“No, but I’m curious enough to go along with you.” The house had just come into view. “Look, the house and entire area are lit up like a movie set. It was dark when we came— What are you doing?”

Joe had abruptly pulled over to the curb and turned off the headlights. “The second team is right behind us.”

“Team?” Newell watched as two vans drove past them and parked in front of Gelber’s house. “Who are they?”

“The first van is forensics.” Joe’s mouth tightened grimly. Questions were being answered, but it was looking as if he might not be able to get Gelber to answer the most important one. “The second is the L.A. Medical Examiner.”

CHAPTER

14

“GELBER’S DEAD,” JOE SAID BALDLY to Eve when he strode out onto the patio, where she and Beth were still sitting an hour later. “I don’t know all the details. It happened sometime between midnight and three this morning. Unknown perpetrator, stab wound to the heart, several other wounds on his body.”

“Drogan?” Eve crossed her arms across her chest as a chill went through her. “Knives. He used a knife on Newell.”

“That’s my bet,” Newell said as he came out on the patio. “Maybe he was trying to get the same information we were from Gelber.”

“He didn’t try too hard,” Joe said. “That wasn’t his main objective. I’d say it was only important to him to get rid of Gelber in the quickest manner possible. Otherwise, he would have spent more time on Gelber before he killed him. You said he enjoyed torturing you.”

“Oh, yes, he did that,” Newell said grimly. “Every little stinging wound. You’re probably right. Drogan was going to leave any cleanup retrieval from his office for later.”

“Dead,” Beth repeated dazedly. She couldn’t seem to take it in. “Gelber’s dead? But we were going to see him.” She shook her head as if to clear it. “Three people died yesterday. Now Gelber? Because of me?”

“No, because a son of a bitch is trying to cover his tracks,” Eve said bluntly. “And he doesn’t care whom he hurts to do it. Stop blaming yourself. All you’re doing is trying to survive.”

“I’m not blaming—” Beth lifted her shoulders as if to ease the tension. “Well, maybe I was, but it’s difficult—” She took a deep breath. “So we won’t be able to find out what Gelber knew about my accident and the therapy that—”

“I didn’t say that,” Joe said. “We managed to get into Gelber’s office, and Newell was able to access the records and make a disc. That should tell us a lot. But it seems you had over six months of in-depth sessions with him. Newell has to go through it and try to organize the information and eliminate repetitions. Evidently Gelber drummed several points over and over into your mind.” He paused. “One of them concerned Cara Sandler, Beth’s friend who was with her at the ski lodge.”

“Cara? Why?”

Newell raised his hand. “Don’t ask me anything yet. I just noticed the repetition of the name when I located the records. I didn’t have time to do anything but copy the record before we had to bolt out of there.”

“We haven’t had time to make any inquiries about Cara Sandler since you told us about her,” Eve said. “I believe we’d better get moving on it.” She turned to Joe. “I’ll do that if you want to concentrate on the disc.”

“Newell will be doing most of it, but I’d like to be available to help.” He glanced at his watch. “But we’d better get a little sleep before we go into high gear. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Eve said as she turned to Beth. “I think we all need to stop and get our breath, don’t you?”

She smiled crookedly. “If that’s possible. I feel like curling up in bed and pulling the covers over my head. I guess I shouldn’t admit that. You all seem to be so cool and calm.”

“You’re doing fine, Beth,” Newell said gently. “No one expects you to accept murder without flinching.”

“I can’t help what you expect of me.” She turned and moved heavily toward the glass doors leading to the house. “I’m just trying to work my way through this. I know Hans Gelber was probably a scumbag and that he might have done terrible things to me, but it’s too remote to me right now. It’s not real. All that’s clear is that he’s dead. I’m going to bed. I’ll see you all in the morning.”

Eve frowned as she watched her go into the house. “We’re throwing too much at her at once. I keep forgetting that she just woke up into a world that she can’t possibly understand. Hell, even if she hadn’t had that kind of experience, she might still be responding in the same way. Murder isn’t exactly common.”

“Understatement.” Newell’s gaze was on the glass doors. “But she’s making a good adjustment. I admire her resilience. You can see how torn and confused she is about believing that any of this is real.”

Eve nodded. “And we were just talking earlier about how you sometimes have to look beyond reality.” She grimaced. “She can’t quite understand ‘spooky’ stuff, but she’s trying to be open to it.”

Joe’s brows rose. “Now I wonder how that subject came up.”

“Not the way you’d assume. I didn’t mention Bonnie.” She picked up her empty cup to take into the kitchen. “I figured that would be too much of a test as to how open she could be.”

“Bonnie?” Newell asked.

“My daughter, who died when she was seven.” She left it at that as she moved toward the doors. “I’m going to hit the shower and go to bed. Do you suppose there’s anything on TV about Gelber’s murder yet?”

“I doubt it. I think they were caught flat-footed. There were no media trucks at the scene when we left,” Joe said.

“Too bad. I’d like to know more.”

“Me, too,” Joe said thoughtfully. “There are a couple things I’m curious about.”

Eve’s gaze narrowed on his face. “Such as?”

“How did Drogan get in? I examined that alarm system, and it was state of the art. I’m not bad, and there was no way I could bypass it. He’s either a positive Houdini with locks and alarms or there’s something … funny.”

“What do you mean? How else could he get in the house?”

Joe shrugged. “Maybe bribery to get the code from the alarm company? It’s a possibility, but it would require either time or extensive funds to do it. I’m thinking it over…”

“Pierce has money, and he’d hired Drogan before.”

“Yeah, like I said, I’m thinking about it.”

“Anything else bothering you?”

“I overheard talk from two of the forensics guys about a note.”

“What?” She frowned. “A suicide note? With all those stab wounds. That doesn’t make sense.”

“No, it doesn’t. That’s why I want to see if the media was able to get a statement from the police about the note.”

“Don’t stay up all night waiting for the media to catch up. It’s almost four, and you didn’t get much sleep last night.”

He nodded. “I’ll only check one time before I turn in. You go on.”

She hesitated, her gaze on his face. His tea-colored eyes were glittering, and there was the tension she knew well. He was wired. Even if he came to bed right now, he’d lie there, his brain moving at hyperspeed, going over possibilities. “Okay.” She slid the glass doors open. “Let me know if you hear anything interesting.”

“I will.” He dropped down in the chair Eve had just vacated. “There should be news on the hour, and that’s in twenty minutes.”

“And five minutes later, I expect to see you,” Eve said sternly. “Or I’ll come down and get you.”

He laughed but didn’t answer her.

Eve stopped by Beth’s room, knocked, and carefully opened the door. Beth was in bed but the light was still on. “Are you okay?”

Beth nodded, then smiled shakily. “You don’t have to be so protective. I told you I was working my way through this.”

“Sometimes it helps to talk it out. I’m here if you need me.”

“I don’t need you.” Then, as Eve started to close the door, “Thank you. I’m … grateful.”