“Eve didn’t think that she was being tricked,” Zander said. “I don’t either.”

“No, but we have to look at all possibilities.” She added, “And I believe that Jane hasn’t been telling me about something that Kendra and Margaret found in Doane’s safe house. Kendra would never discuss it with Venable because she didn’t trust him. She didn’t talk to me about it either. I’m CIA, and she was probably a little nervous about my connection with Venable.” She started dialing. “So I’m going to come clean with Jane and ask her to come clean with me.”

“You’ll excuse me if I go up to the cockpit and talk to the pilot,” Zander said as he got to his feet. “I’m finding all this new broom and cleaning jargon slightly nauseating.”

“By all means. I’m more at ease if I don’t have you glaring at me.” Catherine spoke into the phone as Jane answered. “Jane, Catherine Ling, I’m in Denver and there are things that you should know…”

*   *   *

THE GULFSTREAM HAD TAKEN OFF and been in the air for over forty-five minutes when Zander came out of the cockpit.

“Finished?” He sat down in the seat across from her. “Is everyone on the same page?”

“We’re getting there.” She frowned. “What do you know about Doane’s ex-wife?”

“Not much. Except that after investigating her, the percentages were good that she wouldn’t cause me any trouble.”

“Your percentages may have been crap,” Catherine said bluntly. “She changed her name to Harriet Weber and moved to Muncie, Indiana, but she evidently didn’t change her affections when it came to her son, Kevin. She kept in contact with him by letter and possibly saw him on occasion. All in secret. Very ugly letters…”

“And Doane?”

“No sign of contact with him yet. Harriet Weber flew the coop when Jane confronted her, and Jane, Caleb, and Trevor are following Harriet in hopes she’ll lead them to Doane.”

Zander’s lips twisted. “Don’t we all have that same hope?”

“It’s a lead,” Catherine said firmly. “And we wouldn’t have it without Kendra and Jane and everyone else who are working to find Eve. You can sit on your mountaintop alone, but I’ll be slogging along and getting things done.”

“‘Slogging’? What an ugly word. And you’re not an ugly person, Catherine. It doesn’t suit you at all.”

“It suits my attitude.”

“But how are you going to ‘slog’ if you have to protect me on my mountaintop?”

Was there a hint of humor in those words? It was hard to tell. But she found herself smiling anyway. “I’m good at multitasking.”

“I imagine you are,” he murmured. “I’d like to relax. Are we through with all this cleaning and bonding and such?”

“Not quite.” She took out her phone again. “I asked Jane to phone Joe Quinn and fill him in, but I have one more person I have to call.”

“And who is that?”

“John Gallo.” She gazed searchingly at him. “Did Eve tell you anything about Gallo?”

He shook his head. “Not really. She mentioned his name as Bonnie’s father but wouldn’t say anything more about him. I was made to understand that anything that personal was going to remain personal. She had the same attitude toward Joe Quinn, but I had dossiers on him, so it didn’t matter. Just the length of her relationship with Quinn spoke for itself.” He paused. “What does Gallo have to do with this? Why do you have to call him?”

“Because he’s wasting his time, and he’s too valuable to waste. Right now he’s in Vancouver tracking you and probably scaring all your contacts so badly they’ll be scurrying for cover. I have to tell him I’m with you and that he should pull back.” She made a face. “Easier said than done. Gallo is … not controllable. He goes his own way.”

“Then why are you trying if he won’t listen to you?”

“Sometimes he listens to me.”

“Really?” His eyes narrowed on her face. “Tell me, do you share something besides friendship with Eve? Is Gallo your lover?”

“No, but if he was, it would be no betrayal of Eve. What was between them ended almost before it began, and all they shared was Bonnie.”

“That’s a big thing to share, possibly the biggest in Eve’s life.”

“Yes, and Gallo tells me that because they share it, Eve will always be his friend.” She met his gaze. “And that’s why he’s trying to track you down. He’s trying to save his friend, and you’re the only path we’ve been able to find that might lead to her.”

“How wonderful to be so popular. Lucky me.” He leaned back in his seat. “How good is Gallo?”

“Very, very good. Brilliant. He was in the Army Special Forces and they sent him on suicide missions.” She smiled faintly. “But he always came back. Is that good enough for you, Zander?”

“It appears to be good enough for you, Catherine.” He tilted his head. “Go ahead, make your call. We must tell Gallo that he’ll have to wait to make my acquaintance. I know he’ll be disappointed.”

“No, he’ll just make a decision whether he’ll track me along with you, Zander. Since I’m sure you won’t let me tell him where we are.”

“Correct. You have me all to yourself.” His tone took on a steely edge. “All the rest of your little group can stay out of my way.”

“No promises.” She started to dial. “They’re all individuals and have minds of their own. I’m going to fill Gallo in on everything that’s happened. I’m sure it will bore you. So why don’t you go back up to the cockpit?”

“Oh, this call won’t bore me,” he drawled. “Because you obviously want to get rid of me. That opens all kinds of interesting questions to sift through.”

She had been afraid that would be his reaction. She would always have to be on guard against Zander’s razor-sharp intellect and boundless curiosity, and her vulnerability to Gallo made her wary of exposing that possible weakness. She shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

“Oh, I will.”

“I didn’t have the—” She broke off as Gallo answered. “Hello, Gallo. I need to fill you in on a few things that I’ve learned that may come into play.”

“I haven’t found Zander yet. He and Stang seem to have disappeared. Though I think I have a line on an electronics expert he uses on occasion. His name is Weiner, and I should be able to—”

“Weiner? No, leave him alone. The man’s been practically having a nervous breakdown because he’s afraid Zander will think he’s betrayed him.”

Silence. “Now I’m curious to know how you happen to have that information.”

She braced herself. “Because I found Zander. I’m with him now.”

“The hell you are.”

“And he’s not in Vancouver and won’t return there until we find Eve.”

He said softly, “And, dammit, how can we find Eve if we can’t use him to do it?”

She glanced at Zander. “I don’t believe he’d like to be used. But he may come around to being of minimal help.”

“He’s in the room with you, isn’t he?”

“A plane, actually. And, yes, he’s listening.”

“And is he a threat to you?”

“Not at the moment. It’s my choice to be here. If I behave myself, I may escape being thrown out over the Rockies.”

“I want to talk to him.”

“That wouldn’t be a good idea. I was joking about being thrown out over the mountains.”

“More likely the Pacific,” Zander murmured. “I could talk to him, Catherine.”

And that mocking tongue would probably stir Gallo into a fury. “Zander wasn’t the only reason I called you. I wanted to make sure you weren’t wasting your time looking for him, but there are other things I needed to tell you.” She briefly told him all she had learned in her conversation with Jane, then their chase after Eve to the airport in Wyoming. “Seattle, not Vancouver, Gallo. He’s going to try some way to get Eve with Zander in Seattle. At least, that’s what Eve guessed when she wrote those letters on the clay.”

“And Jane thinks that Doane’s ex-wife may know something about Doane?”

“I don’t know what Jane thinks. Harriet Weber is one big question mark right now. But she thinks it’s worth pursuing. Kendra is working on the journal and seeing what connections she can make with the new info about Harriet.” She paused. “There you have it, Gallo. It’s all I can give you to work with.”