“Eve? Something wrong?”
And what difference did it make, Eve thought recklessly. There was no shame in the love she and Joe shared. It was beautiful, and the warmth that Jenny had noticed lit up both their lives.
“No, nothing is wrong. Everything is right.” She leaned down and whispered, “I love you, Joe Quinn.”
*
“I see what you mean.” Joe was looking at the reconstruction on the worktable when she came out of the bathroom the next morning. “She’s extraordinary. You’re right, unusual. You usually get the resemblance right but she looks … alive. And there’s an amazing joi de vivre.”
“Yes.” She went to the cabinet and poured a cup of coffee. “My first thought was how could anyone kill anyone who had that much joy in living. She’s almost … alight.”
“And that made you think that maybe you should be doing something more.”
She nodded. “But Nalchek can do it. I’ve done my part.”
“She goes off today?”
“This afternoon. I’ll do the photographs and the computer input this morning.” She followed him out to the porch. “Then I’ll call Nalchek and FedEx.”
“Good.” He gave her a quick kiss, then glanced over his shoulder as he started down the porch steps. “And keep the door locked until you get that FedEx box on its way. Okay?”
“Sure. But you said there was no sign of an intruder yesterday.”
“That doesn’t mean that there might not have been one. It just means that he could have been very good.” He got into the car. “Better to be safe. I’ll call you later and see how it’s going.”
“Joe, it’s going to be fine.” She blew him a kiss. “I’m almost at the end of this job. I’ll see you tonight.”
She watched him drive away, then stood a moment looking out at the lake. She wasn’t as confident as she’d let Joe believe. Joe believed it his duty to be suspicious in order to protect her. She only had instinct.
And that instinct was making her uneasy.
She would definitely keep the door locked today.
And she didn’t want to keep standing here and staring out at the lake and the woods.
She went back into the cottage, closed the door, and locked it.
“He’s worried about you,” Jenny said. “And you’re worried, too.”
Eve’s gaze flew to the reconstruction across the room.
“No, not there. I keep telling you that I don’t really have a connection with that skull. I’m here, Eve.”
Eve slowly turned and gazed at the couch.
Jenny.
Sitting on the couch, wearing a long white eyelet dress with an empire waist and long, bell sleeves. She had black, patent-leather shoes on her small feet and her long, shiny, black hair was tied back away from her face with a white satin ribbon. She looked younger than nine except for that remarkable face and a brilliant smile that Eve would not even have attempted to capture in the reconstruction.
“Well, this is a surprise.” Eve was a little breathless. “No, more of a shock. I wasn’t expecting this, Jenny.”
“But you like it?” Jenny asked eagerly. “You were so happy when you could see my face at last. I want you to be happy, Eve. I thought if I concentrated, I could do this and it worked.”
“It certainly did.” Eve smiled. “And, yes, I’m very happy to see the entire product. You’re all dressed up as if you’re going to a birthday party. Very elegant. What was the occasion?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. It wasn’t a party. I think I wore this dress a lot.”