Smokescreen Read online

  “I am,” Jill said simply. “I’m asking you to volunteer. I can gather enough money together to pay you to come to Maldara and do the reconstructions on those children. You’re the best one for this job, and they deserve the best.”

  “I’m sure they do, but there are other fine forensic sculptors.” Eve had seen where this was going and had tried to offer alternatives to avoid having to refuse her. She could see that Jill Cassidy was passionately committed to helping those children. The story had touched and horrified Eve, and she could almost feel the agony of the parents who had lost their children to those butchers. “Not me, Jill,” she said gently. “I have a career with commitments. I have a family who needs me. I can’t go flying across the ocean to work in a country in the middle of Africa.”

  “I know I’m asking a lot.” Jill’s face was tense. “But they need help. If you could see…” She reached in her briefcase and pulled out a manila folder. “Here. You can see them.” She thrust the folder at Eve. “You could put off your other commitments for a little while, couldn’t you? These people have lost so much already. Someone should care enough to give them something to make—” She broke off, then said, “I can talk about your work, but there’s nothing I can say that would make leaving your family any better. I don’t even have a family any longer, but I know it would suck.” She drew a deep breath. “But if you could give those kids just a few weeks, it would give me time to try to work something else out for them.”

  Eve shook her head. “I have a life, Jill. You’re asking me for a major disruption. And I don’t even know if it’s the best thing for those village families. You’re asking me to trust your judgment.”

  “Yes, I am. Or your own judgment after you look at the biographies and photos in that envelope.” She reached out and grasped Eve’s hand. “Look, I know it’s a sacrifice. Who wants to go to a wild, underdeveloped country and set up shop in a jungle for those weeks? But if you agree to do it, I know you’ll come back feeling good about it. And maybe it’s not so underdeveloped any longer. It has a U.S. embassy, there’s a temporary U.N. headquarters, and reps come in and out of Jokan, the capital city, on a regular basis.” She grimaced. “It’s practically civilized compared to when I first visited.”

  “You said that was two years ago.” She frowned. “The fighting was still going on then. I’m surprised they let you in the country.”

  “They didn’t. But I had a few friends in high places and even more in low places who managed to smuggle me under the radar. I had an idea it might be the story of the decade, and I wanted to be there.” Her lips tightened. “I knew it was a second Rwanda, but I thought I was tough enough to take it. And I did take it, I just didn’t realize I’d be caught up in the nightmare and start bleeding myself. You don’t go through an experience like that without its changing your life.”

  “Changing?”

  “I was first on the scene, and I told the stories.” Her face was haunted. “But you can’t do that in a place like Maldara without becoming part of the story.”

  “Yet you want me to go and tell stories of my own when I do those reconstructions,” Eve said quietly. “And you know that it will probably hurt me to do them. Every single one I’ve ever done has hurt me, Jill. It goes with the territory. And this time, I wouldn’t even have the comfort of doing it to try to find the butchers who murdered them. They had to have been killed or imprisoned by now.”

  “I know.” She nodded jerkily. “So do it for their parents or grandparents. Nothing is perfect. Particularly in Maldara.” Her hand tightened on Eve’s. “Just do it. I promise I’ll make it safe for you and as comfortable as I can.”

  “I know you would.” Eve gently pulled away her hand. “And I admire you and what you’re trying to do for these people. But I have my own commitments I have to think about. Maldara is half a world away from them. But I promise I’ll try to find an organization that will be able to give you the help you need.”

  “Thank you.” Jill’s voice was unsteady. “I guess I couldn’t expect anything else from you.” There was desperation in her eyes as she held Eve’s gaze. “But you’re the help I need. Please. Will you promise to think about it?” She reached in her pocket and handed Eve her card. “Just call me, and I’ll arrange everything.”

