THE MEDICAL EXAMINER’S VAN was parked on the side of the road, and Joe drew in several yards behind it. “Stay here.”
Eve nodded. “You don’t have to remind me. I promised I wouldn’t get in your way. I just want to be here in case you find out anything.”
“Which will probably be nothing until we get the forensic reports.” He jumped out of the car and was immediately soaked by the pouring rain. He followed the glow of lanterns carried by shadowy figures that turned out to be officers moving behind the yellow tape several yards from the road.
“Quinn.”
He turned to see Slindak coming toward him. He was wearing a yellow slicker, but his head was bare, and his hair was as wet as Joe’s. “Where’s the cave, Slindak?”
Slindak nodded to the left. “Around that bend. It’s only a football field’s distance from the road. And it’s only two miles from a ritzy subdivision. The son of a bitch who killed her has balls of steel.”
“He thinks that he’s too smart to be caught. Not unusual.” But the degree of boldness was not common, Joe thought. “And he buried that other kid beside the freeway. How the hell could he be sure not to be seen by a driver while he was disposing of the body?”
Slindak shrugged. “Nuts.” He was sloshing through the mud toward the cave. “But he’d have to be crazy to do what he did to that little girl. She doesn’t have a head. At first, we thought an animal had taken it, but we found it on a shelf of the cave. He cut it off and put it on display.”
Joe felt the anger tear through him. “Bastard.”
“Did you and your lady find anything in those reports?”
Joe gave him an icy glance. “Ms. Duncan worked very hard, but didn’t come up with anything yet. And you will speak of her with respect, or you’ll find yourself facedown in this mud while I wash out your mouth.”
“Hold it,” Slindak said quickly. “No offense. I do respect her. I just called it the way I saw it.”
And Slindak hadn’t been really insulting. It had been Joe’s anger at the killing that had become mixed with his annoyance with Slindak. Joe couldn’t blame him for reading sexual overtones into his connection with Eve. On Joe’s part, those overtones were definitely there, and it wouldn’t take a psychic to see them. He just hoped they weren’t as clear to Eve. “You saw wrong,” he said curtly. “There’s no payoff. No matter what I’m feeling, I’m not that much of an asshole.”
Slindak shook his head. “You poor bastard,” he murmured. “I’ll be damned. I never thought I’d live to see it.”
“You may not if you keep on talking,” Joe said grimly.
“My lips are sealed.” They had come close to the cave, and Slindak gestured to the opening. “I think they’re ready to bring out the body. Do you want to go inside?”
Joe nodded and moved carefully to enter the cave. Two techs were carefully transferring the body parts to the tarp on the stretcher. The parts were mostly skeleton. The little girl was hardly recognizable as a human being. The anger was searing again, and he took a moment to overcome it before he glanced around the cave. It was a small area, and evidently the child hadn’t been buried or hidden in any way. It was a wonder that the body hadn’t been discovered sooner.
Again, the killer’s boundless arrogance was staring Joe in the face.
“We’re ready to go.” A young forensic tech kneeling beside the body was looking up at Joe. “Do you need anything else, sir?”
“The skull was on that ledge?” he asked.
“Yep, it nearly scared those hunters shitless,” Slindak said. “The field rats had gotten to it.”
“Can we zip her up?” the tech asked again.
“Yeah, go ahead.” Joe turned away as they zipped up the body bag. “Did we get any footprints besides those of the hunters?”
“A possible near the ledge, but it’s badly eroded,” Slindak said. “He didn’t even try to erase his footprint. It’s like the other case. If we could catch the bastard, we could nail him in court.”
“He doesn’t think we’re going to catch him. That couldn’t be more obvious.” Joe watched the techs pick up the stretcher and carry it out into the rain. They were going to take it to the M.E. van.
And Eve was going to see them put that pitiful sack of bones into the van.
“Is there anything else I should see?” he asked Slindak.
