That was a lie. Novak might not be a threat to her at this moment, but she had been around dangerous men for most of her life. She was married to one. She knew she was facing one now. “You’re CIA. Jill told me about you. Did she send you to try to convince me that everything she did was fine and for the greater good? Go away, Novak.”
“No, she didn’t send me. She told me not to come.” He smiled faintly. “She was afraid I might attempt to intimidate you. She wanted to be sure to be fair to you. She’s having a major guilt trip. She was scared to death when she thought you might die this morning.”
“She should feel guilty. I can see you’re not similarly prone to it. What a surprise.”
“I have my moments. But I’ve learned that guilt has no place once I’ve made a decision. I’d end up in a psych ward with all the blame that can be laid at my door. Jill, on the other hand, has a conscience that constantly gets in her way.”
“Not so I’d notice.”
“You should have noticed. Jill fought me and Gideon and herself to come to you tonight. She knew it was the wrong thing to do.”
“Then why are you here, too?”
“Because I need to try to save the mission.” His lips tightened. “If you won’t help us, Jill will go off in another direction and might get herself killed. She’s vulnerable, they know her name, they know her face.” He paused. “And they know she’ll never stop. So that’s why I’m here to repair the damage and ask you to forget everything but why she did it. I know that it was a shock, but you’re tough. I can see you’re okay.”
“No, I’m not okay.” Her voice was cold. “I’m angry, and I feel as if I’ve been treated like a marionette in a puppet show. How did you think I’d feel?”
“Just like that.” He walked toward her. “That’s why Gideon and I both tried to talk her out of it. She knew it was a risk, too. She told you everything?”
“Yes,” she said tersely. “Even down to how she pulled the strings with Joe and Michael.”
“I was hoping she’d leave that out.” He made a face. “That must have struck a little too close to home.”
“It was an invasion,” she said harshly. “And I can’t believe that she’d be able to talk Gideon into helping her do this. He’s not even CIA. It’s crazy.”
He nodded. “And it was crazy that his home was burned to the ground and his parents butchered by Varak. Did he mention that?”
“No,” she said, shocked. “And neither did Jill.”
“He doesn’t like to talk about it.” His lips tightened. “I was with him in the mountains when he heard about it. He knew those mountains like the back of his hand, and he was trying to help the farmers who had fled their villages to find safe havens. The killing of his parents was particularly brutal even for Varak. It was clear that Gideon had been targeted to discourage him from throwing in more help and money to fight that son of a bitch.” He added softly, “And then to find out that we might not have killed him after all? He has to know, Eve.”
“Well, I don’t. Not if it means risking my freedom and my life with my family because I became involved with this madness. Stealing a skull, doing a reconstruction, when it could mean absolutely nothing?”
“You wouldn’t have to steal the skull. The skull is being held in the main vault at the U.N. headquarters in Jokan. I’ve arranged a bribe to one of the guards to switch the skulls. It would be brought to you, and you’d do the work in total privacy here at the museum. Then, when we have an answer, you document it, and your work is over. If the skull is really Varak’s, then we return the skull to the U.N. headquarters and make another switch. And that would be the end of it.”
“No, it wouldn’t. I’d have to undo the reconstruction and bring it back to the way I started. And what if it’s not Varak?”
“Yes,” Novak said softly. “What if it’s not, Eve?”
Eve couldn’t answer. It was a question that frightened her more than anything else. What if her work uncovered a horrible truth about the man who had killed those children here at