“So did I,” Joe said. “I’m not laughing now.”
“Neither am I,” Nancy Jo said. “I don’t care if she’s a ghost hunter or not. I wish she could see me. I’m so lonely.”
“Why are you still here? Isn’t there some light or something you should be walking toward?” Damn he sounded stupid. But how the hell did you talk to a ghost?
“I don’t know. They keep telling me I have to leave, that I’ll be fine once I go.”
“Who are ‘they’?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I can’t listen to them. I have to stay here. It shouldn’t have happened. I wanted to live. He had no right to take it from me.” She shuddered. “Do you know what he did? He drank my blood. My blood is in him, feeding him. I can’t stand the thought of that. It makes me angry. He shouldn’t be alive when I’m dead.”
“Look, if it will help, I’ll promise you that I’ll catch that bastard.”
“I don’t believe you. You just want me to go away. I won’t go away.”
“I’m a cop. It’s my job to find who killed you. It doesn’t matter if you go away or not. I’ll still get the job done.”
She studied his face. “I don’t think you’re lying to me. But I have to be sure that he doesn’t live. He stole my blood. He stole my life.”
“I can’t do more than give you my word. Go off and do what ‘they’ say and let me get to work.”
“You’re pissed at me.”
“Hell, yes. I feel sorry for you, I want to help you, but you’re making my life damn miserable. Yes, I’m pissed at you.”
“I guess that’s better than being afraid of me. People are supposed to be afraid of ghosts.”
“I had a few moments.”
“That’s too bad.” She added defiantly, “But since you seem to be the only one who can see or hear me, you’re stuck with me.”
“The hell I am.”
“You have to help me.” Her voice vibrated with intensity. “I can’t do it by myself. I would if I could.” She hesitated, then said, “My father is angry. If you don’t find this monster, Daddy is going to do it himself. How do I know that he won’t kill my father too?”
What could he say to that? Joe thought in frustration. He could argue that she should leave revenge to him, but what about protecting the one you love? He could understand that motivation with all his mind and heart. Shielding and caring for Eve had been the rule that had driven him all these years. He was becoming more involved with Nancy Jo with every word she spoke.
Involved with a ghost? What was he thinking? “ ‘If’? I will find him, and your father will stay out of the picture.”
“I hope so.”
“I’m going now.” He held up his hand as she started to speak. “I can’t stay here having séances with you. I have a job to do.”
“But I want to help you. I need to do it.”
“Then tell me who did this. Do you have a name?”
She shook her head. “He said he was my savior. He said I should be grateful. He kept saying ‘Gift to Gift.’ “
“What did he look like?”
She didn’t answer.
“What did he—”
“I’m trying to remember. I was so scared . . . Gray eyes, short, close-cut dark hair. White at the temples. A Roman nose, sort of hooked.”
“Tall. Short?”
“Medium. But he was burly, strong, biceps like a weight lifter.”
“Car?”
“I only caught a glimpse of it after I woke up. It was parked at the edge of the woods.” She frowned, thinking. “It was a big car. Light-colored. I think it might have been a Lincoln Town Car.”
“New? Old?”
“Old. I don’t think the new Lincolns are that big.” She shook her head. “I only had a glimpse.” She closed her eyes. “And I was so scared.”
“I can see that you were. But you’re doing well.”
“Thank you.” Her lids opened, and she tried to smile. “After all, I have to please you. You appear to be the only game in town.”
Joe again felt that strong surge of sympathy. She wasn’t much younger than his Jane. He wanted to reach out and—Hell, he couldn’t even do that.
I’m so lonely, she had said.
“I’m going to leave now. I’ll come back if I have any more questions.”
She nodded. “I don’t know if I can come to you. I don’t know how it works. I’m going to have to experiment.” She looked at Megan. “She’s not afraid of me. You can bring her with you if you like.”
“That’s up to her. I thought she might help.” He started to turn away, then said, “The knife. Was there anything different about it?”
“The knife . . .” Her teeth sank into her lower lip. “I’m afraid to—”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to remember.”
“Yes, I do. My heart was beating so hard. I was trying to get out of the ropes. He held up the knife and showed it to me. He said ‘Gift to Gift.’ Then he sliced across—Blood. I’m bleeding. He has a cup, and he’s pressing it to my throat. What’s he—”
“Enough,” Joe said curtly. “You’ve said enough.”
