EVE FINALLY RECEIVED A CALL back from Joe when she was at the gate in Atlanta ready to board her flight. Her first reaction was profound relief, the second was anger. "Why the hell didn't you tell me you'd located Kistle?"
"Jane must have told you my reasons by now. Nothing I can say is going to make you like it any better. I did what I thought was best for you."
"Stop sheltering me, Joe. How many times have I told you that I won't have it where Bonnie is concerned?"
"I can't do anything else," he said simply. "I won't watch you be hurt unnecessarily."
She felt melting warmth mixed with frustration. "Joe, it was wrong. I have to-" She broke off. Arguing would get them nowhere. "Have they caught Kistle yet?"
"No, the bastard has to be pretty woods-savvy. He's been running the deputies ragged."
"Maybe he's not in the woods at all. Couldn't he have made his way to another road or major highway?"
"Maybe. They have guards patrolling around the perimeter of the forest, but he might be able to avoid them if he wanted to do it."
There was a note in Joe's voice that Eve recognized. "But you don't think he's left the woods, do you?"
"No. I think he may be enjoying himself too much."
"Enjoying? With those deputies on his heels?"
"Dodsworth told me Kistle had called you. What was your take on him?"
She was like a burning arrow lighting the darkness.
"Evil." She tried to get past that pain to be more analytical. "He seemed exhilarated, almost happy. He didn't like that you'd set Jedroth on him, but he was supremely sure of himself. He said he was glad I'd come back into his life."
"Did he confess to killing Bonnie?"
"No, not in so many words. But he knew what she wore on the day she disappeared. He spoke of her with a sort of horrible… intimacy. And he said he'd killed other little girls after Bonnie." They were calling her flight. "I'll be in Bloomburg in four hours. Jane and I are getting on the plane now."
"No," Joe said sharply. "Dammit, stay where you are."
"No way." She stood up. "Four hours, Joe. Good-bye." She hung up and turned off her phone.
"They still haven't caught Kistle?" Jane asked as she picked up her carry-on.
Eve shook her head. "But Joe doesn't think he's left that forest." She frowned. "And there was something about the way Joe… He's keeping something from me." She headed for the jetway. "But you can bet I'm going to find out what it is."
"SHE'S COMING?" DODSWORTH asked as Joe hung up the phone. "Good. I have a few questions to ask her. What the hell kind of relationship does she have with that sicko, that he'd kill two good men to please her?"
"The relationship of a victim," Joe said. "It wasn't to please her, it was to hurt her. Anyone who knows anything about Eve knows that she spends her life trying to find a way to catch murderers and save lives. Kistle killed those men to show her that what she was doing was futile and just by existing she was causing deaths." Lord, he was going to hate telling Eve about those notes. In spite of the years of dealing with murdered children in her work, she had never developed callousness. Eve was strong, but her sensitivity was both her strength and her weakness. He treasured that fragility as much as he did her honesty and her intelligence.
"You didn't tell her about what happened at the quicksand."
"I will." He stared him in the eye. "And if you try to tell her before I get the chance, I won't be pleased, Dodsworth."
"Are you threatening me?"
"Take it how you will. Just don't upset Eve any more than she has to be upset." He got out of the patrol car. "What's the best hotel you have in this town?"
"We've got a pretty nice place on Spruce Avenue, the Brown Hotel."
"I'm making reservations for Eve and my adopted daughter, Jane MacGuire. I want twenty-four-hour protection for them."
"Is that necessary? You told Jim that Kistle is supposed to be a child killer."
"He killed two of your deputies in that bog and stabbed your sheriff to death earlier. Kistle doesn't seem to be narrowing his field of operation at the moment. I want Eve-" His cell phone rang and he picked up. "Quinn."
"Les Braun. What the devil are you doing up there, Joe?"
He felt a ripple of surprise. Les Braun was with the Atlanta field office of the FBI and he'd worked with him several times in the past, but he hadn't been in contact with him lately. "What do you think I'm doing?"
"Causing us a lot of trouble. We're spread pretty thin as it is. We didn't need to be pulled into this case."
"I didn't pull you in."
"No, you had Venable and his CIA buddies talking sweet and making deals with the director. Okay, you've got what you want. Cassidy from the St. Louis field office is on his way to Bloomburg now. The director is leaving it up to Cassidy to decide if we're needed on the case. I've given him your number and he'll contact you as soon as he gets in. My office is supposed to offer you any assistance if Cassidy decides that we're needed. Who's the local police contact?"
"Charles Dodsworth. Acting sheriff."
"I'll call and pave the way for Cassidy. Small-town cops don't like interference from us."
