Silencing Eve

to—”
    “I saw that you’d called, but I couldn’t talk.” He took her elbow and was propelling her toward the corner of the house. “I’ve been surrounded all day.” He stopped as he reached an unoccupied stretch of lawn on the side of the cottage. He took a minute to look around and make sure there was no one near. “I can’t really talk now either, but you have to know, dammit.”
    “What are you talking about? I do know. I just found out today in Miami. I can’t tell you how—”
    “Listen.” His hands grasped her shoulders. “It’s not what you think.” His voice lowered. “Go into the cottage and talk to Kendra Michaels. I told her earlier that you were coming. I knew I couldn’t get away from this hullabaloo.”
    “Joe, what the hell are you saying?”
    “I’m saying that though you look terrific in black, you shouldn’t go into mourning.” He turned away. “I’ll see you later. Go talk to Kendra.”
    She stared in shock as he walked away. For a moment, she couldn’t get her breath. He couldn’t mean what she thought he meant.
    She closed her eyes. Oh, God. Let it be true. Let it all be a nightmarish mistake.
    Let Eve still be alive.
    *   *   *
    CATHERINE ENTERED THE cottage and slammed the door behind her. “Kendra Michaels?”
    “Yes.” Kendra was standing at the window, staring down at the mourners moving from group to group on the lawn bordering the lake. “That’s me. And you are?”
    “Catherine Ling.” She crossed the room and showed her ID. “Joe told me to come to see you. Apparently it’s your job to tell me what the hell is going on here.”
    Kendra nodded. “Joe called me and told me you were coming up to ask questions. I just had to verify your ID. There are too many reporters drifting around here at the memorial service. Eve was very well-known.” She smiled faintly. “Very private, but everyone knew she was phenomenal.”
    “You’re damn right she was.” Her lips tightened. “We’re both talking past tense. Yet from what Joe said, I’m guessing she’s probably very much alive.” Her voice was uneven. “Don’t tell me that he’s wrong. I won’t have it.”
    “Sorry. Joe didn’t steer you wrong. I’ve just gotten used to playing the sorrowful, regretful friend in the last week,” Kendra said. “I believe the chances are excellent that Eve is alive.”
    Catherine felt a wave of relief surge through her. “Thank God.”
    “I can’t be absolutely sure, but I’d bet every particle of my experience and judgment that she lived through the explosion at that ghost town in Colorado.”
    “And why should I trust your judgment?”
    “Maybe you shouldn’t.” Kendra tilted her head. “I don’t believe you have much to do with trust.”
    Catherine’s eyes narrowed on her face. “Why? Did Eve or Joe tell you about me?”
    “No. Just an observation. Did Eve mention me?”
    “Yes, Eve told me about you a few months ago. You were born blind, but a surgical procedure gave you your sight just a few years ago, is that right?”
    Kendra nodded.
    “But while you were blind, you developed your other senses to such a degree that you’ve become quite the detective.”
    Kendra shrugged. “Make that a reluctant detective. My profession is music therapy. I’ve helped out on a few cases.”
    “You weren’t reluctant as far as Eve was concerned.”
    “No, we became friends. You help your friends. Then, when I heard she was abducted, I dropped everything and came right down.” Kendra studied her. “Joe said you were close to Eve, but she never mentioned you to me.”
    “Why should she? Our relationship was … confidential.”
    “Confidential? That’s an interesting designation for a close—” Kendra stopped. “Oh, you’re CIA, aren’t you?”
    Catherine’s eyes widened. “Where did that come from?”
    “I don’t expect you to confirm it. I was watching out the window, and I saw you and that CIA guy, Venable, exchange a look when you arrived. He was tense, you were angry. Oh, yes, you know each other. Do you work for him?”
    Catherine looked away.
    “I don’t expect you to answer that either.” She smiled faintly. “Oh, and you quite often wear a shoulder holster under that black jacket, but not today.”
    Catherine nodded. “Out of respect.” She looked under her left arm. “It’s that obvious?”
    “It’s a little baggy there. Nothing anyone would notice.”
    “Except you?”
    “Except me.”
    “Or maybe a North