“I’m going with you.” She got to her feet. “I’ll go pack.”

He shook his head. “I’m going to have to bulldoze my way on this one. It’s clear no one without police ID and title is going to be allowed at the hospital or the police headquarters. You’d just have to stay in a hotel room and wait.” He brushed her nose with his lips. “Stay here, work on Janelle, and I’ll let you know what’s happening and if there’s any reason for you to come out. It may end up with me asking you to man the phones and the computer to track down the details of how Beth Avery was injured.” He wrinkled his nose. “And stop looking at me like that. I’m not trying to protect you. I’m telling you the truth.”

“She’s not your problem. I’ve no intention of staying here while you do my job. She’s my sister, Joe.” Lord, it felt strange saying that. “I promised Sandra I’d take care of it. There has to be something I can do out there.”

“There may be something if I don’t get what I want. I have an idea that might pan out. But not if you’re going to be seen or identified with me. You’d blow it.” He tossed over his shoulder as he opened the door, “Hell, maybe we’ll get lucky, and by the time I get off the plane in Santa Barbara, the police will have found Beth Avery, and she’ll be safely back at the hospital. Then the job will be easy. I’ll just have to make sure she is safe and where she should be.”

“Why are you being so insistent about this?”

“Because you need some time to absorb everything that Sandra told you. I don’t believe you know how you feel yourself. Your instinct is to dive in and set everything right, but I don’t want you facing a situation that will tear you up more than you are right now, when it may not be necessary.” He smiled faintly. “Okay, maybe I’m protecting you a little bit. But I’m not lying about its being better if you come in later rather than sooner.”

“I’m not torn up. Naturally, I’m surprised and—” She stopped as she saw the way he was looking at her. Joe knew her far too well, she thought ruefully. He had obviously seen right through her attempt to appear undisturbed. Why defend herself from him when he would be on her side no matter how she was feeling? “Things aren’t exactly as I thought they were. That doesn’t mean I can’t function while I become accustomed to all this.”

“I know that. As I said, I may need you as a backup. Give me a little time.” He went into the house.

She stood up from the swing as the door closed behind him. Joe, as usual, had taken charge and was formulating possible scenarios, making plans and going full steam ahead. Should she argue and take over the agenda? If it had been a mere issue of his trying to protect her, there would have been no question. But she could see no danger hovering, and he’d said he had a plan that might demand she not be connected to him. Joe was smart, and they had worked together for many years. She was not going to be stubborn if it meant destroying that plan. She could give him the time he said he needed. She could be patient … barely.

She went into the cottage and moved across the room to the reconstruction on her worktable. She wasn’t going to be able to sleep, so she might as well work. Her mind was full of the thought of Beth Avery, a woman of her blood, near her own age, and yet Eve had no idea what she looked like or what kind of experiences had made her what she was. So much had happened since she had stopped working on the skull when Sandra had arrived. Better to block it out than let those thoughts consume her. Janelle would help her do that, and in turn she would help this broken child.

“Hi, Janelle, it looks like we’re going to be able to work a little longer before we get interrupted,” she murmured as she reached for a marker. “Sandra called you ugly. It’s all those markers sticking out all over. She doesn’t understand that you’re not ugly at all. All children are beautiful. When we go into the final smoothing phase, you’ll be beautiful again.” She carefully placed the tissue-depth marker above one eye cavity. “And then we’ll find a way to bring you home…”

CHAPTER

4

“WHY DIDN’T YOU PICK UP?” Piltot snapped when Pierce answered. “I’ve been calling you for the last four hours.”

“I was busy.” Pierce pushed away from Stella and sat up in bed. “And I believe you should be a little more courteous, Piltot. You can be replaced.”

“No, I can’t. You wouldn’t like it if someone else was handling your patient records, would you? And I’m tired of your bullshit. You’re not leaving me to handle this mess alone.”

Piltot was genuinely upset, and that didn’t bode well, Pierce thought. Piltot was usually subservient and easily handled. “I didn’t mean that as a threat. I was joking. You’re right, we’re in this together.” He gave Stella a poisonous glance as she laughed. “Now, what’s the problem?”

“I received a call from a Detective Joe Quinn with the Atlanta Police Department asking questions about Beth Avery’s disappearance from the hospital. Atlanta? How the hell did they even know about her?”

Pierce muttered a curse as he swung his legs to the floor. “How do I know? What did he say?”

“That they’d received a report that an inmate had wandered off, and they were asked to follow up.”

“Report from whom?”

“Quinn said it was confidential. But he was damn persistent. I think we’ll hear from him again.”

“That’s not an emergency. Troublesome, but not a danger. I’ll take care of it in the morning.”

“The only way you’ll be able to take care of it is to find that damn woman and bring her back here. It’s been three days. Why haven’t the police been able to do it? It’s not as if it should be that difficult. I’ve seen her, and she’s almost a vegetable.”

“I said I’d take care of it.” He tried to keep the edge out of his voice. “Keep calm and let me know if you hear from him again.” He hung up, then dialed Drogan. “We’ve got a problem. How close are you to finding her?”

“She took a bus from Santa Barbara and got off in San Francisco.”

“Great,” Pierce said sarcastically. “Since San Francisco is such a tiny city, you should be able to locate her with no problem at all.”

“She took another bus from the same station south again. She’s doubling back for some reason.” He paused. “And where did she get the money for that bus? Could she have stolen it?”

“Maybe from one of the nurses. No one is careful around her. She’s harmless.”

“She’s not harmless. Find out where she got the money. If it wasn’t stolen, then someone had to have given it to her. If that’s the case, then we may be in luck if you can zero in on her source.”

“Don’t count on it.”

“I never count on anything. Just furnish me with a list of the people who had the opportunity to help her, and I’ll do the rest.”

“I’ll see about getting it for you. But you said you’d find her yourself, do it.” He added, “Keep in touch. I may have another job for you. Things are coming apart here at the hospital.”

“And you want me to fix it for you. Why doesn’t that surprise me?” He hung up.

Son of a bitch.

“Trouble?” Stella was smiling maliciously. “You always seem to be having trouble with Drogan. You can’t handle him, can you? I’d like to meet him. I bet I could handle him.”

“I might send for him and let you try. I couldn’t lose either way.” He was thinking. “Tomorrow, drift around and see if any of the nurses have been missing any money from their purses or the petty-cash drawer in the desk. Be tactful.” He grimaced at the thought of “tactful” and “Stella” in the same description. “Or at least don’t throw up any red flags.”

She nodded. “Are you going to tell Nelda about the call from this cop?”

“Not if I can help it.” He was beginning to feel the same panic he had heard in Piltot’s voice. They had kept the story of Beth Avery’s escape very quiet, with absolutely no media coverage. How had the story leaked to a cop in Atlanta? Keep cool. He’d manage to do damage control. “Tomorrow I think I’ll pull one of the women patients out of the ward and put her in a solitary room. I’ll tell the police it’s Beth Avery, and she came back on her own.”