But if even scanty memory remained somewhere in that child’s mind, it might be reason for her not to argue about fleeing at even the hint of danger.

She looked back down at the photo of Jenny. So alive, so incredibly lifelike for a child killed all those years ago. She felt a wrenching regret.

I’m sorry, Jenny. I can’t help you now, just as I couldn’t help you then. All I can do is try to keep Cara alive.

Get moving. Get packed. Hope that someone hadn’t seen this story and decided to call the cell number listed. Someone who had noticed the curious resemblance to Cara …

CALIFORNIA PACIFIC MEDICAL CENTER

“Any word?” Eve asked Terry Brandell when she answered her cell. “It’s almost noon. Have you heard anything?”

“We’ve had a few calls but nothing definitive,” the journalist answered. “A lot of curiosity seekers and one pastor who thinks that you should have left the remains to return to dust.”

“No one who recognizes her face? I can’t believe it. She’s very memorable. You even thought you recognized her.”

“But I haven’t been able to tell you from where,” she said. “Could be imagination. I’ve got to go. I’ll let you know if I get a solid lead.” She hung up.

Eve turned to Joe. “No luck yet.”

“So I heard. It’s early.”

She braced herself. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

“I’ve been waiting for that.” Joe’s lips tightened. “I was hoping for that same miraculous call you did, but it isn’t happening. You know that these photos sometimes pay off and sometimes don’t. No one knows that better than you.”

“If it doesn’t happen the first day the photo is published, the chances get slimmer and slimmer.”

“And so do the chances of that little girl Walsh is targeting.” She leaned forward and took his hand. “I have to go to Carmel and see if I can find out anything more.”

“The school photographers? One of the first things we checked when we were going through those photos at Sacramento PD were the ones from that city. We didn’t come up with any photos that bore any resemblance to Jenny.”

“But maybe she didn’t pay to have her school photo taken. If her parents knew she was targeted, they might have refused to let her do it. But I was thinking, club photos, organizations, yearbooks. She might be in one of those.”

Joe was silent.

She suddenly realized why. “You thought of that, too,” Eve said. “You didn’t bring it up.”

“At the time, we had enough victims to worry about. You were practically overwhelmed.”

“No, that’s not it.” She was studying his expression. “You were going to go back on your own later and check it out. You thought that it might be a danger zone, and you didn’t want me there.”

“Guilty,” he said warily. “No reason to be upset. It was only a possibility.”

“Yes, but you were going to do it again. The same thing that happened at Tahoe. Close me out and take over.” She was shaking with anger. “Dammit, you can’t do that, Joe.”

“It was just a question of training and experience. You told me yourself that you realized where my expertise lay.”

“Of course I do. You were a SEAL. But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to let you get yourself killed trying to protect me. I brought you into this. Jenny is my reconstruction. Everything that’s happened since that day I accepted her is tied to that decision. I’m the one who is responsible. You know I feel that way.” She jumped to her feet. “I’ve been tiptoeing around trying to keep you from doing too much, trying to keep you from exploding and finding a way to get out of here before you were ready for release.” Her hands clenched at her sides. “Well, I’m through with that. You want to help? You stay in that bed and help.”

“I can’t promise that, Eve.”

“No, probably not. But I’ll pull out a couple wild cards that will slow you down. As long as you stay here, I’ll call you and tell you what’s going on. You have my word on it. But I’ll also call Nalchek and ask him to have a guard outside your door to follow you if you leave. If you lose him, he’ll call me.” She paused. “And that will be the end of my checking in with you. I’ll disappear, so that I don’t have to go through another Tahoe.”

“That wouldn’t be smart.” His eyes were glittering in his taut face. “We need to work together.”

“And we will, but not if you keep closing me out.” She turned toward the door. “Here’s your first report, I’m going to check on those photographers and look through current yearbooks. If I hear from that journalist, I’ll follow up. I’ll take Margaret with me, and we might be able to split up the workload.” She looked back over her shoulder. “I’ll always answer your calls, always be ready to share … as long as I know the call comes from this hospital.”

He looked at her, his expression enigmatic. “Tough. Very tough, Eve.”

“No, I’m being easy on you. Think how I felt when I was holding you, trying to stop that damn blood.”

She left the room. She was still shaking as she walked down the hall toward the elevator. She was torn by anger and regret and loneliness. She hated this. She had known for years that Joe would always be protective of her, it was his nature and the nature of the years and events that had formed their relationship. It was based on love, and how could you condemn him for loving her too much?

So she had accepted and protested but never fought it.

She had to fight it now. She couldn’t bear the thought of what could have happened at Tahoe. She had exploded when she had guessed that Joe had been going to investigate that lead without her, but it had all gone back to the basic problem. They had to come to terms.

She was punching the elevator button as she dialed Margaret. “Hi. I’m leaving the hospital now and coming to pick you up. I should be there in fifteen minutes. Meet me in the lobby.”

CARMEL, CALIFORNIA

She was being followed.

Elena felt the muscles of her stomach clench as she looked in her rearview mirror after leaving the restaurant where she worked.

She was sure it was the same tan Toyota she had noticed when she had left the apartment this morning.

But how could they have found her so soon? The photo had just come out this morning.

There were thousands of tan Toyotas. She could be wrong. There were several turns on the way from her work to Cara’s school. If she was right, she mustn’t let the driver of the Toyota know that she was aware she was being followed. That would automatically put him on the defensive. Drive a few blocks, take two turns, and see what happened.

She took the first turn and slowed.

Tan Toyota.

Her heart was beating hard.

She took the second turn.

Tan Toyota.

Oh, God, it was happening. All those years of waiting and terror, and it was happening.

Calm down. Think. How could she protect Cara?

Go by the plan. Don’t try to change anything.

She reached for her phone and dialed Cara.

“I can’t talk, Elena,” Cara whispered when she answered. “I’m in English, and they’ll—”

“Listen. Act as if you’re sick to your stomach and run out of the classroom. Do it now.”

“But I can’t—”

“Do it now.” She hung up and waited for a few minutes and called back. “Where are you?”

“In the bathroom down the hall. I thought that would be—”

“That’s fine. Look, you can’t wait until I come to get you. Something has— You can’t wait.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You don’t have to understand. You just have to get out of there and go to the cave. We have to put the plan I taught you into effect. You still have the money I told you to keep in your backpack?”

“Yes.”

“Remember that trip we took after we moved into the apartment? The bus station, where to get off, how far to hike down to the beach?”

“I remember. You had me do it by myself, so that I wouldn’t forget.”