16 Taking Eve (29 page)

And he looked … tired.

He glanced up from the strawberry bed he was weeding and stiffened when he saw Venable coming toward him. He sat back on his heels. “Hello, Venable.” He forced a smile. “I won’t say it’s good to see you. Do we have a problem?”

Venable nodded. “I’m afraid so, General Tarther.”

The general got slowly to his feet. “And it must be a considerable problem if it rates a personal visit.” He grimaced as he moved toward the striped canvas chair a few feet away. “It’s hell to get old. I hate all the aches and pains.” He sat down. “And it’s even worse when I remember how young and strong I was only yesterday. I do a lot of remembering.” He gestured to the other chair. “Sit down, Venable. Don’t stand there hovering like a vulture.”

Venable sat down. “I was being respectful.” He smiled. “As is due a general of your caliber and stature. How are you doing, sir?”

“Health-wise, a few issues. Emotionally, more than a few. I get ambushed more frequently all the time.”

“Ambushed?”

“Memories. Things that have been, things that could have been. I find the older I get, the less likely I am to keep a stiff backbone and deny that against those ambushes I’m completely helpless. Very chastening for a military man.” He smiled at Venable. “I’m even admitting them to you, Venable.”

“You’ve fought your battles, sir. You’ve won a hell of a lot of them. You don’t have to win that battle.”

“That’s good, because I’m not.” He looked away. “Why are you here? What’s the bad news?”

“Doane has left the safe house.”

“And?”

“He’s abducted a woman, and she may be in danger.”

“You told me that Doane wasn’t like his son.”

“I told you as far as I could tell there was a good possibility,” Venable said. “I believe I was wrong. Even if not as bad, he certainly is very dangerous. He killed one of my agents, who was protecting Eve Duncan.”

“More killing.” Tarther was silent. “If he’s like his son, did he help Kevin Relling kill my Dany?”

“No, he wasn’t in Europe at that time. We know that for certain. I told you so when we arranged protection for Doane. You wouldn’t have asked me to give Doane protection if there had been any hint that was true.”

“Things seem to be changing. I had to make sure that had not changed.” His gaze swung back to Venable. “Did you get the disk?”

It was the question he had known was coming and one he did not want to answer. “No, sir, I did not.”

“Then we have to assume he will use it. Have you protected my men?”

“I’m in the process now, sir.” He paused. “My bet is that Doane is going to be occupied in the immediate future and won’t make an attempt to release any information. There’s still an opportunity to get the disk back. But I had to tell you that I’ll have to pull out all the stops when I go after Doane. I can’t have any more lives lost.”

“I know. But my men’s lives are at stake, too. Why do you think I sent you to shelter that monster’s father? All I wanted to do was forget that he existed and brought Kevin Relling into the world. Instead, I woke every day with the knowledge we had no proof that the apple had not fallen far from the tree. I don’t want it to be for nothing, Venable.”

“I’ll try to take him alive,” Venable said grimly. “And if I do, I guarantee you’ll have that disk.”

“Just save my men.”

“I’ll do everything I can, sir.”

“I know you will,” Tarther leaned back and wearily closed his eyes. “You’re a good man, Venable.”

“If I were that good, Doane wouldn’t have slipped away.”

Tarther’s eyes opened, and he smiled faintly. “Now you’re doing it. Another ambush, Venable. What might have been? That’s the cruelest ambush of all.” His gaze went to the strawberry patch he’d been weeding. “Every year I put in strawberries. My Dany loved strawberries. They would make her mouth red, and she’d rub it against my cheek and laugh. I loved her, Venable.”

“I know you did, General.”

“She appeared in my life when I was near the end of my career and cynical and discouraged beyond belief. I never wanted a child. I was going to pay off her mother and send them both away. What would I do with a little girl? I was nearing sixty, and it would be foolish to take on that kind of responsibility. I was a hard-bitten military man who had done his duty all his life and had no wish to be anything else.” He shook his head. “Yet I could see the world around me going to hell, and I couldn’t seem to stop it. The last thing I wanted was for my Dany to come into that world. But when she came, she changed everything.”

“I understand that children have a habit of doing that.”

“You don’t have any children do you, Venable?”

“No, sir. I’ve never seemed to have the time to think about a family.”

