“Sometimes,” Eve said. “Luke has a dimple in his left cheek, and his eyes are alert and full of vitality. He may have retained that tremendous joie de vivre.” She paused. “Or he may have lost it if life was hard. But either way, there will be traces of that lifelong look. If you look at photos of JFK, you’ll see what I mean. From childhood on, he had that unmistakable, recognizable look.” She glanced at Catherine. “Have you seen enough?”
No, there would never be enough. “It’s as close as you can come?”
She nodded. “I did the best I could. I think it may be a good best.”
“So do I.” Catherine cleared her throat. “Will you print it out? I’d also like you to send it to my cell phone.”
“Done.”
She didn’t speak for a moment. “You know I can’t thank you enough. I owe you. Ask me anything, and I’ll do it.”
“Find Luke,” Eve said. “Bring him home alive and well.”
“I will,” she said fiercely. “But that’s for me. I have to pay you back. Name it.”
“I’ll think about it.” Eve slipped from her stool. “But in the meantime, you can make me a cup of coffee.” She flexed her neck and back. “I’m stiff as a board.”
“I’ll do it.” Kelly was already halfway across the room. “Catherine?”
“Yes.” Catherine wrinkled her nose. “You persist in taking away my jobs.”
“Pushy.” Kelly smiled over her shoulder. “Daddy used to say I was-” She broke off as she went behind the bar of the kitchenette. “He was right.”
“Nothing wrong with a little assertiveness, Catherine,” Eve said. “I believe both you and I are prone to be a little forceful.”
“True.” Catherine sat down at the bar. “But I understand there should be a balance.”
“Have you ever found it?”
Catherine smiled. “No.” Her smile faded. “I mean it. I’ll find a way to give you whatever you want. But in the meantime, I know you want me out of here, and I’ll oblige as soon as I can get my things together. I know a lot about the art of disappearing. In a few hours, you’ll find it hard to remember I was here.”
“I’ll remember.” She took the cup of coffee Kelly set before her. “You’re hard to forget. So is Luke.” She smiled at Kelly. “And so is our young friend. Have you found anything in that report to give you any insight into where Rakovac might have hidden Luke?”
“No, not yet.”
“Then what are you planning to do?”
“As I told you, I have friends in Moscow. I’ll do my own surveillance, and I may twist some arms.” Her lips tightened. “I’ll do anything I have to do. I just hope there’s something in that report that will give me a start. It contains years of surveillance reports I’ll have to comb through.”
“Let me do it,” Kelly offered.
“No,” Catherine said emphatically. “After I finish this coffee, we’re going to have a discussion about where you’re going to go until you can make other arrangements.”
“I’m either going with you, or it’s none of your business where I go,” Kelly said quietly. “You can discuss all you please. I won’t impose on Eve, and I won’t-”
Catherine’s cell phone rang.
She stiffened. “Rakovac.”
She punched the button. “What do you want?”
“You’re being rude. You know I don’t tolerate that, Catherine. I wonder why you’re suddenly so brave.”
She should back down. It wasn’t safe for Luke. “You just called me. What else could you have to say?”
“A good deal. I’ve decided it’s time to bring our relationship to a close. I can’t tell how I’ll regret having to do that, but circumstances are crowding me.”
She didn’t like where this conversation was going. “What circumstances?”
“A change of lifestyle. I’m afraid you have no part in it.” He paused. “Neither does your obsession for your son.”
Her heart was starting to pound. “Then let him go.”
“I can’t do that. You’ll have to come and get him.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been busy since I last called you. I paid a visit to your Luke’s grave and had him dug up so that I could give you a little challenge.”
“You’re lying.”
“Why won’t you believe me? He was five years old when I shot him.” He paused. “Is your friend Eve Duncan there with you?”
“Yes.”
“Good, because the challenge is for her, too. She’s being such a help to you. I’m going to let her do the final rites.”
Catherine was beginning to feel sick with panic. Nightmare on top of nightmare. “She has nothing to do with this. It’s only a job to her.”
“But I’ve been investigating her background, and I believe she can’t be a part of something without becoming personally involved. She annoyed me by deciding to interfere in our private affairs.”
“It’s over. I’m leaving here.”
“With your precious age progression to speed you on. It’s bogus, Catherine. What a pity. All her work for nothing.” His voice lowered. “But I have more work for her to do. Providing that she chooses to set your mind at rest. I have a skull for her to work on. Ask me to whom it belongs.”
“Why? You’ll tell me, and it will be a lie.”
“Will it? Come and find out. Come play hide-and-seek. It’s a splendid game, the final game. Find out if I’m lying about your son. You’ll get a prize if you do.”
“What kind of prize?”
“A quick death…maybe. As for your interfering friend, Duncan, I may let the people she cares about live.”
“Not Eve?”
“I’m trying to be honest with you. I want her dead. Her lover, Quinn, and daughter, Jane, are negotiable.” He added maliciously, “One way or another, you’ll know your son is going to be in his grave by the end of the month. I make you that promise. Now all you have to do is find out if he’s there already, or if I have to kill him to keep that promise.”
“He’s not dead. You wouldn’t do it.”
“You’re gambling. Come and find out for yourself. I’ll give you a series of clues that will lead you to your son. The first is in the photo I’ve just sent you. I have a passion for photos, they keep the memories fresh. Access it when you hang up.”
“Wait. Don’t-”
He had already hung up. Her hands were shaking as she quickly accessed the photo in her phone.
It was the photo of the skeleton of a child lying on a pile of earth beneath a twisted tree. The bones were stained with dirt, and a hole gaped in the center of the skull.
She made a whimpering noise deep in her throat. She closed her eyes a moment as the waves of pain hit her.
“May I see it?” Eve took her phone and gazed at the photo for a long time.
“Eve?”
Eve drew a shaking breath. “Damn him. It could be a fake, but it appears to be authentic.”
Catherine’s eyes flicked open. “How old?”
“Hard to tell.”
“Five?”
“Possibly.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s a fake. He’s just doing it to hurt me.”
“Well, he succeeded, didn’t he?” Eve’s face was drained of color as she stood up and moved jerkily toward the door. “I’ll be right back. I need some air.”
Catherine stared after her in bewilderment.
“It’s the photo,” Kelly said quietly. “The skeleton. She’s thinking about her daughter. It’s hurting her.”