  “I’ll think about it,” Eve said. “But I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you, Jill. I can’t do—”

  “Mom, we’re ready to go!” Michael was standing in the doorway, his eyes shining with eagerness. “Dad’s grabbing the suitcases and that present I made for Jane.” His gaze was on Jill. “But if you’re still busy, I’ll help Dad take the suitcases down to the car and we’ll wait for you there.”

  “No, I believe we’re finished here.” Eve got to her feet. “It took a little longer than I thought.” She held out her hand to him. “This is my son, Michael, Jill. This is Jill Cassidy, Michael, come and shake hands with her. She’s a very famous journalist, and you’ll probably be seeing her stories in newspapers and on the Net.”

  “Really?” He was across the porch and smiling at Jill. “That will be neat. I’m very glad to meet you, Ms. Cassidy.” He shook her hand and looked her straight in the eye. “I’ll be watching for them. I think you must be very smart if you’re this famous so young.”

  “Not so young.” Jill smiled. “Compared to you, I’m ancient. I’m happy to meet you, Michael. I can see why your mother is so proud of her family.”

  “We’re proud of her, too.” He turned away and went back to Eve. “I think I’ll go back inside and help Dad. He might need me.” He leaned forward, and whispered to Eve as he passed her, “She’s so sad, Mom. Be nice to her.” Then he was through the door and talking to his father.

  “Sweet kid.” Jill was looking after him. “You’re lucky.”

  “Yes, I am.” She shouldn’t have been surprised at Michael’s instant insight, but she was. Jill had been hiding that vulnerability very well, even from Eve, until those last moments. But then Eve and Joe had known since the moment he was born that Michael saw deeper than other people. “But like all kids, he has a few issues.” One of which was to make her feel guilty when she agreed with what he saw, she thought crossly. Gazing at Jill Cassidy right now, Eve was acutely aware of the scars that had been born of the emotional battles the woman had fought over the years. “He can be very demanding on occasion.”

  “I see absolutely nothing wrong with that,” Jill said with a smile. “I can be demanding myself. I believe we’d get along fine.” Her smile faded as she turned toward the porch steps. “But I’m in your way. You said you had to take your husband and son to the airport. Thank you for seeing me.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m sorry I can’t help you.” She followed Jill to the steps. “I meant what I said, I’ll get on the phone tomorrow and try to talk to several charities.”

  “I’m sure you will.” Jill looked back at her, and Eve was once more aware of that hint of desperation in her expression. “Just look at the family photos and read my biographies of the children. That’s all I ask. After meeting your son, I know that’s a lot. But I have to ask it.”

  Eve gazed at the manila envelope on the cushions of the porch swing. “I’ll look at them.” She shook her hand. “But I can’t let them change my mind. It was nice meeting you, Jill.”

  Jill nodded and made an effort to smile. “Yeah, I hope Nora turns out the way you want her.”

  “That depends on her,” Eve said. “I never know until the last sculpting.”

  “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Jill waved and ran down the steps.

  Eve stood there and watched her as she got into her dark blue Volvo and backed out of the driveway. Jill smiled again as she waved and drove down the lake road.

  Smiles?

  She’s so sad, Michael had said.

  “Hi.” Michael was suddenly standing beside her, his gaze on the car. “Did we stay inside long enough? Did you have time to fix it?”

  “No,” Eve said. “Sometimes peopl
e have to fix their own problems. Though I’ll make a few calls for her tomorrow.” She gave him a little push to stop the protest she could see was coming. “But right now I want to spend time just being with you and your dad and not thinking of anyone else until you get on that jet. Go get your luggage.”

  * * *

  Jill pulled onto a side road a few miles from the lake cottage and turned off the engine of the Volvo. She realized she was shaking. Stupid. Everything had gone well, and there was no reason for her to be this upset. Yet she had felt like she had to take a few moments before she got on the freeway. She had wanted to catch a final glimpse of Eve Duncan and her family before she took the next step that would send Eve spiraling into the coming nightmare.

  Maybe it would not happen. She had tried to take precautions that might keep Eve safe.

  Or might not.