"Neither do big-town cops."
"Come on, Joe. Years ago you were an agent too."
"A lifetime ago. Cooperation is great, interference sucks."
"Either way, you've got us for the time being. And Cassidy isn't going to like it any more than you do. They jerked him off a case he'd been building for the last six months. See you." He hung up.
Joe turned to Dodsworth. "You're going to be contacted by an Agent Cassidy, FBI. He's going to assess the situation here."
Dodsworth frowned. "You called the FBI?"
"Not me." And Joe didn't know how the hell Venable had known about Kistle, much less decided to pressure the FBI. "But they're on the case anyway."
Dodsworth slowly nodded. "I'm glad."
Joe's brows lifted. "You are?"
"Did you think I'd tell them to go to hell? Dammit, I'm only a deputy in spite of what they're calling me. I'm feeling way out of my depth. I was in charge when two men died tonight. They were my responsibility. I want Kistle caught before he kills anyone else. The FBI's got all kinds of gadgets and databases that can help us, right?"
"Right." He paused. "But you might remember that all the manpower and techno wizardry didn't help at all when everyone was tracking down Eric Rudolph in North Carolina. He lasted two years and they had an army of agents after him. If a man is good in the woods, then the game often reverts to the basic laws of nature. He could last for months."
"How do you know?"
"I was a Navy SEAL. I've survived in worse environments than that forest with men after me." He changed the subject. "Go and have that talk with your sheriff's widow and then go get some sleep. You're going to need it once Cassidy and his agents appear on the scene."
"You don't like them coming?"
"I don't know. They may help. They may get in the way." Joe turned away and started dialing his phone. "But I don't like the idea of Venable sticking his oar in without my asking. I need to talk to him."
DAYLIGHT.
Darkness was safer. Darkness was his own, Kistle thought.
But should he go and kill to prove he could do it in broad daylight? It would take those country bumpkins off guard and maybe frighten them.
No, he'd already sent a chill through them with those kills at the bog. He could afford to rest and plan his next move.
Have they told you what I did for you, Eve?
It's not every woman who has the power of life or death.
Well, not life. But death, definitely death.
Are you coming? Of course, you are.
I'll have to rest now and then decide what to do to welcome you.
EVE SAW JOE AS SOON AS she got off the plane.
He kissed her quick and hard, and then gave Jane a hug. "Neither one of you should be here. Eve's obsessed, Jane, but you don't have that excuse." He grabbed their bags and headed for the exit. "What do you think you're going to do? Trek out into those woods and hunt the bastard down?"
"It's a thought," Jane murmured.
"A lousy thought," Joe said curtly. "If Kistle doesn't shoot you, then one of those trigger-happy deputies will do it. They're nervous as hell."
"I'm not planning on going hunting," Eve said. "I just want to be close to wait until Kistle is caught." Something he had said caught her attention. "Why are the deputies so nervous?"
"Because they're not used to dealing with creeps like Kistle." He opened the door of the rental SUV and threw in their bags. "They were all full of moral indignation and piss and vinegar and thought they'd run him down in a few hours. Now they're probably scared and trying to pretend they're not."
"It's only been one day," Jane said. "And Kistle is the one on the run. No one should be scared yet." Her gaze narrowed on Joe's face. "Isn't that true?"
"Ask them." Joe started the SUV and backed out of the parking space. "I'm sure they think they have reason."
"And so do you," Eve said. "What's been happening here, Joe?"
"I've made reservations for you at the Brown Hotel," Joe said. "Its about four blocks from here. Dodsworth recommended it."
"Joe."
"And the FBI should be in town later today to assist. That forest should be crawling with agents by tonight."
"And you're not happy?"
"No." His lips twisted. "That local posse is enough to worry about. The FBI can be a hell of a lot more efficient and lethal. I don't want Kistle dead before he tells you what you want to know. I'll be damned if Bonnie is going to haunt us for the rest of our lives."
Eve stared at him in shock at the harshness of his words. "She doesn't have to haunt you, Joe. It's my problem."
"No, it isn't." He pulled into the parking space in front of the hotel. "What you feel, I feel. That's the way it is." He got out, opened the car doors, and handed them their luggage. "I'll call you later. I'm going back to Clayborne Forest." He glanced at Jane. "Take care of her."
Jane nodded. "Always." She glanced from Eve to Joe and then started toward the entrance. "I'll check us in, Eve. Ask the desk clerk for the room number."
"She's being diplomatic. She thinks we're going to argue." Joe started to turn away. "I'll call you later."
