THREE
"Nice." Sandra’s gaze traveled over the cottage and then down to the boat dock. "I like this, Joe."
"Then why didn’t you come here all the times I invited you?" Joe started unloading luggage from the trunk.
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"You know I’m city born and bred." Sandra drew a deep breath. "But I could tolerate this. Eve should have told me about that beautiful view of the lake."
"I did," Eve said. "You wouldn’t have any of it."
"Well, it is pretty isolated. Aren’t there any other houses on the lake?”
“No, Joe bought the lake and surrounding acreage and won’t sell any of it." Sandra grinned at Joe. "How unfriendly of you."
"I like privacy when I’m up here." He closed the trunk. "I get enough of people when I’m in the city. I kept the title in the name of my trust and no one knows I own this place. Not even the department." He smiled at Eve. "Except a few chosen friends."
"Well, at least, the cottage looks nice and friendly," Sandra said. Eve had always liked the A-frame. It was small and cozy and had plenty of windows that welcomed the sun and the outdoors. "Come on in and see the inside."
"I have to get back to the city. Ron worries when I don’t show up for dinner.”
“You could call him."
Sandra shook her head. "Hey, I’m not stupid. I don’t want him getting used to eating alone. I’ll call you tomorrow and we’ll talk then." She gave Eve a long hug. "Welcome home, baby. I’ve missed you." She stepped back and looked at Joe. "Do you need a lift back to town?"
"I have a Jeep up here. I’ll use that. Thanks, Sandra."
"No problem." Sandra got back in the driver’s seat and started the car. "See you soon."
Eve watched the car disappear down the gravel road, then helped Joe carry the luggage up the porch steps.
"You know, I don’t get it." He shook his head. "You two haven’t seen each other for over a year, and she goes off to dinner with her boyfriend and it’s okay with you?"
"You don’t have to get it. We understand each other." No one who had not been there during her hellish childhood would be able to empathize. The scars were still there and they would never go away, but she and Sandra had built on them and forged a bond they could live with.
"Mom has never had a stable relationship before. She has a right to protect it. She’s really hooked, isn’t she?"
"Yep." He unlocked the door. "But she doesn’t appear to mind.”
“No." Eve paused. "It will seem strange not to have Diane here.”
“Why? You came here before I was married. Diane never really liked this place.
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She preferred civilization."
She glanced around and remembered how Joe’s retriever had always bounded up to greet her.
"Where’s George? Is he in the city apartment?"
"No, Diane has him. I’m never home. He’s better off with her."
“That must have been hard."
"Yeah, it was. I love that dog." He opened the door and gestured to a corner of the room.
"Good God." Video cameras, a computer, a worktable and pedestal. "Where did you get all this?"
"I raided your lab in town and brought out all the equipment the insurance company replaced after it was trashed last year. I think I got everything.”
“I think you did too." She went inside. "You seem to have met all my needs.”
“My goal in life," he said lightly. "I stocked the house with food too. It’s chilly in here." He crossed to the fireplace and knelt before the logs. "I’ll light the fire before I leave."
"You’re not staying?"
He shook his head. "Reporters are looking for you. It will be hard to trace the cabin but not impossible. I have to find a way to cast out a few red herrings." He paused. "And I’m going to tell Sandra not to come up here until you’ve finished the job. She might be followed. If you want to catch up on everything, do it on the telephone. Okay?"
"Okay." He had mentioned everything except what was most important. "And when do I get the skull?"
"Tomorrow. It’s still at Georgia State with Dr. Comden, the anthropologist who did the report.
I’ll get a release from the department, pick it up tomorrow morning, and bring the skull with me in the afternoon. If there’s any change of plan, I’ll call you." He moved toward the door. "In the meantime, try to get some sleep. You didn’t doze more than an hour on the flight over."
"Okay." She added deliberately, "But first I’m going to call Logan and tell him we’ve arrived safely."
"He won’t expect it."
"But he’ll appreciate it. I’m not going to shut him out of my life just because we’re not together anymore. He deserves more than that."
He shrugged. "I’m not going to argue with you. Just don’t let him upset you. You need to rest."
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"I’ll rest."
"I mean it. Neither one of us knows how you’re going to react when you see that kid’s skull.
Exhaustion won’t help. I don’t want you going to pieces."
"I won’t go to pieces."
"Get some sleep," he repeated. The door shut behind him.
She went to the window and watched him stride around the cabin toward the garage, where he kept the Jeep. A few minutes later it appeared in the driveway and then disappeared from view down the road.
She was alone.
The sunlight suddenly seemed weaker, colder, as it touched the lake. On the far bank, pine trees cast shadows that blended and formed a dark blanket. She shivered, then moved over to the blazing fire and held out her hands. The warmth was welcome, chasing away the chill that had attacked her.
Imagination. Everything was as it was before Mom and Joe had left. She just wasn’t accustomed to being alone any longer. On the island she had seldom been by herself. Even when she was working, Logan was never more than five minutes away. Face it. The chill hadn’t come from loneliness but from dread and eagerness. She was no more sure than Joe of how she would react to having that skull in her hands. If she would be able to close out the horror and be totally professional.
Of course she could. She owed it to Bonnie.
Or whoever the little girl might be. She mustn’t think of her as Bonnie, or her hands and mind might play tricks on her. She had to view the skull with total detachment.
But when had she ever been able to do that? she wondered ruefully. Every reconstruction concerning a lost child was heart-wrenching, leaving her emotionally drained by the time she finished. But she had to control all emotion this time. It was absolutely necessary not to let herself fall into that dark pit.
Keep busy. Don’t think about what awaited her. She reached for the telephone and dialed Logan’s digital number. No answer. The call went to his voice mail.
"Hi, Logan, just calling to tell you that I’m at Joe’s cottage. I’m fine and I’m going to get the skull tomorrow. I hope everything’s well with you. Take care." She hung up.
Not being able to touch base with Logan made her feel even more isolated. That safe, sane life with Logan seemed so far away already and was growing more distant with every second.
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For God’s sake, snap out of it. She’d go for a walk along the lake and tire herself so that she’d sleep.
All the clothes in her suitcases were tropical, so she went into Joe’s bedroom and found jeans and flannel shirt. She put on her own tennis shoes and grabbed Joe’s windbreaker. A moment later she was out the door and going down the steps.
She was alone.
Dom watched Eve Duncan stride briskly down the path to the lake. Her hands were in the jacket pockets and there was a faint frown on her face.
She was taller than he remembered but appeared very fragile in the oversize jacket. She wasn’t fragile. He could see that in the way she moved, the set of her chin.