this was Varak’s brother? He’s never been mentioned. I don’t remember his even having a brother.”
“I didn’t know either until Jill told me about him. He had no part in Varak’s life after he was a teenager. He was Varak’s younger brother, Oscar, and, as far as I know, they hadn’t seen each other for years. He was afraid of him because he’d been bullied all his life.” She shivered as she gazed at the reconstruction. “He had good reason to be afraid. There’s nothing more cold-blooded than choosing your own brother to die in your place.” She reached out and touched the orbital bone of the left eye with her finger. “But it was a clever choice. Not only was the bone structure similar, but even the DNA would have been similar if the minutest trace was found outside of Dobran’s work. Insurance, Joe.”
“You’re fairly certain?”
“It’s a very good bet.” She looked up at him. “And that’s going to help us, isn’t it? We needed to find out who he was before we could claim he wasn’t Varak. He was a murder victim, Joe. There’s a chance that there might have been a witness to it. Or at least someone might have seen Varak with Oscar during the period right before his supposed death.” She was trying to think of everything Jill had told her. “Johannesburg. His brother was supposed to have gone back home to Johannesburg after he split with Nils Varak. Can we trace him that way?”
“I’ll trace him, you’ll stay out of it.” Joe held up his hand. “Look, you’ve done what you set out to do. No one is more dangerous than you to Varak now. You’ve shot holes in the fancy scenario he rigged up with Zahra Kiyani.” He shook his head as she started to speak. “And don’t tell me it doesn’t mean anything if the courts accept the DNA over your work. It does mean something because you’re so well respected. Why do you think Novak wanted you on his team? Jill might have wanted your expertise, but Novak knew that you could influence people and change minds. You’ll stir up a hornet’s nest, and Varak will come out and try to squash you before you do damage.”
“But that’s a good thing,” she said quietly. “We want to bring him out, don’t we? It will be easier for us.”
“To use you as bait?” Joe shook his head. “Forget it. I want you out of Maldara. I’m going to send you to London and pull strings to surround you with every man from the Yard that I can beg or steal.”
“I notice you say you’re going to send me, not take me. Because you told me this had to be finished, didn’t you? There’s no way you’re going to let Varak get away now that you know he’s alive. You’ll stay here and do what I should be doing while I’m palling around with all your buddies from Scotland Yard.”
“It’s the reasonable thing to do. You don’t have to be here, Eve.”
“No? I don’t see it that way. I brought you here, Joe.” She looked back at the reconstruction. “And he brought me. Jill thinks she’s responsible for involving everyone in this nightmare, but it was Varak. Because he’s alive, we’re all swirling around him, drowning in what he is and what he’s done. I won’t go away and take a chance on letting him pull anyone else into that whirlpool.” She smiled with an effort. “But you’ve convinced me how important I am, so I’ll stay here at Robaku, where Novak and you can protect me.” She paused. “Unless we can think of a way to use me with more efficiency.”
“Eve.”
“No, it’s not done. I’m not done. I can’t stir up any hornet’s nest right now because if Varak doesn’t go after me, he’ll go on the run. We can’t afford to have him do that, Joe. So I’ll stay here and work on Mila, be a thorn in both Varak’s and Zahra’s asses, and we’ll try to think of a better way to build a rat trap to catch them.” She drew a deep breath and had to stop. This had been too painful. She always hated conflict with Joe when she knew it was pain and worry driving him. She had to get away from him and recover. She got to her feet. “And now I’ll go get dressed. You’re right, nudity lacks a certain dignity when I’ll probably have