“I’ll pass that along.” He got to his feet. “But it wouldn’t hurt that you keep Cara at home. Norwalk seems very adept at sleight of hand. Making us think he’s going for one target when he means to hit another. Cara could be the immediate target.” He added tightly, “Or you, Eve.”
“I believe I’ll be last on his list. He wants to make me hurt first.”
“I don’t care what you believe,” he said roughly. “The son of a bitch could change at a moment’s notice.”
“Not the venom. He wants me to feel it.” She held up her hand. “I’ll see that Cara stays here. It would be easier if Jock hadn’t gone to see Kaskov. Have you heard from him?”
He shook his head. “But I’m sure I will after I text him this info about the refrigerated coffin. He’s probably busy intimidating Kaskov and company.” He headed for the door. “I’ll call you when I know something.”
She watched the door close behind him.
Dammit, she wanted to be going with him.
She felt helpless and on edge, and the last thing she wanted was to stay here with doors locked against that bastard. She went over to the worktable and took out the FedEx box she used for transport. She could at least pack up Sylvie and get her ready to send back to Forensics.
“Is she on her way?” It was Darcy standing in the hall, her gaze on Sylvie. “I knew you’d have to do it, but I’ll miss her.”
“Too much?” Eve frowned. “I thought from what you said last night that maybe the skull wasn’t as important to—”
“It’s not,” Darcy said quickly. “And I don’t think I need a crutch any longer. Maybe I never did. Do you want me to help you package her?”
She shook her head. “I’m accustomed to doing it. You know that you can request she be returned to you when Forensics finishes all their paperwork? It’s mostly red tape anyway.” She added, “And if you want me to wait, I’ll do it. Say the word.”
She shook her head. “I won’t say that word. I’ll think about the request. Right now, I don’t believe I’ll want to be thinking about that wonderful job you did on Sylvie. I need to focus on something else.”
Eve grimaced. “Then focus on keeping Cara in the house or very close to the property. I promised Joe I’d keep her safe. He’s worried about sleight of hand.”
“Is he?” She smiled bitterly. “Oh, yes, like the time Norwalk confused you all by dangling the possibility that he was going after my totally unimportant self? I can see why Joe might be worried about his doing that again. Don’t worry, Eve. I’ll keep Cara busy here at the cottage.” She turned back toward the bedrooms. “And the first thing I’ll do is remind her that with all the turmoil yesterday, she didn’t get in her practice so she needs to do double today. We’ll go from there.”
“Master stroke,” Eve said. “Very good.”
“You just have to find out what’s important to someone and offer it to them.” She paused. “Or threaten to take it away, depending on the circumstances. You could do the first, I don’t think you’d be comfortable with the second. But with Cara, that wouldn’t be necessary.”
Eve grinned. “Since you appear to have it under control, I’ll leave it to you. Anything I can do to help?”
“Maybe. Do you have a gun I could borrow, Eve?”
Eve felt a ripple of shock. “What?”
“Just a thought.” Her smile had never faltered. “I didn’t mean to upset you, but I did want to make sure that you and Cara are safe. I do know how to shoot a gun. I learned when I did an episode of Criminal Minds when I was fifteen. Bad show, but I was pretty good in it.”
“I’m sure you were,” Eve said. “I do own a gun, but I prefer to keep it for my own use. You can talk to Joe about getting one when he comes home tonight.”
“That will be fine. As I said, I didn’t mean to upset you.” She took a last look at Sylvie. “No, I don’t need that sculpture any longer,” she said softly. “I won’t ever need it. She’s back with me now…”
BELLE GRACE MORGANA, LOUISIANA
“Why am I still here, Kaskov?” Jock said as he looked down at the chess board. “Some kind of bluff? Did I make you uneasy about the break-in, and you want to show a little muscle?”
“I don’t believe in bluffs,” Kaskov said. “It’s much more effective if you don’t see even a hint of a threat coming. No, I don’t often have the chance to play chess with someone who’s not afraid to beat me.” He moved his knight. “And you did beat me twice so far. I admit it did irritate me. If I hadn’t won that last game, I would have told Nikolai, ‘Off with his head.’”
“I don’t believe that. But you would have found a way to make me suffer.”
“So you let me win?”
“No, my ego wouldn’t have permitted it.” He leaned back in his chair. “Four hours. Why am I still here?”
“I hadn’t had a chance to observe you at close range. It was an opportunity.” He smiled. “You appear to dominate Cara’s life, and I had to know the best way to go if I had to extract you.”
“You wouldn’t waste four hours on me.”
“Oh, but I would,” he said softly. “You invaded my turf. The challenge you issued was very clear. Since Cara insists that you’re her best friend, my options are limited. I have to either remove you or learn to deal with you. Either way, I have to know gains and losses.”
“Not by playing chess.”
He smiled. “Perhaps not. That might have been a bonus advantage.” His gaze went to Nikolai, who had just entered the study. “And here comes my friend, Nikolai, and if I’m not mistaken, you’ll be able to spare me losing another game and get on your way.”
Nikolai was handing Kaskov a file. “Very efficient. They did well. Anything else?”
“Not at the moment. Thank you.” He opened the file and scanned it. “Yes, very thorough.”
Nikolai smiled and left the room.
“Here’s your copy, Gavin.” Kaskov handed him a sheet from the file. “It’s only Norwalk’s initial background history, but it might help to put things together. I had one of my people in Dublin dig deep and fast. He found a source who had been in the IRA with Norwalk and later in his organization. He squeezed him with a great deal of enthusiasm.”
RORY NORWALK
Jock glanced up from the paper. “And this is what I’ve been waiting for?”
“Of course, your trip here was an explorative venture on many levels on both our parts. Norwalk is perhaps the only puzzle that we can solve, so I urged ultimate speed.” He was scanning the report. “Rory and Sean Norwalk were born in Belfast. Mother, Rosalie Shea, prostitute, father, Ryan Norwalk, peddled drugs and was a petty thief until he became involved with the IRA. That’s where he was taught the art of explosives, a skill that was valued by the IRA. Rory and Sean were brought up to serve both their father and the organization. They were very close during those years. It was as if they belonged to a secret club. Rory told everyone they were special and didn’t need anyone else. He was always reading books and stories about twins and searching out passages that said that they were stronger and smarter and had special powers. He was smart, he was the fair-haired boy of his cell, and was given his own assignments when he was only twelve. Sean was less talented and a little lazy, and jealousy reared its head.”
“Trouble in twin paradise?”
“Big time. Rory tried to tell his brother what to do, and Sean exploded. Conflict. Fights. Bitterness. Their mother had already died of a drug overdose. That year their father was blown up in an explosion he’d set at a police station in South Belfast. That left the twins alone at fifteen though they’d never paid attention to anyone but each other anyway. But they split immediately after their father’s death. Sean left Belfast and headed for Europe. He was still bitter and cut all ties to his brother. He even changed his name. Rory stayed in Ireland, kept his contacts, and did well for himself as he moved into organized crime. The fact that he was bloodthirsty and ruthless as hell didn’t hurt his rise to the top.”