Shadow Play

  “I’ll be with you in a minute,” Margaret said as she sat down again and reached for her tennis shoes. “I have to dry my feet and put on my shoes…”

  * * *

  Margaret tied her tennis shoes and got to her feet.

  She stared thoughtfully after Eve and Joe as she tucked her shirt back into her jeans.

  Pity.

  Eve had obviously written off her help in anything but a minor manner. She thought Margaret had done her part and didn’t want to jeopardize her any more than she had already. Eve was protective and independent and wanted to do everything herself. Margaret understood that concept but couldn’t accept the application where she was concerned. She couldn’t see herself lazing beside the pool at that pretty little hotel waiting for something to happen.

  She turned and stared at the dense trees on the other side of the stream.

  Are you there, Sajan?

  No answer.

  But that didn’t mean that the coyote didn’t understand. He was a mixture of emotions where people were concerned. He wanted to live his simple, solitary life, yet he had been pulled into monitoring and guarding this forest, this grave. He couldn’t understand it, and he didn’t like it. He wanted it to all go away.

  Maybe it will soon. I don’t know why, either. But sometimes we’re guided in strange paths.

  Like this one for her. From the moment she had entered this forest last night, she had felt a sense of rightness. She had known that she could help Eve, known that she could help that child who had been thrown in that grave.

  “Margaret?” Eve called.

  “Coming.”

  She started down the path after them.

  But she couldn’t help that child who was targeted if she played the waiting role that Eve had chosen for her. She would have to do what she did best and ignore everything else.

  She could learn this forest and the creatures who inhabited it. She didn’t necessarily need Sajan. She just had to be here.

  And she would be.

  CARMEL, CALIFORNIA

  “Come on, Cara.” Heather Smallwood wrinkled her nose. “You know you hate getting on those school buses as much as I do. It’s only ten blocks to the apartment building, and we can stop off at that delicatessen and get a soda.”

  It was very tempting, Cara thought wistfully. Heather was cool. She was funny and popular and always wore neat clothes. Cara hardly got a chance to see her except at school. They lived in the same apartment building, but Elena had strict rules about Cara’s visiting other kids in the neighborhood. Elena had strict rules about everything.

  “I’d be grounded for a month if I didn’t ride the bus home. My aunt says it’s not safe to walk home.”

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake. You’re almost twelve, and there would be two of us,” Heather said in disgust. “I’ve walked it lots of times by myself. I just thought it would be fun to have you with me.”

  “It would be fun.” She hesitated. “Let me talk to her. Maybe next time.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Heather turned away. “It won’t happen. You can’t ever do anything. I don’t know why I even tried.”

  “I’ll talk to her,” Cara repeated. “And you’re not going to convince me by making me sound like a wimp. My aunt worries a lot, but she can’t help it. It’s probably all those creepy news stories on TV.” She headed for the bus. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Heather.”

  “Yeah.” Heather stood looking at her for a moment, then turned toward the street. “Tomorrow.”

  * * *

  The young girl with the blond ponytail and green plaid skirt would be so easy, Walsh thought.

  Even from where he was sitting in his car down the street, he could tell that Heather Smallwood was one of the confident ones who thought nothing could ever happen to them. There was a bounce to her step that was almost a swagger, and she had obviously been trying to convince Cara Delaney to come with her. Too bad she had failed. Successful repetition bred that confidence, and after a while, Cara might have been lured to try to take more chances.

  And then she would have been his.

  But instead she was safely on that yellow bus going home to sweet, steady, interfering Aunt Elena.

  He smothered the surge of anger that exploded through him at the thought of that betrayal. Calm down. It was only a postponement. The important thing was that he had found the child, the one they called Cara Delaney. He leaned forward, his gaze focused on her face as she looked out the window at her cocky, little friend walking down the street swinging her book bag.

  Yes.

  He had been right to mark Cara. It had been a long time, but he’d finally found her. But seeing her in the flesh had erased any hint of doubt.

  Because this time there was no mistake.