“No, you want to know what it looked like. But it’s hard to get past the pain.” She was breathing hard. “It’s a dagger. It looks . . . black in the shadows. The handle has some kind of carving. A man with a knife. A man with a goblet. Or maybe I’m getting mixed up. My blood is . . . I’m getting weaker . . .”
“Stop it, Nancy Jo. Enough.”
She nodded jerkily. “Too much. Go away. I don’t want you to see me this way. I don’t want anyone to know how scared he made me. I think he liked it.”
“He probably did. Most serial killers enjoy a feeling of power.”
“So clinical. You’re going by the book. Generic-case types. Well, he wasn’t generic,” she said fiercely. “He was a monster who drank my blood. Go away and don’t come back until you’ve found him.”
“Right. Whatever you say.” He wheeled and strode toward the edge of the woods.
“CONVERSATI ON OVER?” MEGAN was hurrying to catch up with him. “Are you going to tell me what it was about? I only heard your side.”
“She’s lonely. She wants to keep her father from being a victim if he goes after her killer. She wants revenge against the bastard who slit her throat, and then drank her blood.” He was walking fast, carefully not looking back at the woods. “And for a dead girl, she seems very much alive and very human. She’s not tough like Jane, but I kept thinking that if Jane hadn’t grown up on the streets, she might have turned out like Nancy Jo. Same determination, same affectionate nature.”
Megan was silent until they reached the car. “Then you’re convinced that she’s not a figment of your imagination?”
“Hell, no. I don’t know if I’ll ever be certain. But I’m operating on that assumption since I can’t do anything else. I made my decision that I refuse to believe I’m crazy and that leaves only the option to accept and use this damn thing that’s happened to me.”
“You’re quite a man, Joe Quinn,” Megan said quietly. “I don’t believe many people would handle all that’s happened to you this well.” She paused. “I’m sorry, Joe. I tried my best not to hurt anyone.”
“Your best wasn’t good enough.” He opened the car door for her. “But I’m going to let you make amends. I don’t know a tinker’s damn about this spook business.” He shook his head. “Who the hell does know anything? Does our friend, Renata?”
“When I called her, she said she’d look into it and get back to me.”
“Then she’d better get back to you quick. I have questions to ask.”
“You may have to find out the answers yourself. After all, you’re the one who can talk to them.”
“I’m not going to go along with that. Nancy Jo didn’t seem to know much more than I do.” He got into the driver’s seat and started the car. “And one of the questions is why you didn’t hear any echoes.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Megan said. “Echoes come from empty spaces. Maybe there would be no echoes if the spirit hadn’t passed on and left the place where the death had occurred. Nancy Jo is refusing to go anywhere, so she leaves no lingering echo.”
Joe was silent a moment. “What about Bonnie? You said that you heard no echoes from Bonnie on that island. Could she have been killed on that island, and you didn’t hear an echo because she refused to pass on?”
“It’s possible. I hope so. Then I wouldn’t feel guilty about not doing what Eve will probably ask me to do.” She looked at him. “You’re going to have to talk to Eve about seeing Bonnie.”
“Do you think I don’t know that?” His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “But not yet. Bonnie is the center of Eve’s world. Hell, every day revolves around her. I’ve got to get a handle on this mess before I bring her into the picture. That could open a whole new can of worms.”
Megan nodded. “I can understand how you’d hesitate. I’d be very careful the way I let Eve know I’d seen her daughter.” She glanced back out the window. “I’ll help you get all the information you need. I’ll come when you call me. But Eve’s my friend, and I won’t let you keep this from her for long. She’s worried, and it’s not fair.”
“I didn’t expect anything else.” His tone hardened. “But you owe me, Megan. You let me do it my way.”
“I’ll try. But you’d better start breaking it to her about Nancy Jo right away.”
“Then find me information so that I don’t sound like a complete idiot,” Joe said sarcastically. “I think you’ll agree that she’d be a little worried if she thought I was going around the bend.”
“I’ll call Renata again when I get home.”
“And I’ll tell you everything that Nancy Jo told me about her death. I’ll even sketch out a rough picture of the cup that her killer used in his ritual. You can fax it to your friend, Renata, in Munich.”
She nodded. “I don’t know if that will help, but it can’t hurt.” She paused, then repeated, “Tell Eve about Bonnie, Joe.”
