Taking Eve(56)
“Safe?” She stared at him incredulously. “So you played around with knockout gas?”
“It’s difficult to explain. What you have to know is that as long as you stay inside and don’t try to get away or attack me, you’re free to move around as if this is your home.”
She gazed up at one of the empty light sockets. “I’m tempted to call your bluff.”
“Demonstration?” He smiled. “Just a little squirt. Not enough to—” He gave the emblem the tiniest pressure. “Did you hear it? And it smells like carnations, doesn’t it?”
“I heard it. But I don’t smell—” But her head felt suddenly light. Carnations. Definitely, carnations.
“You’ll be fine in a minute. I did have to show you, didn’t I?”
She shook her head to clear it. The dizziness was already dispersing. “And it made you feel all-powerful, dammit.”
“Believe me, that’s not why I did it.”
“I don’t believe you. Where is this bathroom?” She gazed around the huge room, which was sparsely furnished, with a chair, filing cabinet, desk, couch, and table. A small kitchenette occupied a corner of the area. She stiffened as her gaze fell on another corner that was very, very familiar.
It was a worktable and dais and computer, identical to her lab at the cottage.
“Yes, it’s just like your lab down to the last detail,” Doane said softly. “I had to tear out an old coin press anchored to the wall to give you light from the window but I wanted you to feel comfortable.”
“Comfortable? Not likely. How were you able to reproduce it so exactly?”
“Not totally exact. You can access your forensic sculpting programs on the computer but nothing else. I’ve been watching you for a long time. As soon as I decided that Kevin needed you, I naturally had to investigate everything about you.”
“Investigate? Snooping? Electronic eavesdropping, maybe?”
“All of the above, I’m afraid.”
“How long?”
“A little over two years.”
She stared at him incredulously. It was hard to imagine that she had been under surveillance for that long and not become aware of it. It was even more amazing that Doane would have the patience to sit like a spider and weave his intricate web for over two years. “Why?”
“You were worth it,” he said simply. “I had to have you.”
“You don’t have me. I assume that lab you’ve set up means that you want me to do a reconstruction.” She looked him in the eye. “Screw you.”
“We’ll talk about it later.” He gestured to a door to the left of the lab. “That’s your bedroom and bathroom. I’ll go and heat up a couple TV dinners. I’m afraid I’m a lousy cook. I’ve never learned the art. Kevin always cooked for us. He was a brilliant chef.” He added sadly, “He was brilliant at almost everything.”
“I’m not interested in your son. All I want is for you to let me go.”
He turned away. “We’ll talk over dinner. Don’t feel you have to hurry. I understand that you’ll need time to compose yourself.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Actually, I felt lucky that I remembered this old abandoned shack from my hunting trips with Kevin up here to the mountains. It’s perfect for my purpose.”
“As my prison? What was it before? You mentioned tearing out some kind of coin press.”
“Back in the gold rush days it was a coin factory. There’s a played out gold mine not far from here and the miners liked to turn their gold into actual money before they went to town and blew it.” He smiled. “Blick and I remodeled the storage area for your bedroom and bath. It’s a little dim in there, but you can turn on the overhead lights. It’s pretty small, but you’ll only need the bedroom for sleeping. We’re not going to do much of that. I’m in a hurry to have Kevin finished. I plan on having you work nonstop with only short breaks when you feel you absolutely have to rest for a few hours. I’ll lock you in the room during those rests and let you out afterward. I’ve put a rollaway bed in there that you can open. The walls are thin, and I can hear you very clearly. I’ll be napping on the couch in here, and I sleep lightly. You might keep that in mind. There’s only one door and no windows, so don’t think that you’ll have an opportunity to escape. I’ve planned this for a long time, and I wouldn’t be that foolish.”
Eve’s hands clenched into fists at her sides as she watched him open the refrigerator in the kitchenette. Then she whirled on her heel and strode toward the door leading to the bedroom.