That was for the people left behind.
She was suddenly filled with anger and rebellion and a desire to hold close to everything that life meant.
She opened the bedroom door. “Joe?”
“Present and accounted for.” He held out his arms. “Come here.”
“I have every intention.” She was shedding her clothes as she crossed the room. “And you’d better account yourself well.” She slipped into bed and wrapped her arms around him. “I need you.” She kissed him and buried her fingers in his hair. “I really need you tonight, Joe.”
“You’ve got me.” He kissed her again and then moved over her. “Forever…”
* * *
“Good night … Eve.”
The words were soft, hesitant, drifting to her in the darkness.
She was sleeping so hard after their hours of erotic lovemaking that she was barely conscious of the words. She was still half-asleep yet she knew she had to answer. “Good night…”
Joe kissed the tip of her nose. “I thought we’d said our good nights, sleepy head.”
“Not you…”
“No? Who then?”
“No one really.” She cuddled closer as sleep overcame her. “Only Jenny…”
* * *
“I don’t like this,” Ron said bluntly, as Nalchek parked the squad car at the edge of the forest. “I don’t want to go blundering through those woods. You’re being too damn— You’re acting weird as hell, and they’re going to tote you off to the funny farm. You’re not going to find anything out there in the forest that forensics didn’t find.”
“Then why did you come along?” Nalchek grinned as he got out of the vehicle. “It’s because you know I’m sharp, and I sometimes notice stuff that others don’t. You wanted to be with me, so that I wouldn’t be able to say I told you so later.”
“I came along because for some reason I want to keep you from making an ass of yourself,” Ron said sourly. “Imagine that.”
“I’ll try,” Nalchek said. “But we’ve been together a long time, and you haven’t seen me make an ass of myself yet.” He grimaced. “Of course, there’s always a first time. But I don’t believe it’s going to be here.” He hesitated. “Look, you said you don’t want to go with me to that crime scene. Why don’t you stay here and keep an eye out for reporters and other folks who might think I’m as nuts as you do?”
“I don’t think you’re nuts,” Ron growled as he got out. “I just think you’ve got this … thing about that poor kid, and you’re not thinking straight.”
“So stay here.” He moved toward the trees. He smiled back at Ron. “It’s okay. Keep yourself busy looking over those dossiers you brought with you. I’ll be right back. Ten minutes. No more.” He disappeared into the woods.
Ron got out of the car and moved to stand in front of the patrol car. Then he moved to the edge of the forest and gazed uncertainly down the trail. Maybe he should have gone with him, he thought. Not that he could have helped. Not that there was any more evidence to gather. But Nalchek was his buddy, and cops supported cops.
Hell, too late now. He’d wait and try to smooth over any feathers he might have ruffled when Nalchek got back. Maybe they’d go down to that bar down the highway and have a couple beers and he’d try to talk sense into—
Pain.
So intense that he didn’t know where it came from.
Back.
Chest.
He looked down and saw the knife blade protrude from his chest.
He couldn’t breathe. He could feel the blood pour out of his mouth.
He fell to his knees and pitched forward.
Darkness.
CHAPTER
2
“Who is Jenny?” Joe poured Eve’s coffee and then his own.
Eve yawned. “I must have told you or you wouldn’t know her name.” She nodded at the reconstruction on the worktable. “Don’t you remember? I gave her a name last night.”
“It must have been after I went to bed. No, you didn’t tell me.” Joe sat down across from her. “You just said good night to her before you went to sleep. Not your usual custom.”
“No.” She was suddenly wide awake as that half-forgotten blurred memory came back to her. “Not my custom at all.”
Good night … Eve.
“It’s bothering you.” Joe’s eyes were narrowed on her face. “Why?”
“No reason, I guess.” She took a sip of coffee. “I thought I was answering her. Crazy. I was half-asleep. Maybe I was dreaming.”
“More than likely. You don’t ordinarily have polite conversations with your reconstructions. At least, you’ve never mentioned it.”
She shook her head. “Never. The conversation is all on my side. As I said, I must have been dreaming.”
“And answered your Jenny when she wished you sweet dreams?”
“Sort of. I think she was actually answering me when I told her good night before I went to bed. She was just kind of … late.”
“Maybe it had to sink home,” he said solemnly. “She may be a little rusty. After all, being buried for eight years might do that to you.”
“Stop making fun of me. If you hadn’t worn me out last night, I wouldn’t have been having weird dreams.”
“As I recall, you had no complaints last night.”
She grinned back at him. “Not one.” She took another drink of coffee and then put her cup down. “Get out of here. You’re going to be late.”
He checked his wristwatch. “Yeah, I’ll pour the rest of my coffee into a to-go cup.” He got to his feet and headed for the cabinet. “I need the caffeine.” He gave her a sly glance as he took down the thermal cup. “You kind of wore me out, too. Very aggressive.”
She had been aggressive. She’d felt a desperate desire for life affirmation last night and there was no stronger affirmation than love and sex. “I wanted you.”
“And I thank God for that.” He tightened the lid on the cup. “Every day. Every minute. Come on. Walk me to the porch.”
The sun was coming up over the lake as she followed him out on the porch. Beautiful …
He gave her a quick kiss and started to run down the steps. “You’ll be working on that reconstruction today?”
She nodded. “The sooner I get it done, the happier Nalchek will be, and the sooner he’ll get out of my hair.”
“I looked him up while you were talking on the phone to him. John Nalchek isn’t all that young, early thirties. He was in Afghanistan. Special Forces and he won a chestful of medals. When he came back, he worked for his grandfather in the vineyards for a while. Marcus Nalchek owned the vineyard and half the farmland in central California and was grooming his grandson to take over. But when his grandfather died, Nalchek ran for sheriff and won. His father had held the office before him and he must have grown up with a law-enforcement mind-set.”
“And a massive determination. You should have heard him trying to be polite to me when I wouldn’t commit to start work last night on Jenny.” She called as he got into the driver’s seat, “He said he felt she was calling to him.”
“And when he went to bed, did she tell him goodnight?”
“I’m going to hit you.”
“I’ll look forward to it.” His eyes were twinkling as he started the car. “We didn’t go that route last night.”
Eve shook her head ruefully as she watched him drive down the road. He was impossible but he always made her smile when he made the effort. He was probably trying to distract her from thinking about how empty the cottage might be with Jane gone.
Distraction was good. Time to get to work.
She turned and went back into the cottage. Fix toast and orange juice then get to work on Jenny.
Or maybe just check to see if the cosmetic repair on the wound on Jenny’s temple was dry.
She moved over to the reconstruction and looked down at the skull.
Right as rain …
But there was nothing right about that wound that had taken a little girl’s life.
“But you were right, it didn’t hurt.”
Eve stiffened. “What the hell?” The words had come out of nowhere.