the world.”
“Guesswork again. We need to know.” She reached in her pocket and took out the card Caleb had given her. It was heavy plain paper with only the cell number scrawled on it. “So let’s see if Caleb can tell us.”
Before she could place the call, her phone rang.
Montalvo.
“I saw the Heather Carmello murder on the news. I would have liked to have heard it from you. Purely in the name of cooperation.”
He was obviously not pleased. She probably should have told him since she couldn’t discount the information he’d given them. Well, she just couldn’t help it. She was having enough problems. “I’ve been busy.”
“Then don’t close me out, and you won’t be so busy.”
“Montalvo, I won’t have you out here disturbing Joe. He has enough problems. Keep out of it.”
He was silent a moment. “Very well. I won’t be on your doorstep, but I do want to help. Tell me how I can do it.”
He wasn’t going to give up. She tried to think. “My mother. Sandra Duncan. She lives in a condo downtown. I don’t believe she’d be a target for Jelak, but we should have some protection for her. Will you do that for me, Montalvo?”
“Your mother. You’ve never talked about her very much. You’re not close?”
“It’s been an up-and-down relationship. I don’t see much of her these days. At one time, we were very close.”
“When your Bonnie was alive?”
“Yes. Will you make sure she’s safe?”
“You can be sure of it.” He paused. “You can always be sure of me, Eve.” He hung up.
Eve turned away as she hung up the phone. “I guess I’d better call Sandra and tell her that she’s going to be under surveillance for a while. Or maybe not. Montalvo will be careful, and I don’t want to alarm her.”
“I’ve never gotten used to you calling her Sandra.”
“It was her choice when I was growing up. It made her feel younger. It still makes her feel young. That’s important to her since she’s on her fourth marriage.”
“You never called her Mother?”
“No, but Bonnie called her Grandma. She didn’t mind. She didn’t mind anything Bonnie did.” She looked down at the card Caleb had given her. “And now I guess I’d better make that call to Caleb.”
“I’ll do it. You probably want to get to work.” Jane took the card. “I think I’ll go out on the porch. I need to relax for a few minutes. It’s been quite a morning.”
Eve watched her as she went out the door before she turned to the reconstruction. She did want to get to work, but she was feeling on edge and distracted.
Montalvo?
No, not Montalvo. It had been talking about her mother and Bonnie. It had brought back too many memories. From the day Bonnie was born, it had been a golden time for Eve and her mother. Her little girl had seemed to bridge all the bitterness and resentment that Eve had felt toward a mother who had been a crack addict from the time Eve could remember. It had been Bonnie who had held that fragile relationship together by the sheer love they had both felt for her. It was Bonnie who had spurred her grandmother to suffer through painful withdrawal just so she could be with her grandchild. Even on that last day in the park, Eve could remember how Sandra had glowed with happiness while she was pushing Bonnie in the swing.
“Enough.” Sandra stood back and wiped her forehead. “I’m getting too old for this. Go get your mother to push you, Bonnie.”
“That’s okay. I’m ready to get down.” Bonnie slipped out of the swing. “Thanks, Grandma.” She ran up to Eve, who was sitting on the bench. Her cheeks were blazing pink with happiness, and her eyes were shining. “Did you see how high I went? We should make up a song about swings and going up, up, up.”
“I’m sure someone already did. But we could make up another one.”
“And about the sunshine, and the trees, and . . . oh, everything.”
“That will be a very long song. But we’ll take a stab at it tonight. It’s almost time to go home, baby.”
“Not yet.” She threw herself into Eve’s arms. “Ten more minutes, Mama. Please. Please. Please. I want to go and get an ice cream.”
“Where?”
“Right over there. That booth by that big tree.”
Eve caught a glimpse of a white stand with red lettering through the shifting crowd of parents and children. “Okay. Let’s go.”
“I can go by myself.” Bonnie was already running toward the ice-cream stand, darting in and out of the crowds. “Grandma already gave me the money. I’ll be right back.”
Eve smiled at Sandra. “Grandma already gave her the money? Grandma is spoiling her rotten.”
Sandra shook her head. “Not possible. What’s an ice cream?” She smiled. “I love her in that Bugs Bunny T-shirt. I was wondering if maybe we could afford to take her to Disney World this year.”
“I’m pretty strapped for cash.” But the thought of Bonnie’s face when she was confronted with all that magic was very tempting. “Maybe if I could get a second job . . .”
