His smile was twisted. “And you don’t feel like that any longer?”
“Another reason occurred to me. Perhaps she wanted me to be with you to make sure that everything went as it was supposed to go. That you didn’t try to stop me from finding Bonnie and the man who killed her.”
“You believe I’d do that?”
She couldn’t read his expression. There was hardness in the curve of his lips, and his dark eyes were glittering with a hint of recklessness. Yet she was still aware of the underlying pain that lay beneath that hardness. In which direction was he headed? Eve knew that he loved Bonnie. But he also loved his uncle and was very grateful to him for years of protection and affection in a barren world. “I don’t know what I believe right now. But I’m not going to take a chance. We’re joined at the hip until we find your uncle.” She smiled wearily. “So you can call information in Dublin and see if we can locate Donnelly’s cousin if you like. Do you know how many O’Learys there will be in that city? I’m going to call Catherine back and see if Venable or Joe can narrow down the odds. We’ll see which method will get us what we need the quickest.”
* * *
IT TOOK OVER AN HOUR for Catherine to get back to Eve about O’Leary’s phone and address.
“I found him,” Catherine said. “O’Leary owns a pub outside Dublin.”
“What’s his phone number?”
Catherine rattled off the number. “But you don’t need it. I talked to him. He was belligerent as hell and drunk as a skunk, but he did finally answer a few questions. He hasn’t seen Donnelly since he visited him after he left the hospital. He stayed with O’Leary for about three months, then went back to the U.S.”
“Does he have an address?”
“Not a current one. He hasn’t heard from him since about a year after he left Dublin. It appears they didn’t get along too well. O’Leary likes his pints a bit too much, and his cousin was always trying to make him cut down his drinking. Actually, from what Venable tells me, O’Leary is an alcoholic. I can see a psychiatrist trying to help him with his problem, but O’Leary didn’t appreciate Donnelly’s interfering in his life.”
“Where was Donnelly’s last address?”
“A university town near Valdosta, Georgia.”
“What? He’s not practicing any longer? He’s teaching?”
“He wasn’t on the staff as far as we can tell. Joe and I are going down there to ask some questions. Do you want to meet us there?”
Gallo was shaking his head.
“Maybe not,” Eve said. “We’re in the car on our way to the airport to catch a flight for Atlanta. And I imagine Gallo wants to talk to O’Leary himself. Let us know what you find out.” She hung up, and said to Gallo, “Though I don’t know what you think that you can find out from O’Leary that Catherine didn’t.”
“Probably nothing. But there’s no use all of us converging on that university town. I’m my uncle’s next of kin, and maybe the hospital would tell me something they wouldn’t tell Catherine and Quinn.”
“And you don’t want to get too close to Joe or Catherine,” Eve said shrewdly. “They might get in your way.”
“Very perceptive. I don’t deny that could be part of it.” He gazed at Eve. “When we get to the airport, I’m going to try to call O’Leary and see if I can catch something that Catherine didn’t find out. She said he was drunk. But after I make that call, I’m boarding the first flight to Atlanta.” He paused. “But you might prefer to catch a flight to Valdosta to meet Catherine and Quinn. You might find it more profitable.”
“Forget it,” Eve said grimly. “I’m not leaving you, John.”
“I was afraid that would be your answer.” He looked back at the highway, and said soberly, “I hope you won’t regret it, Eve.”
She hoped she wouldn’t either, she thought. She didn’t know whether staying with Gallo would translate into protecting him or battling with him. She didn’t want to do either. She wanted to be with Joe at this crucial time.
Stay the course. Every instinct was still telling her that she had to travel this path.
But why, Bonnie?
* * *
“ WHY, BONNIE?”
Bonnie lifted her head as Eve’s words swept to her like a wind through autumn leaves.
So much pain. So much bewilderment.
She couldn’t always hear her mother when she spoke to her when Bonnie was here on this plane. As she’d told Eve, it was like being in two different worlds with different rules and memories. She was not allowed to take this world with her. The balance was difficult, and letting her go back from here to Eve’s world was a trade-off. It was usually only when Eve needed her most that she could break through the barrier and be there for her.
Why?
I wish I could tell you, Mama. I don’t know myself. I’m feeling my way and hoping that everything will come together. I have to have faith that it will. I don’t even know why it couldn’t have happened before. I wanted all the hurt to go away for you, and it hurt me that it didn’t. But there’s that wonderful order here that I have to trust.
As Bonnie was doing this moment in the middle of this forest that teemed with life … and death.
She fell to her knees beside the injured doe that was soon going to pass to the other side.
She could see the deer’s heart beating frantically with fear. Fear was always the most terrible part of the passing.
Don’t be afraid. I’m here with you. She gently put her hand on the deer’s head. I’ll show you. See? You’ll be safe soon, and there will be nothing but the joy. Do you see it?
The doe was quieting and looking up at her with eyes that no longer held the fear, only the wonder.
Trust. Love. It’s all there waiting for you. It’s only the beginning. Do you see it?
Wonder was being replaced by the joy in the deer’s eyes.
And Bonnie knew she was beginning to see it.
* * *
“WHY ARE YOU PHONING ME? Why the hell are you bothering me?” James O’Leary’s voice was rough with irritation and slightly thick from the alcohol he’d obviously been imbibing. “I’ve already talked to that nosy Ling woman. She wouldn’t leave me alone. I told her I didn’t have time to talk to her. I have a business to run. Now you come asking me the same questions.”
“Because I’m not satisfied that she got the right answers,” Gallo said.
O’Leary muttered a curse. “I’m hanging up now.”
“And I’ll call you back. If you don’t answer, then I’ll get on a plane and be knocking on the door of your pub within a matter of hours. I won’t give up, O’Leary. And I’m much more difficult to deal with in person. It would be much smarter if you give me a few moments right now.”
Silence. “What the hell did Kevin do to you all?”
“Nothing that would get him in trouble with the authorities. We just need some information from him that he may have obtained from one of his patients.”
“Then he won’t tell you anything. I used to ask him to tell me if those nuts he talked to had any weird stories that would give us a chuckle. He’d never say a word. Asshole.”
“You didn’t get along with him?”
“He was always trying to get me off the booze. It’s not his business. Just because he doesn’t want to have a good time, why try to keep me from doing what I want to do? He was lousy company, always sitting around brooding or taking walks. He said that he had some heavy thinking to do. That was okay, but when he tried to tell me what to do, I blew up. I told him I didn’t want him around here any longer.”
“You kicked him out?”
“I had a right. We got along real good when we were in school together, but then he got all serious and telling everybody what to do. He wouldn’t leave me alone. He even offered to hypnotize me to get me to quit drinking. He said that it would reinforce my will. I’ve got plenty of will if I want to use it. I know what’s good for me.” His tone was surly. “I told him to go and lecture someone else and leave me to go my own way. Do you know what he said? The bastard said if I needed him, to call, and he’d be there and work with me.”