Quinn - Iris Johansen [87]
“Don’t you refuse me.” Eve’s voice was shaking. “You give me that day. I almost lost Joe. I can’t prevent him from going after Gallo, but I can keep Catherine on the job to help him.”
“That’s not all you’re doing,” Jane said bluntly. “You’re going to go after Gallo yourself.”
Eve should have known that Jane would guess her intentions. They were too close not to be able to read each other. “Joe said Bonnie told him that we’re reaching the end,” she said unevenly. “If that’s true, then I should be the one to reach it first.” She reached out and grasped Jane’s arm. “I’m not afraid of Catherine, and I’m not afraid of Gallo. Give me my day, Jane.”
“Damn you.” Jane’s eyes were glittering with moisture. She reached out and hugged Eve close. “One day, Eve. After that, Joe and I will both be on your trail.”
Eve brushed Jane’s cheek with her lips and let her go. “Thanks, Jane. This means a lot to me.”
“I know. Do you think that if I didn’t realize you were on the edge, I’d have given in? It’s nearly killing me to let you go.” Jane watched her get into the elevator. “I hope Bonnie is right. I hope this nightmare is coming to an end.”
“So do I,” Eve said, as the elevator door closed, shutting her away from Jane. The search for Bonnie had been a nightmare for Jane also, she knew. Jane’s strength and courage had caused her to downplay any pain or loneliness that might have resulted from Eve’s obsession with finding Bonnie. But those emotions had been there, and Eve had been aware of them.
It’s been too long for all of us, Bonnie. Let me bring you home.
* * *
“ARE YOU awake?”
Catherine opened her eyes to see Gallo sitting by the fire a few yards away from her. “I am now,” she said dryly. “Since it’s obvious you want me to be.”
He smiled. “Yes, I do. I was lonely. I held off for a little while, but then I yielded to temptation. I knew I wasn’t going to sleep, and I wanted company. I never said I wasn’t selfish.” He crossed his legs Indian style. “Or that I wasn’t curious. About an hour and a half ago, you tucked yourself into that sleeping bag immediately after you talked to Eve. It had all the signs of an escape move. But I’d judge that you’re not one to hide your head under a blanket.”
“I wasn’t trying to escape you. If I had, I would have taken off when you gave me the chance. I had some thinking to do.”
“And?”
“I did it.” She stared him in the eye. “And I decided you were the most outrageously idiotic individual on the face of the Earth, and Eve wasn’t far behind you.”
His smile faded. “Indeed? I assume you’re referring to what I told you about Bonnie. I told you that I didn’t expect you to believe me.”
“I don’t know whether I believe you or not. It would take a hell of a lot more than a tall tale about a red-haired ghost-child skipping merrily through your life to make me give up reality for that kind of fantasy.” Her lips tightened. “But it’s clear you and Eve have bought into it and won’t be argued out of your Bonnie visions.”
“Eve told you?”
“Hell no, she danced around it very warily, but it was clear she was talking about the same bond that you were. She sees Bonnie.”
“And that makes us both idiots?”
“I told you, that wasn’t what I was talking about. You’re both idiots because you believed Paul Black when he told you that he knew that you had killed your daughter.”
“He was telling the truth.”
“You and Eve kept saying that. Because I trust and admire Eve’s judgment, I went along with her when she said she was certain. As for you, why should I doubt anything bad about you when you were the enemy?”
“No reason at all.”
“Except your blind belief in what Black said has been bothering me lately. It didn’t seem right. And the more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it became to me.” She shook her head. “I’m no psychiatrist, but I don’t think anyone is capable of murdering a child they love unless they’re totally mad. You may have had bouts of instability, but you’re not crazy, Gallo.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know you. Just as you know me. After these weeks in the woods, I know you very well.