Silencing Eve

explore that driftwood thread that Ben Hudson—” He stopped as he saw her expression. “Problem?”
    “I’m not going to stay cooped up in a hotel room doing computer research on driftwood. I’ll leave that to Catherine and Joe. I spent all those days in the hospital doing the same kind of research to find that place in Colorado where Doane was keeping Eve.”
    “And you found it,” Trevor said softly.
    “I only did it because I wasn’t strong enough to go after Doane myself. I had to rely on others to do my job.” She met his eyes. “I won’t do that again. I’m strong, Trevor. Thanks to Caleb, I’ve never felt stronger.” She grimaced. “Damn him.”
    “But that isn’t all, is it?” Margaret was studying Jane’s expression. “You don’t believe Ben Hudson?”
    “Of course I believe he’s telling the truth as he knows it. Who wouldn’t? When I was drawing that sketch of Doane from Ben’s description, it was like looking into a crystal-clear pool. He’d never intentionally lie.”
    “Intentionally seems to be the key word,” Margaret said quietly. “You’re saying that his dreams are hallucinations? Yet you’ve evidently had some very strange dreams yourself. Were your dreams of Cira and her Anthony hallucinations?”
    “Maybe. I’ve never ruled that possibility out.”
    “Because you have problems accepting anything that’s not strictly black-and-white.” Trevor smiled. “But I believe that Cira managed to suspend your disbelief on occasion.”
    She was silent a moment. “But I never claimed that she was a ghost who talked to me and told me how to run my life.”
    “Ah, there we have it,” Trevor said. “The crux of the issue is Bonnie. I had a few reservations myself when I heard the story, but I was willing to go along since Quinn appeared to be taking it seriously. He’s a cop, and I thought there might be minimal substance.” He tilted his head. “He believes in ghosts?”
    “I don’t discuss it with him.” She saw him gazing quizzically at her. She would not lie to him even by omission. “I don’t know about ghosts in general. I think he believes in Bonnie. I know that Eve believes in her.”
    “But you can’t bring yourself to do it?” Margaret asked.
    “It doesn’t have anything to do with me. If they want to cling to Bonnie even beyond the grave, if it brings them peace or happiness, why should I mind? All I want is for Eve to be happy.” She tried to steady her voice. “And safe. I want her to be safe. And I can’t go chasing off on a wild-goose chase that could waste time and kill her.”
    Margaret nodded. “Then you shouldn’t do it. Let Kendra and Catherine work on it.” She chuckled. “That’s actually funny. There aren’t two more hardheaded women that I know and I’m tossing a ghost at them.” She got to her feet and gave Jane a hug. “Personally, I don’t know if you’re right or wrong. But it doesn’t matter. I’m here for you no matter how you want to handle this. By all means come along to Wrigley Field and we’ll play hickory dickory dock. Only substitute rat for mouse.” She glanced at Trevor. “You can come, too.”
    “Thank you,” he said dryly.
    “You’re welcome. You can keep an eye on Jane while I’m busy up behind the clock.” She smiled. “You’ll like doing that. You can hardly stop staring at her anyway.”
    Trevor’s gaze shifted to Jane. “Yes, I will like that very much, Margaret.”
    Jane was caught, held. She could not look away from him.
    Today. Tomorrow. Ever After.
    “We’ll leave right after we get the call from Caleb that Harriet has left the hotel,” Margaret said. “In the meantime, I’ll call Kendra and see if she’s come up with anything else.” She pulled out her phone. “I’m feeling a little de trop at the moment. You’re practically glowing, and Trevor is … I don’t know what.” She waved her hand as she started to dial. “But go ahead, continue. It’s interesting, and I think I like it. It’s kind of … warm.”
    *   *   *
    “A BANK, HARRIET?” Cartland gazed at the BANK OF AMERICA gold lettering as he opened the glass door for her. “It’s not what I expected.”
    “Why not? A bank is where treasures are stored.” Harriet smiled. “And Kevin and I decided that Bank of America, the king of capitalism, should be where we kept the key to our kingdom. Don’t you find it amusing?”
    “No, there was nothing amusing about Kevin’s shifting those nukes