Shadow Play (27 page)

So she had accepted and protested but never fought it.

She had to fight it now. She couldn't bear the thought of what could have happened at Tahoe. She had exploded when she had guessed that Joe had been going to investigate that lead without her, but it had all gone back to the basic problem. They had to come to terms.

She was punching the elevator button as she dialed Margaret. “Hi. I'm leaving the hospital now and coming to pick you up. I should be there in fifteen minutes. Meet me in the lobby.”

CARMEL, CALIFORNIA

She was being followed.

Elena felt the muscles of her stomach clench as she looked in her rearview mirror after leaving the restaurant where she worked.

She was sure it was the same tan Toyota she had noticed when she had left the apartment this morning.

But how could they have found her so soon? The photo had just come out this morning.

There were thousands of tan Toyotas. She could be wrong. There were several turns on the way from her work to Cara's school. If she was right, she mustn't let the driver of the Toyota know that she was aware she was being followed. That would automatically put him on the defensive. Drive a few blocks, take two turns, and see what happened.

She took the first turn and slowed.

Tan Toyota.

Her heart was beating hard.

She took the second turn.

Tan Toyota.

Oh, God, it was happening. All those years of waiting and terror, and it was happening.

Calm down. Think. How could she protect Cara?

Go by the plan. Don't try to change anything.

She reached for her phone and dialed Cara.

“I can't talk, Elena,” Cara whispered when she answered. “I'm in English, and they'll—”

“Listen. Act as if you're sick to your stomach and run out of the classroom. Do it now.”

“But I can't—”

“Do it now.” She hung up and waited for a few minutes and called back. “Where are you?”

“In the bathroom down the hall. I thought that would be—”

“That's fine. Look, you can't wait until I come to get you. Something has— You can't wait.”

“I don't understand.”

“You don't have to understand. You just have to get out of there and go to the cave. We have to put the plan I taught you into effect. You still have the money I told you to keep in your backpack?”

“Yes.”

“Remember that trip we took after we moved into the apartment? The bus station, where to get off, how far to hike down to the beach?”

“I remember. You had me do it by myself, so that I wouldn't forget.”

But she was frightened, she was sensing Elena's own fear and reflecting it. “It will be fine. You're very smart. I'll be there as soon as I can. But you have to go now.”

Was the Toyota closer?

Maybe.

“If I don't get there right away, don't leave the cave. Try to hide if someone comes. Don't trust anyone. Don't get in any cars that aren't familiar to you.”

“I can tell you're scared. I'm scared for you. What's going on?”

“Sometimes bad things happen.” She paused. “But we can beat this, Cara.”

Cara was silent. “It's going to happen again?” she whispered.

“Not if we can help it,” she said. “But you have to do as I say. Get out of there. You know what you have to do. We've talked about it. Just follow the plan. Be strong. Call me when you get to the cave.” She was about to press the disconnect, but she couldn't leave her like this. “I love you, Cara. I've … always loved you.” She hung up.

She drew a deep breath. It would take another fifteen minutes to get to Cara's school, and, hopefully, Cara would be long gone by the time she pulled up in front of the building. But she still had to give her any extra time she could. She would wait there at least another thirty minutes before she left the school.

Then she would try to lose that Toyota before she made her way down Pacific Highway.

But she doubted if the driver would allow her to do it. If it was Walsh, then he was expert at all kinds of deadly games. He would have probably only been tailing her until she picked up Cara. Then he would have had both of them in his sights.

Don't think about what might happen next. She had a gun in her glove compartment. The two of them had survived this long. They would get through this, too.

All she had to do was stall and give Cara time to get away.

CALIFORNIA PACIFIC MEDICAL CENTER

Screw those databases, Joe thought, as he watched Eve walk down the hall. There wasn't time to go through the effort again. He had stored enough information in his head; now he needed to analyze and put it all in perspective. Then he had to lay out the pieces of the puzzle and put them all together.

Fast.

Sounded simple, he thought grimly. It wasn't going to be simple. There were all kinds of variables and possibilities.

But it had to be done. Eve was getting close, and that meant Walsh would be targeting her. He had to be ready for him. He couldn't do that without knowing his strengths and weaknesses.

And his objectives.

He sat up in bed and reached for his yellow pad. Start at the beginning. List everything he knew about the main principals and locations. He drew three columns. WALSH. JENNY. Then he hesitated and added one more column. NALCHEK.

*   *   *

“All I want to do is see the yearbooks,” Eve said patiently. “I'll be glad to give you references with the Atlanta PD and several other law-enforcement organizations in California. I've no desire to pose a threat to any of these students.”

Josie Coultan was still not convinced. “I don't know that.” She took the card that Eve handed her and gazed at it suspiciously. “And anyone could have cards made up.”

“Absolutely right,” Eve said. “And I applaud you for being careful.” It was the truth. This woman was completely different from that first photographer they'd run across in Sacramento, but they evidently had similar values. But she wished she wouldn't be quite this careful. Josie Coultan's photography studio was the third one she and Margaret had visited this afternoon, and she felt as if time was running out. “Just call Sheriff Nalchek, and we'll wait until you're satisfied.” She got to her feet and moved to look at the photos on the wall. “These wedding photos are amazing, Ms. Coultan.”

“Josie. My specialty. I just do the school photos to add to my income.” She frowned as she started to dial the number. “But you have to be careful with kids. I don't know if it's worth the trouble. You have parents thinking that I didn't do justice to their darlings, you have divorced couples who battle who is going to pay me.”

“That's not what we're looking for. We're trying to find a child who didn't want to have her picture taken.”

“Oh, there aren't many of those. When? How old?”

