Timwick should be no problem. Hes on the news fairly frequently, but whos Albert Fiske?
A name I need to put a face to. Good-bye, Joe. She pressed the end button.
Lakewood. My God, Lakewood.
She put her phone back in her purse and stood up. She could hear the television in the next room. Logan and Gil would be hearing about Lakewood.
But Logan must already know. The lawyer was his snoop and it was Logans money that had dug up all the facts about her past.
Logan again. Damn him.
Gil and Logan both looked up when she walked into the room.
The plot thickens, Logan said as he switched off the TV.
Yes, Im crazy and youre dead, she said jerkily. They want to make it hard for us to make any move at all.
Not hard. Impossible, Gil corrected her. Were you really at Lakewood?
Ask Logan.
Logan shook his head. I didnt get that morsel of information. I guess Novak was saving that to sell to Timwick.
You knew he was dealing with them?
I suspected the possibility. Novaks ambitious. He paused. But the question is how valuable is that piece of information to them. How long were you at Lakewood?
Three weeks.
Who committed you?
Joe.
Christ. The authorities. Not a good image.
It wasnt the authorities, she said fiercely. It was Joe.
Quinn was with the FBI at the time.
They didnt know about it. Nobody knew about it. Not even my mother.
Shes next of kin. She would have had to know.
Eve shook her head. Lakewood isnt a public in-stitution. Its a small private hospital in South Georgia. Joe admitted me under another name. Anna Quinn. He told them I was his wife.
And you went in voluntarily?
She smiled crookedly. No, Joe can be a power-house when he chooses. He bulldozed me into it.
Why?
She didnt answer.
Why, Eve?
What the hell. Hed find out anyway. The night Fraser was executed, I took an overdose of sedatives. I was staying at a motel near the prison and Joe came to check and found me. She shrugged. He made me throw up several times and walked me around that damn room until I was out of danger. Then he took me to Lakewood. He stayed there with me for three weeks. At first they wanted to sedate me, but he told them that wasnt why he brought me there. He made me talk to every shrink in the place. He made me talk about Bonnie. He made me talk about Fraser. He made me talk about my mother. Hell, he even made me talk about my father, and I hadnt seen him since I was a baby. She grimaced. But he didnt think I was opening up enough with the good doctors, so after three weeks he checked me out and took me to Cumberland Island and kept me there for another week.
Cumberland Island?
Its a wild island off the coast. One hotel, but Joe didnt check us in there. We camped out and Joe ad-ministered his own brand of therapy.
And did you open up with him?
Joe didnt give me any choice. Her lips twisted ruefully. I told you, he can be a powerhouse. He wasnt about to let me go crazy or kill myself. He wouldnt have it. So I had to cope.
Quinn must be pretty impressive, Gil said.
Oh, yes. No doubt about it. Theres nobody like him. She walked over to the window and looked out at the surf. I fought him like a tiger. He wouldnt let me go.
I wish hed buried the Lakewood records deeper.
So do I. In the neighborhood where I grew up there were a lot of crazies, but you were really bonkers if you had to go to an asylum. But Joe doesnt think like we do. Hes very direct. If somethings broken, you get an expert to fix it. He didnt see any stigma about staying at a mental hospital. That didnt scare him.
Did it scare you? Logan asked.
She was silent a moment. Yes.
Why?
She said haltingly, I was afraid I belonged there.
Ridiculous. You had enough stress to give anyone a nervous breakdown.
And how close is a nervous breakdown to going over the edge? You never realize what a tightrope we all walk until you almost slip into the chasm.
But you fought back.
Joe jerked me back. She crossed her arms over her chest. And then I got mad as hell and disgusted with myself. I wasnt about to let Fraser take anything else from me. Not my life and not my sanity. I wasnt going to let him win. She turned to face Logan. And Im not going to let Timwick and her win either. The question is how are we going to keep them from making everyone think Im nuts.
We cant. Not now. Were on the defensive, Logan said. We cant do anything until we have a weapon to launch an offensive.
She had known that, but shed hoped for good news, not reality. Did you call Margaret?
He nodded. Shes on her way.
Where will she take my mother?
Shes consulting with the security service whos guarding your mother now. Wherever they decide to stash her, I told Margaret I wanted them to take at least one guard. Did you tell Sandra to ex-pect her?
Yes, and I told Joe to meet us tomorrow in At-lanta. She saw an expression flit across Logans face and demanded, What?
Nothing. It just might not have been wise to in-volve him. The fewer people who
Crap. She ignored the fact that that had been her own initial thought. I trust him more than I trust you or Gil.
I can see why. Gil rose to his feet. Im eager to meet the interesting Mr. Quinn. I think Ill go for a walk. Care to join me, John?
Logan nodded. I can use some air. He moved toward the door. Well be back soon. Keep an eye on the news, will you, Eve?
They wanted to talk over the situation alone. Theyd weigh the recent developments and try to plan an offensive. Well, let them. Theyd learn soon enough that she wouldnt be shut out of decisions any longer.
On the other hand, she just might want to shut them out. Tomorrow shed be with Joe again. Logan had used her and she had no confidence he wouldnt do it again, but she could trust Joe. Theyd been a team for a long time, and together they could work their way through anything, including Timwick and Lisa Chadbourne.
Lisa Chadbourne. Did the fact that her name had come so easily to Eve mean shed accepted Lisa Chad-bourne as the prime conspirator? The signals she had used with Detwil indicated complicity but didnt nec-essarily mark her as the kingpin.
But the woman shed studied in the videotapes was not the type to accept second place. She exuded confidence and charisma.
And Gils description of Timwick had not been of a man who would be able to pull off a deception of this magnitude. It would take nerves of steel and the ability to think on your feet. According to Gil, Timwick was a man who might crumble under pres-sure.
If Lisa Chadbourne was the prime player, then Eve had better study her very carefully.
She went to her handbag and pulled out the tapes she had stuffed in it before leaving Barrett House. She popped one in the VCR and settled on the sofa in front of the television.
Lisa Chadbournes smiling face appeared on the screen. Beautiful, intelligent, and, yes, fascinating. Eve felt tension ripple through her, and she leaned forward, her gaze never leaving Lisa Chadbourne.
What are you doing? Logan asked when he walked in on her two hours later. Lisa Chadbourne?
Eve flipped off the VCR. Nothing. I was just studying her.
Her signals to Detwil?
Some. Mainly body language. Expressions. They tell a hell of a lot.