“I’ll do what I think best. And since you seem to want your own way in this, you can make one more call while I’m driving back to the lake. You call Eve and prepare the way for me. Tell her that, thanks to you, I have a new soul mate in Nancy Jo Norris.”
FROM THE PORCH, EVE WATCHED Joe park the car and walk up the driveway. Dawn was just beginning to pearl the skies, and she couldn’t see his expression, but he was moving quickly, his strides full of leashed emotion.
As she must leash her own emotions. She was confused and scared and feeling completely inadequate to handle this development. But she had to find a way to help him and not let her emotions get in the way.
He stopped on the top step and looked at her. “What a hell of a mess. Do you want to cut and run?”
“No.” She went into his arms and buried her face on his chest. “Did you cut and run anytime during all these years with me? We just have to find a way to get through this.”
“Preferably without putting me in the booby hatch. That must have occurred to you.”
“It did not.” Her arms tightened around him. “I didn’t really believe Megan’s facilitating stuff until she told me that it had happened to you. But you’re a rock. I’ve never known anyone as strong and steady as you are. If you tell me that you saw Nancy Jo Norris, then you did.”
“I saw her. I talked to her.” He pushed her away and gazed down at her. “Now look at me and let me see your face.”
She stared him in the eye. “You’re not going to see anything but love and trust. You’re a rock.”
He gazed at her for a long moment. “My God, you’re making me believe it.”
“Good. Because now I can tell you how pissed I am that you didn’t tell me what was bothering you before this.”
“I had reasons.”
“Not good enough. You wouldn’t have been in that swamp searching for Henry Kistle if it hadn’t been for me. Megan would never have touched you. Whatever happens to you, happens to me too. You should have let me share.”
“I don’t think sharing is going to be an option in this case. Megan couldn’t see or hear Nancy Jo.”
“Then I’ll find another way to help you.” She kissed him. “Just don’t close me out again. It scared me.”
“I hate to damage my reputation as a rock, but I’ve been a little upset myself.” He buried his face in her hair, and said hoarsely, “Lord, I’m lucky.”
“Yes, you are.” She hugged him again. “You have me and Jane . . .” She deliberately made her tone lighter. “And a brand-new soul mate.” She stepped back and drew him toward the door. “But I have to admit I hope you don’t widen those acquaintances to any great extent. It could be very confusing.” She glanced at him as they entered the house. “Now do you want to try to get some sleep, or are you too wired?”
“Sleep.” He slid his arm around her waist. “I want to hold you and tell you about Nancy Jo. I’ll share what I can.” He was walking with her toward their bedroom. “I know that Megan has convinced you that she has this gift, but this is different. I’m still amazed that you’d accept the idea so readily.”
Because she had lived with the spirit of her Bonnie for years, she thought. Dream or ghost, there had never been a doubt that spirit existed. Should she tell Joe that was her reason?
No, Joe had begun to feel resentment toward Bonnie during these last years and wanted Eve to give up the search. How could she bring up Bonnie now and tell him she hadn’t trusted him enough to share those visions with him? She had just told him he should have shared his problems with her. Later. After they had fought their way through Joe’s battle.
“Not exactly readily. But if you say it’s so, then I believe you.” She frowned, thinking about it. “But I’m wondering if the reason you saw Nancy Jo is that her killer has some connection with you . . . us. You said the goblets were similar. The one Jane found in the refrigerator had to be some kind of threat.”
“Or a calling card.”
“Pretty macabre calling card.”
“His whole modus operandi is macabre,” Joe said.
“So do you think that you’re only going to see victims of killers with whom you have contact?”
An undecipherable expression flitted across his face. “I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.”
“Why not?”
“That pool is too narrow. I’m not that lucky.”
“How can you be—”
“Drop it,” he said curtly. “I can’t be sure of anything, so stop speculating. Maybe when Megan pulls one of her psychic buddies out of her hat, then I’ll know more.”
Eve shrugged. “I’m just trying to put the pieces together. It seemed reasonable.” She made a face. “As reasonable as anything else. It’s an entirely new ball game, isn’t it?”
“There may be new rules, but I’m going with standard operating procedure. I have a killer I have to catch, and I’m going to do what I always do. It’s the only way I can keep it together.” He glanced at her. “I’m trying to track down Jelak’s steps. It’s too close a coincidence that he shows up at the same time that we find this goblet in the refrigerator.”