Shadow Play (10 page)

“
I don't know her name. He just thinks about her as the little girl. But she's special to him. He keeps thinking of her as ‘the one.' He's been searching for her for a long time, and now he thinks he may have found her. Special. Not like the others who are all the same to him. Not important. With them, it's what they make him feel that's important.
”

And eerily similar to the psychological philosophy of every serial killer she'd ever heard about. “Jenny, is this little girl still alive?”

“
Yes.
”

“And what does Walsh intend to do to her.”

“
What he always does,
” she whispered. “
It's always bad things. He had it all planned before they found me. He was thinking that she might be the one, and he was excited that the hunt was almost over. He was in Carmel, then he had to drop everything and rush back to the forest to make sure that he was still safe. He was in a panic because no one should ever have been able to find me. It was important I never be found. He'd be in trouble if they knew about it. He was scared and angry.
”

“So angry he abandoned a potential victim?”

“
He didn't totally abandon her. He couldn't. He has to go back to Carmel because she's on the list. He's marked her.
”

“Marked?”

“
I don't know what he meant. But she's one of the reasons why I have to stop him. She may be the most important reason.
”

“I don't understand about this … hunt and why Walsh was disappointed.”

“
Neither do I. All I can tell you is what he was feeling. That's all I know about her, Eve.
”

And Eve knew far more than she wanted to know.

Except that little girl's name.

Except a way to save her.

“Do you know how many … little girls … there have been, Jenny?”

“
I don't know any numbers. Lots and lots. And not only children. He likes them best, but it's the kill itself he likes. Do you have to know?
”

“No, of course I don't.”

“
But one of them was me?
” A pause. “
Then why can't I remember it? You'd think I'd remember.
”

“Perhaps … mercy?”

“
I guess so.
” A silence. “
There are so many things that I don't know. I suppose you're impatient with me, but things are becoming clearer. The longer I'm with Walsh, the more memories are coming back to me. I'm changing, Eve. I can feel it inside. It's as if I was asleep, and now I'm beginning to wake. You woke me, Eve.
”

“The reconstruction?”

“
No. Oh, maybe, a little. But I felt as if I were meant…”
She stopped. “
There's so much I have to learn. It's all coming at me now like a giant wave. I'm getting stronger and stronger. That little girl … If she was the reason that I've been waiting. Maybe I was meant to help her, Eve?
”

“I don't know.” Yet Eve had said much the same thing to Joe about Jenny. “If that's true, I do know it's worth doing. But Walsh has to be caught first, or that can't happen.” She added, “And I'm not forgetting you. We've got to bring you home to your parents. You're important, too, Jenny.”

“
Am I?
” Her voice was fading away. “
I told you, I don't think so. Not yet…”

“Jenny, I'm losing you!”

“
I can't … help it. As I said, I'm in and out…”

She was gone.

Eve drew a shaky breath. Those moments had flown by, and yet she had to go back and try to remember every word that had been uttered. As Jenny had told her, she was learning, changing, moving back and forth from child to adult, from weakness to strength. And Jenny wasn't the only one who was learning every minute.

And the primary thing Eve had learned from that conversation was a name.

Walsh.

*   *   *

“Walsh,” Joe repeated. “No first name. Initials?”

“Don't be greedy,” Eve said. “We have a name. What are databases for?”

“Not generally to be used by ghosts searching for their murderers. You're sure that your Jenny got it right?”

“I'm not sure about anything. But it's our best bet.” She thought about it. “Yes, I'd trust her.”

“General location?”

“Unknown. But I'd think he was going back to California.”

“Because he was going to try to find the evidence he'd left at Jenny's crime scene?”

“And because he had another victim in mind.” Her lips tightened. “He'd marked her. Whatever that means. He wouldn't just have gone on to another kill.”

“Then I'd better get down to the precinct and start running this name through the databases with emphasis on California.” He got to his feet. “And the chances of Walsh being his real name are slim to none. But if it's the one he's been using most recently, we might get lucky. What are you going to do?” His brows lifted. “Try for a séance?”

“Very amusing. I've told Jenny what I need from her. I'll just have to see if she can do what I asked.” She took out her phone. “And I have a few calls to make myself.”

“Nalchek?”

“That's one of them.” She started to dial. “And the other is to a friend who came through for me a few months ago. I've just got to hope she's still in California…”

*   *   *

“I'm not sure where you can find Margaret Douglas,” Kendra Michaels said. “I think she's still in California, but you never know with Margaret. She's something of a gypsy.”

“I thought she went to California because you were there,” Eve said. “But she's not answering her phone. I was hoping that you might still be in touch.”

“I tried, but Margaret marches to her own drummer.”

“Like several other people in our circle,” Eve said dryly. Including Kendra Michaels, who was sometimes a music therapist and sometimes worked with the police and FBI. She was truly an original since she had been blind until her twenties and had learned to use all her senses with incredible accuracy. “No idea where Margaret could be?”

“She worked as a volunteer at the San Diego Zoo,” Kendra said. “But it wasn't challenging enough, so she moved on. Maybe she went back to Summer Island to work with those dogs in that experimental program.”

“I'll check with them and see if they've heard from her. But it would be difficult for Margaret to go back there when she has no papers.”

“That's never stopped her before. Margaret is an expert at jumping over obstacles like a lack of ID.”

So Eve had been told. But she had never questioned Margaret about it, and neither had Joe. They had been too grateful for Margaret's help in finding Eve when she had been kidnapped months ago. Jane, who had brought Margaret into their lives when she had taken her dog, Toby, to Summer Island to be treated for ingesting a rare poison, had told them that Margaret was incredibly gifted with animals. It hadn't mattered to Jane that Margaret apparently skipped around the world under the radar and no one knew anything about her. All she cared about was that Margaret had saved her dog because she had the ability to bond with animals.

