Silencing Eve

off a charge that blew up the saloon and half the town.” He glanced at her. “You look— Are you okay?”
    “No, I’m not okay. It shouldn’t have happened. Someone should have stopped it. Venable should have stopped it.” Her voice fell to a whisper. “ I should have stopped it.”
    “Venable said that you were on a very important mission and that you—”
    “Screw Venable.” Her gaze shifted to the passing scene out the window. “Anything else? Are they sure she was in that damn saloon?”
    “Yes. Everyone saw Doane take her into the place, and, a few minutes later, our infrared scopes confirmed two people inside. They were still on the scopes when the place blew.”
    “DNA?”
    “We’re working on it, but it may take a long while. There wasn’t much left. As I said, the blast practically leveled the town. She was in—”
    “I don’t want the details. Not now.”
    It appeared that Ling was not as tough as he had heard, Bradford thought. Or maybe she’s just human, like the rest of us. “I hear Eve Duncan was quite a woman. It’s a great loss. Everyone from senators to a dozen police chiefs are at that memorial service.”
    “They don’t know how great a loss,” Catherine said. “They know the work, not the woman, not the friend.” She was silent for a while, forcing herself to read the file. Then she looked up, and asked, “How close are we?”
    “Five minutes. The service was held outside by the lake at the cottage where she lived with Joe Quinn. He thought she’d like it to be at her home. Pretty place.”
    She didn’t speak for a moment. “I know. That’s where I first met Eve. I stayed with her while she worked on a computer age progression on photos of my son.”
    That was one of the stories about Ling, too. Her son had been held prisoner by a Russian criminal for nine years, and she had never ceased trying to find him. It was only after Eve Duncan had helped her that she had been able to locate him. “I’m sure you were very grateful.”
    “Are you?” She looked at him. “You have no idea.”
    He pulled his gaze away with some difficulty. Catherine Ling might be as lethal as a striking panther, but he was suddenly finding himself having visions of ladies in distress and knights in shining armor and himself somewhere in the mix. Crazy. It just went to show how right the stories were about the fascination she effortlessly exerted. “I know you’re upset. If I can help, just call me.” He almost bit his tongue. Venable would not like the idea of his moving into Ling’s camp when she was definitely at odds with him. “Though I’m sure Venable will straighten everything out.”
    He swung into the grove that Quinn had designated as a parking area. “Here we are. I’d drive you closer, but there are people milling all over the place.” He quickly got out, ran around, and opened the door for her. “Everyone is around the cottage down toward the lake. Would you like me to go with you?”
    “No.” She strode toward the cottage. “I’d advise you to stay clear. You wouldn’t like dodging the flak.”
    He watched her disappear from view, then reluctantly turned away. Catherine Ling might be wrong. He found himself experiencing a strange blankness as if he’d been witnessing a fireworks display, and now there was only dark sky.
    It might be worth dodging a little flak to see her in action.
    *   *   *
    CATHERINE SPOTTED VENABLE in the crowd two minutes after she turned the corner of the cottage.
    He was wearing a dark suit and looked surprisingly formal. He was talking to a man in an NYPD uniform. Then he lifted his gaze and saw her at the edge of the crowd.
    Wariness.
    Then he lifted the wineglass in his hand and nodded.
    Catherine drew a deep breath and tried to smother the anger. If she confronted Venable now, she would make a scene, and that was the last thing she wanted to do at this service honoring Eve. She’d deal with him later. She nodded curtly and turned to look for Joe Quinn.
    He was standing talking to a tall, white-haired man she vaguely recognized as a congressman. Joe looked pale and unsmiling, but he could obviously still function. She started to make her way toward him.
    He looked up and saw her. Then, with a word to the congressman, he left him and was walking quickly toward her. “Catherine.”
    “Joe, I tried to call you.” She took a step closer. “I didn’t know. Believe me, I didn’t know anything, or I would have come