Slindak shook his head. “I just thought you’d want to be here.”
“You were right.” He turned toward the cave entrance. “Let me know when we get a definite ID.”
“That may not be easy. I can’t bring in the parents to ID that skeleton. No prints. I can only try to get dental records.”
“Damn,” Joe said in frustration. “We just had a lecture at the Bureau about the potential for using DNA in identifying victims. But that’s still down the road a bit. I want it now.”
“I’m satisfied with the old tried-and-true methods,” Slindak said. “We get along just fine without your fancy scientific bullshit.”
“Except when all you have to work with is a skeleton.” Joe walked out of the cave. The rain felt good on his face after the stench and closeness of death inside the cave. He moved quickly through the stand of trees toward the road.
The techs were closing the back doors of the M.E. van as he came out of the woods.
And Eve was standing beside the car, watching them.
“Shit.” His pace quickened. He reached her in seconds. “Dammit, why did you get out of the car?” He opened the passenger door and gently pushed her onto the seat. “You’re wet as a drowned rat.”
“I had to see her,” she whispered. “But there was nothing to see, was there? It looked like a bag full of … nothing.”
Joe ran around the car and got into the driver’s seat. “It wasn’t nothing. It was a skeleton, but the bones were … not together.” He started the car and drove past the M.E. van as quickly as he could.
“Animals?”
“Partly.”
Her hands clenched together on her lap. “And what’s the other part? Tell me.”
“So you can hurt more?”
“So I can know what he is.”
She wasn’t going to give up. He said curtly, “He cut off her head and put it on a ledge over her body.”
She inhaled as if he’d struck her.
“And now you know what the bastard is. Does it make you any happier?”
“No. Poor little girl … It’s Janey Bristol?”
“We’re not sure. There’s not much to ID.”
“It’s going to kill her parents. I want to help them.”
“You can’t do anything.”
“I guess not. I’ll think about it. Is there any evidence?”
“A possible footprint. He didn’t try to hide what he’d done. He’s bold as brass.”
“You said that before. Then we should be able to find him.”
“We’ll find him. Stop thinking about him for a while.”
“We may find other bodies. He’s being careless.”
“That’s a possibility.”
She was silent for a long time, watching the rain hit the windshield. “I’m glad she was found. She was alone so long in that cave. When we find out who she is, she’ll be able to go home to people who love her.”
She was identifying the child with her Bonnie, Joe knew. His heart was aching for her, but there was nothing he could do. “I’m glad she was found, too.”
“I keep thinking that … it might have been Bonnie. I have a chance that she’s still alive. But if he did take her, then I have to find him to be sure either way.”
And she was beginning to accept that her daughter could be dead, a victim of the monster who had killed the little girl in the cave.
He pulled the car to a stop in front of her house. “Come on. Let’s get you inside. You need a hot shower and some rest.”
“Go home, Joe.” She got out of the car. “I wouldn’t put it past you to strip me down and throw me in the
shower.”
“It’s an interesting idea.”
“Not really. I’m too skinny for you, remember?” She shook her head. “I have some thinking to do. I don’t want you here.”
He didn’t want her to be alone, dammit. Should he push it?
She started up the steps. “I’ll be fine. Stop worrying. I got along before you dropped into my life.”
“But not as well.”
She turned as she unlocked the door. “No, not as well.” She smiled slightly. “Though I hate to cater to your ego. I’ll see you tomorrow, Joe.”
“I’ll call you first thing in the morning. I want you to tell me that you slept a little.”
“I’ll work on it.”
“But you’re going back to those reports.”
“He’s a monster, Joe,” she said quietly. “He might be my monster. We have to stop him.” She disappeared into the house.
Joe waited until the lights went on inside before he pulled away from the curb. He couldn’t force her to let him help her. He’d already invaded her space and compromised her independence. It was a wonder that she hadn’t rebelled against him before. He’d go back to the precinct and see if any of the forensic reports were completed yet.