"Don't you drive off," Eve said. "You didn't answer me. There's something going on that you're not telling me." She braced herself before adding, "And there's something I should tell you. Montalvo nudged Venable into getting the FBI involved. He said that he wanted the best and most experienced men after Kistle."
Joe turned to look at her. "Montalvo called you and told you that?"
"Yes."
"And did you tell him it was none of his business?"
"No, I don't care who is involved if it means we can catch Kistle." She met his gaze. "I did say I didn't want to meet with Montalvo."
"But he wouldn't listen, would he? Is he on his way here?"
"He might already be here by now."
Joe nodded. "Why not? It's the perfect opportunity for him to bond with you. When Venable told me that Montalvo had made a deal with him, it was clear as glass."
She stiffened. "You already knew that Montalvo was responsible for the FBI being here? Why didn't you tell me? Was this some kind of test?"
"No."
"I think it was."
He shrugged. "Maybe I was curious."
"For God's sake, after all these years don't you know I wouldn't lie to you even by omission?"
"Yes, you would. Maybe not about another man, but you'd do it for Bonnie."
It was the second time he'd mentioned Bonnie with that same bitterness. "Not if I felt you were on my side, Joe."
"I'm always on your side," he said roughly. "And that sometimes means I have to be against Bonnie. Because your damn obsession is going to kill you someday." He opened the car door. "And that day could be today or tomorrow or next week. Kistle is fixating on you like a mad dog. It's only a matter of time before you end up with a stake through your heart too. I won't stand by and wait for it to happen."
"Stake? What are you talking about?"
"Kistle killed two deputies last night. He led them to a bog and when they were struggling in the quicksand, he shot them. Then he left notes on stakes he stabbed into their hearts."
"Quicksand," she whispered.
"Aren't you interested in what he wrote on those notes? Just three words." He paused. "For you, Eve."
The words tore through her like a knife thrust. "No!"
"He wanted to hurt you. It does hurt you, doesn't it?"
"Of course it does," she said unevenly. "It makes me feel… responsible."
"I knew you'd feel like that." He added bitterly, "That's why I didn't want Dodsworth to tell you. I wanted it to be done gently by someone who loved you. I do love you, but I can't be gentle right now." He started the SUV. "So I end up by hurting you too. Kistle would be proud of me."
She watched him back out of the parking space, filled with a bewildering mixture of horror, sadness, anger… and fear.
Quicksand.
Those two men had died in that bog and Joe was on his way to Clayborne Forest now. She wanted to call him and tell him to come back.
It would be no use. She had never seen Joe this driven and bitter. She could almost feel the explosive emotional energy that was tearing through him.
And she was in little better shape. The shock of Joe's revelation and the raw harshness of his words had shaken her. Get over it. She was here in Bloomburg for a purpose and that purpose would be accomplished. She had to believe that Joe would be able to take care of himself.
Yeah, since she could do nothing about it anyway, she thought dryly. Joe wasn't about to do anything she asked him to do. He had his own agenda and believed she was some kind of fluttering, suicidal bird flying to destruction. He might understand that Kistle could be the one to bring her peace and closure, but he didn't really accept it.
"It's good to see you, Eve. Though I wish it was under kinder circumstances."
She whirled to see Miguel Vicente coming out of the hotel. The last time she had seen him he had been bedridden from the torture he'd received at the hands of the drug dealer who had also almost taken Joe's life during those nightmare weeks in the jungle. Though it was impossible to ever say Miguel was subdued, he'd definitely been under the weather. Now he looked like the young man she had first seen at that armed compound in Colombia. Tall, dark, handsome, and filled with a wicked sense of understated humor that could be both endearing and exasperating. "Hello, Miguel. Montalvo told me you were here." She frowned as she looked at his bandaged hands. "And I told him to send you back to the hospital."
"If I'm careful, all is well." He smiled. "For instance, I will not offer to carry your bags into this hotel. Though it offends my sense of gallantry, I will let you take them in yourself." He tilted his head. "Of course, I could go inside and prod the doorman, who should be out here to do his duty." He beamed. "Yes, that would be much less boring. Wait here."
"No," she said firmly. She knew exactly how lethal Miguel could be even with those wounded hands. "I'll do it myself."
"That one box looks very familiar," he said. "Another skull?"
"Yes."
"Anyone I know?"
"No, a child no one knows right now."
His smile faded. "I meant no disrespect. As you know, it's my nature."
"Why are you here, Miguel?"
"One, to make sure you're comfortable. Two, to make sure you stay alive. Montalvo said the latter was more important than the former." His boyish demeanor suddenly dropped as he turned to the bellman leaning against the reception desk and gestured to Eve's cases. "I believe you have a job to do," he said softly. "I'll be very displeased if it isn't done quickly."
