Shattered Mirror (Eve Duncan #23)(40)

“After I talk to Manard. He’s a kingpin gambler and drug dealer. Norwalk might have just worked for him. I have to make sure.”

“Then call the police or Interpol or someone else to talk to Manard.”

“I have a better chance of getting the information. I have no rules to worry about. Look, Norwalk killed Sylvie and her mother. Pierpont said he stayed in that crematorium and watched Sylvie’s body burn but had him stop it so he could remove the head, then finished the cremation. I’d say that would require a good deal more employee devotion than most employers could expect. I’d opt for partner or even boss.”

And the hideous picture he’d drawn for her frightened her almost as much as the idea of Jock’s staying and dealing with Manard. “Why?” Cara asked. “Why is this happening, Jock?”

“We’ll find out. Right now, we just deal with it. Or rather, you deal with it. It’s not going to be easy for you to tell Darcy.”

“No.” She looked out at Darcy and Michael still playing in the water. Smiles. Laughter. Life. She didn’t want to bring that moment to an end. “Not easy. But it has to be done.” She swallowed. “I’m not going to be able to talk you into dropping everything right now and coming here, am I?”

“It’s going to be okay, Cara,” he said quietly.

“That doesn’t mean you’re doing the right thing. I hate this. Good-bye, Jock.” She pressed the disconnect. Don’t think about him, or the panic would start again.

And she had her own painful job to do. Her gaze shifted back to Darcy. The golden child from Golden Days shimmering in the sunlight, hair wet, skin beaded with water, but beautiful, vibrant, and a smile that lit up the world around her.

But Darcy had suddenly turned to face Cara and her smile was fading as she saw her expression. Darcy waved at Michael, then was swimming swiftly back toward Cara.

And the day no longer seemed golden, but overcast as Cara got to her feet and waited for Darcy to reach the shore.





CHAPTER

7



“I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel,” Darcy whispered. “I never thought of Felicity dying. Even when you told me about Sylvie, I thought that nothing would ever happen to my mother. She was too strong, too much in control. All my life, she controlled Sylvie and me. I even thought that maybe Sylvie’s death might be a terrible mistake, and my mother would pop up with some plan that would make me dance through her hoops again.”

“No terrible mistake, Darcy.”

She shook her head. “No, I guess not. You’re … sure she was killed?”

“Jock is sure.”

“She must have been … surprised.”

“I don’t know. Jock thinks the entire situation surprised her. It wasn’t how she was thinking the situation would be going.”

Another silence.

“I’m alone now. It feels … strange. I guess I have to see about … arrangements, don’t I?”

“Not at the moment. You have time. All you have to do is accept what’s happened. We’ll take care of everything else later.”

She tried to smile. “You’re being very gentle and treating me like a slightly addled child. I thank you, but I don’t really need that right now. I’m sorry that my mother turned out to be a selfish bitch to the very end though it’s no surprise to me. Am I supposed to applaud the fact that she didn’t realize exactly what she’d done to Sylvie?” She shook her head. “Mothers are supposed to protect their children. She failed miserably, and I doubt if I’ll ever forgive her. Or myself, for not seeing how far she would go and protecting Sylvie from her.”

“You did everything you could. Like I told Jock, monsters.”

She nodded. “I’m beginning to see that. And what do you do with monsters, Cara?” She was silent a long moment, then said softly, “You hunt them down, and you kill them.”

Cara felt a ripple of shock. The words had been said so matter-of-factly and with little expression. “I can see how you’d feel that way.”

“Can you? Do you know what I see?” she asked with sudden fierceness. “I can see Norwalk sitting there and watching Sylvie burn. I can see him pressing a gun to her temple and pulling the trigger. I can see it, Cara.”

And so could she. She pulled Darcy close and held her. “I know you can see it. And that may be one of the worst things this monster has done. Don’t let him destroy you the way he did Sylvie.”

Darcy stiffened, then she pushed Cara away. “I won’t. I wouldn’t let him do that to me.” She swallowed. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t go after him. He has to be destroyed. It has to be done.”

“You’re not exactly qualified,” Cara said gently.

“That doesn’t matter.” She lifted her chin. “I’m a quick study. You’ll see.” Then she took a deep breath and jumped to her feet. “But first I have to have something to study. So don’t look so worried.” She pulled Cara to her feet. “Come on, let’s go find Eve and tell her about Jock’s call. I always feel better when I’m around her.” She waved at Michael. “Hit the beach, kid,” she called. “Time for a snack.”

As he started to swim toward them, she turned back to Cara. “Stop frowning. It’s not as if I’m going to go off like Dirty Harry until I have some kind of plan. I just have to pull myself together and see where I’m heading with this.” She smiled. “But Jock and Joe are being very helpful in shining a high beam on the path ahead. Have I ever told you that you do know the most interesting men, Cara?”