Whether the man who killed that little girl in the cave was Eve’s monster or not, he was definitely a monster. Joe could feel the anger tear through him as he remembered the hideously macabre scene in the cave.
Get to work. Show the bastard he wasn’t as invulnerable as he thought he was. Joe felt a familiar exhilaration mix with the rage. The warrior instinct that had been a part of his life for years was starting to simmer.
Yes, he was in the mood for hunting monsters.
CHAPTER
5
JOE THREW A FOLDED NEWSPAPER on the table in front of Eve the next morning. “The media got hold of the story. Interviews with the hunters. Descriptions of what they saw in the cave. Damn them. We hadn’t yet notified the Bristols that it might be their daughter. We were waiting to check with her dentist. The phones have been ringing off the hook from parents of those kidnapped kids, and we can’t even tell them yes or no.”
Eve opened the newspaper and shook her head. “Why didn’t they wait? This is cruel.”
“It’s a scoop. The reporter wanted to get ahead of the competition. The bastard will do anything for a story.”
“Brian McVey,” Eve read the byline. “I hope he’s happy about this ugliness.” She looked up at him. “How long before you get a confirmation on the dental records?”
“This afternoon.” His lips tightened grimly. “And the information will not go to Brian McVey. We’ll leave him so far out in the cold, he’ll freeze to death.” He looked at the files in front of her. “Did you find anything?”
“All the children were in the age brackets from four to eight, all of them were from middle- to high-income families, all of them lived in homes in nice subdivisions.” She looked up. “Except Bonnie. I’m poor as dirt, and this is a rental property. It’s nicer than anywhere I’ve lived before, but it doesn’t compare with one of those houses in Towne Lake or Chestnut Hill subdivisions. I was very happy when I saw that she didn’t make the A-list. That’s two things that are different: three months between the kidnappings, and the kind of place where she lived. It may not seem a lot to you, but to me it’s gigantic.”
“It’s gigantic to me, too,” he said gently. “Anything else?”
“Not yet.” She leaned back in the chair. “What about the footprint in the cave?”
“We’re working on it. It’s not the usual shoe. It’s rubberized…”
“A tennis shoe?”
“Not exactly. The pattern is different … We’re working on it. We’ll get there. I’m going to go to a shoe manufacturer downtown when I leave here and see if he can identify it.” He was glancing through the reports. “But first, why don’t we go and take a look at these houses.”
“Why?”
“These are the kids’ home bases. Children stay close to their home at this age. It’s where they may have been kidnapped.”
“But according to the reports, only two of the parents think their child was taken from the neighborhood.”
“We’ll still take a look.” He turned. “If you want to go with me.”
“Of course, I do.” She was beside him in a moment. “And to the shoe factory, too.”
He shrugged. “Just routine investigation. I could just as well phone you after I finish.”
“Nothing is routine.” She got into the car. “I’ve forgotten what the word means.”
So had Joe. Since the moment he had met her, nothing had been routine or commonplace in his life. “Where, first?”
“Chestnut Hills. Linda Cantrell. It’s in Kennesaw.”
His brows lifted. “You rattled that off. I’m surprised you haven’t memorized the address.”
“I have. I’ve memorized all of them. I’ll tell you when we’re closer.”
* * *
“THE HOUSES ARE ALL DIFFERENT styles,” Eve said. “Tudors, modern, cottage…” Her gaze wandered over the neat lush lawn and clipped bushes that surrounded Nita Teller’s home. “Small, medium, large … As home bases, they have very little in common. They’re just pleasant houses in suburban neighborhoods. I think we struck out.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” Joe was staring thoughtfully at the house. “I can’t put my finger on it right now, but something may strike me later. What’s next?”
“Janey Bristol. She’s the last one in Atlanta. The others are from your list of outside the city. She’s about five miles from here, in Roswell. Do we have time before we go downtown to that shoe company?”
