Oliver still hadn’t arrived in Rock Harbor, but he’d e-mailed Nick Tuesday saying another project had come up that would delay him a couple of days. Nick hoped the forensic sculptor would make it in today. Oliver could shed some light on the investigation that no one else could.
The aroma of Finnish cardamom bread permeated the Suomi Café. The worn plank floors of the restaurant and the cracked leather booths showed the place was well loved and well used. Nick caught a glimpse of some kind of pancake drizzled with what looked like raspberry syrup. He’d have to eat in here sometime when he hadn’t succumbed to the pasty temptation. His gaze scanned the room and came to rest on Eve’s bright head. Tension was in every line of her shoulders and downturned head, and he knew she’d seen his entrance.
Even the familiar way she stood—heels together and toes out at the forty-five-degree angle known to all ballet dancers as the first position—caused a wave of love to swell. Eve wrapped herself in a blanket of quiet strength. Her demeanor had always calmed him after a rough day at work, but it could be hard and cold as well.
Her guardedness could cut, and he felt its icy blade when he approached. He zigzagged around the waitress and approached the booth Eve was sliding into. “Mind if I join you?”
“Sit down,” Bree said with a quick glance at Eve. Bree scooted over.
Eve still hadn’t spoken, and Nick fixed his gaze on her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Her clipped tone matched her averted eyes.
“Mama is going to come see you,” he said.
Her head came up then, and she looked like a felon about to bolt. “Your mother?”
“Yeah. She loves you like a daughter. She took your part over me all through this divorce thing.” He studied her face.
Color rushed into her cheeks, but she didn’t answer. Nick knew this had to be hard for her, faced with a mother-in-law she couldn’t remember. He’d tried to tell his mom not to come right now, but she didn’t listen. She often didn’t.
When neither of them said anything, Bree cleared her throat. “Have you talked to Montgomery this morning?”
Nick nodded. “Nothing we didn’t know though. The preliminary examination showed the woman died of stab wounds. Just like the others.”
Eve tore her paper napkin into strips. “We have to find him before he can hurt anyone else, especially Keri.”
Nick wanted her to look at him. “I don’t really think Keri is in danger. He’s never touched a child before. He’s a missionary killer.”
“Missionary killer, what does that mean?” Bree asked.
“It’s a type of serial killer. He thinks his killing is justified and he’s ridding the world of a certain kind of evil. Many kill prostitutes, but we haven’t figured out exactly what Gideon’s angle is.” He decided not to tell her about the verse in Proverbs. It might undo her to know Gideon had targeted her for a supposed sin.
Eve shuddered. “I was never a prostitute, was I?”
Nick wanted to laugh but didn’t. “Not hardly.” He glanced at Bree. “This is a small town. A stranger is going to stand out here. If he shows up, I think we’ve got a chance to get him.”
“A stranger won’t stand out right now,” Bree said. “Tourist season just started. We’ve got strangers in town by the droves.”
The bell on the door tinkled behind him, but he didn’t pay any attention until a female voice called his name. And Eve’s. He turned to look, and a rock seemed to lodge in his throat. As if they didn’t have enough problems.
A face he hadn’t seen in two years approached. Eve’s sister, Patti, walked toward them with purposeful steps. He would have bet money she’d died in a meth house somewhere.
Wishing now he’d had the courage to talk to Eve last night about Keri, he stood and moved to intercept her. “Patti?”
Eve’s younger sister had aged some. Tiny lines marred the pale skin around her eyes and mouth. Her blonde hair had darkened to ash, and it hung in dull, lifeless locks that touched her shoulders. The clothes she wore looked like they’d come from a secondhand shop. The garish orange colors of the plaid blouse made her look dull and yellow.
“Nick,” Patti said, veering to walk around him. She continued on to join her sister at the booth. “Hello, Eve.”
Eve looked from Patti to Nick and back again. “Hello,” she said. Her gaze held a plea when she looked back to Nick.
