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Maybe it would have been healthier to just let you go for it.”
    “Stop blaming yourself. You never said a word to me when I went back to Herculaneum.”
    Eve stared out at the lake. “No, I never said a word to you.”
    “And it’s not as if I’m devoting all my time to Cira. I’ve won a couple art competitions, I’ve gone on several search-and-rescue missions with Sarah, and I’ve kept my grades up.” She looked up with a smile. “And I haven’t been toying with gorgeous ne’er-do-wells like Mark Trevor. I’m golden.”
    “Yes, you are.” Eve straightened and rose to her feet. “And I want to keep you that way. We’ll talk more after this funeral is over.” She headed for the door. “We’d both better get some sleep. I told Sandra we’d pick her up at eleven.”
    “I’ll come in soon. I want to stay out here with Toby for a while.” She gave the dog a hug. “Lord, I miss him when I’m at school.” She paused. “Why did all this come tumbling out now, Eve?”
    “I don’t know.” She opened the screen door. “Mike. That horrible, senseless murder. I guess it reminded me of Aldo and his fixation on Cira, all those killings . . . and the way he stalked you. And now Mike’s murder may have something to do with you too.”
    “Maybe not. We don’t know anything for sure.”
    “No, we don’t.” The door closed behind her.
    It was odd that Eve had connected Mike’s murder with that nightmare time in Herculaneum. Or maybe not so strange. She, Joe, Eve, and Trevor had been bound together in a common purpose to put an end to that monster, Aldo, and then had put it behind them. Only how could you truly abandon the memory of an experience like that and walk away? She and Trevor had been knit so closely that she felt as if she had known him forever. It hadn’t mattered that his past was murky or that he was totally ruthless and self-serving. She had been motivated by self-preservation and he had been driven by greed and revenge. Yet they had come together and gotten the job done.
    Stop thinking about him. Talking to Eve about Trevor had caused the flood of memory to rush back to her. She had put him firmly in the back of her consciousness and only brought him out at her convenience. That way she remained in control as she had never succeeded in doing when she was with him.
    What could you expect? She had only been seventeen and he had been almost thirty and experienced as hell. She had handled him very well considering the emotional storm she’d been going through at the time.
    She stood up and moved toward the door. Forget Trevor and Cira. They didn’t belong in her life right now. She had to concentrate on her family and the effort it was going to take to get through today.

3
                                                                                          
    S he hated funerals, Jane thought numbly as she stared down at the coffin. Whoever thought they were some kind of catharsis must be nuts. Every moment hurt, and she could see no healing coming from this ritual. She’d said her own good-byes to Mike during these last three days since that senseless murder. She was only here for Sandra.
    And Sandra looked like she was going to collapse any moment and was paying attention to no one. Eve was standing beside her, but Sandra probably didn’t even know she was there. Several of Mike’s friends were gathered at the grave site. Jane knew a few of them: Jimmy Carver, Denise Roberts, and Paul Donnell. Her roommate, Pat, had also flown down for the funeral and was looking uncharacteristically solemn. Nice of her to come. Nice of all of them.
    Only a few more minutes and they could leave the cemetery. Those minutes seemed to take a lifetime.
    It was over.
    She stepped forward to throw her rose on the coffin.
    “Is there anything I can do?” Pat asked as Jane turned away from the grave. “I’m