Night and Day (32 page)

“I'll be happy to see you again.” His eyes were twinkling as he glanced at the door. “But I'm not certain that Detective Quinn is happy to see me. I'm not accustomed to having my examination rooms go through such a thorough search.”

He sounded tolerant now, but she had noticed how tense the doctor had seemed when Joe had gone into full detective mode. It was no wonder he had felt threatened. Joe could be very intimidating.

“Joe's a little protective.” And she might not be encouraged to return in spite of the doctor's words, she thought ruefully. Between Joe and Jock Gavin, it had been an uneventful but definitely edgy visit. “Good-bye, Doctor. Have a nice day.”

Five minutes later she had her vitamin pills, her next appointment, and was out the door and walking down the hall with Joe.

“It took long enough,” Joe murmured.

“It did not,” Eve said. “I'm not an expert, but I think it was fairly short. You and Jock were just on high alert. I could see that you were making the doctor nervous. Where's Jock now?”

“Checking out the parking garage.”

“And it will probably prove to be pristine clean by the time he does a sweep.” She gave a profound sigh of relief as they got in the elevator. “And I'll be very glad to get back to Gaelkar. I'd just as soon be back with Michael and forget all about all these medical things.”

“Did you discuss Michael?”

“A little, not really. I didn't want to burst the doctor's bubble by telling him we didn't need him. You should know that you have a lot of boys in your family history.”

“Do I really? I'll have to check on that.”

The elevator stopped, and the doors slid open. Jock was on the other side. “All secure.” He smiled at Eve. “You, too?”

“So the doctor said. Michael couldn't be better.”

“Cara will be relieved.” Jock opened the passenger door of the car for her. “Since she believes she has a personal investment in your son.” He got in the backseat. “Let's get back to the camp. I've been feeling a little uneasy ever since we left there this morning.”

“I checked in an hour ago,” Joe said quietly.

“I've been checking, too. I just don't … like this … feeling…”

*   *   *

“Is Michael okay, Eve?” Cara asked eagerly as she ran toward them across the camp. “Did you get your vitamins?”

“Yes.” She smiled. “As well as a B-12 shot and an offer to tell me the sex of the baby. I'm glad you weren't along. I didn't set a good example. I had to fib a bit not to hurt Dr. Rampfel's feelings. He was edgy enough about dealing with Joe.” She watched Jock and Joe striding toward MacDuff's tent. “No problems here? As soon as they stopped worrying about me, they started worrying about everyone here.”

Cara shook her head. “MacDuff was a little impatient about getting back to the mist, but he'd promised Jock he'd stay close, and he tried not to show it.” She grinned. “So Jane and I volunteered to help him with his paperwork and research. But I know he's going to want everyone to hit that mist now that you're back.” She changed the subject. “Did you have lunch? Do you want me to cook something for you? I looked up some high-protein recipes that are supposed to be good for—”

“You're hovering,” Eve said gently. “But I'll let you off easy, because I didn't have lunch. Joe wanted to get back here, and I knew I had a terrific chef just waiting to ply me with attention.” She touched Cara's cheek. “Something light?”

Cara nodded eagerly. “You just go sit by the lake and rest. I'll do everything and—” She stopped. “Almost everything. Maybe we can do the dessert together?”

“Thank you. Now you've got the program. Together.” But Eve did move down to the lake and sat down on the bank. Now that she was away from the hubbub of the trip and visit, she was feeling strangely depressed. She was glad to get back to this beautiful, mystical place that felt oddly homelike. She looked out at the mist hovering over the lake. Cira's mist, Cira's lake. Did you sit here sometimes and look out at the mist and think of your son, Marcus, Cira? Could you have saved him, if you'd lived with all the miracles we have today? Perhaps not, sometimes it's necessary to accept and not—

Rejection.

She inhaled sharply as that emotion struck her with stunning force.

Michael.

Rejection.

And anger.

Hey, okay. You didn't like what I was thinking. We'll forget it and start again. But you can't always have it your own way, Michael.

