She flinched. “Someone else did it for you.”
“ I know.” He paused. “ I sent her body back to Virginia. It was difficult for me to believe that she was an accomplice.”
“She wasn’t. Leaving Juniper just seemed better for Cassie at the time.” Her chin lifted. “And she was right. Cassie is much better now. If she’d stayed at the house, she might have been lost forever, or one of those bouts of hysteria could have killed her.”
“ I’m supposed to be grateful?”
“Hell, yes.”
“She put Cassie in jeopardy.”
“And she gave her life for your daughter.”
He was silent. “Just as you were prepared to die for her in the cottage today.”
“My reaction was pure instinct. If Jessica had known she was going to die, I believe she would have gone to the museum to see the Wind Dancer anyway. She thought she had a chance of bringing Cassie back. She almost pulled it off.”
“So Travis told me.” He looked down again at Cassie. “How close was she?”
“Very close.”
“She asked me to take Cassie back to Vasaro. I refused.”
“ You should have done it.”
“Hindsight. But you’ll be glad to know your sister is getting her way.”
“ What?”
“ That’s where we’re going. We’ll stay for two days and you’re going to be my guest.”
“ Why?”
“Didn’t you just tell me that it’s best for Cassie?”
She studied him. “ But why now? I’d think you’d want to rush her back to the States to her mother.”
“ I have to stay here for another couple of days, and I don’t want to let her out of my sight. I’m not about to rely on anyone else to make sure she’s safe. You can understand that.”
“ Yes.” But Andreas wasn’t telling her everything. “ You evidently had this arrangement in place before—”
“ No statue, Mr. President.” Danley had opened the door. “ We tore the place apart.”
“ I didn’t think it would be there. I just had to make sure Travis really had it with him. Tell the driver to go on.”
“ You were looking for the Wind Dancer,” Melissa said as the car started. “ I should tell you Travis didn’t want to take it from the museum. He said you’d raise all kinds of hell to get it back. I made him do it.”
“ Why?”
“Deschamps had just killed my sister and he wanted the statue. I wanted to use it as bait.”
“ Then Travis definitely must have come around to your way of thinking,” he said grimly. “ Please stop trying to defend him. Stealing the Wind Dancer is the least of his crimes.”
“He didn’t hurt Cassie.”
“He put her in jeopardy.” He added coldly, “And I intend to see him punished.”
She wearily leaned back in the seat. Why was she trying to save Travis when she was so angry with him? He had tricked her and was now trying to tie her hands. “Okay, do what you like. But it’s best if you don’t talk about it in front of Cassie. He’s still her hero.”
He frowned. “Do you think she’s awake now?”
“ I know she is. She’s listening to everything we say.”
“How do you know?”
Evidently, Travis had not told Andreas of the link between Melissa and Cassie, and she wasn’t about to do it. Credibility was of the essence. All she needed was for him to think she had a screw loose. “ I’ve been with her almost constantly since we left Juniper. I can tell.”
He stroked Cassie’s cheek and his voice softened to velvet. “ I love you, baby. I’m going to take you home soon. Will you like that? Won’t you speak to me? No? That’s okay. Maybe later.” He cleared his throat as he looked up at Melissa. “ But you’ve succeeded in getting her to talk?”
She frowned. “ Where did you get that idea? No, we haven’t gotten that far.”
“Danley said she screamed your name.”
Her eyes widened. “She did? She actually said my name?”
“Screamed it.”
“ Thank God.” She could feel the tears stinging her eyes. “ Then maybe I shouldn’t be so mad at Travis after all. It might have taken weeks to get to that point if Cassie hadn’t been frightened.” She added deliberately, “And maybe you shouldn’t be either.”
“ I’ll think about it . . . later.”
Now that she’d warned him, he was not about to upset his Cassie. But that didn’t mean he was softening. Andreas was difficult to read, and she was aware of a multitude of undercurrents both in him and the situation. Well, if she had to work her way through them, she’d better begin. There was more going on than Andreas had said. One thing he had thrown out had set off a small flare. Concentrate on that first.