Hide Away (7 page)

“I won't accept it.”

“Yes, you will, maybe not this minute, but it will happen. I'll hang up, and you'll think about it. And you'll realize that we're family, and what happens to one happens to all of us. That's what you taught me when I was growing up, and nothing has changed.”

“A lot has changed. You're grown-up, you have a career, you have a life outside—”

“We're family. Make a choice. Call me tomorrow. Or I'll be on the next plane back to Atlanta.” She hung up.

She sounded totally determined, Eve thought in frustration. Once Jane made up her mind, there was no changing it. She listened, she looked at the problem from all sides, then she came to a conclusion and forged ahead. This time she had not indulged in the usual analyzing but jumped in with both feet when she'd heard Eve might be in danger.

Which was exactly what Eve would have done.

Family. Because family was everything.

Eve wanted to strangle Margaret. She had probably known exactly what effect recounting what had happened would have on Jane. Eve had known that, too, which was the reason she hadn't been in contact with her since she had left here for California.

And now she had to find a way to deal with Jane as well as everything else that was going on in her life.

Her hand instinctively went to her abdomen.

See, I told you it was crazy out here. And sometimes the craziness comes from the people you love the most. And if Jane knew about you, she'd be more difficult than ever.

But she didn't know, and Eve wasn't about to tell her. She had a better chance of dealing with the situation the fewer disturbing elements that were present. The presence of this child in her life was definitely disturbing.

Disturbing and yet comforting in a strange way. It was a sign that there were wonderful things in a world where darkness always seemed to be present.

But she still had to fight that darkness, so stop standing here and brooding about what Jane might or might not do. She had until tomorrow to make a decision, and she'd have to talk to Joe anyway.

She sat down on the couch and started to go through her messages.

*   *   *

“You two were gone a long time.” Eve looked up from the Hamburger Helper she was stirring on the burner when Joe and Cara came into the cottage. “I hope you worked up an appetite.”

“She had a lot of questions,” Joe said. “And yes, I'm hungry. What about you, Cara?”

She smiled and nodded. “What are you fixing?”

“Just Hamburger Helper.” She made a face. “I'm not much of a cook. Joe and I are working most of the time. We do a lot of takeout.” She smiled at Joe. “But Joe is great on the barbecue grill. He'll have to demonstrate soon.”

“My pleasure,” Joe said. “But we may be a little too busy in the near future.” He looked at the simmering skillet. “How soon will that be done?”

“Thirty minutes or so. As usual, I tossed everything in it to make it more palatable. I'm letting it simmer.”

“It usually turns out pretty good.” Joe turned toward the door. “I have an errand to run. I should be back by then.”

“Where are you going?”

“I have something to pick up.” He opened the door. “Lock up behind me and don't go out on the porch. Okay?”

Her gaze flew to his face. “Was everything all right out there?”

He nodded. “No signs. But it doesn't hurt to be careful.” The door closed behind him.

“You're afraid someone would be here waiting for us?” Cara asked.

“No.” She shrugged. “But Joe is right, it doesn't hurt to be careful.” She moved toward the door and locked it. “Are you tired from that long walk?”

“You're trying to distract me.” She was smiling. “I'm used to locked doors. It was a rule at the apartment.” She moved over to the stove. “I sometimes put cheese in the Hamburger Helper. Did you try that?”

“Not this time.” She looked curiously at her. “You cook?”

“I did most of the cleaning and cooking at the apartment. We divided up the jobs. It was only fair. Elena was working most of the time just to pay the bills.” She looked in the refrigerator and got out some Brie cheese. “Okay, if I put some of this in it?”

“Be my guest.” Eve watched her as she carefully cut up some cheese, then blended it in the mixture. “What else did you cook?”

“Oh, hamburgers, lasagna, stew, spaghetti, mostly easy stuff.” She put down the ladle. “But I learn fast. If you want anything else, I'll make it for you.”