Rejection.

And another searing bolt of emotion.

Wrong. This was wrong, she thought dazedly. She was suddenly cold. She linked her arms about her knees to stop from shivering. What was happening to her?

Rejection.

I heard you, Michael. But now I'm getting scared. Cira? Does it have something to do with Cira?

Rejection.

“Eve?” Cara was standing beside her, her eyes wide. “You look … funny. What can I do?”

“Tell Joe … I need him. Something's … bad.”

Cara turned and flew up the hill.

Fear. Anger. Rejection.

We'll take care of it, Michael. Just give us a chance. It will be—

A text. Her phone was pinging a text …

Not now.

Now. Now. Now.

She accessed the text.

Some news story …

“What's wrong?” Joe was kneeling beside her, taking her in his arms. “God, you're shaking.”

“It was crazy.” She held on to him with all her strength. “Michael…”

“What about Michael?”

“I don't know. I was sitting here and thinking about Cira and her Marcus, and all of a sudden—Michael didn't like it. He was angry. Then this stupid text came in, and I—”

“What text?” He looked down at her phone. “Oh, shit.” He buried her head in his chest as he stared down at the text. “Dammit to hell.”

“It's some news story…”

“Yes, it is. A bulletin from a TV station in Glasgow. It's set to repeat over and over.”

“What?” She pushed him away and looked down at the phone. “What bulletin?”

Then she saw the face on the screen. “Dr. Rampfel?” Only it wasn't the face of the doctor she'd seen this morning. The remaining features on the lower section of his face were the same, but the top of his head was blown off. “No,” she whispered. “Dear God, what happened?”

“He was shot and killed an hour after we left the office,” Joe said curtly. “He had an appointment to go out to lunch, and he was killed as he left the building.”

“Dead.” She moistened her lips. “Why?” She shook her head as she remembered how warmly human she'd thought the doctor. “Why, Joe?”

“That's what I want to know.” He looked over his shoulder. “Cara, go tell Jock I need him to take a trip back to Glasgow. I don't want to leave Eve right now.”

Eve hadn't even realized that Cara had come back with Joe and had been standing in the background. Cara nodded and turned and ran back to the tents.

“You don't have to stay.” Eve tried to straighten away from him. “I just needed … you. I was confused. I'm still confused.”

“Do you think I'm not?” he said harshly. “I checked out that doctor the minute I knew you were going to go to him. Pristine-clean medical reputation. A regular Boy Scout as far as his moral character is concerned. Why would he have been killed the same day you showed up for an exam?”

“Maybe it had nothing to do with me.”

“I hope not. I just don't believe in coincidences.” He looked down at the text that was still repeating. “And this is definitely no coincidence.”

She had been so upset she had not even made the connection, but, of course, this bold attack could never be a coincidence. “Natalie.”

“We were wondering why she was so silent.”

“But why my doctor? Is it some kind of warning? She couldn't get to me or Cara, so she killed an innocent man?”

“I imagine we'll know soon. Now that Natalie has put a plan in motion I don't believe she'll let much time pass before she lets us know what she's up to.” He got to his feet. “That's why I don't want to leave you right now. You don't need to face her by yourself. I'm just going to go up to talk to Jock. I'll be back in a few minutes. Okay?”

She nodded jerkily. “I'll be fine. It wasn't the news story that was scaring me. It was Michael. I can handle Natalie. Michael is something else. He was … strange.”

Joe tilted his head. “All right now?”

“Yes. No. Better. I think he wanted me to have support.”

“And you will. In just a few minutes.” He was striding up the slope. “I'll send Jane.”

He was calling out all the troops, she thought ruefully. She shouldn't have panicked and sent Cara running to get him. She should have handled it herself. But Michael was his son, too, and she had been confused and needing someone who loved him to help her understand. So she had to bite the bullet and accept the consequences of that moment of weakness.

“Eve?” It was Cara again. “I told Jock to watch that news story. He thought it was bad … stuff. He's talking to Joe for just a minute, then he's going to see what happened.”

