“No!” Beth’s eyes were suddenly blazing. “Stop saying things like that. It’s natural that he’d like to be around my friends. He knew I was lonely because he couldn’t be with me. He told me that he wanted me to have lots of friends around me to make up for it. Of course he liked all of my school friends. And they liked him, everyone likes Rick.”

“I’m sure they did. He seems to be a charmer.” Eve added quietly, “But a charmer with a terrible flaw, Beth. We think the Asian girl you saw that night was a Chinese prostitute who was only twelve years old. And there’s a good chance she died because Rick’s mother thought she was a danger to her son’s career.”

“If it did happen, it was his mother’s fault. Rick had nothing to do with it.” Her hand reached up and desperately clutched the golden key on the chain at her throat. “He would never hurt anyone.”

“There are many ways to hurt besides the physical.” Her gaze was on the golden key. “I’ve noticed you grab that pendant whenever you’re upset. Did he give it to you?”

“Yes, when I was sixteen.” Her voice was uneven. “He told me to wear it forever, and I’d know that I had the key to his heart. No matter how far apart we were, we’d still be together.” She stared at Eve defiantly. “It was on my neck all the time I was in the hospital. He must have told them to make sure it was never taken from me.”

“Very sentimental. It would have been better if he’d dropped the sentiment and tried to find a way to get you out of that place.”

“I’m sure he would have done it if he could. They must have lied to him. He wasn’t to blame. He loves me.”

Eve gazed at her helplessly. Beth wasn’t going to believe anything against her father, and, since he was the center of what happened that night at the chalet, she was looking at the entire report skeptically. How was Eve going to reach her?

“Beth, I believe that Gelber told the exact truth in those notes. Why would he lie?”

“How do I know?” she said jerkily. “I’ve been surrounded by violence and lies since Billy helped me escape from that hospital. Black is white. But I have to hold on to something. The only person I believe in is Rick. I won’t give him up because of some scribbling of that idiot doctor.”

“Beth…”

“No, Eve.” She shook her head forcefully. “Don’t talk about it anymore.”

“I will talk about it,” Eve said. “Cling to Rick if you have to do it, but believe that what happened that night was the reason that you lost all those years. You saw something you shouldn’t have seen, and Nelda Avery had to be sure that you didn’t talk. You may be right that Rick did love you and that—”

“Of course—and he still loves me.”

“Let me finish. If Nelda Avery wanted to keep her hold over her son, she couldn’t risk killing you. Even an accidental death would appear entirely too ‘convenient’ to him under the circumstances. But a tragic skiing accident in which your injury required permanent care and restraint would fit the bill. It actually must have been very satisfying for her on several levels. Your very existence must have been a constant thorn in her flesh since her son insisted on keeping in touch with you. It was much safer to have you under strict control. Will you accept that as being reasonable?”

“Maybe.” She went on in a rush of words, “I know that you think I’m being foolish. But what if that report was twisted and not true? All that about me not being able to breathe … Wouldn’t that posthypnotic suggestion have some kind of an effect on me now if it wasn’t pure bull? I’m fine, Eve.”

“Because in your heart you’re still believing what Gelber told you to believe, that you never went to that chalet. Because you’re afraid it’s going to hurt too much if you believe what really happened. You’d take the physical pain but not the emotional.”

“Think what you like.” She tossed the pages on Eve’s lap. “Everyone has gone to a lot of trouble to try to help me, and I appreciate that you—” She had to stop, her eyes glittering with tears. “I’m sorry, Eve,” she whispered. “It hurts me to have you believe I’m not grateful for all you’ve done. I want to think what you think, do what you think is best, but I can’t. I have to go my own way. Please forgive me.”

Eve could feel her throat tighten as she looked at her. In a way, she had tortured Beth as much as that bastard Gelber by bringing her face-to-face with her father’s sins and his involvement in her imprisonment in that hospital. How could she expect her to be willing to accept it? It might take a long time for her even to come close.

But they didn’t have a long time, she thought desperately. Things were moving at light speed.

Maybe they could work around Beth in some way, Eve thought wearily as she got to her feet. They seemed to have no choice at the moment. “There’s nothing to forgive.” She put the notes back on the bed. “I only ask you to read it again and see if—just read it again.” She turned toward the door. “I’ll see you later. I’m going to check with Joe and see if he’s been able to contact Cara Sandler. We’re trying to verify Gelber’s notes. I know you didn’t like or trust her, but we have to do what we can to—”

“Eve.”

Eve looked back at her.

“I … have to tell you something.”

“So tell me.”

“This is … difficult for me. I think I— I don’t know much about affection and stuff like that except with Rick. But I think I like—” She lifted her chin. “No, I think I … care for you. After all, we’re sisters. I guess that’s not weird or anything. You don’t have to feel the same way about me. That’s okay. We’ve barely gotten to know each other. I just wanted to let you know. Things happen, and if you don’t say the words, then they might get lost, and I wouldn’t—”

“Hush, Beth.” Eve smiled at her. “It’s difficult for me, too. We seem to be alike in more than blood. I think I care for you as well. But we’re as different as night and day in most things, and it’s going to take some doing to bridge those differences. We’ll have to take our time.”

Beth’s eyes were bright with eagerness. “But we’ll get there, won’t we?”

“We’ll get there.” She closed the door behind her and stood in the hall for an instant, trying to smother the emotion Beth’s words had ignited. Beth was part child, part woman, and her eagerness, vulnerability, and strength were impossible to resist.

And Eve didn’t want to resist, dammit. She had fought against letting Beth into her life in a meaningful way, but that was in the past. But as she had said, they were two individuals who would have to walk carefully not to damage one another.

“Eve?” Joe was walking toward her down the hall. “You’re upset. How did she take it?”

“The way we thought she would,” Eve said as she went toward him. “She won’t believe anything bad about Rick Avery. And she’s leaning toward not even believing much of Gelber’s notes because she’s in defense mode about her father. I asked her to read the notes again and think about them.”

“Will she do it?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. She doesn’t want to do it. Her first impulse is to reject.” She made a face. “But she has an intrinsic honesty that keeps her from being completely blind about it. I’m hoping that she’ll be able to begin to accept that it might be true the longer she lives with the knowledge.” She added soberly, “But time seems to be running out, doesn’t it?” She didn’t wait for an answer but changed the subject. “Did you get Cara Sandler’s number and manage to contact her?”

“Yes, I got her cell number.” His lips twisted. “But no I didn’t contact her. The call was picked up by the Vancouver police, and I got bombarded by questions.”

“The police?”

“Cara Sandler’s car went off the highway and down a gorge yesterday evening. She was killed on impact.”

“Damn,” Eve whispered. “How?”

“That’s what the police are trying to determine. They think the brake lines were cut.”