Shattered Mirror (Eve Duncan #23)(29)

“Will he? You trust him, so I have to trust him. But in the end, I’m the one who has to find Sylvie’s answers. I took care of her, I made certain I protected the joy that had been given to her when so much else had been taken away.” Her voice was unsteady. “So I have to take care of her in this one last way.” She drew a deep, shaky breath. “But maybe not just now. I seem to be falling apart again.” She sat up in the swing. “I’d better go back to bed and pull myself together to prepare for tomorrow when I have to face Eve … and Sylvie. I have to know what happened here. Will you pave the way for me?”

“I’ll be there with you.”

“No, it’s going to be difficult, and you’d try to spare me. I have to do it on my own.” She suddenly turned and gave Cara a fierce hug. “Thank you.” The words were muffled in Cara’s shoulder. “I’m sorry that I’ve caused you so much—” She released her and jumped to her feet. “Good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”

She strode quickly into the house.

Cara slowly got to her feet and stood looking out at the woods. Eve had told her that the man who had delivered the skull had stood out there watching the house before he’d made his move. He was not there now she knew. She trusted that Joe was keeping him far at bay, if he was out there in the darkness at all. But the answers that Darcy was going to get from Eve tomorrow about the reconstruction were going to be as upsetting as she thought it would be.

Because it would include that man lurking in the darkness with her twin’s skull occupying that gold-foil box.

But she would pave the way with Eve as Darcy had asked her to do. Tell her the tragic story of Sylvie that had not really been tragic until that bullet had taken her life. It had been the story of self-sacrifice and togetherness and finding joy in every moment. Eve would understand and be able to bond with Darcy even as she presented her with the terrible reality of Sylvie’s death and the puzzle that surrounded it.

Puzzle.

But there was another aspect of the puzzle she had to confront that she’d not confided to Eve. She’d been too bewildered and uncertain that there had been any connection.

But she couldn’t take the chance.

Call him now?

No question.

She took her phone out of the pocket of her robe and dialed quickly.

Jock answered in two rings. “It’s three in the morning. What’s wrong?”

“All sorts of things. It’s not what—”

“Are you hurt?”

“No.” Of course that would be his first concern after last night. “It’s not me.”

“Eve? Michael?”

“No. Let me talk, Jock.”

“Talk.”

“I just didn’t want you to waste time searching for someone who was trying to kill me when maybe he wasn’t.”

“Cara.”

“That didn’t come out right. Or maybe it did. I’m tired, and my head is spinning. I’m trying to say that I might not have been the target last night. Maybe I just came into the suite at the wrong time. And perhaps when he found out that I wasn’t Darcy, that was the reason he didn’t finish the job and ran out.”

“Darcy? You believe he was after Darcy? Why?”

“I don’t know yet. And maybe it wasn’t me who was being watched. You didn’t find any evidence from your contacts in Moscow. It’s a possibility, right?”

“Not nearly as possible as your being the target. Are you trying to find a reason why you should keep your promise to Kaskov?”

“I don’t have to find a reason, the promise is the reason itself.” She paused. “And I didn’t even think of a threat to Darcy until I walked in and saw that skull, and even then it took me a little time to—”

“Skull?” The word came cracking through the phone.

“Sylvie’s skull.” She hurried through the explanation to ward off the storm she knew was on the horizon. “So you can see it would be too much of a coincidence to have a link like this to Darcy in the same week as the attack on me.”

Silence. “I can also see no reason why that skull was delivered to Eve in Atlanta, Georgia, when Sylvie was presumably killed in Zurich, Switzerland. Unless Darcy’s mother lied about Sylvie’s still being at the sanitarium there. And why involve Eve at all … unless it was because you were sharing that suite with Darcy. So was she targeted, or were you?” He was silent again, and she could almost hear his mind ticking through all the possibilities. “I don’t like any of it. Too many variables. Too many unanswered questions. I think I liked it better when I had the option that I could just zero in on any of Kaskov’s enemies who popped up on the radar.”

“I don’t,” Cara said. “And I don’t like it that a sick woman was murdered for God knows what reason. Or that Eve is involved, and I’m not certain if it’s my fault. Or that Darcy is going through the pain of losing her sister.”

“And you’re identifying with her,” Jock said quietly.

“Yes. I’m identifying with everyone. All of them are innocent, and I want it to go away for them. Why do you think I called you in the middle of the night? You’re my best friend, and I didn’t want to be alone with this. Tomorrow, I’ll have to be strong. Not tonight. So I’m reaching out.”