  She was the one.

  He took out his phone and dialed Salazar. “I’ve found her.”

  “You’ve said that before and failed me. Why should I believe you now?”

  Arrogant bastard. “Then don’t believe me. But I’m going after her anyway. I’d suggest that you be prepared to send someone to help me dispose of this particular body in case it might cause you extreme discomfort.” He paused. “And deposit that money in my account in the next few days. I may have to move fast.”

  “Without proof that I’m going to get my money’s worth?”

  “I’m sending you a photo I just took.” He pressed the button on his phone. “Proof enough?”

  There was silence. “It … could be.”

  “And the kid has an Aunt Elena. Elena Delaney. This time I went after her photo at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Last name different from our Elena Pasquez, but the first was the same. I suppose it was easier to change the fake ID. And the face was definitely our Elena. It took me a load of bribe money and weeks of going through their records before I found a picture of the bitch. Then all I had to do was stake out her apartment until I saw the kid.”

  “What about the kid’s name?”

  “Marnie? Come on, Elena wouldn’t be that stupid. She knows the kid has to enroll in school. She’s calling her Cara now. But, put it all together, and I’m much closer than the other marks I removed on pure speculation. You agree?”

  “I agree that she might be a likely prospect,” Salazar said cautiously.

  “Then send me the money. If you double the price, I’ll arrange for the body disposal.” He added, “Unless you want the head. That could be arranged.”

  “I don’t want to wait for a few days. I want you to be done with this job and out of the country,” Salazar paused. “Because I think you blundered all the way on this job. Jenny wasn’t supposed to be found, and after they did find her, you should have made sure that there was no possibility she’d be recognized.”

  “You’re wrong,” he said impatiently. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Okay, they found her, but that was because of some freak rainstorm. After Nalchek called in Eve Duncan, I blocked her as soon as I could. I made sure that Jenny wouldn’t be recognized. I did everything right.”

  “Then why did I get a report that Eve Duncan has just shown up in Sonderville?”

  Walsh’s hand tightened on the phone. “What?”

  “You heard me. She and Quinn checked into a local hotel and made contact with Nalchek. She spent some time with him. So she evidently doesn’t consider herself blocked. Why didn’t you get rid of her at the same time you took the skull?”

  “You don’t understand. There were difficulties. It wasn’t the right time. I was going to do it later.”

  “All I understand is that you let her get finished with that damn reconstruction, then left her alive to talk about Jenny. I wanted her forgotten … except by her father. I wanted to see him roasting in the hell I created for him.”

  “She will be forgotten. You won’t have to wait long before I—”

  “I’ve waited too long already. Eight damn years. It was supposed to be a simple job. You put my ass on the line, and I’ve been walking a tightro
pe, thinking every minute I’d fall off and have her father come after me.”

  Walsh opened his mouth to spit out his defense and thought better of it. He should tone it down. Salazar was not a force to take lightly. He didn’t need him to send one of his soldiers across the border to try to gut him. Not that he would succeed. No one was better at either surviving or the kill than he. “None of the delay was my fault. And I’ve been trying hard to rectify it since it happened.”

  “If you hadn’t, I would have had you very painfully removed that first year after Jenny.”

  “Do you think I don’t want to move faster? But I have to move carefully if I want to finish this up, so that it’s safe for you.”

  “I don’t feel safe, Walsh.”

  He lost his temper. “Then it’s your fault. You’ve been tying my hands for too long. Do you know what lengths I’ve had to go to, pussyfooting around to keep you safe? The minute that I got that tip from the bank officer that Elena was still in California for at least the first year after I killed Jenny, I never stopped searching for her and that brat. I went the extra mile in making sure you couldn’t be hurt no matter where it led me.”

  Silence that was laden with menace. “Extra mile? And so you should have. And I don’t care if I’ve made it difficult for you.”

  No, of course he didn’t. “Well, now it’s the end of the road, and I’m in control. Send me my money and be prepared to get me help for the disposal.”