Nick used to think the women looked a lot alike, but drug abuse had transformed Patti into a jaded woman, while Eve still had her fresh skin and clear eyes. He stepped between them again and put his hand on Eve’s shoulder.
“Think you have to protect her, Nick?” Patti asked, her voice taunting. “I’m not dangerous. Especially not to my own sister.”
Eve’s shoulders tensed.
“This is Patti, your sister,” Nick said.
“I haven’t changed that much,” Patti said. Color flooded her cheeks, and she blinked quickly as though forcing back tears. “You’ve gotten older too.” She studied Eve’s face. “You don’t look it though. The years have been nicer to you.”
Nick needed to head off what he sensed was coming. “I’m not sure if you’ve heard the news, but Eve has been through a lot, Patti. She was attacked, and she doesn’t remember anything.”
Patti’s blue eyes snapped. “What do you mean? I thought the amnesia the paper mentioned meant you didn’t remember the attack. You know your own sister.”
“No, no. I’m sorry.” Eve stood awkwardly. “I wish I did, but I don’t remember anyone.”
Nick winced. Patti would use that statement if she’d shown up here for the reason he suspected.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Patti cheeks reddened even more. “That only happens on soap operas.”
“I had a concussion,” Eve offered. “How did you find me?”
“You’re a media darling,” Patti muttered. “It wasn’t exactly hard.” Her pronounced stare at her sister dragged on.
“Eve will recover in time,” Nick said.
“How much time? And what about Keri?”
“What about her?” Nick asked, hoping to head her off. “Would you like to see her? She’s with a friend, but you can see her later tonight.”
Patti blinked and shrugged. Her smile, when it finally came, looked pinched. “Don’t I get a hug?” she asked, looking from Eve to Nick.
Nick wished he could trust her olive branch. He stepped over to hug her and noticed the way her ribs protruded and the reek of tobacco on her clothing and hair. His mind raced through possible ways to talk with her privately before she spilled everything to Eve. He should have told Eve the truth last night. Now she would be blindsided.
Eve slid out of the booth and approached her sister. Patti hugged Eve, but watching her face over Eve’s shoulder, Nick suspected Patti would rather hit her.
“Is something wrong?” Eve asked.
“You mean other than the fact you disappeared with my daughter?”
Time slowed. Nick saw Eve recoil, her eyes widen. Bree put her hand over her mouth and froze in place. Stupid, stupid. He could have prepared Eve for this if he hadn’t been such a coward.
Eve’s smile came out, an uncertain grimace as if Patti had made a joke she didn’t quite know how to take. “Your daughter? Who do you mean?” She glanced toward Nick.
Nick rubbed his eyes. “I wanted to tell you last night.” Eve’s gaze held his.
Patti crossed her arms over her chest. “I want to see my daughter.”
Nick tore his gaze from Eve’s and took a step toward Patti. “Let’s talk about this later. I need to talk to Eve. Explain things.”
“I want to see her. Now,” Patti said.
Nick shook his head. “What will that accomplish? She doesn’t know anything about you, Patti.”
Eve held up her hand. “Wait, wait, you’re not talking about Keri, are you?”
Patti glared at her sister. “Of course we’re talking about Keri. Don’t be a nitwit, Eve.”
br /> Eve flinched, and Nick wanted to hurl something through the window. “Don’t talk to your sister like that,” he growled.
“She’s faking,” Patti sneered. “She has to be. No one forgets everything about their past.” She leaned toward Eve. “Keri is my daughter. And I want her back.”
Eve began shaking her head. “You’re lying.” She grabbed Nick’s arm. “Tell me she’s lying, Nick. Keri is my daughter. I would know if she weren’t. She’s mine.”
“I was going to tell you last night,” he began.
She held up her hands in a protective motion. “No, this isn’t true. Are you saying I’m not Keri’s mother? She calls me Mama.” She turned back to her sister. “Why are you doing this? You’re a liar.” Her hands balled into fists at her side, and she took a step closer to her sister, who watched her distress with a supercilious smile.
