Heart of the Raven(4)

"Yes, I can."

It took him a moment to let that idea sink in. "You're kidding."

"I'll start with the obstetricians, of course."

"You can't possibly-"

"Yes. I can. And I'll try to hook up with the roommate tomorrow. I think  that's our best chance for information. The problem I'm going to have  with calling the doctors is that there are so many group practices. I  would be asked which doctor, and I can't name more than one."

"So, it's a long shot."

She smiled at the understatement. "We could get lucky."

He admired her resolve. "What can I do?"

"Be here if she calls or comes by."

"That goes without saying."

She studied him. "Are you sure you'll be able to leave the house if you need to?"

He didn't like being questioned, wasn't used to it. "Has it occurred to  you that I choose to stay in my house? That it's a conscious choice I  made?" He leaned toward her. "I will do what needs to be done."                       
       
           



       

"Why haven't-"

"The subject's not on the table, Cassie."

It ended not only that particular discussion about why he didn't leave  the house but also their conversation in general. He walked her to the  front door.

"Did you design this house?" she asked.

"I did."

"It's spectacular."

"But?"

"No but."

"Yes, there is." He heard it in her voice even if she didn't realize it.

She shook her head.

Ah. Keeps her own counsel. He liked that.

"If Eva had simply disappeared, without leaving a note," Cassie said,  her hand on the doorknob, "this whole situation would be different. The  police would get involved. We would have access to their resources. I  still think someone at her office could help."

"I refuse to cause problems for her at work if she's just having some  kind of hormone overload. I'm already disregarding her wishes by hiring  you to try to find her, for which I feel no guilt whatsoever, by the  way. That's my child she's got. My life she's playing with, as well." He  shoved his hands through his hair, locked his fingers behind his neck  and made himself calm down. "Look, I'm trying to do the right thing  here. It's my fault she's pregnant."

"You know, Heath, these days I think we consider pregnancy a dual responsibility."

"She was young."

"Not that young. And you were vulnerable."

It was the second time she'd used that word to describe him. He didn't  like it. Who was she to come to that conclusion so quickly?

"Vulnerable doesn't mean weak," she said, somehow reading his mind. "It  means you'd been hurt so deeply you didn't want to survive, but you did,  so you have to deal with it, but it's harder for you than for others.  Most people can't cope too long without the company of other people, of a  compatible partner, no matter how short-lived."

"Personal experience?"

"I haven't lost a child." She opened the door. "I'll be in touch when I have news."

"I want progress reports, not just news."

"No problem."

He didn't want her to leave … but he couldn't ask her to stay.





Three




Cassie grabbed an official-looking envelope from the passenger seat then  headed into Eva's apartment building. The hallway was surprisingly  bright and cheerful. Someone was playing a clarinet, repeating the same  section again and again. The fragrance of sautéing onions drifted,  mingling with something spicy. Curry? It was five o'clock on Friday  night. She hoped to catch Eva's roommate before she headed out for the  evening.

Eva and Darcy lived on the third floor. Cassie climbed the stairs then  knocked on the door. After fifteen seconds she tried again. No one  answered. No sounds came from inside.

She propped her shoulders against the wall next to the door to wait. So  much of her job involved patience. She surprised even herself that she  not only coped well with all the waiting involved but that she didn't  even mind it most of the time. Surveillance was often boring, but she  was so grateful to be working for ARC that she didn't even mind the  long, dull hours sitting in her car waiting and watching for something  to happen. Her life had changed drastically since Quinn had hired her  late last year.

An image of Heath popped into her head. A fascinating man, simmering  with emotion he carefully controlled. Talented and intelligent. Angry.  Somber.

He had good reasons to be somber. Cassie had learned that his  five-year-old son, Kyle, had died in a school bus accident three years  ago, and that Heath had been with him but couldn't save him. Heath was  still married at the time, so the divorce had obviously come after they  lost their son.

The death of a child, a divorce and now the disappearance of the woman  carrying his baby-Cassie was surprised he was speaking in complete  sentences.

She thought back to the look on his face when he'd opened the door to  her last night. The hope that died fast when she didn't have good news  for him. She'd wanted to put her arms around him and tell him it was  going to be okay. His pain sent her reeling back to her own, different  but still caused by other people taking away control, making you-

Someone was jogging up the stairs. Cassie pushed herself away from the  wall just as a woman in her early twenties rounded the corner. Her hair  was black and chin-length, a choppy cut popular with her age group. Her  gold nose stud reflected light from a wall sconce. She wore a ruffled  minidress over form-fitting jeans, a look that worked for her.                       
       
           



       

She challenged Cassie with her eyes.

"Are you Darcy?" Cassie asked.

"Why?"

"I'm looking for Eva Brooks."

She slid her key into the lock. "Get in line."

"I'm sorry?"

"Eva bailed a month ago." The door opened. "I had to take a second job  so I could cover the rent." She looked Cassie up and down. "What d'you  want with her?"

A month ago? "I have a document for her."

Darcy eyed the envelope Cassie held. "What kinda document?"

"I really can't say."

"Well, I can't help you."

She started to shut the door. Cassie put her hand out to stop it from  closing. "I really need to find her. It might mean a lot of money for  her, if she's the right Eva Brooks." It was the right tactic. At the  word money Darcy paid attention.

"She owes me rent and stuff," Darcy said.

Cassie waited.

"Look," the young woman said, "I don't know where she's at. The lawyer  she works for called, too, but I couldn't help him, either."

"How long have you been roommates?"

"Couple of years. She got herself knocked up, though, so I was kinda  glad she left 'cuz I really didn't want a baby around, you know?"

"I'm sure. Did she talk about the father? Maybe she's with him."

She snorted. "I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Too old. Too stodgy. I don't know. She had a list of reasons why she wasn't hanging out with him."

Cassie could see how Eva would perceive Heath as stodgy, especially if  she didn't see past his pain. But, old? "Still, she is pregnant," she  said to Darcy. "It would make sense that she would turn to him."

"Maybe. Her mail's still coming here, though. Bills. I'm not paying 'em."

"Could I take a look?"

Darcy frowned. "Who are you?"

Cassie gave her a business card.

"A P.I.?" She gave a low whistle. "Sweet."

"Yeah, it is."

"She got a rich old uncle who died and left her money?"

"Something like that. Maybe I can track her down through her mail, then you can get the money she owes you."

Darcy hesitated. For a second Cassie thought she'd convinced her, then  Darcy shook her head. "It wouldn't be right. And I really gotta go. If  I'm late even a minute, they dock an hour's pay."

"I wouldn't open the mail. Just see who sent it."

"Naw."

"You've got my number," Cassie said as the door closed.

She made her way to her car. Now what?

She didn't like how this case was stacking up. Eva had lied more than  once and now had left no trail. It was rare that someone could just  disappear, but especially someone eight months pregnant.

Cassie decided there were no leads to follow, no more calls that could  be made at the moment. She could give Heath an update by phone then go  back to the office and do the paperwork she'd ignored on her two other  cases. Or she could call a friend and go out to dinner, maybe dancing.  Blow off a little steam. Find a reason to laugh.

She pulled her cell phone from her jacket pocket. After a minute she put  it away. She didn't know why she tried to pretend with herself. She  wanted to see him in person. It was stupid. She didn't get mixed up with  clients, and she especially shouldn't get mixed up with this one, who  had twice as much baggage as she did-and that was a lot, although hers  had been stored in an overhead bin for a long time.