  Silence. “Excuses, again. We’ll see who is in control, Walsh.” Salazar hung up.

  Bastard.

  But Salazar was smart, and he wouldn’t take the chance of having Walsh exposed and himself with him. He’d get him help. He’d send the money.

  Because he’d seen what Walsh had seen in that photo.

  Cara Delaney’s bus was leaving the school parking lot now. Soon, she’d be safe within the doors of her apartment house.

  And he was feeling frustrated and hungry. He’d scoped out her setup and knew that it would be hard to get to her. There were alarms, the little girl was very careful. It might take days of stalking before he could safely pounce.

  But the pretty blonde with the ponytail who was so sure nothing could happen to her? She wasn’t careful at all.

  He thought about it.

  No, he decided reluctantly, he didn’t want any red flags that would alert Cara Delaney or her dear aunt Elena. He enjoyed the child kills, but he could control it.

  He’d have to be patient and wait for Cara …

  And he’d get her. Just like he’d put that bitch, Jenny, into the ground. Only this time, with Cara, there would be nothing to reconstruct. There wouldn’t be a skull with glittering green eyes that made him writhe with fury.

  No, he would not think of that skull. He had thrown that reconstruction into his trunk so he wouldn’t have to look at it again. It had to be his imagination that had caused him to think he’d seen Jenny. Out of all the lives he’d taken over the years, why would Jenny be the only one who had come back to torment him? He didn’t believe in ghosts, so it had to be stress or some kind of weird primitive instinct because he was getting near to Cara.

  So prove it to himself. Prove that Jenny had no power to stop him from doing whatever he wanted to do.

  Get rid of the skull.

  Yes, that would do it. Lately, he’d been thinking of keeping it or sending it to Salazar as a trophy. That would show her.

  Do you hear me, Jenny? You’re nothing. You can’t stop me from killing Cara. You can’t stop me from destroying the last part of you that would prove you ever lived.

  And destroying that interfering slut, Eve Duncan, along with her. He would show her that she couldn’t make him look like an amateur to Salazar. She’d be sorry that she’d decided to track him down. He couldn’t move on Cara Delaney yet, but he could go after Duncan.

  How? It had to be a completely satisfying kill that would make him forget the frustration of the past days. Something … spectacular …

  He didn’t even look back at the yellow school bus as he started his car and headed down the street.

  * * *

  “Hi.” Elena Delaney looked up with a smile as Cara walked into the apartment. She had on her black work pants, but she was wearing a pink T-shirt with a cocktail on the front that was the same color as the pink streak running through her brown hair. She was somewhere in her midthirties, but all of Cara’s friends thought she was younger. “Just in time. I just finished the spaghetti and meatballs. Put in the garlic bread for me, will you?”

  “Sure.” Cara dropped her book bag on the chest by the door. “But you should have waited for me. I could have done this. You don’t like to cook.”

  “Maybe I was having a couple guilty twinges.” Elena made a face. “You do all the cooking and cleaning, and you’re just a kid.”

  “I don’t mind. Someone has to do it, and you’re too busy.” She headed toward the kitchen. “I didn’t expect you to be here, Elena. You said you worked today.”

  “Night shift. Don’t have to go in until seven. I thought we could have dinner together.”

  “Great.” Cara got the garlic bread out of the freezer and turned on the oven. “We haven’t been able to do that all week. You’ve been working double shifts.”

  Her aunt shrugged. “Pays the bills.” She glanced at Cara. “You okay? No trouble at school?”

  Cara nodded as she put the garlic bread in the oven. “I’m okay. School’s fine; boring, but fine.” She suddenly smiled. “Now that you’ve done your duty and asked me, can we forget about it? Once every few months you decide you just have to check on me. I’d tell you if I had any problems. I promised you that I would.”

  “I know, but you don’t…” She wrinkled her nose. “I know you’re smart, probably smarter than me, but I’m always afraid that I should be helping you more.”

