much as I would have liked, but I was helpful. Joe and Eve discovered that the name of her killer was James Walsh and started to try to track him. It became very convoluted because Walsh was on the hunt himself. He was an enforcer for a Mexican drug cartel, very nasty character, and had been hired by the head of a rival cartel to kidnap and kill Juan Castino’s two daughters. They were supposed to just disappear, but something happened. The older girl was killed, but the younger child, Cara, and Elena, the nurse who cared for the girls, escaped. Walsh searched for them for years.”
“Bastard.”
“Oh, yes. It was a very bloody hunt. But we managed to find Cara almost at the same time as Walsh.”
“Tell me he’s dead.”
“Yes, a very painful demise. Eve has only a minor concussion.”
“And the child?”
“Cara is alive, but there are still problems. Eve is sure she can work them out.”
“And are you sure?”
“Reasonably. As long as she’s willing to accept help from her friends.”
Kendra laughed. “You?”
“Well, I do like to see things through to the very end.”
“I’ve noticed. An iron will occasionally peeks out from behind all that sunny sweetness.”
“Sweetness? How cloying. I feel ill. And in dire need of an apology.”
“You’ll not get it.” She was suddenly serious. “You’re okay, Margaret?”
“Sure, I was just drifting along with the current.”
“Never.”
“Well, sometimes. Now the current is persistently reminding me I have to get Eve out of this hospital.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll talk to you later. But that explanation was very sketchy. I’ll want details.” She hung up.
And Kendra would keep at Margaret until she got all those details, Margaret thought ruefully. She was not only brilliant, she had boundless curiosity and fantastic instincts.
And she hadn’t liked being passed over for Margaret when Eve needed help. She always liked being in control.
But then, so did Margaret.
So finish packing Eve up, then try to think of a way to get Eve to let her trail along and help put a period to this nightmare that was haunting both her and Cara.
CHAPTER
2
“Will you be all right here?” Joe asked Cara. He gestured to the long bench outside the administration office. “I shouldn’t be long. Just signing papers and giving them a credit card. Five minutes, no more.”
She nodded as she opened her computer. “Unless you want me to go help Eve.”
He shook his head. “Margaret will take care of her.” He smiled. “And Eve usually prefers to take care of herself. You’ll find that out if you choose to stay with us for a while.”
“I’ll stay with you.” She gazed gravely at him. “And I think that you take care of Eve whether she wants it or not. Let me help.”
He studied her face. “It should work the other way around, you know. You’re just a kid. You have a right to have people look after you.”
“You did look after me. Eve saved my life. You saved my life. Elena always said that I had to look after myself.” She moistened her lips. “And now she’s gone, and I can’t expect any more help from anyone. I have to earn it.”
“And you think you should earn your way by helping Eve?”
She nodded. “If she’ll let me. If you’ll let me. Will you?”
“I believe that can be arranged.” He touched her cheek with his forefinger. “I think you’d be a good person to have on her side. She may need it soon.”
“I know. I won’t disappoint you.”
“Just what do you know?” he asked curiously.
She shook her head. “I won’t disappoint you,” she repeated.
His hand dropped away from her face. “Stop worrying about responsibility and concentrate on healing. You’ve had a bad couple days.” His lips twisted. “No, you’ve had a bad several years.”
“Not so bad. Not all the time.” Her eyes stung with tears. “Elena made them good because we were together.”
“I’m sure you made them good for her, too,” he said gently. He turned away and pushed open the door. “Five minutes. You can even see me through this glass door. If you need me, come and get me.”
Her eyes were swimming with tears as she looked down at her computer.
Elena.
Don’t cry. Tears never did any good. Elena had always told her that you just had to forget and go on.
But how was she going to forget Elena?
She wouldn’t forget. She would lose her if she forgot all the years they’d—
“Would you like a tissue?”
She looked up to see an older boy in jeans and a white shirt who had dropped down on the bench next to her. She could barely see through the tears, but she was aware of dark hair, dark eyes. Her friend, Heather, would have said he was cute, and his hair was cut like one of the members in Heather’s favorite rock band.
He handed her the tissue. “You look like you could use it.” He took another tissue out of the same pack and dabbed at his own eyes. “Me, too. Life can be crap, can’t it?”
“Yeah.” She wiped her eyes. “Thanks.”
He nodded. “Welcome.” He leaned his dark head back against the wall. “I hate this. My dad is in there paying the bill and for what? They couldn’t get her well. My mom died anyway.”
“I’m sorry.” She took a deep, shaky breath. “It seems to be a good hospital. They’re doing everything they can for Eve.”
