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Eve. Nothing could have been more obvious.
    Why?
    Her phone rang. Joe.
    “Is Sandra there?” he asked when she picked up. “I’ve just come out of the meeting, but we still have a few things to tie up. She left three messages, and the last one said that she was on her way to the cottage. She sounded … impatient. I thought I’d touch base with you to see if I need to hurry home.”
    “She’d say you do.” Eve was silent a moment. “No, there’s no reason for you to rush home. Do what you have to do. I’ll take care of her.”
    “That sounds familiar. It’s what you’ve done all your life. She’s never been a real mother to you.” He paused. “I suppose I shouldn’t have said that. I’m just surprised you’ve never resented it.”
    “I did resent it when I was a kid. I got tired of blaming it on the drugs, and I wanted her to be the kind of mother that my friends had.” She wrinkled her nose. “Not that a lot of them weren’t just as neglectful. Dysfunctional families were pretty common in my housing development.”
    “They weren’t unusual where I grew up either.”
    “But you were a rich kid, and you only got sent to some fancy school instead of getting kicked out on your ass.” She added, “But Sandra never threw me out. Between her welfare payments and an occasional job, we made it until I was old enough to get a job myself to help out. Look, some people never grow up. I think Sandra may be one of them. But beneath all that vanity and self-absorption, she has a good heart. I was better off than a lot of kids.” She looked at Sandra, who was nearly out of sight. “And she was good to my Bonnie. She might not have been a good mother, but she was one hell of a good grandmother. That was more important.”
    “To you. I’m afraid I feel differently. You’re the one who is important in my world.” He went on before she could speak, “But that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to take responsibility for her. Does she need money?”
    Joe was always ready to take responsibility, bear the burdens, fight her battles. Which was the reason she had to protect him from his own instincts. He had appeared in her life after Bonnie had been taken, and it would have been easy for her to go into a cocoon and lean on him, but she had been careful to maintain her own independence. And taking care of her mother was part of that independence. “No money. Not this time. And if she did, I’d manage. But if you could make a phone call or two before you start home, it might smooth the way to easing her off our doorstep.”
    “Another traffic ticket?” he asked warily.
    “I’d never ask you to do that. What the hell are you thinking?”
    “I’m thinking that you seem to be feeling softer and more lenient than usual toward Sandra. Who am I supposed to be calling?”
    “Santa Barbara Police Department. Maybe the local mental hospital. According to Sandra, Jackie, one of her friends, has a cousin in a mental hospital out there. The woman wandered off two nights ago from Seahaven Behavioral Health Center, and she hasn’t been found. Sandra is worried and wants you to do something to get her back.”
    “Sandra is worried?”
    “I know, it’s not like Sandra to empathize. And I think the friend is phony. But I don’t know what the hell connection Sandra has to all of this.”
    “What’s the name of the patient?”
    “Beth Avery. And she’s a member of the South Carolina Avery family. Low on the totem pole, but enough clout to cause everyone to keep the media at bay until they can find her.”
    “Mental patient. What’s her diagnosis?”
    “I don’t know. Sandra is pretty vague about everything. You’ll have to find out.”
    “I’ll do what I can.” He was silent. “Strange. None of this is making sense. I wonder what’s going on with Sandra. You’re sure I shouldn’t come right home?”
    “I’ll take care of her,” she repeated. “If you’ll make those calls. That’s all you could do if