Bonnie by Iris Johansen

Bonnie. At least, she had told herself they were dreams. She had not been able to accept that Bonnie was a spirit at that time. Eve was a realist, and ghosts were not acceptable in her life.
    But Bonnie kept visiting her, healing her, and gradually Eve began to believe. Through all the searching that had taken place in the years that had followed Bonnie’s kidnapping, Eve had been able to cling to those visits. Because every visit had been filled with love, and there had been nothing frightening or strange about them.
    Until Bonnie’s appearance when Eve and Joe had been driving up here. It had just been an eerie glimpse, shimmering in the bayou. That had been strange because of the sadness and frightening because in that moment Bonnie had not been the daughter Eve had known.
    But surely it was going to be all right. Bonnie had come back to her and been as loving as always. She had known of Eve’s disturbance and wanted to soothe her and give her peace.
    Soothe her? Not likely. Not when Bonnie’s murderer was out there. Not when Bonnie herself had said that the years of searching were coming to an end.
    Bonnie’s murderer. Bonnie had not really answered her about the possibility of Ted Danner’s being that killer. For a moment, Bonnie had seemed to be on the verge of being able to tell Eve something about Danner. But as usual, Eve had backed away from talking about the details of Bonnie’s actual killing as she had done in the past. She couldn’t bear to bring that terror back to Bonnie. Her daughter had spoken of the darkness surrounding her death more than once and how could Eve ask her to try to pierce that darkness and remember?
    But that darkness was coming closer. Bonnie had said that those two levels, two paths, where she existed were coming together. Eve could feel it and so could Bonnie or she would never have said that she might need Eve’s help.
    That was strange in itself. Bonnie had never asked Eve for help before. She had been the healer, the one who came and gave and drifted away.
    Perhaps to that other level where she could not take Eve?
    You may have to help me.
    Could that request for help be the real reason why Bonnie had come to her?
    “Eve!” It was Catherine, waving at Eve to come to where she was still standing and talking to Venable.
    Eve shook her head to clear it. The darkness might be coming, but this was the real world intruding and she had to deal with it. She’d talk to Venable, then get Catherine to go with her to New Orleans and take the first step toward finding Ted Danner.
    If he was alive. If he was truly the man who had tried to kill Catherine and murdered Thomas Jacobs. That was still not a certainty.
    Is he alive, Bonnie? Is he the one?
    But there were no answers from the darkness.
    *   *   *
    “YOU WERE TALKING TO VENABLE for a long time.” Eve turned to Catherine, who had just started the car and was driving away from the house. “Were you right? Did he want something from you?”
    Catherine nodded. “A job in South America. The director is pressuring him. Venable doesn’t take pressure well. He tends to explode like that BP well that caused all the havoc down here. It surprised me that he even bothered to come. He knows I won’t go back there now that I have Luke home. He was just feeling me out to see if there was any way he could manipulate me.”
    “You don’t resent that?”
    “Why should I? It’s what he does. It’s what makes him valuable to the Company. You just have to learn how to ignore it and do your own thing.” She shot Eve a glance. “But we may be able to use him. He knows he doesn’t have a chance with me until I find Bonnie’s killer. He’s willing to put manpower on it just to clear my decks.”
    “I don’t know if manpower will do it,” Eve said. “We need information first.”
    “I’ve already told him I need to know when, where, and if Ted Danner died. That’s a start.”
    She should have known that Catherine would already