Joe nodded. “We got through these neighborhoods quickly. You had them organized very efficiently.”
She handed him the address. “I put her last. I guess I wasn’t very eager to imagine Janey where she was happiest. It hurts after last night.” She tilted her head. “You’re very thoughtful. You do think this was helpful?”
“As I said, sometime something sticks in your mind, then it comes together later.”
“You’re very good at this, aren’t you?”
He smiled. “Hell, yes.”
“And so modest.”
“I’ve never lacked an appreciation for my own worth. I see nothing wrong in confidence as long as it’s not misplaced.”
“Neither do I. It was the first thing I noticed about you,” she said quietly. “I wanted the FBI to send an older agent. Someone who had worlds of experience and could use it to find Bonnie. I was angry that instead they sent me a young man who acted as if he knew how to shape the world to suit himself. You were good-looking, tough, smart, and oozed assurance. I wanted to kick you.”
“I appreciate your restraint.”
“And then I saw something in you. And I thought that maybe it would be okay between us.”
“And it is.” He glanced at the address again. “The Bristol subdivision should be just ahead.”
She tensed. “Last night I kept thinking of that skeleton and the skull. I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I kept thinking how I’d feel if that was all I had left of Bonnie.”
“And it tore you to pieces.”
“Yes, that goes without saying. But I wanted to help the Bristols. And there was nothing that I could do.” Her smile was bittersweet. “I almost feel as if we’re all a family who have been visited by some catastrophic disease and have to nurse each other through it.”
Joe turned into the subdivision. “I think you have enough on your plate without trying to cure all those other victims.”
“There is no cure except catching that monster. I believe we have to— What on earth!”
Joe muttered a curse as he stomped on the brakes. The street before the Bristol house was full of cars and media vans. Three ATLPD squad cars were in the driveway. “Son of a bitch, someone must have leaked the information about Janey Bristol to the media. We weren’t even supposed to have a dental confi
rmation until later today.”
“It looks like those reporters are on the family like locusts,” Eve said. “Can’t you keep them away from them? It nearly killed me to have to deal with them after I first lost Bonnie.”
“I can knock a couple of heads together and end up in court. I may do it. But you can’t interfere with the freedom of the press.” He stiffened as he saw someone get out of one of the squad cars. “There’s Slindak. What the hell is he doing here?” He rolled down the window. “Slindak!”
Slindak turned at his call and strode over to the car. “How did you hear about this mess, Quinn?”
“What are you talking about? Did someone leak the results on the Bristol dental records?”
Slindak shook his head. “We haven’t heard anything yet.” He glanced at Eve. “She shouldn’t be here. Those reporters are going to recognize her, and they’ll surround her like sharks. I’ll get someone to take her home. I need you inside, Quinn.”
He nodded as he jumped out of the car. “Why? What’s going on?”
“Ellen Bristol answered the phone this morning. It was a phone call from a man who claimed he was the one who killed her daughter. He told her that Janey was the victim that they found in the cave.” His lips tightened grimly. “And then he gave her details about exactly what he did to her child.”
“Oh, my God,” Eve whispered.
“She collapsed, and her husband grabbed the phone. But the man had hung up. Ellen Bristol is hysterical, and her husband isn’t much better.” Slindak muttered a curse as he heard an outcry from the reporters, who were running across the lawn toward them. “Get her out of that car and inside the house! They’ve recognized me.”
Joe was already around the car and jerking open Eve’s door. “Come on, move.”
Eve was out of the car and running toward the front door.
But she was too late. They’d recognized Eve as well. She was surrounded by reporters and photographers. Bulbs were flashing in her face. Questions were being hammered at her.
“What are you doing here, Ms. Duncan?”
“Did you receive a similar call?”
“Has your daughter’s body been found?”
“No comment.” Joe muscled his way through the mob and took her wrist and pulled her toward the front door. “She’s just here as a gesture of sympathy toward the Bristols. Now give her space, dammit.”