Eve Duncan - 06 - Stalemate by Iris Johansen

Author:Iris Johansen
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Georgia, Eve (Fictitious character), Mystery & Detective, Women sculptors, Duncan, Legal, General, Psychological, Detective and mystery stories, Mystery fiction, Facial reconstruction (Anthropology), Thrillers, Suspense, Fiction
ISBN: 9780553586541
Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.
Published: 2007-12-26T06:00:00+00:00

The bedside clock read 6:35.

Eve shook her head to clear it of sleep. She'd slept as if she'd been drugged, not Joe. The moment her head had hit the pillow she'd been lost to the world.

The skull.

She swung her feet to the floor and headed for the bathroom. Montalvo had said that he'd be leaving at eight. She had to get downstairs right away. He might leave early and she had to--

She stopped short. Why was she in such a hurry? Why did she have this sense of urgency to see him before he left?

She slowly went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Her entire being was alert, wired, expectant.

Expecting what?

And then she knew.

And there wasn't much time.

She quickly stepped beneath the spray.

Thirty minutes later she was running down the staircase. The first floor was a turmoil of activity. Men dressed in khakis and trail boots, all fully armed, were everywhere. She caught sight of Soldono near the front door.

"Where's Montalvo?" she called from the landing.

"Outside on the ramparts, I think," Soldono said. "He's been in and out all afternoon." He gave her an appraising glance. "You look surprisingly healthy considering that blow to the noggin you took. When I first saw you lying underneath Quinn, I thought you were dead."

"I'm okay." She passed him and went through the front door. It was almost dark but there were lanterns everywhere and she caught sight of Montalvo almost immediately. He was coming down the steps from the rampart talking to someone behind him.

"Montalvo."

He smiled as he turned to look at her. "Ah, you've come to bid me good-bye. Do you have a favor to give me as I ride into battle?"

"No. That's not why I came."

His smile faded and he gave a sigh. "I was afraid of this. I was hoping that you were too wounded and light-headed to react in the most characteristic manner for you. Evidently my hopes were to no avail."

"I'm going with you."

"Not possible."

"I'm going with you."

"Eve, we're moving fast and you'd get in our way."

"I'm not saying I want you to give me a gun and let me go after that bastard Diaz. I'm not stupid. I leave the fighting to those who are trained to do it. But I'm going to be there when you dig up that skull."

"No!" Soldono was standing behind her. "Eve, this is foolish. You'll get yourself killed. Why would you insist on going?"

"It's a matter of trust." Montalvo's tone was mocking. "The trust she does not have in me. Isn't that correct, Eve?"

"Of course it's correct. You spun me a fine tale of a lost love and a monster who sits in his castle like a fat gargoyle and smears his poison on everything he touches. What if you're lying? What if you have this skull hidden away somewhere and you take your men out and come back a few hours later with the skull? Only maybe it's not your wife's skull. I've been lied to before. Maybe the reconstruction is to be of someone else.

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