Tags:
Fiction,
Suspense,
Thrillers,
Suspense fiction,
Espionage,
Investigation,
Kidnapping,
Eve (Fictitious character),
Duncan,
Women sculptors,
Facial reconstruction (Anthropology),
Kidnapping - Investigation
from her mind. She had waited so long…
Then Eve had been there before her, angry, wary. Her shoulder-length red-brown hair slightly mussed from sleep, her hazel eyes glaring at her in the lamplight. Catherine had seen photos of Eve in magazines, but she was more than she’d expected. Her thin face wasn’t pretty, but it was fascinating and full of character. Everything about her spoke of alertness, vitality, and intelligence.
And there had been no fear. Eve should have been at least a little afraid.
Was it because she dealt with the results of death every day?
Oh, for heaven’s sake, this was no time to try to analyze Eve Duncan’s reactions.
She would just sit here and wait. No matter how long it took.
She would wait until Eve came back to her.
She’d just ignore the woman, Eve thought, after she’d locked the door. Maybe she’d go away.
No, she wouldn’t. Catherine Ling would stay out there until hell froze over. Eve had seen that passionate intensity before.
In her own mirror.
She took a swallow of her coffee and turned and walked toward her worktable, where Catherine had been sitting when Eve had walked into the room. If the woman had disturbed any of her carefully placed bone fragments, she’d murder her.
Somehow, she didn’t believe she would be that slipshod. Catherine Ling didn’t impress her as someone who would be careless about anything.
No, everything was exactly as Eve had left it.
She reached out and gently touched a splinter of bone. “Sorry, Cindy, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. I have to take care of this idiotic problem now.”
And how to do that?
Call the police as she’d threatened?
No, she believed Catherine Ling when she’d told her that she’d fight. This was Eve’s home, and she didn’t want violence to enter it. The outside world was too violent, and this was her haven.
But she would get rid of the woman.
She took out her cell phone, checked the number, then dialed.
“Venable, what the hell are you doing?”
“Nothing. I’m out of it. I take it that Catherine has paid you a visit?”
“Right now she’s sitting on my porch looking like a patient Buddha. She won’t go away.”
“Did you talk to her?”
“No, I threw her out. For heaven’s sake, she invaded my house like a thief in the night.”
“She can be impatient. It might be better if you let her talk to you. She won’t go away. You can starve her, you can beat her, and she’ll still be there.”
Her hand clenched on the phone. “Then you tell her to get out. You’re CIA, she’s CIA, there has to be something you can do.”
“She’s obsessed. You can’t deal with obsession in any normal manner.”
“Are you saying she’s nuts?”
“I’m saying that obsession can sometimes make people unbalanced.”
“Unbalanced,” she repeated. “That’s a polite way of saying nuts. And you expect me to deal with her? Oh no, she’s one of your people. You take care of it. My schedule is jam-packed. I have no time for this.”
“I told you, I’m out of it. It’s between the two of you now.”
“You said you didn’t want to turn me over to the wolf. You were talking about her, weren’t you?”
“Yes, I should have said she-wolf, shouldn’t I? I was hoping to persuade you to do the job and not have any contact with her. It would have been better for you.”
“I’m not going to have any contact with that woman. As soon as I can, I’m going to send her on her way.”
“I hope you do turn her down. I made a bargain with her, but I’m backpedaling as fast as I can. If she gets what she wants, she’s going to cause me a lot of headaches.”
“I don’t care about your bargains. If you’re not going to help, tell me how to make her leave.”
“Listen to her. Say no. Make her believe it. She’s no real threat. Not to you.”
“Easy words. She’s not easy. I can tell.”
“Oh, you recognized a kindred spirit? I admit I noticed a few similarities myself.”
She