“Articles. TV documentaries. You’re very famous, Eve. I collected an entire scrapbook devoted to you. I like scrapbooks. They bring back memories that warm the heart.”
“Touching. But that’s not all, is it? What else did you do?”
He put coffee in the coffeemaker. “No, that’s not all. When I found out about you, I had an insatiable thirst for information. I managed to put a few bugs in your cottage when you were away searching for your Bonnie. They’re still there.”
Her eyes widened. “How did you get around the security alarm?”
“With great difficulty—it’s a fine system. Blick knew a few experts. I felt it necessary to have more details than those I could gather from public means.” He took down a large mug from the cabinet. “I found out a great deal about you.” He added soberly, “I did try to ignore the more intimate transmissions between you and Quinn. It really had nothing to do with what I needed to know and wouldn’t be fair to you.”
Eve felt the heat rise to her face at the thought of him eavesdropping while she and Joe made love. Not embarrassment. Sheer rage. “You’re damn right it wasn’t fair,” she said through clenched teeth. “Nothing you’ve done is fair or right, you sick Peeping Tom.”
“You’re perfectly right to be indignant.” He looked over his shoulder. “I could have lied to you. It would have been easier for me. I admit I was tempted. But that would have been wrong when I want our relationship to be as open and aboveboard as possible.”
“Why?” Her fists clenched at her sides. “Why did you have to know so much about me?”
“It’s part of my character, part of how I guide my life. I plan every move.” He held out his palms. “See how rough and scarred my hands are? Every line and crease could tell you how hard I’ve worked. I’m not real smart, but I learned that if I worked hard and always planned the next step, I could make a living. I was a farmer most of my life until Kevin was born. Then I got work in the city as a carpenter so that Kevin could have a better chance for an education. Planning helped me there, too.”
“Are you trying to make me feel sorry for you? No way.”
“I’m trying to make you understand that I won’t do anything to hurt you. Why would I want to do that when I’ve gone to so much trouble to make sure you were the right one to help my Kevin?” He nodded at the dais. “Would you like me to put the skull on your worktable?”
“What if I won’t do it? You say you don’t want me hurt. You’d hurt me terribly if anything happened to Jane. You’re holding that out as a threat, which makes you a liar.”
He flinched. “I try not to lie. But I want this for Kevin so badly that I might bend the truth. You have to do this, Eve.”
She stared at him in anger and frustration. That face was so kind and troubled that it was difficult not to believe him. One moment, she thought his kindness and concern were actually genuine, and the next she was sure it had to be a sort of bizarre masquerade.
“Just do it,” he said softly. “We both know that you won’t take a chance that Jane might pay for your stubbornness.”
He might seem rough and simple, but he read her very well. Why not, she thought bitterly. He had been studying her for a long time.
“Bastard.” She turned on her heel and strode toward the worktable in the corner. “Bring me the skull and set him up on the dais.”
“This isn’t a defeat.” He went toward the chair where the skull rested. “You’re just being sensible, Eve.”
“Am I?” She was trying to be sensible, if not in the way he meant. If she was going to do this reconstruction, she had to use it as a barrier behind which she could explore everything about Doane and this place. He was very big on finding out all about his targets so that his damned plans would work. Since she had no weapons, it might be possible to turn those methods against him. At any rate, she seemed to have no other option. She glanced at the window by the worktable. She could see the mountains in the distance and pine trees.
And above the window sash one of those empty sockets that were also in the ceiling.
Of course, in case she tried to open that window.
Doane was standing beside her, his gaze following Eve’s. “Enough light?”
“Plenty,” she said curtly. “Set him on the dais.”
She watched him carefully set the skull with loving hands.
Love. She couldn’t deny the affection she could see in Doane’s expression, in his touch. She was unable to determine if anything else about him was genuine, but he had truly loved this son who was staring back at them like a blackened, ugly skull from a horror movie.