Quicksand

SEVENTEEN

THE HOSPITAL RELEASED MEGAN four hours later and she opted to go back to the motel with Phillip rather than start immediately back to Atlanta.

"Eve will drive me back to the motel," Megan told Phillip as they left the room. "I'll meet you in the suite. Okay?"

"Okay." He turned to Eve. "You keep an eye on her."

She smiled. "I'll do it. Are you satisfied you don't have to keep an eye on me now?"

"Ask Megan. But it's been over ten hours and I'd think that would be safe." He held out his hand. "I like you, but I don't like what you did to Megan. Don't do it again."

She shook his hand. "Good-bye, Phillip. I hope we meet again under kinder circumstances."

"But I notice you're not promising anything," Phillip said. "I'll see you back at the hotel, Megan."

Megan watched him go toward the elevators before she turned back to Eve. "He told me that he felt compelled to tell you about me and this Pandora business. He shouldn't have done it."

"He seemed to think that there was some kind of risk. And he wasn't sure when or if you'd be conscious to deal with it."

"I understand why he did it." She started down the hall. "He's a responsible man. But since nothing happened I would just as soon have not had you know about it. It sounds like something from an X-Men movie." She glanced at Eve. "You don't believe it, do you?"

"It's difficult."

Megan shrugged. "I felt the same way. I had to be convinced. But since you're not affected, you can mark it down to the ravings of just another nutsy psychic and forget about it."

"You're not nuts. You led us to that island."

"So I'm not nuts as a Listener, but I'm completely bonkers as a Pandora." Megan held up her hand as Eve opened her lips. "It's okay. I'm not hurt. I'd feel the same way. No, I couldn't feel exactly the same way. I never had a child of my own, so I can't know your desperation. But I think I can empathize." She changed the subject. "Do you mind if we drop in and see Laura Ann before we leave? I'd like to see with my own eyes that she's well."

"I can see why. You went through hell for her and you've never even met."

"You're not to tell her how I helped. She wouldn't understand." She shook her head ruefully. "None of us understand, do we? What room is she in?"

"First floor, 28B. I paid her a visit after they finished with me in the emergency room." She added curiously, "This is a hospital, very high-stress. I'd think you'd be overcome with voices."

"I've learned to block them. It's only when I lower the barriers that they can overwhelm me."

They met Nina Simmons walking out of Laura Ann's hospital room. She was smiling and appeared ten years younger than the first time Eve had seen her.

"I was going to come to see you." Laura Ann's mother gave her a fierce hug. "You gave me back my baby. Any favor. All you have to do is ask."

"You don't owe me anything."

"Yes, I do." She stepped back. "I'll find a way. But now I have to go and spring Laura Ann out of this place so that we can go home." She hurried down the hall.

"Seeing her face was almost worth everything." Megan's gaze followed Nina Simmons until she disappeared.

"Yes, that's how I feel," Eve said as she opened Laura Ann's door.

Laura Ann was dressed and sitting on the side of the bed when they walked into the room. "Eve." Her face lit up with a smile. "I'm going home. Mama is downstairs signing papers so they'll let me out."

"And she let me stay and say good-bye." Miguel came out of the bathroom carrying a pink posy bouquet in a glass container. "I thought I'd put water into this vase so that she could take it home with her."

"It's very pretty," Eve said. "I'm sure your room at home will be overflowing with flowers when word gets out that you're safe."

"But none will be as wonderful as this one," Miguel said. "I gave it to her." He handed the little girl the vase. "Did I not choose well, Laura Ann?"

"I like yellow flowers better," Laura Ann said. "But I guess it's okay."

"Is that gratitude for you?" Miguel asked. "I face alligators for her and she spurns me. I hate to see what you'll be when you grow up."

"What does spurn mean?"

"Reject. Send away."

"I didn't spurn you." Laura Ann was frowning. "I just like yellow-and you said you wouldn't go away. When we were in that tree, you said you wouldn't leave me."

"And I didn't."

"And you're not going to leave me now. I won't let you."

Eve quickly stepped between them. "I'd like you to meet a friend, Laura Ann. This is Megan Blair. She was on the island searching for you too."

Megan smiled. "Hello, it's good to meet you. I'm sure you're very happy to be going home."

"Yes." Laura Ann was still frowning at Miguel. "You promised."

"You'll be going back to school. You'll have your friends. You'll never miss me," Miguel said gently. "But I promise if you ever run into a hungry alligator again I'll be there."