“Tell her, Nick,” Patti jeered. “Surely you don’t have amnesia too. Tell her how she couldn’t have kids so she had to steal mine.”
Nick ignored the younger woman’s sneer. He took Eve’s hand. “You are her mother—her real mother. We decided not to tell her any different until she was older.”
Patti’s smile faded. “How dare you? I’m her real mother. Do you mean to say she thinks you’re her parents? You think you can just steal my daughter away from me?”
Nick faced Patti and squared his shoulders. “Did you want me to tell her that her own mother abandoned her, just walked away without even saying good-bye? That she was too strung up on drugs to care about her baby girl? Is that what you wanted us to do? We love her, Patti. She’s happy and content with us. Just go away and leave us alone. Please.” Even as he made the plea, Nick knew Patti would never agree.
Nick had heard all the stories. As a child, Patti had guarded all her belongings. And friends. More than once she’d stolen a boyfriend or best friend from Eve. Heck, she’d even tried her wiles on Nick, but he hadn’t been interested—not when he had Eve.
Eve’s blue eyes turned icy. “I love Keri, and she loves us. You can’t have her.”
Nick grabbed Patti’s arm and tugged her toward the door. “Look, your sister has been through too much to deal with this now. I want you to leave us alone. We’ll discuss this when we’ve caught Gideon.”
Patti jerked her arm free. “I’m not leaving town without my daughter,” she growled.
“You can’t have her.”
“We’ll see what a judge has to say.” Patti turned back toward the door with jerky movements. “The courts generally rule in favor of the biological parents. I’m going to get her back.”
“Over my dead body.” Nick moved to intercept her. “She’s ours, not yours. You gave up all rights the day you left her with us, no diapers, no formula, no money.”
For the first time Patti’s defiance left her. Her glance held true appeal. “I’ve changed, Nick. I know I was wrong. Can’t you see she belongs with me? What if that killer finds you, Eve?” she said, directing her gaze back to her sister. “Don’t you want her to be safe?”
“Of course I do,” Eve snapped. “I would do anything for Keri.”
“Then let me take her and keep her safe.”
“It won’t work, Patti,” Nick said. “We’re not going to let you drag Keri from pillar to post with never a stable home. You’ve been missing for two years. We thought you were dead.”
Patti’s pleading smile changed to defiance. “I’m going to get her back, and you can’t stop me.” She flounced out the door and slammed it behind her so hard that the pictures on the wall shook, and one fell to the floor with a crash. The café customers looked up with curious stares.
Eve almost visibly gathered her coolness around her. Her back straight and her head high, she slid back into the booth and interlaced her fingers together. “Why didn’t you tell me, Nick?”
“I started to last night,” he said.
“You were only too happy to avoid that conversation. Didn’t you think this was something I needed to know?” Her gaze bored into him with a fierce accusation.
He shrugged. “Yeah, you did, and I blew it.”
“Tell me how this happened,” she demanded.
“You sure you want to hear all this now?”
“I can go,” Bree said.
Eve grabbed her hand. “No, stay with me.”
Bree nodded and kept hold of Eve’s hand.
“Patti was twenty-five when she had Keri. She’d been in and out of drug rehab for three or four years. You were really worried when you found out she was pregnant. You wanted to take her in until the baby was born. I thought she was just mooching off you, but I was gone a lot, and I thought it would get you off my back about work.”
He didn’t like admitting how unconcerned he’d really been about Keri. The story made him sound like a real jerk. Maybe he was.
“So she was living with us when Keri was born?”
He nodded. “From the first day, she kept leaving you with the baby and running around with her friends. You were working one day, and she left the baby with a friend who had a day care. When she never showed up to pick up Keri, her friend called you and you went to get the baby. We never heard from Patti from that day to this.”
“It seems unbelievable,” Eve murmured. “Did we just assume she was ours and start teaching her to call us Mommy and Daddy?”
“Not at first. But about two weeks after Patti ran off, I came home from work and you said, ‘Keri, Daddy’s home.’ We looked at each other and knew it was supposed to be that way. Patti wasn’t coming back.”
