Iris Johansen - Chasing the Night

“Yes, do you want to see it?”

“Of course.” She jumped to her feet and was across the room in seconds. “Show me.”

“I only had another two steps to go from the last transition.” She pulled up a photo on the computer. “Luke at nine. You’ll see the face has elongated a little. The chin is a trifle more square. The bridge of the nose is continuing to rise up, and the nostril size and width have increased. His permanent teeth are fully down.” She tapped the screen. “At this stage, the teeth seem too big for the face. But that’s entirely natural.”

“Is it?” Every time Eve brought up a transition, it came as a shock to Catherine. This was no exception. A shock and a sharp pang.

Eve’s gaze was on her face. “Are you ready for the last one?”

“Luke at eleven?”

Eve nodded. “Luke as he is now.”

Catherine was experiencing an odd mixture of eagerness and dread. Foolish. This was what she wanted, what she needed. “By all means.” She swallowed hard. “Luke as he is now.”

Eve accessed the final progression.

For an instant Catherine felt her breath leave her body. “He’s…beautiful.”

“At this age, he’d already have a masculine resentment of that particular description,” Eve said. “I’m sure he’d prefer ‘handsome’ or ‘good-looking.’”

“Yes.” Catherine couldn’t keep her gaze from the boy’s face. “But he is beautiful.”

Eve nodded. “I think so, too,” she said softly. She tapped the computer screen. “Luke at age eleven. You’ll notice the chin is now square and masculine. The bridge of the nose is still higher. His ears are a little too large for his face.”

“They are not,” Catherine said quickly. “They’re fine.”

“Have it your way,” Eve said. “But you will agree that he’s lost almost all his baby fat, and the look of childhood has almost disappeared. The forms of his face are harder, more defined. He’s a juvenile now.” She paused. “On his way to becoming a man.”

Catherine blinked hard. “Yes, I’ll agree that’s true.” She drew a long shaky breath. “Could you put all the transitions up together so that I can see the progression?”

Eve nodded. “No problem.”

“May I see him?” Kelly was at Catherine’s elbow, her voice tentative. “Please.”

“Okay.” Catherine stepped closer to Eve so that Kelly could see the screen. “That’s my son, Luke.”

Kelly studied the photo. “He’s beautiful.”

“Are you saying that because you think that’s what I want to hear?”

“No.” Then she smiled. “Yes. But it’s true. He looks like you, Catherine.” Her gaze was on the collage of photos Eve had just brought up on the screen. “All those transitions look so different, but for some reason I’d know they were the same person. Why is that?”

Eve’s forefinger went to the area around the eyes. “Some of it is here. Most people maintain a certain ‘look’ throughout their lives. It’s a certain ‘something’ that causes others to recognize someone even through age and changes. I tried to incorporate that quality in all the photos. Sometimes it’s ephemeral or hard to discern, but in Luke’s case, I thought it was centered around the eyes and lips.”

“Patterns,” Kelly murmured.

“I never thought of it that way, but it doesn’t surprise me that you do.”

“If it’s eyes and lips, then you’re talking about expression,” Catherine said.

“Sometimes,” Eve said. “Luke has a dimple in his left cheek, and his eyes are alert and full of vitality. He may have retained that tremendous joie de vivre.” She paused. “Or he may have lost it if life was hard. But either way, there will be traces of that lifelong look. If you look at photos of JFK, you’ll see what I mean. From childhood on, he had that unmistakable, recognizable look.” She glanced at Catherine. “Have you seen enough?”

No, there would never be enough. “It’s as close as you can come?”

She nodded. “I did the best I could. I think it may be a good best.”

“So do I.” Catherine cleared her throat. “Will you print it out? I’d also like you to send it to my cell phone.”

“Done.”

She didn’t speak for a moment. “You know I can’t thank you enough. I owe you. Ask me anything, and I’ll do it.”

“Find Luke,” Eve said. “Bring him home alive and well.”

“I will,” she said fiercely. “But that’s for me. I have to pay you back. Name it.”

“I’ll think about it.” Eve slipped from her stool. “But in the meantime, you can make me a cup of coffee.” She flexed her neck and back. “I’m stiff as a board.”

“I’ll do it.” Kelly was already halfway across the room. “Catherine?”

“Yes.” Catherine wrinkled her nose. “You persist in taking away my jobs.”

“Pushy.” Kelly smiled over her shoulder. “Daddy used to say I was-” She broke off as she went behind the bar of the kitchenette. “He was right.”

“Nothing wrong with a little assertiveness, Catherine,” Eve said. “I believe both you and I are prone to be a little forceful.”

“True.” Catherine sat down at the bar. “But I understand there should be a balance.”

“Have you ever found it?”

Catherine smiled. “No.” Her smile faded. “I mean it. I’ll find a way to give you whatever you want. But in the meantime, I know you want me out of here, and I’ll oblige as soon as I can get my things together. I know a lot about the art of disappearing. In a few hours, you’ll find it hard to remember I was here.”

“I’ll remember.” She took the cup of coffee Kelly set before her. “You’re hard to forget. So is Luke.” She smiled at Kelly. “And so is our young friend. Have you found anything in that report to give you any insight into where Rakovac might have hidden Luke?”

“No, not yet.”

“Then what are you planning to do?”

“As I told you, I have friends in Moscow. I’ll do my own surveillance, and I may twist some arms.” Her lips tightened. “I’ll do anything I have to do. I just hope there’s something in that report that will give me a start. It contains years of surveillance reports I’ll have to comb through.”

“Let me do it,” Kelly offered.

“No,” Catherine said emphatically. “After I finish this coffee, we’re going to have a discussion about where you’re going to go until you can make other arrangements.”

“I’m either going with you, or it’s none of your business where I go,” Kelly said quietly. “You can discuss all you please. I won’t impose on Eve, and I won’t-”

Catherine’s cell phone rang.

She stiffened. “Rakovac.”

She punched the button. “What do you want?”

“You’re being rude. You know I don’t tolerate that, Catherine. I wonder why you’re suddenly so brave.”

She should back down. It wasn’t safe for Luke. “You just called me. What else could you have to say?”

“A good deal. I’ve decided it’s time to bring our relationship to a close. I can’t tell how I’ll regret having to do that, but circumstances are crowding me.”

She didn’t like where this conversation was going. “What circumstances?”

“A change of lifestyle. I’m afraid you have no part in it.” He paused. “Neither does your obsession for your son.”

Her heart was starting to pound. “Then let him go.”

“I can’t do that. You’ll have to come and get him.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been busy since I last called you. I paid a visit to your Luke’s grave and had him dug up so that I could give you a little challenge.”

“You’re lying.”

“Why won’t you believe me? He was five years old when I shot him.” He paused. “Is your friend Eve Duncan there with you?”