“And you think I can help you.”
“So you’re suddenly a mind reader?”
“Why else would you have come bellowing for me like a cow in labor?”
He made a face. “You could have chosen a more appropriate comparison, Nancy Jo.”
She smiled faintly. “But not one more accurate. You like me. You want to help me. But every time we’re together, you’re fighting it. So yes, you do bellow.”
“Maybe,” he said. “You said you could sense Jelak, that you thought you could find him. If you had some of his possessions would that help?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps.”
“All I’m getting is maybes and I don’t knows,” he said in disgust. “Caleb came up with zilch.”
“Which sent you bellowing to me,” Nancy Jo said. “What did you find that belonged to Jelak?”
“His car. Probably the one he used to bring you here to Allatoona.”
She stiffened. “The car. I’ve been thinking about it lately. It was as big and heavy as a hearse. Do you think that Jelak made that connection?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me. It’s parked at Kennesaw Mountain right now. After forensics gets through with it, they’ll tow it in to the impound yard. Will you come and look at it before they do?”
“Of course.” She moistened her lips. “I’ve got to look at it. I’ve got to see it, touch it. Right now, it’s not even real to me. It’s just part of the nightmare.”
“That’s probably a mercy.”
“I’ve got to get rid of the nightmare. Bonnie said that, and I didn’t understand, but now I’m beginning to see what she meant.”
Bonnie, again. Eve’s daughter seemed to be moving in and out of Nancy Jo’s awareness as she did Joe’s.
He turned. “Then let’s see if we can use that damn car to hang the bastard. Coming?”
She smiled. “I don’t need a lift, Joe. I can find you with no problem.”
He glanced back over his shoulder. “That’s right, you know the trick. I wish to hell I did. I wouldn’t have had to come here bellowing for you.”
“Maybe someday I can teach it to you.”
“Not if it means I have to be a ghost. I’m not ready for that.”
“Neither was I.”
No, nineteen years old and full of life and all that the future held. A beautiful life, and the longer he was with her, the more glimpses he was seeing of the extraordinary woman she would have become if Jelak had allowed her to live.
He was suddenly furiously angry. “Then, dammit, let’s go get the son of a bitch.”
Kennesaw Mountain
“WHY DID YOU SEND THE forensic team away?” Caleb asked. “They didn’t seem pleased.”
“Too bad. They can do the rest of the tests later.” He watched the last van go down the hill. “Why don’t you go back to the precinct and wait for—”
“I wouldn’t think of it.” He leaned against his car and crossed his arms across his chest. “I’m too interested in all this erratic behavior you’re showing me.”
“It’s not erratic.” Where the hell was Nancy Jo? He’d been hoping that he’d be able to get rid of Caleb before she arrived on the scene. It wasn’t going to happen. Caleb was sticking closer than glue. It didn’t really matter. At this point, he didn’t give a damn if Caleb thought he was nuts or not.
“Maybe erratic wasn’t accurate. Then unusual.”
“I’ll grant you unusual.” The van had gone around the turn of the road. Where was she? “But that’s the pot calling the kettle.”
“He’s much blacker than you, Joe,” Nancy Jo said. She was standing in front of the big Lincoln, staring at it in fascination. “It frightens me. Why should it frighten me?”
“I don’t know. Memory?”
“Memory?” Caleb repeated. “What are you talking about?”
Joe made an impatient gesture and turned away from him. “Let’s get it over with, Nancy Jo.” He opened the trunk of the car. “He probably stashed you in the trunk after he put you out. Do you have any recollection?”
“No.” She put her hand on the rust-colored carpet lining the trunk. “It seems strange not to be able to feel things. Bonnie said if I stay long enough some of it will come back. Sunlight . . . rain . . .”
“You don’t sense anything?”
“Nothing about him.” She shuddered. “But I wasn’t the only one Jelak stuffed in this trunk. One, two, three . . . Five. I think there were five. Four of us were unconscious but Kerry was still awake, and she fought, her nails were bloody from trying to get out.” She reached out and touched a tiny brown stain on the carpet. Tears rose to her eyes. “I feel her, but I can’t help her.”
“You have sensation when you touch the blood?”
“Yes, but I can’t help her.”