"I want you to- My daddy promised he'd be around too. But after he left Mama and me, he never came back." Her lips firmed determinedly. "You have to come and see me. And I'm not going to ever see an alligator again. I don't like them."

He smiled. "Okay, when we go to the zoo we won't visit the reptile house." He paused. "If you have time for me, I'll probably be around Atlanta for a while. I messed up my hands and I'll have to go back to have them taken care of."

"They were bleeding." Laura Ann was looking at his bandaged hands. "You did it on the tree when you pushed me up."

"May I see them?" Megan asked. "I'm a doctor."

Miguel turned so that the little girl wouldn't be able to see and held out his hands. "Sure. Though you probably can't do anything more. The doctors in the emergency room here cleaned me up and gave me a shot. They told me to go back to the specialists."

Megan quickly unwrapped the bandages on one of his hands. "They were probably right. I'm not as qualified as the specialists who operated on you." She took one look at the wounds and shook her head. "Ugly. It needs very delicate surgery and even then it might take years to heal properly." She rewrapped his hand. "Who did your first surgery?"

"Smith Lowe at Emory."

"He's excellent." Megan reached into her purse and drew out a business card. "But there's a man I'd like you to see." She was scrawling on the back of the card as she spoke. "His name is Jed Harley and he may be able to help you."

"What hospital is he with?"

"He's sort of a consultant and moves around a lot. Right now he's working at St. Jude's in Memphis. I'll call him and ask him to come to Atlanta to look at your hands." She handed him the card. "You'll see him?"

He shrugged. "Why not? Montalvo has had me seeing every specialist in the Southeast. What's one more? Thank you."

Megan shook her head. "No. Thank you, Miguel." She went to the bed and brushed her hand caressingly on Laura Ann's cheek. "I have to go now," she said softly. "I know I'm not as important as Miguel, but I live in Atlanta too. I have a friend, Davy, who is younger than you, but maybe you could put up with him if we all went to the aquarium. He wants to see the penguins."

"So do I." Laura Ann's eyes shone with excitement. "They take your picture with them, you know."

"I didn't know. Suppose I call your mother next week and we'll see if we can get together." She shot Miguel a glance. "We may even let Miguel come along. I don't think the penguins can hurt his hands."

"Hands aren't that important. I saw that movie Happy Feet," Miguel said. "Maybe they can teach me to dance."

"That was only pretend," Laura Ann said in disgust. "Don't you know anything?"

"I guess not. You'll have to teach me." He sat down in the chair. "I learn quickly. Ask Montalvo."

"The ugly ape." She was smiling again. "He didn't like me saying that, did he?"

"I'm afraid you have a streak of mischief," Miguel said. "I must speak to your mother about it."

"And you don't?" Eve said dryly. She gave Laura Ann a hug. "Good-bye, Laura Ann, I'll see you in Atlanta. Maybe you could come out to the lake and meet my daughter, Jane's, dog, Toby." She moved toward the door. "Good-bye, Miguel. Take care of those hands."

Megan waved and joined Eve as she walked down the hall. "I can see how Laura Ann survived Kistle. She's a tough little kid. Miguel may have his hands full. She seems to have forcibly adopted him."

"He can take care of himself," Eve said. "And he obviously likes her or he wouldn't put up with it. Miguel is only as soft as he wants to be." She glanced at Megan as they went out the exit into the parking lot. "Do you really think your consultant can help him?"

"We'll have to see. I think Harley's success rates are exceptionally high." She got into the passenger seat of Eve's SUV. "It's starting to rain. Dammit, that's all the police need to cope with on the island."

Eve backed out of the parking space. After a few minutes she asked, "Can you still hear the voices?"

"No." Megan gazed at the fat raindrops falling against the windshield. "I'm too far away. Maybe if I didn't block them, I might be able to do it. Ordinarily I'd say that I was free, but this was different."

"You said that before. How?"

"I brought them with me," she said. "That's why I couldn't wake up. They were inside me, tearing me apart with their sadness. The other times when I was unconscious, I didn't feel anything. This time they were still there." She shook her head. "As I said, I empathize with you and all the other parents who lost those children, because now I feel as if I've lost them too."

They drove in silence for a while before Eve finally said, "If you can empathize, then you know what I want to ask you. May I ask it now?"