  Cara shook her head. “You work all the time. You told me we had to share the load. I understand that, and it’s not bad. I clean up the apartment and do my homework. Later, I get to play my violin. I’m doing good, Elena.” She looked in the refrigerator and took out a bottle of cranberry juice. “Better than Heather, and she’s got a mom and dad and a brother to help her.”

  “Oh, yes, Heather.” Elena looked away as she got down the plates. “She seems nice, but a little … spoiled. What do you think, Cara?”

  “I like her.” She drank her juice. “Is that what this is about? You want to talk about Heather? Is that why you’re working the night shift tonight?”

  “I told you that you were smart,” Elena said. “It’s just that I have to leave you alone a lot, and I wanted to make sure that you weren’t—”

  “I don’t break the rules,” Cara said quietly. “Sometimes I want to, but I don’t.”

  “Good. That’s a relief. It’s so easy to just…” Elena gave her a quick hug. “But those rules are important. We both know that, don’t we?”

  Cara nodded. “I know it.” She stepped back and hesitated. “But maybe I could just bend … Heather wanted me to walk home with her today.”

  “No,” Elena said sharply. “You can’t do it, Cara. The bus is safer.”

  From the safe bus, to the locked door of the apartment that Cara was never to open. “Maybe it is safe now. Maybe something has changed.” She whispered, “Maybe he’s not out there anymore.”

  “And maybe he is,” Elena said gently. “I know what your life is like. I wish I could tell you that you could take the chance. But I can’t do that.” She looked her in the eye. “Think about those nightmares you have. Do you think it’s worth the risk, Cara?”

  Running through the darkness.

  Blood.

  Screams.

  Jenny!

  She jerkily shook her head. “No.” She turned and went to the cutlery drawer. “I’ll set the table.”

  “Cara.”

  “It’s okay.” She didn’t look at her. “You’re right. Heather is spoiled. I don’t need her to tell me what I shoul
d do. She doesn’t understand…”

  SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

  “I shouldn’t be long, Eve. I just want to question a few detectives and check out the records on Walsh.” Joe pulled up in front of the Sacramento Police Department precinct. “Do you want to come in with me?”

  “No, I’ll leave that to you. I want to check the forensic records on Jenny to see if it triggers anything.” She grabbed her computer and got out of the car. “But I’ll go across the street to the park and find a bench with a bit of sunshine. I’ve had a chill from that wood where Jenny was buried ever since we went there. I want to see sunlight and hear birds singing.”

  He nodded. “I’ll call you when I finish. Then we’ll go to the apartment where Walsh lived for a while and question the neighbors.”

  “Right.” She nodded. “I doubt if we’ll find anything. You said he had a fairly clean record here.”

  “Which means he’s being very careful. Or that he was incompetent while he was in the U.K.” He added grimly, “But he wasn’t clean while he was in Mexico. Maybe that was his training ground.” He turned and walked toward the front entrance. “But everyone slips, we’ve just got to find where Walsh made his.”

  Eve watched him disappear into the precinct before she turned to cross the street. She knew he was right, but so far, Walsh had not made a slip. He had killed that officer from the Sheriff’s Office and the FedEx driver. He had stolen Jenny’s reconstruction.

  He had killed Jenny.

  And, as far as she could see, there had been no errors.

  That didn’t mean they didn’t exist.

  She entered the stone park gates and dropped down on a green bench several yards down the path. There was a fountain sparkling a few feet away, and she could see a children’s playground in the distance.

  Two good, bright things to balance the darkness.

  So don’t think negative.

  * * *

  “That’s right, Mama. You always find a way to get around the bad things.”

  Bonnie.

  Eve felt a surge of pure joy as she saw her little daughter sitting on the edge of the fountain, dressed in her usual jeans and Bugs Bunny T-shirt, the spray in the background framing her riot of red curls. She hadn’t realized until this minute how frightened she’d been that Bonnie hadn’t appeared to her for so long. “It would be easier not to be negative if I’d had a little help from you, young lady. You’re not a very reliable ghost. Where have you been?”