“Take the time. Nothing else is worth thinking about. Not a career, or ideology, or saving the world. I never realized what an empty life I had before Dany. She was a miracle.” He shook his head. “But I didn’t recognize how fragile a miracle could be. I should have spent more time with her. I was always too busy. I thought I’d have more time later. I should have protected her. I never dreamed … but it happened. I thought I’d never forgive myself.” His gaze stayed on the green stems in the rich brown earth. “I pray every day that she’ll forgive me.”

“I’m sure she has, sir.”

“How do you know? I don’t.” His lips tightened. “But lately, I’ve felt that maybe she has forgiven me. I’ve felt her close to me. Sometimes, I imagine I hear her laugh. Or maybe it’s not imagination. What do you think, Venable?”

“I don’t think it matters, General. Not if it’s there for you.”

“You’re probably right. I feel her most when I come out here to this little patch to garden. I find myself hurrying like a young boy down the path because I know maybe she’s waiting.” He nodded slowly. “And I’m waiting, too. We’re just waiting to be together.”

Venable cleared his throat. “Then I’ll go and let you get back to your gardening.” He got to his feet. “I’m sorry to bring you bad news, sir. I’ll let you know of any updates.”

“Do that.” He got up from his chair and moved the few yards to the strawberry patch. “But all I ask is that you protect my men. Find the disk.”

“I’ll find it, General. Oh, and I wanted you to know I’ve assigned an agent to the house to protect you.”

The general stopped and looked over his shoulder. “I’d forgotten that I might be a target. Yes, one thing does lead to another, doesn’t it?” His smile was curiously thoughtful. “Thank you, Venable. And don’t worry about me. I have an idea it’s all going to work out for the best.” He fell to his knees and started to weed again. “Good-bye, my friend.”

Venable hesitated, watching him. The general had already closed him out, his expression absorbed. There was a patience, a methodical movement, a rhythm, to every motion, as if he was devoting every cell of his body to the simple task.

But it wasn’t simple at all, Venable realized. He was preparing a gift for his Dany while he waited for her.

And Venable found it too private a gift to watch the giving. “Good-bye, sir.”

He turned and left the garden.

Lake Cottage

“WHY WOULDN’T YOU LET JANE
come along?” Margaret hurried to keep pace with Joe as he strode through the woods. “If I can help, it’s just a matter of concentration on my part. It doesn’t matter how many people are around.”

“It matters that Jane would be hovering over you, trying to keep me from damaging your delicate sensibilities.”

“They’re not delicate.” Margaret made a face. “Nothing about me is fragile or delicate. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m sturdy, and I bounce. Though I can see why you’d think Jane would make that judgment. She’s tough, but I seem to have that effect on her.”

“You saved her Toby. Jane is very careful about giving her affection, but she loves that dog. That probably has something to do with it.” He studied her coolly. “And you’re … disarming.”

She nodded. “Yeah, most people think that. I think it’s because what you see is what you get.” She grinned. “And do I disarm you, Detective Quinn?”

“Joe.” He shook his head. “I can’t afford to be disarmed by anyone or anything right now. All I’m concerned about is whether you can produce results. You may prove valuable, or you may be a bust. I have a little time before Venable gets here, and I’m using it to see if you’ll be of any use to Eve. Nothing else matters.”

“I’d have to be deaf and blind not to have gathered that.” Her brows rose. “And you’re willing to bet on a wild card.”

“I’m willing to bet on anything or anyone,” he said bluntly. “I’ve seen and experienced weirder things than a kid who is a dog whisperer. I don’t expect anything. Prove me wrong.”

“I’m not a kid. And I don’t expect anything, either. I just hope.”

“Is that how it always works?”

“Not always. Sometimes I have somewhere to start, as I did when I was trying to find out what happened to Toby. And I had support and an intelligent animal who’d had contact with people and could translate his experience for me. That’s not always the case. Particularly when I may have to deal with wild, not domestic, animals. Then I have to fumble around and try to interpret.”

“How long have you known you could do this?”

“All my life. But I was five years old before I realized that other people couldn’t do the same thing. The sounds and thoughts and impressions were all around me, and I thought they were there for everyone. Then one day I told my father that our neighbor’s dog, Brandy, told me that she was sick and there was something hurting her stomach.”

“And?”

“My father accused me of lying and beat me until I couldn’t stand.”

