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That should be enough for him to be very persuasive with the FBI."
    "Why are you so determined to get the FBI involved?"
    "I want all the help I can get. The best, most experienced help."
    "You really don't believe the sheriff's men are going to get Kistle, do you?"
    "I hope they do. I have to go now. I'll see you in Bloomburg." He paused and then said softly,
    "I would have told you, Eve. It's your right. I would have taken you with me. I'd take you with me now if you'd come."
    "Good-bye, Montalvo." She hung up.
    It had been months since she'd seen Montalvo and yet it seemed like only yesterday. Their time together in Colombia had been fraught with danger that had bred a closeness that had dominated her life for that short period. The intimacy that had grown between them while she was working on his wife's skull had been too strong, too sensual, and she'd shut him out of her life.
    "My God." Jane's gaze was on her face. "No wonder Joe doesn't like Montalvo." Eve was jerked back to the present. She should have been more guarded. She hadn't wanted Jane to be aware of the fallout from that reconstruction she had done for Montalvo. "That's putting it mildly."
    "Did you have an affair with him?"
    Eve felt a ripple of shock. She wanted to back away, change the subject, but she wasn't going to lie to Jane. "No, it wasn't like that."
    "It might have been better if it had been. He disturbs the hell out of you." She couldn't deny that either. "I love Joe. Joe is smart and sexy and we . . . mesh. We complete each other. I know how lucky I am. He's everything I want." She moistened her lips.
    "Montalvo is just . . ." How could she explain it to Jane when she had trouble understanding it herself? "He knows me. Maybe it's because he went through the same pain with his wife that I did with Bonnie. Maybe it's just that there are some people who are instinctively in tune. He said we were mirror images of each other."
    "And do you believe it?"
    "Sometimes. We shared pain and obsession. No one can actually understand how that feels unless they've been there."
    "Joe said Montalvo plays you like a song."
    "He tries. And he's good at it." She stared Jane in the eye. "That's why I told him that I didn't want his help finding Bonnie's killer. We made a deal when I did his wife's reconstruction, but now that he's given us a lead, Joe and I can find Kistle by ourselves. I value the life I have with Joe and I won't have it turned upside down."
    "You sound determined."
    "I couldn't be more determined. As long as Joe wants me, I'll never leave him."
    "He'll always want you."
    "I hope so. He's put up with a lot from me over the years. Sometimes I think he's getting a little tired."
    "People don't get tired of you, Eve. Joe wouldn't. I wouldn't. Now stop talking nonsense." Jane reached out and touched Eve's cheek. "But if I can help you work it out, let me know."
    "There's nothing to work out. That's not what this is about. It's about Kistle . . . and Bonnie." She turned toward her bedroom. "I'm going to pack. Will you call and make me a reservation to Bloomburg?"
    "Two reservations," Jane corrected. "I'm going with you."
    "You said you had to start the work for your next show."
    "I can paint anywhere. Do you really believe I'd let you go after that son of a bitch without having me in your corner?"
    She smiled. "I guess not. Whatever was I thinking? By all means, come along. It seems as if my entire world is flocking to Bloomburg."
    "Right, I'll pack a bag. We can drop Toby off at my friend Patty's, so she can take care of him while we're gone."
    "Let's hope that won't be long." She closed the bedroom door. It would be good to have Jane with her. They were so much alike in spirit and background that they might well have been mother and daughter. Jane had appeared years after she had lost Bonnie, and her presence had warmed and enriched her. Jane always insisted that she wasn't hurt that Bonnie dominated Eve's life. She said that friendship was enough.