She chuckled. “We didn't bring you here because we wanted a chef.”

“I don't expect you to keep me unless I make myself useful. Why would you? You don't owe me anything.” She said soberly, “And I have to stay with you. You might need me.”

“Because you had a dream, and Jenny told you that you had to do it? I know you told me that.” Eve shook her head. “We want you to stay with us but not because you think you have to do it. Jenny isn't with us any longer. She died a long time ago.”

“But I still love her,” she whispered. “I'll always love her.” Her gaze was clinging desperately to Eve's. “And I think she loves you, too, Eve. I told Margaret I thought you dream about Jenny, too. Do you?”

“No.” What could she tell her? Certainly not that she actually had experienced the spiritual presence of her sister, that she'd seen her, talked to her. It would be too much for her to handle. She was only eleven years old. “But I became very close to Jenny while I was working on her reconstruction. I felt as if I knew her very well.” She paused. “I still do.”

“The reconstruction,” Cara repeated. “Margaret told me about what you do. It sounds … strange.”

“I thought so, too, before I started to learn about it. Then I realized it wasn't strange at all. It was a way that I could bring the lost ones home to the ones who loved them. I just had to be taught that everything was there waiting to be brought out and how to do it.” She met Cara's eyes. “And that's what I did with Jenny. In the end, I brought her home to you, Cara.”

“Yes, you did.” She smiled. “And Margaret told me how wonderfully it turned out. May I see it?”

“I don't have it. It's still being held by the Sheriff's Department in California.” And actually seeing the skull from which she'd sculpted the reconstruction might still possibly have a negative effect. She thought that Cara understood but she preferred to introduce her slowly to her work and not on such a personal level. She shook her head. “And I don't think you should see it anyway. Memory is always better.”

“You worked on it here?”

Eve nodded at the worktable across the room. “Over there.”

Cara walked over to the worktable and touched it with her fingertips. “I think you're right. I don't need to see that reconstruction. She'll always be with me.” She looked across the room at Eve. “She saved me, you know. Elena had managed to get Jenny and me away from Walsh, but he almost found us in that forest. We heard him coming. Jenny told me to be quiet, and everything would be okay. Then she ran away from Elena and me toward Walsh. I didn't know what was happening. But Elena did and grabbed my hand and made me run and run and run. She was crying…” She swallowed. “Did you know that?”

“Yes,” Eve said gently. “But I didn't know that you did.”

“Sometimes I did. Sometimes I didn't. I didn't want it to be true. So I tried not to remember.” She moistened her lips. “But then the nightmares came, and it would all be there again.”

“Do you still have the nightmares?”

She shook her head. “No. For the past few weeks, I've just seen Jenny in my dreams and not that night in the forest. She talks to me and smiles, and I'm not afraid anymore.”

“That's wonderful. She wouldn't want you to be afraid. She was very brave herself.”

“It seems as if I've been afraid all my life. But I have to get over it. Being afraid didn't keep Elena from being killed. It won't keep Salazar from trying to kill me. I have to be like Jenny.”

“No, fear never helps, but it's hard to fight. We'll work on it together.” She paused. “You remember that night when Jenny died. Do you remember anything else? Did Elena tell you anything about who kidnapped you? Or why you couldn't go to the police?”

“Elena didn't know what happened that night. She thought maybe we'd been given something in the food we had for supper, and when she woke up, we were in a truck with a group of workers … and Walsh.”

“Did she recognize Walsh?”

Cara shook her head. “Elena worked and lived in our house. She didn't know anything about any of the men who belonged to the Castino or any other cartels. But she could tell Walsh was in charge and that he was … bad.” She moistened her lips. “Her only thought was to find a way for us to escape. But her family had raised her to know that going to the police was an automatic death sentence. She wouldn't risk it. Any more than she'd risk taking me back to Mexico. She said that if my father's enemies had been able to reach me once, they could do it again.”

“And how do you feel about your mother and father?”