“A five-year-old kid?”

“It wasn’t the first time. He drank a lot. My mother died when I was born. My father let me go to foster care because he didn’t want to take care of me. But when I was four, he took me back. I didn’t know until later that the only reason he kept me around was for the welfare checks. I usually tried to stay out of his way, but I didn’t know how to help Brandy.” She shrugged. “I should have worked it out for myself. But at least when I went to my father and he beat me, I learned what not to say. The next day I went to see Brandy’s owners, the Andersons, and told them their dog was sick. I said I’d seen him throw up a couple times, and he was crying when he did it. They were nice people who liked Brandy and didn’t want to take a chance even if a little kid wasn’t exactly a credible witness. They took him to the vet. It was a tumor, but they got it in time.” She wrinkled her nose. “But the Andersons were grateful and went to my father and told him what a fine, observant little girl he had. He agreed, thanked them, and then when they left, he beat me again for talking to the neighbors. I wasn’t supposed to ever talk to anyone outside the house. He wasn’t stupid. He knew DEFACS relied on interviews with neighbors to make their quarterly reports. After that, I usually did what he wanted, but I was pretty lonely. Until I realized I didn’t have to rely on my father or other people to talk to me. It was much better then.” She smiled. “Of course, most people would say that it was isolation and mistreatment that led to hallucinations. You’re a practical, reasonable man; isn’t that what your first reaction would be?”

He nodded. “Damn right. Unless you can prove first reactions are false. So this so-called gift isn’t inherited?”

She shrugged. “As I said, my mother died when I was born, so I have no idea what she could or could not do. The only thing I’m sure about is that I heard she managed to put up with my father for ten years, so she must have been a saint … or a fool. I only made it until I was a little over eight before I ran away from home.”

“Didn’t they catch you and bring you back home? That’s pretty young.”

She shook her head. “I knew how to take care of myself, and I was ready. I didn’t go near anyone who might turn me back over to him. I was used to the woods by that time, and I lived off the land. Later, I made friends who were willing to take me in and help me get an education. There are good people in the world, and some of them don’t believe you have to go by every rule. You just have to find them.” She paused. “The people on Summer Island are like that. So is Jane. So are you, Joe.”

“I believe in rules.”

“Except where it concerns your family. Then the rules are thrown out the window. Caleb is like that, too. But he’s one of the wild ones who don’t have exceptions, so I can’t really include him in the mix.”

“By all means, let’s not include Caleb,” Joe said dryly. He was silent a moment. “You’re not exactly reserved about your background. I admit I didn’t expect such openness since—”

“I’m traveling with false documents and might be a criminal,” she finished for him. “But that’s another story. I told you what I could. I thought it would help you to trust me a little. Not a lot. But we all take what we can get.” She raised her head and listened. “The grave is over the next hill.”

“Yes. That was easy. No voices but a disturbance in the birds?”

“That’s right.” She nodded. “Caleb told me that you were a SEAL. You’d know the basics.” They had come over the hill, and she saw the yellow tape cordoning off the area. There was a uniformed policeman standing by a pine tree, and he lifted his hand in greeting at Joe when he saw him.

Margaret’s gaze was drawn to the area in the center of the taped enclosure. She felt a wave of sadness. “Poor man. Death comes so swiftly sometimes. How did he die?”

“His throat was cut. Do you want to get closer?”

“No, this is fine. What do you want from me?”

“Anything you can give me. We need to know where Dukes was killed on the property and if there’s any evidence to be found there. There’s a possibility that Dukes might have been trailing Doane when he stole a truck from the Hallet farm several miles from here. We can’t find the farmer or Doane’s vehicle.” He added grimly. “I have search teams all over the property, but there are too many damn acres, and I need to know something now.”

“It’s not going to be that fast,” she said absently. “You’re asking too much. I have to find a carrier with a reason to be concerned.” She dropped down on the ground and crossed her legs tailor fashion. “You’re right; the birds are disturbed. Some of them left when the grave was being dug. Some when you excavated the body. There are only a few left who were here originally, and I don’t sense any who witnessed anything disturbing.” She saw Joe’s skeptical look, and said, “Yes, if they saw Dukes’s throat being cut, they would be particularly disturbed. Death disturbs all creatures. Even if they don’t understand it or empathize with it, there’s a sense of loss.”