Shattered Mirror (Eve Duncan #23)(87)

She inhaled sharply. “It came closer to you.” She was looking at the bloodstain on the lower right side of his shirt. “You’re hurt?”

“Just grazed me. I’ll take care of it later.” His gaze was on the trees. “But I don’t like the idea of your being out here in the open. Let’s get you back to the car.”

“I’ll get myself back to the car. Go after Joe.”

“And take the flak from him later?” He shook his head as he got to his feet. “Ladeau isn’t a big threat to Joe. He’s an amateur. He was scared, or he probably wouldn’t have even used that gun against us. He was about to break, and he panicked.”

“Go after Joe,” she repeated. “Now.”

“I’m here.” Joe was coming out of the woods. “Stop nagging him, Eve.” He turned to Jock. “Why didn’t you get her back to the car?”

“I yield to your greater persuasiveness. Ladeau got away?”

He nodded. “It’s like a jungle once you get into those trees, and Ladeau must know every inch of it. I didn’t even get a glimpse of him after the first minute or so. He disappeared without a ripple.”

“Everyone makes ripples,” Jock said. “We just have to find out where the ripple begins.” He looked to the bayou to the west, where Ladeau had pointed. “But we won’t start there. We’ll go in the opposite direction.”

“And we’ll start first thing in the morning,” Eve said firmly. “I don’t think we’ll see anything in the dark but the red eyes of those alligators Ladeau mentioned.”

Jock shook his head. “The dark doesn’t bother me. I’ll go after him now. You and Joe go back to Belle Grace. I can handle this by myself.”

“No one goes alone,” Joe said flatly.

“I do. It was how I was trained. I’ll be able to find him,” he said quietly. “It will even be easier since there’s not a kill at the end of the hunt.”

“Unless he fires at you again,” Eve said. “No, Jock. Tomorrow.” She was looking at the blood on Jock’s shirt again. “And now we’ll go back to the car so I can take a look at that ‘graze.’”





BELLE GRACE


“Jock was shot?” Cara went rigid. “How bad, Eve? Why didn’t you tell me that right away?”

“Because I knew you wouldn’t hear anything else after I told you,” Eve said wearily. “You were asking Joe and me all kinds of questions the moment we walked into the house. I wanted to give you the big picture.”

“How bad, Eve?” she repeated.

“Not bad at all. He was telling the truth when he said it was just a graze. I cleaned it up in the car. Very little bleeding. He wouldn’t even stop at an urgent care place on the way back here.”

“You should have made him stop. What if it gets infected?”

“He said he’d take care of it. He’ll be fine, Cara. He’s been trained to take care of wounds. Do you think I’d let him go without hospital care if I thought there was danger? He was shot protecting me.”

“No, of course not,” she said quickly. She swallowed. “It was just such a shock. Where is he?”

“He said he was going directly to the summerhouse.” She smiled. “He probably knew he’d face this reaction from you and wanted to avoid it. He was annoyed that I was insisting on ‘fussing’ as he called it.”

Cara nodded. “Yes, that’s probably it.” She looked away from her. “He wanted to spare me. It’s what you do with kids, isn’t it?”

“He wouldn’t mean to hurt you,” Eve said gently.

“No, he’s always kind.” She turned away. “Come on and get something to eat. When Joe comes downstairs after changing, you both need at least a sandwich and coffee before you go to bed. I’ll make some decaf. Kaskov’s cook always brews it Cajun black and strong. That’s the way Kaskov likes it, and he’s the only one who matters to her.”

“I’ve noticed.” Eve could tell that Cara was making conversation to avoid letting her see the rejection and hurt she was feeling. But the only thing she could do was to go along and try to ease her through it. She followed Cara from the parlor to the huge kitchen. “Where’s Darcy?”

“I haven’t seen her since I started practice tonight. I’m not surprised. It was a long practice session. I needed it. I’ll tell her what happened to Ladeau in the morning.” She looked up from searching through the cabinet for coffee to look at Eve. “In a way it’s good news, isn’t it? You found out that Norwalk is probably on an island in one of those swamps. It’s a start.”

“Yes, it’s a start.” And a tiny glimmer of hope in the darkness. “But it could be a nightmare trying to find out where that island is located.”

Before Michael was hurt.

Before Michael was killed.

“We’ll find it,” Cara said, sensing her pain. “We’re all here for Michael. We all love him, and that love has to make a difference. We’ll find him, Eve.”

She had to believe it. She had to believe that faith and love could transform a world that seemed so dark right now.