"You want to know if one of the voices was Bonnie's." She paused. "I've been thinking about it ever since I woke up. It could have been. There was such a cacophony of sound, of voices." She shook her head. "But I don't recall and I believe I would have recognized Bonnie. I knew how much it meant to you to find her."

Eve felt a wild surge of disappointment. "Kistle told me that she wasn't buried on the island."

"I'm sure that isn't all the son of a bitch said."

"He said… alligators."

"What a monster. He chose the most horrible scenario he could dream up and handed it to you." Megan shook her head. "Even if she wasn't buried there, if that's where he took her life, I'd hear her voice."

"You don't think she's there." Eve pulled into the motel parking lot. "I told him that I thought he was claiming credit for a kill he never made. It made him furious." She moistened her lips. "I killed him, Megan. I was afraid that somehow he'd wriggle away and go on slaughtering. I pulled the trigger four times to make sure he was dead."

"Good. I don't know if he killed your Bonnie. You'll have to wait until they finish searching. I know he killed those other poor kids on that island," Megan said. "And if I'd been able to do it, I would have sent the bastard to hell myself."

Eve parked as close to the motel as she could get. "You're going to get wet." She tried to smile. "And Phillip told me to take care of you."

"A little rain won't hurt me." Megan didn't move to get out of the car. The rain was pounding, enveloping them in a cocoon. "Don't ask me to do it again, Eve."

Eve's eyes widened in shock. "I wouldn't do that."

"Yes, you would. If you come up empty. If they don't find Bonnie on that island. You couldn't help yourself." She gazed out the windshield. "And I'll turn you down, Eve. Not because of what I went through. I could take that, I think. But you couldn't take it. It would kill you."

"No, it's what I want most in the world."

"When we started out, I told you that I wouldn't do it except for Laura Ann. I told you not to try to find her through me. I could see what would happen."

"I'd have my Bonnie back."

"You'd have a horror to live with for the rest of your life," Megan said. "Because if I found her, you wouldn't be able to leave it alone. You'd want me to share exactly how she died and you wouldn't leave me alone until I told you."

"No."

"Yes. You love her, you'd want to share her death as well as her life. If someone else finds her, then you'll probably never know. But I'm the one who could destroy you. I won't do that."

"You're wrong, Megan," Eve said unsteadily. "I'm not that weak."

"No, you're strong. I admire you more than anyone I've ever met. But you've had your share of nightmares and I'm not going to give you any more."

"I wouldn't ask you to-" She closed her eyes and tears rolled down her cheeks. "God help me, I would. I'd find a way to make you help me. Don't do it. Don't let me hurt you."

Megan's arms were suddenly around her. "I won't." She rocked her gently. "It's going to be okay, Eve. You'll find her. I know you'll find her."

Eve lifted her head and drew a shaky breath. "I know it too. Maybe I already have." She straightened away from Megan and smiled with an effort. "But it would be nice if that was a psychic prediction."

Megan shook her head. "No." Her hand reached for the door handle. "It's a prediction based on the fact that you're smart and strong and life can deal from the bottom of the deck for only so long. If you need me, call me." She opened the door. "Except for that one thing, Eve."

"Megan."

Megan looked back at her.

"There aren't words to thank you."

"Then don't try to find any." She jumped out of the SUV and ran through the rain toward the entrance.

Eve watched until she disappeared inside. She suddenly felt lonely. Megan's warmth and vitality still lingered with her. She was the most caring individual Eve had ever met and she didn't want to see her walk out of her life.

But she would try to let her keep her distance. She had begun by thinking Megan was the ruthless intruder, but it wasn't Megan who was the danger, it was Eve herself. It was really Eve who Bonnie had been warning her against. Megan was only the instrument.

The lady with the box. Don't let her hurt you, Mama. Don't let her hurt me.

THE RAIN WAS COMING DOWN in sheets and the police had covered the entire glade under makeshift tarp canopies that allowed them to move freely from area to area.

Grave to grave.

Joe was wet, his boots muddy, in spite of the yellow ponchos the police were issuing to the team who were exhuming the bodies.

Small bodies. Pitiful bodies. The sight wrenched him to the core.

And made him want to kill Kistle all over again.

"It's incredible."

Joe turned to see Montalvo standing behind him. Montalvo was soaked to the skin, raindrops running down his cheeks, but he didn't seem to be aware of it. His gaze was fixed on the rows of remains that had been exhumed. "So much pain… I envy Eve. I would have been proud to rid the world of Kistle."