And Margaret might have saved Eve's life because of that same gift.

“Am I allowed to ask why you want to get in touch with Margaret?” Kendra asked. “And why I can't help instead?”

She had known this was coming. “You have many talents but not the one I might need. Margaret lived for years in the woods near her home as a child after she ran away from her father. That makes her uniquely qualified since I need someone who is woods savvy.”

“That's not me. But I'm told I make it up in other ways that are—”

“No,” she said firmly. “This is my problem. I'm grateful, and if I need you, I might call on you. But not unless I run into a blank wall.”

“You just did,” Kendra said.

“Not yet.”

Kendra was silent. “I'll make a few calls. Margaret made a lot of friends while she was here. She might have mentioned something to someone. How much time do I have?”

“We need her as soon as possible. Joe and I will be arriving in Sonderville tonight.”

“Sonderville. That's wine country.”

“It's the woods north of town, not the vineyards that I'm concerned about.”

“I'll see what I can do.”

“Thank you, Kendra.”

“Don't thank me until I find her. Why do you have to have someone who is woods savvy?”

“I need to find something that was lost or hidden in the woods eight years ago.”

“Eight years.” Kendra gave a low whistle. “Definitely not my area of expertise. I don't even know if it's Margaret's.”

“I'm willing to take a chance.” Eve paused. “It may lead me to a killer, and there's a child's life on the line. I don't know where else to start.”

“Start with me. Okay, okay, I know you're not going to budge. Let me get off the phone and see if I can find Margaret.” She hung up.

Typical Kendra. Eve found herself smiling as she hung up. Sharp, honest, and beneath that brusqueness was a treasure trove of warmth and loyalty. If Margaret could be found, Kendra would locate her.

“You couldn't reach her?” Joe asked as he came in from the porch. “Then why are you smiling?”

“Kendra.” She shrugged. “She's being … Kendra. And I'll bet she'll find Margaret for me.”

“No bet,” Joe said grimly. “But whether you manage to get hold of Margaret or not, you're not going to go into those woods without me. I'm pretty woods savvy myself.”

“Yes, you are. But eight years is a long time and you—” She stopped. How could she tell him that it wasn't his competence but her own fear that she'd be responsible for something happening to him? Joe was like a force of nature when he was on the hunt. “I know this is a long shot, Joe. But Walsh was keeping an eye on Nalchek while he was searching those woods, a deputy died while Walsh was lurking there like some kind of ghoul. Whatever he's looking for is making him desperate. I'm just reaching out and trying to find something, anything, that I can grab hold of before Walsh gets his hands on another victim. Those woods where Jenny was buried may be a way to do it.” She shook her head. “Or point me in the right direction.”

“You've been thinking about this. Anything else?”

“If we find out who Jenny was, we may be able to make a connection that will help us find Walsh. I've been going over the things Jenny has said to me since I started the reconstruction. I'll check with Nalchek and see if I get anywhere with them.” She got to her feet. “And then I'll pack a bag for both of us and make reservations for San Francisco while you're checking out Walsh in those databases. I'll call you to tell you when to meet me at the airport.”

Joe's brows rose. “We're in that much of a hurry? You're not giving me much time to process all those databases. I may have to go international, too. Let's leave tomorrow morning.”

She shook her head. “Suppose I leave today and check into a hotel and do the preliminary work with Nalchek. That would save some time. You can fly in tomorrow.”

He frowned. “I don't like your going alone.”

“Joe, it's one night, and I promise I won't do anything that doesn't concern Nalchek.”

He was silent. “Okay, but I still don't see why you're in such a hurry.”

“I don't know, either.” She reached for her phone again. “I'm just not sure how much time we have.”

Or how much time that little girl in Carmel had.

 

CHAPTER

5

COCONINO NATIONAL FOREST

ARIZONA

Get rid of her. He had to get
rid
of her.

Walsh could feel the hatred sear through him as he stared at the FedEx box on the seat beside him. He'd built a huge campfire in the woods and was tempted just to throw the damn box into the flames. But he couldn't do that, he had to be sure. He had to know that Eve Duncan wasn't just playing Nalchek for a fool.

He had to look at that bitch, Jenny's skull.

Get it over with.

He reluctantly took the box and slowly opened it.

He couldn't see anything, dammit. The skull was secured to the box. He started to undo the fastenings.

His fingers were tingling, burning.

Imagination.

There, he was finished. He'd take the skull out to the fire and get ready to toss it.

He grabbed the box, got out of the car, and strode over to the fire.

The flames were leaping high, the fiery shadows reflecting off the leaves of the surrounding trees.

One more minute and you burn, bitch.

He grabbed the skull and pulled it out of the box and held it high so that he could look at it.

Only it wasn't a skull.

It was
her
.

He felt as if he'd been kicked in the stomach.

Same pointed chin, same winged eyebrows.

And those green eyes, blazing at him, as bold as they had been the night he had put her in that grave. She had been afraid, he'd known she was afraid, and yet she wouldn't admit it to him. That night was suddenly right here before him.

*   *   *

“You're going to die, little girl.”
He cradled his bleeding hand where the little viper had bitten him. “
Die, then I'm going to throw you in the ground where no one will ever find you.
”

“
They'll find me.
” Her eyes were glittering in her pale face. “
Because you're stupid and cruel, and they'll want to take you and throw you in a jail where they put people like you.
”