“Good luck to him. I'm having trouble getting anything clear.” She was looking down at the text again. It was ugly and brutal and meant to shock. If she hadn't been already shocked by Michael, it would have had a maximum effect. “What's clear is that a man I liked and respected was killed today. We'll have to find out all the rest.”

“It was Natalie.”

“We don't know that.”

“Yes, we do.” She paused. “I told you that she hated you. Maybe she thought this would hurt you.”

“There's no use speculating. Joe said we should know soon.” Eve saw that Cara was looking at that repeating text, and she instinctively moved to distract her. “Could you get me a cup of coffee? I'm a little shaky.”

“Sure.” Cara immediately turned away. “I'll have to heat it, but I'll be right back.”

“That will be fine. Thank you.” She watched her go toward the fire.

I'm getting all the support you could possibly want for me, Michael. I just wish that I knew what you're trying to protect me from.

Her cell phone rang.

She stared down at it.

Natalie.

She didn't want to answer it. That call had come too close to that last thought she'd sent to Michael. She felt if she answered the call, she'd know what other horrors Natalie might have in store for her. Don't be a coward. She'd told Joe she wasn't afraid of Natalie.

She answered the call. “Why, Natalie? That poor man had nothing to do with what's between the two of us.”

“That just goes to show that you have no idea how I feel about you, Eve. Everyone that touches your life has something to do with what's between us.” Natalie laughed. “I told you that I'd investigated everything about you. Do you think that I wouldn't know about your visit to Dr. Rampfel and what it meant? It didn't really interest me at the time, but when you managed to win our first battle, I went back to my notes and took another look.”

“And decided to hurt me by destroying him.”

“He was just a piece of the whole. I had to protect myself from his talking after he'd done his job.”

Eve stiffened. “His job?”

“Of course. He was the center of the plan. I had to make sure you'd immediately get the message, but not all the details connected to Rampfel. I wanted to share some of those with you myself. In fact, I believe I'll set up a Skype computer link so I can actually see your face when it's time to have our principal discussion. I've been anticipating that.”

“And anticipating killing an innocent man.”

“No one is really innocent. Your fine doctor certainly wasn't. Oh, he tried to pretend he was one of the good guys, but Ivan only had to dig deep beneath all that bullshit, and he found a way to get to him. He's very fond of his family, and he had a younger brother who likes his cocaine and the casinos. All Ivan had to do was squeeze him. We gave him a choice whether he wanted his brother to die or to cooperate with us.”

Eve's heart was beating hard. She felt sick to her stomach. “Cooperate how?”

“But that's part of the surprise. Did Cara tell you how much I like surprises?”

“She told me what a monster you are. What did you ask the doctor to do?”

“I suggest you send your lover, Quinn, to the crime scene and get him to do a little squeezing of his own. Rampfel has a notebook in his jacket pocket with a name and the person who might be able to fill you in on what you're up against. I'll be in touch again after you manage to absorb just what a big mistake you made to try to make a fool of me.”

“And what are you going to ask of me?”

“Everything. My father insists Cara has to be part of the deal.” Natalie's voice was laden with malice. “And I want Cira's gold that you cheated me out of. I know you must have it, or you wouldn't have been able to give me that coin that was worth over two million dollars. We know you're still down at that lake, but security is so tight that MacDuff must be making sure no one else knows about that gold.”

“Or that we're still looking for it.”

“Two million dollars. You found it, all right. You just couldn't convince MacDuff to give it up just to keep a kid alive. So you decided to go after Cara and try to take everything for yourself. It's what I would have done.”

“We're not the same.”

“No, you have this weird thing about kids. It's already cost you two million. It's going to cost you a hell of a lot more.” Her voice lowered to soft malevolence. “And, when I was trying to think of the way to hurt you the most, I naturally came up with your greatest weakness. Oh, yes, it was worth waiting a little longer than I wanted to make sure that I did it this way.”