Страница 1 из 60
Body Of Lies
Iris Johansen
Eve Duncan circle - book 4
CONTENTS
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Epilogue |
Chapter 1
^ »
SARAH BAYOU, LOUISIANA
1:05 A.M.
October
THE FLATBOAT GLIDED SLOWLY THROUGH THE BAYOU.
Too slowly, Jules Hebert thought tensely. He had deliberately chosen a flatboat rather than a motorboat because it would be less obtrusive at this time of night, but he had not counted on this case of nerves.
Keep calm. The church was just up ahead.
“It will be fine, Jules,” Etie
And his brother, Etie
“You arranged for the men to be waiting at the church?”
“Of course.”
“And you told them nothing?”
“Only that they would be paid well for the work. And I parked the motorboat to bring them where you told me to.”
“Good.”
“It will all go very easily.” Etie
Not intentionally. The affection between them was too strong. They had been through too much together. “No offense. Just asking, little brother.” Jules stiffened as he saw the dark looming silhouette of the ancient stone church in the faint moonlight as they rounded the corner. It had been deserted for over ten years and exuded dampness and decay. His gaze flew to the sparsely scattered plantation houses on either side of the bayou.
No one. No sign of anyone stirring.
“I told you,” Etie
That had not been Jules’s experience, but he wouldn’t argue with Etie
Jules jumped out of the boat as they reached the landing, and the four men Etie
“Be careful with it,” Jules said. “For God’s sake, don’t drop it.”
“I’ll help them.” Etie
LAKE COTTAGE
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Coffin.
Eve Duncan woke with a start, her heart pounding.
“What is it?” Joe Qui
“No.” Eve swung her feet to the floor. “I just had a bad dream. I think I’ll get a glass of water.” She moved to the bathroom. “Go back to sleep.” Good heavens, she was actually shaking. How stupid could she get? She splashed water on her face and took a few sips of water before going back into the bedroom.
The lamp on the nightstand was on and Joe was sitting up in bed. “I told you to go back to sleep.”
“I don’t want to go to sleep. Come here.”
She went into his arms and cuddled close. Safety. Love. Joe. “Want to make love?”
“The thought occurred to me. Maybe later. Right now, I want to know about your nightmare.”
“People do have bad dreams, Joe. It’s not that uncommon.”
“But you haven’t had one in a long time. I thought you were over them.” His arms tightened around her. “I want them to be over.”
She knew he did, and she knew he tried desperately to give her the security and contentment that he thought would rid her of them. But Joe should know better than anyone that the nightmare would never entirely go away. “Just shut up and go back to sleep.”
“Was it about Bo
“No.” Eve felt a ripple of guilt. Someday she had to tell him why the dreams of Bo
“The new skull? You’ve been working hard on it. Maybe too hard?”
“I’m almost done. It’s Carmelita Sanchez, Joe. I should be able to notify her parents in a couple days.” Then there would be closure and, perhaps, peace for them.
“And you know my work never brings me anything but satisfaction. No bad dreams there.” Just sadness and pity and a driving passion to bring the lost ones home. “Stop probing. Bad dreams don’t have to have deep psychological implications. This was just a crazy, disjointed… It was probably something I ate. Jane’s pizza was a little too rich for—”
“What was it about?”
Joe wasn’t going to give up. He would pick at the subject until everything was out in the open. “A coffin. Okay? I was walking toward this coffin, and it scared me.”
“Who was in the coffin?” He paused. “Me? Jane?”
“Stop trying to read something into it. It was a closed coffin.”
“Then why were you scared?”
“It was a dream. For heaven’s sake, I deal with dead people every day of my life.
It’s perfectly natural I should have an occasional macabre—”
“Why were you scared?”
“Drop it. It’s over.” She pulled his head down and kissed him. “Stop being a protective ass. The only therapy I want from you right now is strictly physical.” He went still, resisting. Then he relaxed and moved over her. “Well, if you insist. I suppose I’ll have to be a gentleman and let you seduce me.” Eve was surprised. She knew how stubborn Joe could be. She smiled and gently tugged at his hair. “Damn right, you will.”
“We’ll talk about the coffin later…”
SARAH BAYOU
The coffin was in place in the altar of the church.
Jules bent to check the pedestal beneath it to make sure it was sturdy enough to bear the weight of the specially reinforced airtight coffin. He’d had it built to his own specifications and had been assured there would be no problem, but it was his responsibility and he was determined not to fail. Nothing must damage the coffin’s precious contents.
“I’ve paid them off. They’re on their way back,” Etie
He came toward Jules, his gaze fixed on the coffin. “It looks so strange there… We did it, didn’t we?”
Jules nodded. “Yes, we did it.”
Etie
“Yes, I understand.”
“Good. Well, here it is. We did it together.” Etie
“No.” Jules closed his eyes as the pain surged through him. “Not a good feeling.”
“Because you worry too much. But it’s over now.”
“Not quite.” Jules opened eyes that were full of tears. “Have I ever told you how much I love you, what a good brother you’ve been to me?” Etie
Jules shot him in the heart.
Disbelief was frozen on Etie
Jules couldn’t believe it, either. Dear God, let him take that moment back.
No, for he would only have to do it again.
Jules fell to his knees beside Etie
Control. He had one other task to perform before he could allow himself to grieve.
The motorboat taking the men away from the church should be out of the bayou and on the widest part of the river by now.
He fumbled in his pocket for the switch and pressed the red button. He could not hear the explosion, but he knew it had happened. He had set the charge himself and he never allowed himself to make a mistake. There would be no survivors and no evidence.
It was done.
Jules turned back to Etie
Sleep, little brother. He prayed Etie