“Sometimes. It goes in and out. I don’t want to know. I have to force myself. It scares me.”
She could tell that from her voice. Try another path.
“Where are you now, Jenny?”
“Car. Trees. Lake. Dirty. Not pretty like your lake, Eve.”
“You’re aware of all that?” She tried again. “Why are you still with him? Is it because of the reconstruction?” She held her breath. “Does he still have it?”
“Yes, he put the box in the backseat.”
Yes.
“And the computer?”
“I think so.”
But Jenny was certain about the reconstruction. She asked again, “Is it because you have to stay with that reconstruction that you’re still with him? Because it’s part of your earthly body?”
“No, why should I have to do that? That’s kind of silly. I don’t believe that makes any difference any longer.”
“If it doesn’t make a difference, why did you follow that skull to my home? Why did you appear to me after I created that reconstruction?”
“I told you, I didn’t know you wanted to see me.” She was troubled. “And I didn’t follow the skull. I just came to you. I knew I had to come to only you.”
“And tried your best to ram that reconstruction through at record pace.”
“I thought maybe that was what I was supposed to do, why I was there.”
“Then if you don’t have to stay with the reconstruction, why are you still with that killer?”
“Because that’s what I’m meant to do. That’s the one thing I’ve always known. Everything else is still confusing, but I was sent to stop him.” She added simply, “Besides, you sent me away.”
“To Nalchek, to someone who would help you, not to that monster.”
“But I’m not important now. Every minute makes that more clear.” She paused. “But I’m glad you’re here, Eve.”
“I’m glad I am, too.” She drew a deep breath. “And I’m a little confused myself. But I know we have to work together. Will you help me, Jenny?”
“I’ll always help you, Eve. What do you want me to do?”
“The reconstruction. I don’t want it to be tossed away or destroyed. It’s important. I think that he’ll try to do that.”
“I think he will, too. He took it out of the box and looked at it. He hates it as much as he hates me.”
“It could be proof of who you are. I’m surprised he hasn’t done it already.”
“He keeps thinking about burning it. He sees it burning, Eve.”
“But he’d have to have time to do that. It takes a long time to completely destroy bones by fire. Maybe he’s waiting until after he’s far enough away from here that he feels safe. We can’t let him do it. I need that reconstruction.” She paused. “If he tries to do it, you have to stop him, Jenny.”
“I don’t know how to do that. How could I stop him?”
“Big problem. As far as I know, spirits can’t use force to make their displeasure known. At least, in my limited experience. Let me think a minute.” She was silent, going over options in her mind. There weren’t many.
But there might be one possibility.
“Jenny, when you appeared to me in that pretty white dress, you said you thought you could do it, so you tried. And then you managed to do it. How?”
“I just knew. I concentrated, and it happened.”
“Because it was me and we’ve become close?”
“No, I don’t think so.” Silence. “I guess it could be, but it felt … right. It had something to do with why I’m here. It’s a gift. Like the music.”
“Do you think, if you concentrated, you could make Walsh see you?”
“Why would I want to do that? I don’t want him to see me. It would be like that other—” She stopped. “I feel safe where I am now, Eve.”