looked the situation over. If you’ve set up your lab, it means that you’re committed. Right?”
“I have to do it, Joe,” she said quietly. “I’ll get them finished as quickly as I can.”
“I know you will. I’ll admit I was hoping it would go the other way.” He paused. “You look tired. Don’t work yourself into a nervous breakdown because you think I’m pressuring you. I’m behind you whatever you do.”
“You’re not the only one who’s pressuring me,” she said ruefully.
“Jill Cassidy? Tell her to go to hell.”
“She’s being very subtle. It’s hard to have a confrontation when she dumped me on this Sam Gideon the minute the plane’s wheels hit the tarmac here. I think she’s designated him to do the pressuring for the time being.”
“Sam Gideon?”
“Our pilot. I imagine he’s several other interesting things as well. He mentioned casually that he’d been Zahra Kiyani’s lover at one time. But Jill said I could trust him.”
“Providing you can trust her.”
“Neither really matters. I’m back at work. I’m the only one I have to trust now.”
“Wrong. You have to trust me. You might have gone into your cocoon, but I have to make certain that no one messes around and tries to break into it.”
“From long-distance,” she said pointedly.
“For the time being.”
She tried to change the subject. “Tell me what you’re doing. Do you like the guest instructors at the Yard?”
“They’re superb. I’ll tell you all about them after you finish telling me about Robaku.” He paused. “I want every detail, Eve. Every impression.”
She laughed. “Joe, are you debriefing me?”
“In a way. Partly. But I’ve already been away from you too long. I need you. It will help if you just let everything flow out and share with me.”
“It’s been quite a day. I don’t even know if I’ll remember everything. It’s sad here. Some things will hurt talking about…” But she suddenly knew she needed to share them anyway. She always needed to share with Joe. It kept the bond firm, doubts at a minimum, and the love shiny and new. Do as he asked and let it flow. “I guess it started on the plane when Jill came to tell me that everything wasn’t quite as I thought it was going to be…”
* * *
An hour later, Eve turned off the computer, sat there, and gazed around the room. For that short hour she’d been with Joe, it had faded away, and she wanted to keep it at a distance. She didn’t want to face that schoolroom only yards away, nor the memory of those children who had died so terribly. She wanted Joe and Michael and the life she’d had only days before. She wanted to close her eyes and forget about anything else.
But there was always a price to pay if you allowed yourself to forget the madness and the horror.
It could come again.
She took a deep breath and pushed her computer aside. Then she took the skull she’d mounted on the dais and started to examine it. First, she’d have to repair the damage. Next, she’d start to measure. She was very tired, and she’d probably have to catch a nap on that cot before she actually started. Her hands tended to shake if she was too exhausted.
But she needed a little time with this young boy now that they had come together.
She looked down at the hideous, blackened skull and gently touched the cheekbone. “Hi. You’ve been through a nightmare, but you’re not the nightmare,” she whispered. “I think you probably know that by now, but we have to make certain everyone else does, too. We’re going to make you as handsome as you were before that day, and that will make your grandmother very happy. Okay? And I usually give my sculptures names, but I believe I know yours, Amari. So we’ll go from there. Are you ready?” She began to check for breaks in the orbital socket. “Let’s clean you up a bit, then we’ll get you started on your road home…”
* * *
“You’re a fool, Wyatt,” Zahra said savagely. “I don’t want Eve Duncan at Robaku. Why would you permit her to come to my city and work on those children? I’ve worked hard to try to filter all publicity about them through me, and now you let some charity send a world-class forensic sculptor here? She’s bound to attract attention.”
“They went through the London office. I was told to accommodate them. What could I do?”