“Your sister?”
“No. Not my sister.” She wiped her eyes again. “My sister died a long time ago. Do you have a sister?”
“Yes, Nella. She’s in the chapel, praying for my mother’s soul.” His eyes filled again. “That’s where I was when my dad called me and said he needed me. I didn’t want to come. There didn’t seem much I could do, and I felt helpless. I never liked to go to church, but my mother taught me that prayers help. I felt like maybe I was doing something in that cha
pel, that maybe she could hear me. Stupid, huh?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Elena always told me that when you couldn’t trust anyone else that you should pray.”
“Elena? You said Eve.”
“No, my friend, Elena. She … died.”
“Seems like everyone is dying,” he said thickly. “Did it help you to go to church, like it did me?”
“I haven’t been able to do that yet.”
“You ought to try it. It can’t hurt.”
“Maybe later.”
“That’s what I thought when my mom died. All the things I was going to do and say. Sometimes I wasn’t even nice to her. It’s bad to put off things.” He suddenly jumped to his feet. “Come on, let’s go to the chapel. Neither of us is doing any good sitting on this bench. Who knows how long it’s going to take for them to pay those bloodsuckers?”
“What?” Cara’s eyes widened in surprise. “I can’t leave now.”
“Sure you can.” He pulled her to her feet. “The chapel’s only three floors up. You can call down to say where you’re going when we get there.”
“What about your father?”
“He didn’t really need me, or he wouldn’t have parked me on this bench and left me to twiddle my thumbs.” He was gazing down at her, his dark eyes glittering, his voice soft, persuasive. “Come on. Nella will like you to be there. I’m just a guy, and she’s missing Mom so bad.”
“I don’t know if I—”
“Cara.”
Joe was standing in the doorway. “And who is this?” His soft voice had a definite edge.
The boy smiled politely. “Kevin Roper, sir.” He dropped Cara’s hand and turned away. “I guess you won’t want to go to the chapel now.” He was heading toward the elevator. “It was nice to meet you, Cara.”
“Good-bye, Kevin. Tell your sister l’m so sorry.”
“I’ll do that.” He got on the elevator. “She would have liked to meet you.” He nodded at Joe and Cara as the door started to slide shut. “Hope all goes well for Eve.”
Joe was still staring at the door as the elevator started down. “It sounds as if you two had a cozy chat.”
“His mom just died.”
“And you were going to the chapel with him?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know. I thought it might not—” She made a face. “I was confused.”
“And this Kevin Roper is very persuasive. I caught that from the body language the minute I walked out of the office.”
“He’d been in the chapel today with his sister, Nella, praying for his mother’s soul. He said his sister needed someone to—”
“And you were in pain and could sympathize.” He was taking out his phone as he spoke. “You say he was in the chapel today?”
“Yes.”
He dialed quickly, then was speaking into the phone. “Connect me to the chapel.” He waited and then spoke again, “I need to talk to Nella Roper. Is she there? Yes, I’ll wait.” He covered the phone and spoke to Cara. “It’s a social-service volunteer. Everyone has to sign in when they arrive. She’s checking.” He went back to his conversation. “No? What about her brother, Kevin? They were supposed to both be there earlier today. Not at all? Thank you, sorry to bother you.” He hung up. “And I would bet that Roper had no mother who died in this hospital. At least, not recently.”
“Lies,” she whispered.
“Very beautifully executed lies. A handsome young boy who had lost his mother, sits down beside a grieving young girl who needs someone near her own age who might understand what she’s going through. Very clever.”
“Why would he want me to go to the chapel? I don’t—” She stopped. “He took the elevator down, not up. He told me the chapel was three flights up. He wasn’t going to the chapel, was he?”
Joe shook his head. “I don’t think you’d have made it out of the elevator alive. I imagine he has a few more skills other than being an expert liar.”
“Salazar. Salazar sent him?”
“That would be my guess. I can’t prove it yet. There’s a possibility he might be a child molester or some other kind of creep who planted himself in a hospital where a victim is most vulnerable.”
“If he was sent by Salazar, he was going to kill me?”
Joe was silent. “Do you think I like to tell you that? But I have to lay it on the line. If I’d come out of that office a few minutes later, I might have missed you. I’d like to say trust everyone, and you don’t have to worry any longer. I’m not going to do that. I don’t know how long you’ll have to be careful, but you’re not safe now. Do you understand?”
“He … was nice.”
“He was probably deadly.”
