Shattered Mirror (Eve Duncan #23)(91)

“Call it a hallucination. Call it a dream. Call it stress. Call it wishful thinking.” She was flipping open the sketchbook as she dropped into a chair close to the lamp. “But you went along with me before, Joe. Go with me now. I saw where they were keeping him.”

“That’s all I need to know,” he said quietly. “I’ll go with you to the end of the line, Eve.” He got up, grabbed her robe, and brought it to her. He tucked it around her. “What can I do?”

“Just let me draw what he showed me while it’s fresh in my mind.” Her pencil was flying over the page. “He saw a lot, Joe. Norwalk was trying to frighten him.” Her pencil hesitated for an instant, and she had to steady it. “I believe he thought it was safe because Michael would die before he’d be able to tell anyone.” Then she was drawing swiftly again. “He won’t die. We’re not there yet, but we’re on our way.”

“Just one question. How is Michael doing now?”

Her eyes were filling as she glanced up at him. “Hurting. Sad. Wonderful. Michael. Even that son of a bitch couldn’t change him.”

He nodded and turned away. “Get to work,” he said gruffly as he headed for the door. “I’ll make some coffee and bring it up to you.”

5:05 A.M.

“That’s all I can remember.” Eve tossed the final sketch on top of the others lying on the floor. “I think it’s everything. I didn’t forget anything.” She smiled faintly. “Michael would be proud of me.”

“Three small islands in that swamp?” Joe was sitting on the floor going through the sketches.”

“They’re more mounds than islands,” Eve said. “The one where Michael is being held is the largest, and that’s where Norwalk built the shack. His four men occupy sleeping bags on the four corners of the island.” She indicated the four muddy banks overgrown with shrubbery and cypress trees. “And most of the time that’s where they stand guard. Norwalk doesn’t take chances.” She pointed to another small mound a short distance away. “No guards, but three alligators call it home. Norwalk wanted Michael to be sure to see them.” She tapped a large metal box jammed against the shack. “He told Michael it contained explosives like the ones he used to kill his friends.” She drew a long shaky breath. “What’s all this doing to him, Joe? Even when we get him home, how can he ever be the same?”

“We’ll worry about that later. You told me yourself that he might be hurting, but he was still Michael.” He picked up the sketch with the box containing the explosives. “Not a great defensive weapon. He probably needed the explosives for another attack of some sort.”

Eve felt sick. “Another Gwinnet Square?”

“That attack had a purpose. Huge amount of damage and horror factor, Michael, and luring everyone down here.” He was still looking at the sketch. “Not a public shopping square. Maybe a compound?”

“Here? You think he’s going to attack Belle Grace?”

“I don’t know. I believe it’s possible if he’s figured out a way to get those explosives in place.”

“Bribery?”

“I’m just guessing. Our best bet is to prevent any attack here by going after Norwalk and taking him out in that swamp.” He frowned. “All of these sketches are just of where Michael is now. How did he get there?”

“He couldn’t tell me. He was in a canoe, and it was night. You know how impossible it can be to keep track of directions when you’re traveling in a bayou or swamp.” She moistened her lips. “And he’s a little boy. He managed to tell us so much, but I told you it might not be enough.”

“We’ll make it enough,” Joe said. He was bundling up the sketches. “You have sketches of all three of those islands and the trees and animals surrounding them. Someone who knows the swamps should be able to recognize the location from them. And who do we know who’s very familiar with the Louisiana swamps? “

“Ladeau? But we’re not even certain he’s not working with Norwalk.”

“Then it’s time we found out. One way or the other, he might be able to tell us how to reach Norwalk.” He stood up and pulled her to her feet. “Get dressed. I’ll call Jock and get him up. He said he could find Ladeau. We’re going to give him his chance.”

*

“You need Ladeau right away?” Jock asked Joe. “I’ll try to accommodate. Would fifteen minutes be too long?”

“What the hell?”

“At the moment I’m sitting in front of Shari Damar’s place in Jefferson Parish. She’s a bartender at a club on Bourbon Street and she and Ladeau have been sleeping together for about two years. After I tracked Ladeau through the bayou, I saw that he’d doubled back. So I broke into Ladeau’s house and found letters, photos, and an address.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s there.”

“He’s there. I checked. He was in bed with her, but now she’s in the shower. It looked like a long-term relationship and who else would he go to if he thought he was in danger? And evidently he cares more about his own skin than endangering this woman. You didn’t answer, is fifteen minutes okay? No, on second thought I’ll go in now. I was getting annoyed with waiting while he was jumping her. I’ll take him while she’s still in the shower.”