  Either way, Jill was committed, and all the regrets in the world wouldn’t alter what she’d done. So stop this nonsense and make certain that the rest of the plan was set as well. She quickly dialed Jed Novak before she could change her mind. “It’s okay,” she said when he picked up. “They’re on their way to the airport, and Eve Duncan isn’t getting on that flight with them. The only worry I had was that she might change her mind. She’s very close to her family, and that could have happened.”

  “But you said it wasn’t likely,” Novak said dryly. “And I built the entire scenario around your judgment. I’m glad you didn’t disappoint me.”

  “You would have just made me come up with something else. You don’t allow failure, Novak.”

  Silence. “No, I don’t. Not once you were committed. The stakes are too high.” He paused. “Is she going to do it?”

  “I think she will. She turned me down, but she’ll look at the photos and the children’s stories. They’ll be very effective. Then she won’t be able to resist going back and finding out more about Maldara. She’ll allow a little time to pass, then she’ll find a way to do what I asked.”

  “You seem certain.”

  “I’m as certain as I can be considering how intelligent she is. As I told her, I did my homework.” Jill added curtly, “She doesn’t want to do it. She wants to keep her commitments with all those law-enforcement bodies she had on her agenda. And she has family responsibilities and knows that there’s always a possibility of harm when you go to a country like Maldara. That’s why you have to reassure her that the risk is minimal when she starts checking. Have you set it up?”

  “Of course,” he said dryly. “This isn’t my first rodeo, Jill.”

  “No, you were probably there when they built the Colosseum. I’m the one who doesn’t have the experience. But I have to do this right, Novak.” Her hands tightened on the steering wheel. “And the risk has to be as minimal as we’re letting her think. You have to keep her safe, Novak.”

  “It will go right if you’ve read Eve Duncan right. You’ve told me all the things that are con, what are the pros?”

  “Only two things. I’m good at what I do. I made very sure the photos of the massacre and the families will shock and touch her. And I guarantee my stories in that envelope will do the rest. They’re going to haunt her, she won’t be able to forget them.”

  “And the other thing?”

  “She likes me,” she said simply. “And I know it’s hard for her not to trust someone she likes.” She drew a shaky breath. “Because I like her, too. So make sure we don’t get her butchered, Novak.”

  “I’ll work on it.”

  She braced herself. “And while you’re doing that, I should tell you that on that last day before I left Maldara, I thought I was being followed.”

  “You were. Don’t worry. I’m on it. I’ll get back to you.”

  “That’s comforting,” she said dryly. “Kind of you to let me know.” She cut the connection.

  She didn’t feel as if she could talk to Novak any more right now. He was a master at the games that all those covert organizations played, and she was a rank amateur. That was fine with her; she had never wanted to be anything but a journalist and tell the story.

  But not this story.

  She stiffened as she glimpsed Eve Duncan’s Toyota driving down the lake road. She was at the wheel, and her son and husband were smiling and talking to her. She was also smiling and looked happy as if life was good and there was no Maldara in the world.

  And Jill could make certain there would be no Maldara for Eve Duncan. She could step away and take the story in another direction.

  But she knew she wasn’t going to do it.

  She was going to let it happen.

  Chapter

  2

  Atlanta Airport

  Atlanta, Georgia

  I’ll call you from London as soon as we get in,” Joe said. “Jane said that we’ll be going out to breakfast after she picks us up, then drop by her apartment to rest until she and Michael leave for Wales tomorrow evening.”

  “And you’ll be using her apartment while you’re at the seminar,” Eve said. “I told you it was meant to be. The timing was almost too good to be true.”

  “Not if you’re not with us.” His hand reached up to cup her cheek. “Change your mind?”

  “I’m tempted.” More than tempted. The idea of going back home while they flew off into the wild blue yonder was already causing her an aching sense of loss. “Maybe after I finish Nora. I’ll see in a few days.”

  “Good.” He kissed her. “I’ll keep after you.”