She nodded jerkily. “I was used to the idea of a monster, I wasn’t expecting someone who looked like one of the guys I’d see around school.” She drew a deep breath. “But I’ll know better next time.” She headed for the elevator. “We have to get back to Eve. I mentioned her name. He might try to—”
Joe was already ahead of her, his finger pressing the button. “I doubt if he could bounce back that fast, but we won’t take a chance. We have to get out of here.”
“I shouldn’t have mentioned her. He just seemed—Hurry!”
Two minutes later they were at the door of Eve’s hospital room.
No Eve.
Cara stopped short, her gaze on the rumpled bed. “No,” she whispered.
“I didn’t expect you this soon. All done with the paperwork?”
Cara turned to see Eve standing in the doorway of the bathroom. She felt limp with relief. “Hi. I thought—” She swallowed. “I was scared. I did something stupid.”
Eve’s gaze narrowed on her face. “I can see you’re scared.” She looked at Joe. “What happened?”
“She ran into a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Joe said. “I left her for a minute in the hall outside the administration office, and he pounced.”
“Salazar?”
Joe nodded. “He recruited a young kid who was very good. Smooth as silk and very believable.”
“A kid?” Margaret came out of the bathroom carrying three plastic bags filled with Eve’s personal items. “That doesn’t sound like a recruit to replace Walsh.”
“He was good,” Joe repeated. “And clever. Salazar might be trying something new. Walsh had to have been a miserable failure in his eyes.”
“He was a miserable failure in anyone’s eyes.” Eve shivered. “But I didn’t think that Salazar would have found out that Walsh was dead yet. Much less send a killer to replace him.”
“He probably had someone watching Walsh and reporting back to him. I doubt if he would have trusted him after he’d failed him all these years.”
“Do you know his name?”
“Kevin Roper. At least, that’s what he told us. I’ll check with Manez, my contact in Mexico who deals with the cartels, to see if I can verify.” Joe glanced quickly around the room. “Have you got everything? We need to get out of here.”
“These were the last items.” Margaret went to Eve’s bag, which she’d set on the floor on the other side of the bed. “She’s ready to go.” She looked back at him. “Where are you going to take her?”
“We’re going home,” Eve said. “I told you, Margaret.”
“I thought there might be a change of plan.” She fastened the suitcase. “Since I’m sure Salazar knows where you live.”
“So am I,” Joe said. “But it’s my home territory. Easier to defend. We can’t hide out here with Cara like she did with Elena. I know the police there, and I have friends.”
“You won’t be hiding at all,” Margaret said soberly. “I know something about hiding. It seems like I’ve done it all my life. You should disappear until you’re ready to make your move against Salazar.” She glanced at Cara. “You know all about disappearing, don’t you? They don’t want to make you feel unsafe, they want to put you in a nice, cozy place. But sometimes those cozy places can be traps, and you have
to leave them. There’s no choice. Your Elena knew that, didn’t she?”
Cara nodded. “She knew. She was trying to take me away again when Walsh … killed her.”
“We’ll take care of her, Margaret,” Eve said quietly. “I know you mean well, but she’s our responsibility.”
“And I should butt out?” Margaret shrugged. “I take it that you haven’t changed your mind about letting me come with you?” She didn’t wait for an answer but turned back to Cara. “You’ll get through this and come out on top. Eve and Joe are good people, and they’re very smart.” She grinned. “So smart that I know they’ll call me to help as soon as they realize what a mistake they’re making not to let me run this operation.”
“We’ll keep that in mind,” Joe said dryly. He crossed the room and shook Margaret’s hand. “And you may be right about cozy traps. I’ll have to think about it. But there are elements in play of which you have no knowledge. All I want to do right now is to get Eve home. She may need that cozy trap for a little while.”
“Really?” Margaret’s tone was speculative. “Interesting.” She turned to Eve. “I’d like to go into this, but we should get you and Cara away from here. Come on, I’ll walk you down to your car.” She linked her arm through Cara’s and headed for the door. “Don’t worry, we’ll find a way around this.”
“What way?” Eve asked warily as she followed Margaret from the room. “It’s not like you to give up so easily.”
“Maybe I’m getting resigned to being pushed to the side.” She winked. “Or maybe I’m trying to keep you off guard while I figure out a way to get my own way.”
* * *
There are elements in play you don’t know about.
Margaret stood watching as Joe drove out of the hospital parking lot.
What elements, Joe?
She turned and walked slowly back toward the hospital, thinking. She’d been aware of something odd in Eve’s behavior earlier. Joe’s words just confirmed it.
Eve may need that cozy trap for a little while.
She went over the events of the last day and tried to put together a reasonable answer.
Nothing.
Forget reasonable. Try reaching out beyond reason.