“I don't remember them. Sometimes I have a vague memory of a woman with dark hair and a lovely smile. But she smiled more at Jenny, than at me.” She added simply, “And Elena was my family. I didn't need anyone else.”

“You were lucky to have her.” She added gently, “I hope you can be as happy with us.”

Cara nodded. “If you'll let me stay with you.” She turned and moved back across the room toward the kitchen. She stopped as she saw a painting on the wall of the living room. “That's a painting of you.” She gazed at the portrait of Eve in her blue work shirt. “I like it. It looks … warm.”

“It was done by my daughter, Jane. She's an artist and very, very good. She gave the portrait to Joe as a gift.”

“Is she very famous?”

“No, she's young and just starting out, but people are beginning to know her name.” She started to stir the hamburger again. “She lives in London because that's where her agent and gallery are located.”

She went closer to the portrait and peered down at the scrawled signature. “It's signed, but it's not—”

“Not mine or Joe's last name? Jane MacGuire. She's adopted. She was ten when she came to us.”

“You must have loved her very much to have chosen her.”

“Yes. But we kind of chose each other.” She tasted the hamburger and put the lid on it. “The cheese definitely helped. Good job, Cara.”

She smiled. “We did it together.” She came toward her. “What else can I do?”

“Get some rolls out of the freezer and put them in the oven. I'll get down the plates.” She shook her head. “I should have put those rolls in before. This Hamburger Helper is almost done.”

“I kept you too busy,” Cara said as she opened the freezer. “I asked a lot of questions.”

“Yes, you did. And I asked you a few, too.” She added, “It's a process called getting to know each other. How do you think we did?”

“Pretty good.”

“Me, too. Dinner can wait a little while. Joe isn't—”

Even as she spoke she heard the key in the lock, and Joe came into the house.

“Hi. Just in time,” she said. “Cara and I did a joint experiment, and it's very close to—” She stopped as she saw what Joe was carrying. “Is that what I think it is?”

“I called the music store from the airport and asked them to choose the best one they had in stock and have it ready for me.” Joe came toward Cara and handed her the black-leather case. “I hope it will do. I don't know anything about musical instruments. I had to trust them.”

“I don't care. It will be wonderful.” Cara's eyes were glittering with excitement as she took the case and ran to the couch to open it. She carefully took out the violin and ran her fingers caressingly down the glossy surface. “It's beautiful.” She began to tune it. “Beautiful…”

“I think we've lost her,” Eve said to Joe. “I believe I'll even wait to put in those rolls.” She took a step closer to him. “You constantly surprise me.”

“I just thought it was better she had it sooner than later. She's had a lonely life. Her music was probably a closer friend to her than anyone but her Elena.” He smiled as his gaze lingered on Cara's absorbed face. “Until she regards us as good friends, the violin will have to do for now.” He glanced back at Cara. “I think we'll give her an hour to become acquainted with it. I'm going to take a look around outside.”

Eve walked him to the door. “Have you heard anything from Mexico City?”

“Not yet.”

“Kevin Roper might not be connected to Salazar. You said there was a chance.”

“A chance.” He shrugged. “I have a hunch he is. He was too cool, too bold.”

“I hope you're wrong. We need time.”

“We may not get it.” He paused. “And how are you feeling?”

“Fine. Why shouldn't I be? Joe, I'm barely a few weeks—” She shook her head. “I'm fine.”

“Mentally as well as physically?”

She glanced back at Cara, then gave him a quick kiss. “Later.” She pushed him out the door. “Be careful.”

She drew a deep breath and moved back toward Cara. She'd wanted her discussion with Joe to be private but they could probably have had an in-depth conversation and Cara would not have heard a word. She was totally absorbed, and she might have been on another planet. Eve didn't want to take that chance. What she had learned this morning about having a child was only between the two of them and not to be touched by all the other madness that was going on in her life.

Only this morning. It seemed incredible that such a short time had passed since that moment when her entire life had been turned upside down.