"So would I." It was what Joe had been feeling. "What are you doing here?"

"The same as you. It's not finished. How many bodies have they found?"

"Twenty-two. They think there may be six more buried in this glade."

"Bonnie?"

"I don't know. Kistle told Eve she wasn't here." He turned away. "I've got to get back to work. They want to get this site clean before they let the media anywhere near it."

"I can see why. Where are they giving out the shovels and rain gear?"

Joe looked back at him. "I told you, Bonnie may not be here."

"But there are six other children who are buried here." He met Joe's eyes as he added quietly, "It's not finished for them either. Let's bring them home, Quinn."

Joe didn't speak for a moment and then he turned away. "You can get a poncho and shovel from the officer on the other side of the glade."

JOE CALLED EVE'S CELL three hours later.

She braced herself and then pressed the button. "Good news?"

"Bonnie isn't buried in the glade," he said baldly. "He had all the corpses labeled with their first names just as he told you. We found a body to correspond with every trophy in his damn memory box. It will take time to go over the entire island but she's not in the burial ground."

Disappointment tore through her. "No."

"As I said, he may have buried her somewhere else on the island." He paused. "Or he may not have buried her here at all. There was no Bonnie trophy in that memory box. We think that box was only for the island. We have to find any other souvenir box he might have had."

"Or he may not have been the one who killed her," she whispered. "But I was so sure this time."

"So was I." He drew a harsh breath. "God, I don't know if I can go on with this-" He stopped. "It may not be the end of the trail with Kistle. I won't give up yet. Go on back to the cottage. I'm going to go back to my precinct to make a report there. We think most of the victims were from Atlanta, and bodies will be sent to our medical examiner for identification and DNA tests. We won't know what kind of records to check until we find out how long ago they were killed."

"Publish the names Kistle had on his labels and I'll bet you'll be flooded with calls from parents with missing children." Eve shook her head. "What am I thinking? That would be the worst way to find out your child has been murdered. Until the last minute they'll be hoping that their baby is alive and happy somewhere."

"I'll be back at the cottage as soon as I'm through and I'll call you if I find out anything more. Will you be all right?"

"Yes." She made an effort. "Don't worry about me, Joe. It's not as if I haven't been disappointed before. Do what you have to do."

He muttered a curse. "How can I help but worry? How long can you take this? How long can I take it? It's been going on for-" He was silent a moment, but she could sense the tension and despondency charging the stillness. "I'll call you." He hung up.

She pressed the disconnect button. Yes, how long could Joe take it? she thought wearily. The desperation he was feeling was even more obvious than it had been before. She would go on forever because she could do nothing else. Bonnie was the beloved. She could no more stop searching than she could not draw breath.

But Joe may have reached the end of the line. Who could blame him? He could not share her love for Bonnie, only the pain connected with her death.

Don't think of it right now. Drive to the lake cottage and let the beauty soothe you as it has done for years.

Heal and think and hope.

Oh, yes, by all means hope.

IT WAS CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT when Eve arrived back at the cottage. It was too late to pick up Toby at Patty's, but she wished she had him with her. She felt lonely and uncertain and wanted a warm body to press against her.

"I'm sorry about Bonnie," Montalvo said.

She whirled to the porch swing where he was sitting. "You startled me." She turned on the porch lights. "How did you know about Bonnie?"

"I was on the island. I thought they might need my digging prowess. I seem to have become an expert lately." He shook his head. "I could have done without that particular skill. It was enough to break my heart."

"Joe says she may still be somewhere on the island."

"But you don't believe it."

"I don't know. I want to believe it." She rubbed her temple. "What are you doing here, Montalvo?"

"I dropped Miguel off at the hospital and I came here to pack up our camp. I was afraid he'd try to do it himself if I brought him with me."

"That's right. I forgot about the camp. It seems a long time ago."

"And I wanted to see you before Joe, the conquering hero, appeared back on the stage."

She stiffened. "No, Montalvo."

"Yes, Eve." He held out his hand. "Come and sit down. You promised me my time with you."

That's right, she had promised him. That seemed a long time ago too. She slowly moved across the porch toward him. "I haven't changed my mind." She sat down on the swing beside him. "And I won't change it."

"You might. Time passes, life changes. But I'm not here to bulldoze you. Life has made another jog that changes the picture a little."

"What jog?"

He looked out at the lake. "Quinn saved me from a very nasty death. He didn't have to do it. God knows, he didn't want to do it. But the fact remains that he did do it. That puts me in a quandary."

