Quinn - Iris Johansen [63]
Eve thought for a moment. “He’s not … When he killed Bonnie, he may not have been aware of doing it. He claimed he loved her, and I believed him at the time. He had blackouts after those years of torture in that North Korean prison.”
“And does that mean you think she should be easy on him?” Jane asked in surprise.
“Hell no; if he killed Bonnie, he deserves everything anyone could do to him,” Eve said coldly. “I’m just telling Catherine that he’s definitely unstable, particularly where Bonnie is concerned. She may be able to use it.”
“It’s a possibility.” Catherine turned to Jane. “And no, I won’t be easy on him. It’s tough that he went through hell in that prison through no fault of his own. But if that turned him into a child killer, then he deserves to be exterminated.”
“No, you can’t do that,” Eve said quickly. “Not until he talks to me. I have to know where my Bonnie is buried.”
“If he remembers. He might not if he’s as unstable as you say.”
“I have to talk to him,” Eve repeated.
Catherine didn’t speak for a moment, then shrugged, and said, “Okay, I made you a promise, and I’ll keep it.” She smiled. “And now I think I’ll go to the ICU and see Joe.”
“They won’t let you visit him,” Eve said.
“Then if he’s awake, I’ll make faces at him through that glass window. He’ll get the message.” She gave Eve a hug. “Take care. I’ll be in touch and tell you how it’s going.”
“See that you do.”
Eve watched her leave the waiting room and walk quickly down the hall. There was purpose in Catherine’s steps and determination in her demeanor. She looked like a warrior going into battle.
“I was right. She’s tough,” Jane said. “Is she as good as she thinks she is?”
“Better, probably.” And Eve was feeling a rush of relief about having Catherine moving quickly to find Gallo. Having Gallo out there was a double-edged sword. He’d be both a threat and temptation to Joe once he was in his right senses. And she was still experiencing the pain of that moment when Black had told her that Gallo was guilty. The bond between them as Bonnie’s mother and father had turned tight and bitter, but she found that it still existed. It was Eve’s job to go after Gallo and bring him to justice, but for the moment, she had a more important job in helping get Joe well. She could rely on Catherine to search in Eve’s place until she was able to turn her attention away from Joe.
“I’m going to call the Hyatt and get a room for you, too,” Jane said. “We’ll probably both be here at the hospital most of the time, but we don’t have to live here as you’ve been doing. It seems the urgency is gone.”
“Yes.” She again felt that profound rush of thanksgiving she had felt when Joe had opened his eyes. “The urgency has definitely been downgraded. You make your call, and I’ll go back to the ICU and try to get the nurses to let me go in and sit with him again.”
Jane smiled. “You feeling lucky? You said the rules were pretty stern.”
“Yeah.” Eve threw her cup in the disposal. “I’m feeling very lucky, right now.”
* * *
JOE WAS sleeping.
Catherine stood at the window and gazed at him and the nurse moving around the ICU.
His color was good, and the sleep appeared normal.
Catherine let out a sigh of relief. She had believed Eve when she’d told her Joe was on the mend, but she’d had to see for herself. It was too easy for love to paint a false picture.
And the love between Eve and Joe was very strong. Catherine had had moments of envy when she had seen them together. When Catherine had married, she was seventeen, and her husband was sixty-two. They had both been CIA, and it had been more a partnership than a love affair.
Not that she had not loved him. But it was a quiet affection rather than a passion. She would not have done anything any differently. If she had not married Terry, she would not have given birth to her son, Luke. Why would she change anything when she had been given that gift? Her son was everything.
But the love that Eve and Joe possessed appeared to have all the