Shattered Mirror (Eve Duncan #23)(49)

Jock’s gaze was on the door. “What’s it have to do with Kaskov?”

She nodded. “And you can’t get that out of your mind, can you? Go on. You’re not going to like it, but she was right, Jock. And don’t you give her a hard time, do you hear me? I’m not the only one that she has to worry about, that we all have to worry about.”

“She was right?” He repeated as he was heading for the door. “If you’re that defensive, I don’t think I’m going to agree.”

The door closed behind him.

She didn’t think he would agree either, she thought as she turned back to look at the lake. Particularly since he’d been proven right about the threat being targeted at her and Kaskov. Yet she could see how Eve would go to any lengths to make sure Michael was safe after that hideous threat to him. Cara felt the same way. She’d do anything to keep that monster who had killed Sylvie away from Michael.

“Cara.”

She turned to see Darcy coming out the door. “Hi, come and keep me company. Are you hiding out from all the flak flying around in there? Do I need to go in and throw Jock out?”

“No, Eve can take care of herself.” Darcy came out and stood beside her as she added absently, “Though I can see why you’d feel so protective of her. You love her. Defending her is also a way of defending your life with her. It’s almost a form of self-defense.”

“Good God.” She shook her head as she stared at Darcy. “Where did all that come from?”

“I took a few courses in psychology here and there. I was pretty messed up, and I had to learn how to sift through the bullshit.” She smiled without mirth. “Though I may have to take a few more lessons to see my way through what’s happening now. I’m having big-time trouble understanding that beast, Norwalk.”

“There’s no understanding. As you said, beast.”

“But I have to understand,” Darcy said fiercely. “I have to understand everything about him. You heard what he said on that call. Sylvie didn’t really exist. She was nothing to him. I’m nothing to him. But there had to be a reason that two people whom he thought had no value were still important to him. I’ve been thinking about that ever since Eve played back that call. I couldn’t think of anything else.”

Cara could see that. She had never seen Darcy so intense. She had been afraid that callous call might break her, but instead it appeared to have caused her to strengthen, totally focused. And Cara had to focus, too. Help her find an answer. “Twins,” Cara said. “He said he needed a twin.”

“But why?” Darcy murmured. “I was so upset and angry the first time I heard it that I couldn’t think of anything other than that Sylvie had been nothing to him. But then I played it again, and a few lines jumped out at me. When he was saying good-bye to Eve, Norwalk was telling her that talking to her made him feel like he was no longer alone. And that he always felt alone these days.”

“So?”

“That’s how I felt when I lost Sylvie,” she said simply. “I may have mentioned it to you. She was always with me, then she … wasn’t.”

Cara went still. “Because you were twins.”

She nodded. “Twins.” She looked out at the lake. “I know it sounds weird, but what I told you about the bond between Sylvie and me wasn’t limited to just us. Look it up. It’s been medically documented. There have been all kinds of tests, zillions of explanations why it occurs. The result is that nobody really knows why, it’s just there.”

“I wasn’t doubting you,” Cara said. “I didn’t understand, but I know that there’s too much going on in this world for me to question anything if I trusted the person saying it. I trust you, Darcy.” She paused. “So what are you saying?”

“I’m saying Norwalk needed a twin for his master plan, so he killed Sylvie. What did he say? Tit for tat?”

“That’s what he said.” Cara was gazing at Darcy’s face. “And that could mean because he’d lost a twin, he was taking another one away as some kind of revenge?”

“Sick. But that’s what he is, right? I don’t know why he did it. A statement? Whatever. But it meant something to him. A twin always means something. You have no idea how powerful that pull can be. Since Norwalk is clearly a psychopath, it might be a completely different dynamic than that between a normal set of twins, but the loss would still be mind-blowing.”

“Like yours?” Cara asked softly.

“Yes.” She glanced back at Cara. “But this isn’t about me and Sylvie right now. It’s about Sylvie and that devil who killed her. That’s what I’m trying to focus on now.”

She nodded. “And if he’s lost his twin, does that mean his twin is dead?”

“That’s what it meant with me.”

“Did you tell Eve?”

She shook her head. “Not yet.” She swallowed hard. “I’ve just been piecing it all out after I recovered from listening to that damn call. And it’s just guesswork right now. But it makes sense to me.”

“It makes sense to me, too.” She was mentally going over Norwalk’s call. “Sean. He mentioned a Sean. His twin?”

Darcy shrugged. “Possible. I don’t know. I’ve given you all I have. I thought it might help to track Norwalk down.”