The bellman started to smile and then blinked and rushed forward.
"Good." Miguel turned back to Eve. "Now you go up and tell your Jane that I'm here and that I'll be in the hall if either of you need me."
"How did you know I was with Jane? For that matter, how did you know I was at this hotel?"
"I followed you from the airport. I decided that I would not approach you when you were with Quinn. He does not have good feelings for me. I could see that he was not in the best of moods."
"He has reason."
Miguel nodded. "Montalvo is very tense also. Am I invited for dinner and to meet Jane MacGuire? I feel almost as though I know her already and I'm sure she would find me interesting."
"You can join us for dinner. I don't need you to stand guard over me. This isn't Colombia."
"No, I like it better here, but I prefer the discipline Montalvo enforces. It's much easier to stay alive if everyone knows the rules and the consequences. In your country the rules keep changing and there are always exceptions." He inclined his head. "I will see you at six for dinner. Okay?"
She nodded. "But no lurking in the halls."
He smiled cheerfully. "As you like. I'll go to the forest and see what's happening. I think Montalvo may have only told me to guard you to keep me away from the bog. He keeps talking about gangrene."
She sighed. Manipulation? Probably. But it was working, dammit. "Okay, Miguel." She headed for the desk. "Lurk to your heart's content."
"You haven't asked where Montalvo is," he said behind her.
"No, I haven't." She glanced over her shoulder. "And you're invited to dinner. Montalvo is not."
"I WAS WONDERING IF I should come down and run interference," Jane said when Eve walked into the room. "My tactfulness can only last so long. You know I tend to dive in and try to straighten out a tangle when I see it."
"It's not a tangle." What was she saying? Of course it was. "Or maybe it is. Anyway, it's up to me to untangle it."
"Good luck. I've never seen Joe this way," Jane said. "He was almost combustible."
That had been Eve's thought too. She was once more aware of how much alike she and Jane were. "It's a difficult time for him." She was suddenly impatient. "But it's difficult for me too. We have to deal with it. He can't just drive away and let-"
"Shh." Jane shook her head. "Deal with it later. You haven't slept all night and you're on edge. Get some sleep and then we'll have dinner and talk about it." She nodded toward the adjoining door. "That's your bedroom. Take a shower and get at least a couple hours' rest."
"After I set Carrie up."
"I already cleared the desk over there." Jane smiled. "I knew you wouldn't let Carrie stay in that case any longer than you had to. But I think you should cover her when we have room service. It might be a little disconcerting to the waiter."
"Particularly since this entire town is probably edgy about the sheriff's death." She opened Carrie's case and carefully took out the skull and placed it on the desk. It wouldn't be ideal work conditions, but she could manage. She draped the cloth over the reconstruction and headed for the bedroom. "We're going to have dinner with Miguel Vicente at six."
"Vicente?" Jane frowned, processing the name. "Montalvo's friend?"
"Friend, second in command, thorn in his side. It's hard to describe Miguel's relationship with Montalvo. At any rate, he showed up downstairs and informed me he was on guard duty and wanted to meet you."
"Interesting. Does that mean I'm going to meet Montalvo too?"
"No. You probably will eventually, but I'm going to put it off as long as possible. Montalvo is an element I don't need to deal with right now." She shut the door behind her and headed for the bathroom. She didn't want to deal with Miguel either, but refusing his help might bring Montalvo in his place. Besides, though she didn't believe she needed a guard, she'd never refuse protection for Jane. She should have told her to stay in Atlanta but she'd been in no shape to argue. No, face it, she'd wanted Jane's company. No one understood her like Jane, and being with her was a comfort. There was nothing soothing or comfortable about anything else in this situation.
Including Joe.
She should have known Joe would try to keep any knowledge about Kistle to himself. These last months together had partially bridged the gap between them that had been growing even before she had gone to Colombia. But the abyss still remained and his recent move to shut her out wouldn't help.
She couldn't tear herself up worrying about relationships right now. She stepped into the tub and turned on the shower. What was done, was done. She was here and so was Kistle. How many miles was Clayborne Forest from this hotel?
For you, Eve.
She shuddered.
Would those two men have died if Kistle hadn't wanted to send a message to her? Killers were killers and they needed no excuse to murder. Easy to say, but who knew what would trigger a monster like Kistle? He might have gone dormant for months if he hadn't talked to her. She had to stop thinking about it. Kistle had meant to hurt her and she mustn't let him.
For you, Eve…