“Did you adopt her?” Bree asked.
“Please tell me we did,” Eve said.
Nick didn’t want to admit how little thought they’d put into the situation. They’d been such idiots.
“Nick?” Eve asked. “We adopted her, didn’t we?” Her cool control cracked enough for fear to creep into her voice.
Man, he was slime. If only he didn’t have to admit it. “We got guardianship. Adoption was an option, and we started the ball rolling about six months ago, but our marriage started falling apart, and we never finalized it.”
Eve took a sip of water, and her hand was steadier. “Why didn’t we do something sooner?”
“We thought Patti was dead. There seemed to be no hurry.”
“So she could really take Keri?” She put down the glass and grabbed his hand. “What can we do to stop her? We have to stop her, Nick.”
He rubbed his thumb over her palm. “We’ll need to contact a lawyer, but I guess we’ve got a battle on our hands.” He wanted to point out that their case would be stronger if they remarried, but he didn’t want to manipulate her.
Though in another week he might not be above it.
14
Gideon watched the news with avid attention while he slowly ate a bowl of ravioli. He heard steps on the stairs behind him and turned to see his daughter. Odette wore a short denim skirt and a red midriff top. Her sandals covered nothing of her feet. He put down the bowl of ravioli carefully and turned to face her.
“Where do you think you’re going dressed like that?” The red on her cheeks and the plum on her eyes made her look like the cartoon of Cinderella. “Is that makeup? You look like a tramp. Go wash and change your clothes.”
“Dad, I’ve got a date.” Odette tried to move past him. He grabbed her arm and propelled her down the hallway. “Let go,” she protested.
He didn’t answer, just pushed her into the bathroom. Once the door was closed and locked, he got out a washcloth and lathered it up. “Sit,” he ordered, pointing to the toilet seat.
She knew better than to give him any sass. Her face turned up to his in a gesture of resignation. “Everyone else gets to wear makeup,” she muttered with her eyes closed.
He methodically scrubbed every trace of the vileness from her face. It was his job to see his family stayed pure. Her skin was red by the time he finished, but pain would teach this lesson most memorably. With the washcloth rinsed and drape
d over the towel rod, his gaze swept her attire.
“Change your clothes, Odette,” he said in a soft voice.
Her eyes popped open, and an expression of fright pulled her mouth down. “This is a new skirt. I really like it.”
Instead of answering, he opened the cabinet and drew out a jar of petroleum jelly. He unscrewed the lid and scooped out a glob of the sticky goo.
“What are you doing, Dad?”
He smeared the jelly over the detestable skirt. “Throw it in the trash. And while you’re at it, get rid of that paint you used on your face. There will be no Jezebels in this house.”
Odette gave a groan of frustration and got up. Tears rained down her face. “Why do you have to be so mean?” Brushing past him, she fumbled with the lock and finally managed to open the door.
Her sobs echoed down the hall as she ran out. Her feet pounded up the steps, and then her door slammed. It was hard to be a parent, but she’d thank him someday for making sure she stayed righteous.
With that problem taken care of, he began to review his plan. He and the good captain were out for the same thing—justice. Andreakos was still making the mistake of working inside the law. Gideon had discovered the law’s shortcomings long ago.
He would have preferred not to make Miranda wait out this cat-and-mouse game, but Eve needed to suffer before he killed her. She would enter the next life better prepared. Pain was purifying. So many of its aspects fascinated him. It was so much more valuable than most people realized.
God had given him the job of wielding the weapon of pain, and he still had much to learn about it.
He listened to his daughter sob a few more minutes, then went to the basement entrance. He unlocked the padlock, opened the door, and turned on the light. Stepping onto the first stair, he locked the door behind him before descending.
At the bottom of the flight, a steel door with two combination locks was to his left. He opened the locks and pulled the door shut behind him, then threw the deadbolt. Turning around, he stepped to the stainless steel worktable in the middle of the room.