She heard them behind her but didn’t wait for them. She reached Elena and knelt beside her. She checked the pulse in her throat. Faint beat. Very faint.
“She’s alive. Call 911 and get an ambulance up here.”
“Right.” Nalchek pulled out his phone and started dialing. “Those are knife wounds all over her torso. I doubt if—” He broke off and started speaking into his phone.
Try to stop the blood, Eve thought.
Where could she start? Which one of those knife wounds had done the most damage?
“Eve…” Margaret was behind her, her hand grasping Eve’s shoulder.
“I’ve got to help her,” Eve said unsteadily as she gently pushed up Elena’s shirt.
Elena’s eyes opened. “Who … are … you?”
“Eve. A friend.” She took Elena’s hand. She didn’t know if she could give her anything but comfort. “A friend to you and Cara and Jenny. We’re here to help you, Elena.”
“Eve … Cara said … Eve … Too late for … me. It’s Cara. Got to save Cara.” Her eyes were frantic. “So that God will forgive me. I told him. He kept stabbing me, and I told him. How could … I do it?”
“Walsh? You told Walsh?”
“God will never … forgive me. I told … Walsh, and he laughed. Then he stabbed me one more time. He picked me … up and threw me … down here. He … thought … I … was dead. I should be … dead. Don’t deserve … to … live. Told … him.”
“What did you tell him, Elena?”
“Where … Cara. The strip … seventeen-mile … I told him … about the cave.”
“What cave?”
“Spider’s nest … spider’s nest.” Her voice was fading. “She won’t have a chance…” Her hand tightened on Eve’s. “Please. Save … her.” A trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth. “So that God will forgive—”
“We’ll save her. I promise you.” Her throat was tight. “And God will forgive you. There’s no need. You’ve been a very good woman, and there’s nothing to—”
But Elena’s eyes were closed.
She was dead.
“Damn.” Eve sat back on her heels and drew a deep, shaky breath. “Damn him.”
“Yes.” Nalchek hung up the phone. “We can’t stay here. It would have taken Walsh a bit of time to stage the car accident to stall us, but he has at least an hour’s head start.”
Eve nodded jerkily as she got to her feet. “And we have no idea where we’re going yet. But we’ll find out. You go ahead in your car, Nalchek, and head back toward town and check the map and try to locate any reference to any caves near the seventeen-mile strip. I don’t remember ever hearing about any. Margaret and I will stop at the crash scene and question the local police and see if they know anything before we join you in Carmel. Local cops usually know their towns better than anyone.” She looked down at Elena. “And get someone to come and take care of her before those birds…” She started up the hill. “I’ll be in touch as soon as we get on the road. We’ve got to hurry. I made her a promise.”
Promises.
She had made a promise to Elena and to Jenny.
And the strongest, deepest promise was to herself.
She had to keep that little girl alive.
* * *
“We’re heading toward town right now,” Eve told Joe after she had filled him in on what had happened to Elena Delaney. “Margaret is checking Google, but I don’t think she’s finding anything. I talked to the police at the crash scene, and they’d never heard of a cave in that area. It must not be well-known. I thought I’d let you have a go at checking on it. We need all the help we can get.”
“And I’m so conveniently on the sidelines.” He followed immediately. “That’s not fair. I’ll get to work on it immediately. You’re right, we’re heading for the homestretch, and there’s no way Walsh will get there before us.”
“Thanks, Joe.”
“Is that all you need?”
“Yes.” She paused. “No. It was bad seeing Elena—I felt helpless. I’m missing you right now. I wanted to hear your voice. I wanted to be with you.”
“You’re always with me.”
“Yeah, I know. Keep in touch.” She hung up.
Joe slowly pressed the disconnect. Eve felt safe saying she wanted to be with him when she was almost two hours away, and she had arranged roadblocks to keep him here.
Sorry, Eve. Homestretch.
He sat up in bed and threw his sheet aside.
First, get to Carmel in the quickest way possible.
He was dialing his phone as he started dressing.
“Nalchek. I need you to do something for me.”
“Forget it,” he said curtly. “I don’t have the time. I’m driving toward Carmel and trying to—”
“I know what you’re trying to do. I need one phone call from you, then I’ll leave you alone.”
“You’ll not get it. I’m busy and—”
“I want you to set up a helicopter to bring me down there right away.”
“What? You think I can just blink my eyes and arrange for a helicopter?”
“Probably. You have connections. You did very well when you got those police helicopters so quickly to us in Tahoe.”
“That was different.”
“Then consider it a challenge.”
“No.”
“Yes. Or we’ll discuss Bryland Medical, and I don’t think you want to waste time on that at the moment.”
Silence. “You’ve been digging hard and deep.”
“And I’d just finished putting together the pieces before Eve called me. But I’m willing to put it aside until we take out Walsh.” Joe’s tone hardened. “Get me the helicopter. And while you’re at it, get rid of that guard in the hall, or I’ll do it myself.”
Nalchek didn’t answer for another moment. “I’ll get it for you. Why should I worry about you killing yourself? That’s Eve’s job, and she’ll probably kill you herself when she finds out what you’re doing.”
“I’ll be out of here and downstairs on the street in ten minutes. Call me and tell me where to pick up the helicopter.” He hung up.
Eve wouldn’t kill him, but she would probably find a way to punish him, Joe thought ruefully. But as long as he didn’t pull those stitches and bleed to death, she would eventually forgive him. It would be worth the risk.
Homestretch.
* * *
Eve, Margaret, and Nalchek pulled off the road and climbed out of the car. They were on the southern end of the scenic seventeen-mile drive, which offered some of the most stunning views of the Pacific Ocean Eve had ever seen. But now it looked anything but beautiful to her. The crashing waves were ominous, threatening. Jagged rocks jutted from the water like fingers clawing desperately upward. Dark clouds billowed offshore, pulsing with electrical energy.
Margaret pulled her sweater closer around her. “The birds have all gone. Look around.”
Birds. Eve’s mind went instantly to the vultures wheeling over Elena’s poor broken body.
Margaret knew what Eve was thinking and shook her head.
Nalchek turned toward Margaret. “And what does that have to do with anything?”
“There’s a storm coming, and they know it.” Margaret nodded to the clouds offshore. “It’s going to be a big one.”
Eve unfolded a map and spread it on the car hood. “One more reason to find Cara as fast as we can.” She ran her finger up and down the coastline. “The way I figure it, she could be anywhere along here. Most of the scenic road is close to sea level, and there aren’t many places to hide. It’s only here at this section, with all these cliffs and rocks, that offers a real possibility.”
Nalchek shook his head. “It’s still a lot of ground to cover. I’ll coordinate with the Coast Guard and local police to get some manpower out here.”
“Do that. But we’re running out of time.” Eve looked up and down the shoreline. “Walsh has a head start on us. I’m going down to the beach.”
“By yourself? That’s not a good idea.”
“No choice. Cara needs us.”
Nalchek shook his head. “And what if I ordered you to stay here?”
Eve folded the map. “I’d remind you that I don’t work for you.” She turned to Margaret. “What do you think?”