“We're thinking ten, eleven,” Margaret said as she knelt to stroke the white Persian cat sitting on a turquoise pillow on the low table. “This boy is amazing. What do you call him?”

“Royal. I've had him for four years.”

“You need to change his diet. He doesn't like that new cat food you're giving him. He's been losing weight.”

“What?”

“Weigh him. Your husband feeds him, doesn't he? He's not been paying attention, and Royal is getting very pissed.”

“What are you—”

Eve stepped in quickly. “Margaret volunteers with a local vet office.” Lord, all they needed was to have Margaret start a family feud. “She has a good eye, doesn't she?”

“Perhaps.” Josie spoke into the phone. “Sheriff Nalchek, I have two women here who gave you as a reference. Will you confirm that it's…”

“And he hates the name Royal,” Margaret said in a low voice to Eve. “He thinks it's pretentious. He doesn't need that nonsense.”

“Do me a favor and let Royal handle his own dietary needs.”

“Don't worry, he intends to do that. I just thought I'd hurry things along. He was going to start a hunger strike to scare them tomorrow.”

“Sheriff Nalchek informs me that you're no threat,” Josie said behind them as she hung up the phone. “I'll get those yearbooks. I did the work at four area schools during the past five years. I always request a complimentary copy of the actual book. I'll go get them for you.” She got to her feet and headed for a door that led to the back of the shop.

“Like pulling teeth,” Margaret murmured.

“At least she's cooperating now,” Eve said. “We'll split up the books to get through them faster.” She turned with a smile as the photographer returned burdened by the yearbooks. “I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help.” She took two of the books and handed two to Margaret. “But I wonder if we might hurry things along if I showed you a photo that was in the paper this morning. It could trigger your memory.” She handed her the folded newspaper. “It's a reconstruction I worked on several days ago.”

Josie glanced at the photo. “I saw this photo this morning. I was thinking how appalling the photography was. I could have done much better.”

“But you didn't recognize the child.”

“I didn't pay much attention. You see one kid, you see them all.”

“Really?”

She made a face. “I suppose I shouldn't say that? But I'm so sick of having to do those photos. Every one is the same. No grace, no glamour, like a wedding photo.”

“And no fat price to sweeten that glamour,” Margaret said.

“They're not all the same,” Eve said quickly. “Look at her face. We believe that the girl we're looking for might be a relative of this dead child.”

Josie studied the photo. “Nice bone structure. Very photogenic. I'd probably remember if I took her photo.”

“But you don't remember her?”

She shook her head. “It's like an assembly line. There's no way I can make any of them stand out. No grace. No drama. I'd probably try with this one, but if she didn't pay to have her photo taken, I wouldn't bother. But what a bride she would have made someday. Pity that she—” She stopped. “Maybe I do remember…” She snatched last year's yearbook from Eve. “A bride…”

“Not old enough,” Margaret said. “Except maybe in India or—”

“No, of course not,” she said impatiently. “But it was the gown…” She was rifling through the pages. “I arranged the folds, and it turned out—” She found the page she was looking for and turned it around. “The girl at the end of the second row. You see how beautifully I draped that collar around her neck?”

It was a photo of a girls' choir. All the girls looked to be between the ages of ten and fifteen, and all were dressed in flowing white robes.

The girl at the end of the second row …

Small, dark hair, high cheekbones, winged brows, delicate features.

“Bingo,” Margaret said softly.

Not Jenny, naturally. But so close …

Eve couldn't take her eyes from that picture. “What school?”

“Ronald Reagan Middle School,” Josie said. Her finger was going down the name list. “Second row … Cara Delaney.”

She was flipping through pages again. “That appears to be the only organization to which she belongs … No, here she is again in the band photo. Violin.”

Choir. Violin.

I got to keep the music.

And Cara had also been permitted to keep her music.

Eve closed the yearbook. “May I borrow this? I promise to return it.”

Josie nodded. “See that you do.” She was smiling. “I really made that robe look good, didn't I? You should see what I can do with an entire wedding party. Magnificent.”

“I'm sure that's true. Thank you.” She headed for the door. “Is that school near here?”

“About twenty minutes north.” She was frowning down at her Persian gazing balefully up at her. “Do you know, I think he
has
lost weight.”

*   *   *

“You set the GPS while I call Joe,” Eve said when they reached the car. She wasn't sure that what she had promised him would be enough, but she'd keep her word. “I think we've found her,” she said as soon as Joe answered. “Cara Delaney. She looks so much like Jenny that they have to be related. We're going to the school now and try to find out more about her.”

“We always thought that it might be a family resemblance we were looking at,” Joe said.

“No might about it now,” Eve said. “She has hazel eyes, not green, but everything else is right on.”

“Jenny's sister?”

“I don't know. It would be my guess. But she would have had to be only about three when Jenny was killed. What were two children doing out there in those woods? And why was Jenny murdered, and Cara—” She stopped. “Too many questions and not enough answers. But Cara Delaney has to have parents or guardians. At least I'll have someone to ask. I'll call you again after I get to the school and find out more.” She paused. “How are you?”

“Healing as fast as I can. And I haven't jumped that guard Nalchek put outside my door. Though don't count on my holding out past tomorrow.”

“I had to do it, Joe.”

“No, you didn't. But you thought you did. What you really want to know is am I angry with you. Yes, I'm no saint, and I hate being thwarted.” He added, “Keep safe, and you may get your way … for a little while.” He was silent for a moment. “But those two girls pose interesting questions. Why? Where? What? I'm keeping myself occupied trying to work up some scenarios. I believe I'm getting there. Good-bye, Eve.” He hung up.

He
was
angry, Eve thought. He had been absentminded, almost cool, and that was something Joe had seldom been with her.

Too bad.

She had done what she had thought necessary and would have done it again.