Jock smiled faintly. “I know that. But if you don’t mind, I’ll let Lina know that’s how you feel.”

Jane nodded. “I’ll tell her myself later. I just have to deal with one thing at a time right now.”

“I can see that.” He disappeared into the bedroom.

“I should have thought of Lina,” Jane said wearily. “She’s another victim in this nightmare. We’ve taken away her home and almost her life. I’ll have to try to make it up to her.”

“Stop blaming yourself,” Caleb said. “To repeat your words. It’s all Millet.” He added, “And Roland.”

“Yes, and Roland,” she said. “And we have to hope that Roland will want those coins enough to help me break Eve away from Millet.”

“Help us,” Caleb said. “You’re not alone in this, Jane.”

She felt alone. Alone and frightened and sick with apprehension. “In the end, I’m always alone. Except for Eve. It’s always been that way since I was a kid. I was ten years old when she came into my life. I’d battled my way through a dozen foster-care homes, then she was there.” Her voice was uneven. “And everything changed. I knew I’d never have to be really alone again as long as we were together. We could take care of each other. Always.”

He nodded. “And you don’t really trust anyone but Eve. That’s why you have problems committing.”

She had to pull herself together. “I’m not in the mood to listen to your analyzing me. I have a few other things to think about.”

“Just a comment. Not a criticism. I have no right since I suffer from the same difficulty.” He moved toward the tiny kitchenette. “Suppose I go through those cabinets and see if I can find some coffee or tea to make. I don’t think the caffeine will bother any of us since there won’t be any way any of us can sleep.”

“That would be good.” She moved toward the bathroom. “I’ll go and wash some of this dirt and clay off me. Then I think I’ll call Venable myself and nag him about getting that expert out here.”

“If it would make you feel better,” Caleb said. “But I imagine that between Jock and Joe Quinn, he has plenty of pressure on him.”

“It will make me feel better.” She closed the bathroom door and leaned back against it in the darkness. Alone. No one to pity her. No need to be brave and capable. Not for this moment. Let the pain come.

She drew a deep, shaky breath, feeling the tears sting her eyes.

Eve.

It will be all right, Eve. I promise you that it will be all right. I’ll use everything I know and feel, and maybe some things that I don’t know at all about. I’ll reach out and grab anything I can to find you. I know you’re not afraid of dying. But we’re afraid of losing you. We can’t lose you.

One more minute. It was dangerous to indulge this wrenching sorrow. It could weaken her, and she had to be strong.

Eve…

She braced herself and reached out and turned on the light.

She was only a few feet from a basin and mirrored medicine cabinet.

Her face was pasty white, and she looked as if she had been through a war.

She straightened and crossed to the basin and started to run the water.

She hadn’t been through a war.

The war was yet to come.

EIGHTEEN

“YOU LOOK BETTER.” CALEB looked up as she came out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later. “I found some tea bags. No coffee.” He was pouring hot water from a kettle into the cups. “Not classy but adequate.”

“Where’s Jock? Still on the phone?”

“No, he went out to reconnoiter the area and make sure the house is secure. But he said to tell you that Venable should have that artifacts expert out within two hours. His name is Professor Joseph Tischler, and he’s highly qualified.”

“Good. I wish it was sooner.”

“He had to get his equipment from the university lab.” He handed her a cup. “Venable told him that preservation was essential, and Tischler was arguing that he didn’t want to do the inspection on site. He wanted to take the bottle to the university and take his time.”

“There is no time.” She took a sip of the tea. It was bitter but hot. She needed the heat. “Two hours?”

“And then the time it will take to X-ray and give us his findings.” He lifted his cup. “We’ll hurry him along, Jane.”

But in the meantime she was going to have to sit here and do nothing but wait for him, wait for a call from Millet.

No, there was something she could do.

“I can’t waste the time.” She gazed directly into his eyes. “I have to go to sleep, Caleb.”

He went still. “Yes?”

“I’m so wired that I won’t be able to do that.” She paused. “Not without help.”

His eyes narrowed on her face. “Why do you want to sleep, Jane?”

“ ‘To sleep, perchance to dream,’ ” she quoted. “I have to dream, Caleb.”

He didn’t speak for a moment. “But aren’t you the woman who is too grounded in reality to accept that dreams are anything but bullshit?”

“Eve told me that I had to stop hiding and accept the dreams. She said my dreams had to do with the Judas coins years ago, and when they started again, it had the same connection. She said that maybe there was some kind of reason for it all. And you told me that I could be doing some kind of remote viewing. I’ve no idea if any of that is true.” She wearily shook her head. “I just don’t know. I don’t know if there’s some mysterious reason. I sure don’t know if I can do any of that CIA viewing bullshit. I don’t even know if I can reach Eve. All my dreams have been of past events. But if there’s a reason I’m having these dreams, then I’ve never had a greater reason than now. I’m going to try because they could be a weapon. I need weapons. Lord, do I need weapons.” She looked down into the amber tea in her cup. “I saw the sacrifice of a little boy in a dream. I saw the mosaic of Judas on the wall. I followed the boy and his mother from outside the temple to the sacrificial chamber. I’ve been trying to remember all the twists and turns they took as they went down that corridor. But it’s not enough. Eve may not even be in that temple. I have to find out where she is.” She looked up at him again. “I have to dream about Eve.”

He stared at her thoughtfully. “You want me to go in and give you a suggestion to sleep?”

“A damn strong suggestion. I feel as if I’ll never be able to sleep again.”

“Oh, I can make you sleep.” His brow knitted in a frown. “But I can’t control the dream process. That’s out of my area of capability. Dreams are will-o’-the-wisps and can disappear as soon as they drift by.”

“My dreams aren’t will-o’-the-wisps.”

He smiled. “And that’s why we know that perhaps there’s a way to use them. But you’re the one who will have to do all the work. I’ll give you a suggestion about Eve, but you’ll have to run with it.”

“I don’t know how to do that.” Her lips tightened. “But I’ll learn. I’ll make it work.”

“I know you will.” He took the cup from her hand and put it on the bar. “Go lie down on the couch.”

“I thought I’d go to the bedroom… by myself.”

He smiled. “And close me out.” He shook his head. “I’m in this, Jane. I won’t do anything to you that I can’t monitor and make sure that you’re safe.”

“It’s just sleep.”

“And what do they call death? The long sleep. I won’t leave you. But you won’t even know I’m here.”

She hesitated, then went to the couch and sat down. “Very well. It’s not important.”

“No, it’s just your nature.” He pushed her down and tucked the couch cushion beneath her head. He went over to the easy chair and sat down. “I won’t leave you,” he repeated. “Whatever happens, you don’t have to be afraid. It might help if you think about Eve. I don’t know. It’s alien territory to me.”

“It’s alien territory to me, too,” she said. “I keep wondering what if I’m wrong? What if Eve was killed at MacDuff’s Run. What if she’s dead?”

“Then if you do find her, this search may have an ending that’s both unusual and mind-blowing. Are you afraid?”