He went behind her and ran the wand from shoulder to feet. Shes okay. No weapons. No wire.
Forgive James, Lisa said. Hes been extremely nervous lately. Its yours and Logans fault, Im afraid. Go away and let us talk, James.
Timwick started to move toward the trees.
No, Eve said sharply. I notice nobody gave me a chance to go over him with that damn wand. I dont want him out of my sight. She pointed at a spot be-side the helicopter. Sit down.
What?
You heard me. I want you sitting with your legs crossed. It would take you longer to attack from that position.
Timwicks lips thinned. This is humiliating, Lisa.
Do it. Lisa was smiling faintly. Youre not quite as helpless as I thought, Eve.
Timwick dropped to the ground and crossed his legs. Satisfied?
No, reach into your jacket and remove your gun. Put the safety on and toss it out of reach.
I dont have a gun.
Remove your gun, Eve repeated.
Lisa nodded. Lets get this over with, James.
Timwick muttered a curse, pulled out his gun, put on the safety, and tossed his gun across the glade.
Eve turned to Lisa. Now Im satisfied.
Youve used up valuable time. Lisa glanced at her watch. Two minutes to be exact.
It was worth it. I dont trust him.
I suppose you have a right to be suspicious. She paused. Now give me Bens skull, Eve.
Not yet.
You want me to tell you that youll get your Bonnie back? She looked her straight in the eye. Theres no way of being sure, but Ill do everything in my power to find her. Her voice vibrated with sin-cerity. I promise you, Eve.
Oh, God, she was telling the truth. Bonnie could come home.
The skull, Eve. I dont have much time. Ive pa-pers and money for you in the helicopter and James has arranged a plane to fly you and your mother out of the country. Give me the skull, and James and I will get back in that helicopter and disappear from your life.
Would there ever be a moment when Lisa Chadbourne wasnt a part of her memory and life?
The skull.
Its over there beneath the trees. Eve glanced warily at Timwick as she moved toward the edge of the glade. Im watching you, Timwick.
James isnt going to interfere. Lisa followed her. He wants that skull as much as I do.
But what about after I give you the skull?
Lisa didnt answer. Her forehead was creased in a frown. Where is it? Did you bury it?
No. She stopped and pointed at the leather case, which was half obscured by a bush. There it is.
In plain sight? You said we wouldnt be able to find it.
A bluff. Would it have done me any good to bury or hide it? Youd have gotten all kinds of detectors in here.
In this case, it seems I overestimated you. She laughed. My God, I thought youd worked out some-thing brilliant. Her smile faded. If it is Ben. You threw a ringer at us before.
Eve shook her head. Its Ben Chadbourne. Look for yourself.
Lisa picked up the case. I hear you do wonderful sculpting work. Will I really be able to see the resem-blance?
Open it.
Lisa stared down at the case. I dont think I want to.
Eve shrugged. Whatever you like. But Im sur-prised youd take the chance of not doing it.
I cant take a chance. Lisa braced herself and slowly opened the latches. Lets see if youre as good as your reput Dear God. She reeled back against the tree, staring down at the scorched skull. What is
Sorry its not as handsome as you expected. Gary Kessler always liked to work on a clean skull, so he made me break down what Id done. You remember Gary. You told Fiske to kill him, didnt you?
Lisa couldnt take her gaze off the skull. She whispered, Ben?
Thats what a man looks like when you burn him. All the skin melts away and
Shut up. Tears were suddenly flowing down Lisas cheeks.
And you see the jagged hole in the back of the skull? Thats what happened when his brain ex-ploded. When youre in a fire, your brain boils and eventually
