Quinn (3 page)

*   *   *

AFTER HE’D LEFT THE HOUSE,
Joe sat in the driver’s seat of his car, staring at the sunny front porch of Eve Duncan’s home. There was nothing sunny about anything inside that house, he thought. There was pain and trouble and a woman who was battling just to stay alive after her reason for living had been taken from her. The short time he’d spent with Eve had been full of disturbing images and emotions. Emotions he hadn’t expected and had wanted to reject. His responses had been completely foreign to who he thought himself to be.

What the hell had happened to him?

He had felt like Sir Galahad wanting to fight dragons and lay them at her feet. She had moved him, possessed him, and made him see himself in a different light.

It was insane. She was only a woman and one who would bring him only trouble. Dammit, he couldn’t even think of sex in connection with her. She was wounded and might remain that way for a long time. Sir Galahad? There was nothing pure about Joe. He was earthy and sexual, and he had always leaned toward being more like wicked Mordred, or maybe Lancelot, who enjoyed toying with a married Guinevere.

Okay, it was temporary insanity. If he couldn’t have her, then what he was feeling would surely pass. That was his nature where women were concerned.

But sex hadn’t been the force that drove him toward Eve Duncan. It might have been a light shimmering in the background, but he hadn’t been aware of wanting her sexually. And that was a first for him. Maybe it had been there, and he hadn’t wanted to admit it.

No, it was something else, powerful, protective, completely without precedent in his experience.

And he wouldn’t put a name to it.

If he didn’t recognize it, then it might go away. Much better for him. Much better for her. Because he wasn’t a man who could let go. Even now he was thinking, planning, how he would keep his promise to her. Yeah, try to walk away from her. Find her kid’s killer. Help her to come to terms with reality when she learned her little girl was never coming back.

But don’t put a name to this strange feeling that was beginning to disturb him.

Time to stop thinking about Eve Duncan on this level and begin working constructively on her daughter’s case.

He drove to the nearest drugstore and placed a call to his contact with the ATLPD, Detective Ralph Slindak. He was glad they’d given him Slindak. He was a good man, and he and Joe had a history. They’d been in the SEALs together though Slindak had left the service two years earlier than Joe. “Joe Quinn. I’m in Atlanta.”

“I heard they were sending a hotshot down to shape us up,” Slindak said. “The other detectives in the squad were a little pissed. But I told them they had nothing to worry about. Nothing hot about Joe Quinn I told them. He’s cold as ice unless he gets annoyed. They didn’t like that either.”

“I can always count on your support,” he said dryly. “I’ve just interviewed Eve Duncan. You’ve been handling the case?”

“Or it’s been handling us,” Slindak said sourly. “The media thinks that we’re blowing it. That’s why the captain asked for help. We need to share the blame.”

“Great attitude,” Joe said. “Suppose we forget the media and just try to find the kid’s killer?” He paused. “If there is a killer. You’re sure that she won’t be found alive?”

“I wish I didn’t think that Bonnie Duncan was a victim. Sweet kid. Did you see her photo?”

“Yes.” It was in the file, and he could see why the photo was one of the reasons the media were being so tenacious. The child’s smile seemed to light up the world, and it had completely touched and captivated the public. “I know that cases like this almost always end with a corpse. But do you have anything concrete?”

“No. Except that there have been several similar disappearances over the last few years in this area. We found one child’s body six months ago, a little boy. Butchered.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Yeah. That’s what we thought. And the killings have gotten enough media attention so that Eve Duncan must know about them. She has to be trying to close her eyes and block them out.”

“Wouldn’t you?”

“No question. I have a four-year-old boy myself, and I nearly threw up when we found that murdered kid.”

“You have a boy? Are you married?”

“No, you know me and commitment. But it may end up that way. She’s a nice woman, and we all get lonely.” He added, “Except you, Joe. You never needed anyone, did you?”

Not until now. Not until I walked into that house and saw her.

He didn’t answer the question. “No clues? No info? He didn’t leave any evidence?”

“Oh, we have evidence. He was pretty careless with the disposal of the body, or we wouldn’t have found it. But we can’t connect it to anyone to make it work for us. We think he’s a local since he’s been working exclusively in the Atlanta area. We’ve checked nearby cities, and they have no similar cases during the time span of the Atlanta kidnappings.”

“But a big city is better hunting grounds for predators. If he lived in a small town, he wouldn’t necessarily do his killing there. Not if he was smart.”

“You think he commuted to do his kills?”

“I’m just not ruling it out. I’m not ruling anything out. What about a killer close to the family? Bonnie’s father?”

“She was illegitimate, and Eve Duncan never put his name on the birth certificate. She said the father was a John Gallo, who was killed while he was in the Army. It all checked out. Her mother was a possibility since she was into drugs for years, but she was with Bonnie’s mother when the little girl was taken.”

Think like a professional. Stop trying to protect her. “That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe they were in it together and protecting each other. Neither one of them has to be a monster. It could have happened in a moment of anger, when the child was struck, and it ended in death. Then they had to scurry to make up a story to keep themselves from being charged.”

Slindak was silent. “You think that’s likely?”

Hell, no, everything within him was rejecting the scenario he had put forward. “I’m just saying nothing should be ruled out.”

“I think you’d have ruled it out if you’d seen Eve Duncan after the kid was taken. I was one of the detectives who came to the park where the kid disappeared that day. Eve Duncan was terrified. And angry. And ready to take on the world to get her daughter back.”

“Then maybe we’ll be able to erase her name from the suspect list after we investigate a little further. You’ve made inquiries of neighbors and teachers?”