"Why?"

"Because I find myself reluctant to be as ruthless toward him as I would ordinarily." He made a face. "Miguel tells me that he has to take care of me because I saved his neck. I laughed at him. It's absurd."

"Is it?"

"Yes. But I'm feeling a ridiculous sense of responsibility for Quinn. I'd never call myself an honorable man. Yet I have a code that I live by and it's getting in the way."

She frowned. "What are you saying, Montalvo?"

"I'm saying I have to let you go for now."

"You never had me."

He smiled. "I did in my mind. It was only a matter of time until I made it into reality."

"Bull."

He chuckled. "I love that bluntness of yours." He took her hand. "No, don't pull away. I deserve this. Now I'll tell you how it's going to be. I can't let you go entirely. We're much too close. So I've decided to become your Joe's best friend."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"It won't be difficult. We have a good deal in common. I'm beginning to like him."

"I don't think it's mutual."

"Then that will be my new challenge." He was playing idly with her fingers. "I will be your friend. I will be Joe Quinn's friend. You'll both come to admire and rely on me. Isn't that a fine plan?"

"It's a fine fairy tale," Eve said dryly.

"And like all fairy tales it can have wicked twists," he said softly. "If I'm lucky enough to save Quinn's life at some point, then the story changes again. No more obligations. If he turns into a wife beater, then I kill him and we ride off into the sunset. You agree?"

"This is your fairy tale, not mine."

"But it's one that's going to make you happy." He paused. "Because you don't want me to go out of your life any more than I want to go. Some people are meant to be together. Sometimes things happen or go wrong to change the order of things, but then we have to fight to put them back where they should be."

"I should be with Joe."

"Perhaps. But I'd be a fool not to position myself for any change in the wind."

She leaned back in the swing and looked at him. His dark eyes, the power of his body, the confidence that was sensual in itself. He was everything that was mature, charismatic, and seductive, and she felt the magnetism as she always did when she was with him. Dammit, it was forbidden and, therefore, all the more alluring. "It won't work."

"Yes, it will. I'm something of a chameleon and in six months you'll have forgotten I was anything but your staunchest ally and bosom friend."

She wouldn't forget. "It would be easier if you'd just go away, Montalvo."

"But neither one of us likes easy." He lifted her hand and pressed the palm to his lips. "You see how restrained I'm being?"

Restrained? She could feel the heat tingling in her palm and wrist. She jerked her hand away. "Good-bye, Montalvo."

He chuckled and rose to his feet. "Good night, Eve. I'll be in touch. Probably not with you, because you're too wary right now."

"And Joe's not?"

"Quinn and I understand each other." He headed for the steps. "In time we can bridge our differences."

"You're dreaming." She paused. "Why are you doing this? Why go to such lengths?"

"Miguel once asked me if you were worth it. I told him yes." He stood there at the top of the steps looking back at her. He added simply, "And I'm lonely. I find it difficult to come close to many people. I'd miss you if you weren't in my life. So I'm going to arrange it so that you stay."

She shouldn't be this moved. No one was tougher or more able to take care of himself than Montalvo. Yet she couldn't doubt his sincerity. "You know, this may boomerang against you. You say you're going to be Joe's best friend and yet you're planning on standing apart." She smiled. "I know Joe. There's no standing apart from him. It's all or nothing. You say that you understand him. You may find that you develop as much affection for him as you have for Miguel. Wouldn't that be funny?"

"No, it would not be funny." He lifted his hand in farewell. "But I'll take my chances. What's life without a little uncertainty?"

She watched him walk down the stairs. What a difficult man. He was full of complexities and character shadings that could keep you guessing and probing into infinity. This latest development had taken her completely by surprise. Was it calculating? Yes, but there had been that moment of vulnerability too. It was better not to think of Montalvo as vulnerable. With any luck he would be out of her life before long. In spite of his confidence in his success, it would be like climbing a mountain to overcome Joe's antagonism. Montalvo did have a certain sense of honor and she believed him when he said that he wouldn't interfere between Joe and her. If there was no other access, then the door would close and he would go away. She felt again that unreasonable pang of sadness. It was natural, when a force like Montalvo moved out of your life, that you'd experience a sense of loss. It would go away.

She got to her feet and moved toward the screen door. She would go take a shower and change. Then she'd go through her correspondence and wait for Joe to call her.

And hope that there would be news of Bonnie.