Shattered Mirror (Eve Duncan #23)(23)

“Miss it. For once, that violin takes the backseat.” But she could see that he knew he’d won. “Enjoy being home. I’ll spend the next few days checking for more fingerprints down in the basement and scanning for video cameras on the block. We think we’ve found one good print at the alarm in the basement. Everything else both down there and in the suite was wiped clean. Very professional. He must have had to take off his gloves to get into the alarm box and made one mistake. I’ll start trying to maximize on that mistake right away. Then I’ll make sure when you do come back that even Quinn would approve of the security measures for this residence building.”

He had made his plans and wrapped everything up to his satisfaction, she realized with exasperation. “You’re very pleased with yourself. Is there anything else I can do to make you happy, Jock?”

“Yes.” He looked over his shoulder as he reached the door. “You can find a way to erase my memory of you lying crumpled there on the floor when I wasn’t sure whether you were alive or dead.”

He was gone before she could reply.

She didn’t know what she would have said anyway. There would not have been any erasing for her if it had been Jock who had been lying unconscious. And she knew that it was that sight that had pushed Jock over to this explosive edge. Not that he’d had any right to practically blackmail her so that she would leave tomorrow. He still thought of her as a child who sometimes had to be coerced into doing what was good for her. He should know she had never had to be coerced to protect herself. She had known that life was precious and could be taken from her in a heartbeat.

As she could have had it taken from her tonight. She reached up to touch her throat as the memory of that hand crushing her throat came rushing back to her.

Her heart was suddenly beating hard. She was struggling to breathe.

Calm down.

It was over.

Tomorrow, she would be with Eve and Joe, and Michael would be smiling at her, and everything would be right again.

Tomorrow. Suddenly, she was glad that she would be leaving then and not waiting. After feeling perfectly safe here for the years she’d been at school, one night had made her feel uneasy and afraid.

It was only temporary, she told herself quickly. Jock would make certain no attack could ever happen again. And it probably wouldn’t have occurred again anyway. She didn’t really know what was happening. It was all guesswork.

But getting home would be a wonderful break, and she would be fine when she came back here.

“Hi, want another cup of tea?” Darcy had stuck her head in the room. “I overheard you talking, and I’ll bet your throat is sore again. Jock should know better.” She made a face. “I would have told him so before he left, but I was chicken. He didn’t seem in the mood to appreciate any criticism.”

“No, he isn’t.”

She tilted her head. “So, are you going to leave tomorrow? If you decide you don’t want to do it, we could gang up on him.”

“He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” she said dryly. “And I wouldn’t want you to have to take any fire for me. You’ve done enough tonight.”

“Hey, what are friends for? But you’ve got to promise not to repeat it. That was scary. I was ready to head for the hills.”

“But you didn’t, and I appreciate what—” She stopped. She’d thanked Darcy, but it was suddenly hitting home to her how frightening that experience must have been for her. Coming home in the dark and finding what might have been a dead body in the living room? And then having to rally and try to do what had to be done in an emergency like the one she had faced.

I was ready to head for the hills.

Of course she had been. And now Cara was going off and leaving her alone in this place where it had all happened. What if he came back? He’d gotten into the residence once. And even if Darcy was safe from attack, she would still be alone and afraid.

Nightmares.

Darcy was gazing at her quizzically. “You’re looking at me as if I’ve broken out with measles, and I’d never do anything so unattractive. What are you thinking?”

Cara said slowly, “I was wondering if you could postpone your classes for this next week. And I was wondering if you could exist without the constant adulation of the masses…”

LAKE COTTAGE ATLANTA, GEORGIA

“Cara arranged to get an extra day off, and she’s coming in today instead of tomorrow.” Eve turned to Joe as she hung up the phone. “And she asked if it was okay to bring her roommate, Darcy, with her.” She smiled. “As if we’d object; I’m grateful that she’s taking time out of her practice to make friends. And she told me before that she liked this girl.”

“Then I suppose we’ll be able to put up with her,” Joe said with a grin. “What time will their flight arrive?”

“At 3:35 P.M. Delta. Do you want to pick them up or shall I?”

“Neither. I have to pick up Michael at soccer, and you have to finish Sylvie today. I’ll ask Officer Haverty to swing by the airport on his way home. He lives out this way.”

“I can do it, Joe.”

“Yes.” His gaze went to Sylvie’s reconstruction on her worktable. “But you wanted to finish the final computer workup on her today, didn’t you?”

“I could do that tomorrow.”