“The kid was bright and friendly and loved the whole damn world. Everyone said that Eve Duncan was totally dedicated to Bonnie. She was respected, even admired, by everyone we questioned. She worked two jobs, was finishing college with a 4.0 average, and still managed to be a great mother.” He paused. “I like her, Joe. Though she’s given our department nothing but grief since her daughter was kidnapped. Who could blame her? I’d do the same. Don’t give her a hard time.”

“I’m not trying to hurt her. I generally don’t like to become involved with the families of victims.” That was the truth. “And I can see why you’d admire her and want to protect her.” And God knows that was the truth. “If everything checks out, we’ll assume that we have a serial killer. I’ll check into a hotel, then come down to the precinct and go over the case files on the missing children.”

“I’ll be here,” Slindak said. “We’re all working extra hours on this case.” He hung up.

Joe stood there for an instant longer after he’d replaced the receiver, thinking about what Slindak had said. Everything that Slindak had recounted about Eve had been exactly what his own senses had told him. She was a victim who refused to be a victim. How could you help but want to come to her rescue? Slindak had obviously had that same response to her.

No, it hadn’t been the same for him. No one but Joe could have had this crazy, wild reaction when he’d seen Eve Duncan. It was too bizarre. He remembered what Slindak had said about him.

Cold as ice?

Never in this world. Not where Eve Duncan was concerned.

Two Weeks Later

“YOU SAID YOU’D HELP
me,” Eve said, when Joe picked up the phone. “All those fine words, and you’re not doing a damn thing. Why haven’t I heard from you?”

Because he’d been trying to forget that first interview, divorce himself from his reaction to Eve herself, and concentrate on the case. He wasn’t about to tell her that concentration had been centered on going through all the files of known child molesters in the Southeast. “I haven’t had anything to report to you.”

“Well, I have something to report to you. Come and see me.”

He stared at the phone after she’d hung up. He could send Slindak.

But he knew he wasn’t going to do it.

He pushed back from the desk and stood up. He was feeling alive, eagerness mixed with a low, simmering excitement. This was what he had been waiting for no matter what he had been telling himself.

It was starting …

*   *   *

EVE THREW OPEN THE DOOR
before he could ring the bell. “You took your time. Come in.” She turned her back and strode toward the kitchen. “I have something to show you.”

She was the same and yet not the same, he thought as he followed her. She was dressed in khaki slacks and a loose white shirt. The fragile restraint that was so difficult to watch was still there, but she was more forceful. The vitality that had so drawn him was burning high. She was not even quite as pale.

“What are you looking at?” She had turned at the kitchen table.

“You,” he said quietly. “You look better. You’re still too thin, but you appear to have been eating. That’s good.”

“I told you that I wouldn’t neglect myself. And I’m always thin.” She raised her brows. “You probably don’t like skinny women. Most men don’t. They like boobs and ass.”

He was surprised at her bluntness. “I find that thin women usually have a grace and elegance that’s appealing.”

“Very tactful. Very polite. But I understand that your tastes are definitely on the voluptuous side. So don’t be tactful. All I want is the truth from you.”

“About boobs and ass?” His brows rose. “And just how do you understand anything that intimate about me?”

“I called your office at Quantico. I told them I wanted to know everything there was to know about you. They tried to put me off and sidetrack me, but I kept at them. I called five times and got different agents. I finally found one who gave me what I wanted.”

“And why did you do that?”

“Because you made me believe you.” She stared him in the eye. “And I had to be sure there was something to believe in.”

“I see. And what did they tell you?”

“More than I thought they would. The person I talked to didn’t give me much of an argument. He seemed to be taking a kind of malicious enjoyment from telling me about you. I don’t think he was your friend.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. Who was it?”

“An Agent Rick Donald.” She saw his expression. “He doesn’t like you?”

“We’ve been in competition a few times.” And Donald had not come out on top. “No one can please everyone. What did he tell you?”

“Part of it was okay. That you’ve only been with the Bureau for a few years and have already solved three difficult cases. That you were a SEAL and decorated twice. Harvard graduate. Rich boy. Parents dead. You inherited a potload of money and don’t need to work.” She paused. “I didn’t like that. I have no use for a dabbler. But they said when you were on a case that you were totally dedicated. So I guess that’s all right.”

“I’m glad I don’t have to divest myself of all worldly goods,” he said mockingly.

“This isn’t funny,” she said. “I have to have someone who will take Bonnie seriously. You talk the talk, but I have to know.”

“And you evidently had to know about my private life as well. I’m not surprised he told you everything you wanted to know about me. He was probably as amused as hell. I’m just surprised you thought it important.”

“It’s important. You’re good-looking, you’re tough, you have a sort of virile magnetism that would be appealing to women. If you liked them too much, then they’d distract you.” Her lips tightened. “I grew up in the projects, and I know all about vices. Sex can be as addictive and distracting as any drug. I don’t want you screwing around when I need you. When Bonnie needs you.”

He looked at her in disbelief. “My God, I feel as if I’m applying for a Secret Service job.”

“And you’re probably pissed. I can’t help that. I have to do whatever needs doing. If you don’t like it, go back to Quantico and have them send me someone else.”

“I don’t like it,” he said coolly. “But I’m not pissed. I’m considering the source. But stay out of my private business, or I’ll start delving into yours.”

She looked surprised. “Really?” Then she shrugged. “But my private business couldn’t be more boring. Delve away.”

“I’ll do that. So I assume I’ve passed muster if you called me here to chew me out.”

“That’s not why I wanted you here. I just had to be honest with you.” She moistened her lips. “And I had to be sure you’ll be honest with me. The police won’t tell me the truth. They just make soothing noises and look away. And you said you’d help, but then you disappeared and pretended I wasn’t there.”