dammit, Eve’s own admiration for the blasted woman that had flowed in and out like a tide was back again.
Until Jill did something else to infuriate her.
She looked back at the skull.
She shivered again.
It might not be entirely unwelcome to have someone else in this place while she worked on the skull.
Think about it later.
Joe.
She reached for the phone Novak had given her.
* * *
“What the hell is happening?” Joe said the instant he picked up the call. “Why aren’t you using your computer? I want to see you.”
“Well, I don’t want to see you right now. Later we’ll arrange face time on this smartphone,” she said wearily. “But now you’re going to be pissed off, and it’s enough that I’ll have to hear you. But I would have bitten the bullet and continued on the Skype if Novak hadn’t said this phone he gave me was guaranteed not to be hacked. That was important.”
Silence. “Why? No, don’t answer that. First I want to know exactly how ill you were yesterday. That’s what’s important and was driving me crazy. What the hell happened to you?”
“And that will go back to why the new phone is necessary. I’ll tell you everything. Just don’t say anything until I’ve finished. Okay?”
“I’m listening,” he said grimly. “But I don’t think there’s going to be anything okay about it.”
And it wouldn’t get any better, she thought. Just go for it. She dived in, and started, “It was right after I hung up from talking to you when I was at the hotel…”
He was ominously quiet as she related the entire story of the last twenty-four hours. When she stopped, he only asked, “That’s all? Nothing else?”
“That’s not enough? Say something.”
“Give me a minute. Right now, anything I’d say would be obscene.”
“I went down that road, too. But here I am, sitting here staring at this ugly skull that I hope is Nils Varak’s.” She added quietly, “Because I don’t think I could bear it if I find out that it’s not, and he’s still out there. Yes, I was drawn into this by deceit and subterfuge, but in the end, that’s the bottom line. I can’t let a monster who almost butchered an entire nation walk away.”
“You told me that you could have died,” he said harshly. “I can’t think of anything else right now.”
“But I didn’t.” She had to batter through that protective side of him, which was always present and paramount and make him start looking at the entire picture. “But the fact that I came close makes me wonder if Hadfeld wasn’t telling the truth as Jill thought. Even Jill can’t figure out why anyone would try to hurt me just for doing those children’s reconstructions here at Robaku. It was the perfect red herring.”
“It certainly lured you,” he said curtly. He didn’t speak for a moment. Eve could almost hear the volatile storminess in that silence. “I want you out of there. But I’m not going to be able to persuade you to come, am I?”
“Not now. I have to be certain.”
“Eve.”
“I know. But I can’t leave until I know the man who killed those children is dead, Joe.” She said with sudden passion, “You told me yourself what a monster he was. Since I’ve been here, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. If you could have seen that schoolroom, you’d understand.”
“Yes, he was a monster, and that monster is making you go through hell even now that he’s dead.”
“If he’s dead.”
“You wouldn’t question those DNA results if Jill Cassidy hadn’t conned you.”
“She conned me to get me here. She’s not conning me about her belief that Varak is still alive. Neither is Gideon or Novak. They’re all very smart and taking big risks because they think Varak might not have been on that helicopter.”
“They should be the ones to take the risks and not drag you into it.”
“All I’m doing is the reconstruction, Joe.”
“And you won’t give that up,” he said. “Okay. Then do the damn reconstruction. But I’m not going to trust anyone else to keep the heat off you while you’re working on it. I’ll take the next plane out.”
“I didn’t expect anything else,” she said. “But it’s not what I want, Joe. I believe that Novak will see that I’m safe. I don’t want you involved in this.”
“And I don’t want you working on that reconstruction that could either get you thrown into jail or murdered. It’s a standoff.” He paused. “I’m involved in everything you