  “If you have time,” she said ruefully. “During that last seminar at the Yard, you were busy from dusk to dawn. And afterward, you and the guys were cementing international relations at every pub near Scotland Yard.”

  “Only the one on Whitehall. The others closed too early. But I might just have time for you.” He grinned. “Try me.” He slipped his arm around her waist, and they walked toward the jetway, where Michael was waiting, playing a game on his computer. “Though I’ll have to think about it. I was a little insulted when you sent Michael in to tell me we had to sit down and wait until you finished that interview with Jill Cassidy.”

  “It wasn’t exactly an interview. It turned out to be something different.” That was an understatement. “And that wasn’t me, that was Michael. He liked her. He was feeling sorry for her and thought I should help her.”

  “Why?”

  “You know Michael. He just said she was sad.” She shrugged. “And maybe she is. Journalists don’t have tremendously happy lives. They see too much. Big-time stress. But I told him sometimes people have to fix their own problems.” She turned and kissed him again, hard. “And the only problems I want to fix right now are yours and Michael’s,” she said fiercely. “You take care of yourself, and I’ll expect at least one Skype a day. Even if it has to be from a pub on Whitehall Street.”

  “You’ll get it.” His hand gently caressed her cheek. “Don’t work too hard. I don’t want to come back to a haggard wife who will send me running back to that pub to drown my sorrows.” He grinned. “Now go say good-bye to Michael. I’m sure he wants to lecture you about your mistreatment of Jill Cassidy.”

  “No, he won’t. Not this close to the time he’s going to have to leave me. I’ll get a break.” She was moving toward Michael. “But he might do it on our first Skype call!”

  * * *

  Dammit.

  Eve could feel her eyes sting with tears as she drove up the driveway to the lake cottage. The place seemed just as empty as she’d been afraid it would without Joe and Michael. It had been bad when she’d watched the plane take off, but this was worse. This was where there were a million memories, and she’d have to fight them every single day.

  She wanted to run back to the airport and jump on the next plane.

  Yeah, that would be mature and responsible. It would be good for Michael to spend time with his sister. He and Jane didn’t get a chance to bond that often. And she’d be in Joe’s way while he was networking. Just get busy and this month would fly by
and they’d all be together again.

  She ran up the porch steps and threw open the door. It was getting dark, and she flicked on the light. That was more cheerful. She threw down her purse and moved to her worktable in the studio across the room. “Hi, Nora.” She looked down at the reconstruction. “It’s just me and you, kid. But we’ll get along just fine, won’t we?” She touched the clay of her cheekbone with her index finger. “And after that, we’ll find someone else to help.”

  Nora gazed up at her from blind eyes. Eve hadn’t put the glass eyes in the eye orbits yet. That was always the last touch. Usually she didn’t even notice that emptiness, but she did today. Probably because she was feeling so empty herself. “Maybe we won’t work right away.” She turned away. “No offense. I’ll just have a cup of coffee, then call Jane and tell her they’re on their way. We’ll get together later tonight.”

  But the call to Jane went straight to voice mail. Jane was always busy, and she might even have a gallery showing. Later. Everything seemed to be later today.

  She took her coffee to the porch and looked out at the lake. Beautiful as usual. But it wasn’t as lit by sunlight as it had been earlier when she’d been out here with Jill Cassidy. The sun had gone down, and it was a little somber.

  Jill Cassidy.

  Promise you’ll look at them.

  Her gaze went to the manila envelope she’d left on the porch swing. She didn’t want to look at those photos. She’d seen more than enough horror photos in her career in forensics. She was depressed enough today.

  Promise me.

  She could almost see Jill standing on those steps, pleading desperately.

  She’s so sad.

  And Michael had ganged up on Eve.

  Oh, well, just do it. She crossed to the swing, plopped down, and reached for the envelope. It might be better that her mood was as somber as that lake out there. She pulled out the photos and switched on the light. It couldn’t be any worse than what she’d seen before…