Quicksand (14 page)

The shock and pain were so intense she couldn't think for a minute. "You son of a bitch. That may not have been in the police reports, but there were so many sob stories written about Bonnie that it could have been in one of them."

"But you're not sure, are you? I'm going to hang up now. I hear someone in the brush behind me. Quinn? No, of course not, I wouldn't hear him. He's too good. Just one of the local searchers. Shall I circle around and take him out?"

"No!"

"I think I will. Good-bye, Eve." He hung up.

Would he do it? He might have been bluffing because he was annoyed with her. That could also be the reason he had begun to talk about Bonnie. It was the only surefire way that he could upset her.

If he wasn't bluffing, she could do nothing about it. As he had said, she was sitting on the sidelines.

And Joe was in the thick of the game. If what Kistle had said was true, he'd been close to killing Joe. It was probably a boast. Joe was too good to become prey to that monster. But she had to call Joe and tell him about Kistle's call. She couldn't think of anything that would help them, but they could go over the nuances and that might make them more familiar with Kistle himself. She began to dial Joe's cell.

PHILLIP MET MEGAN AS SHE
came up the escalator at the airport.

"You didn't have to meet me." She gave him a quick hug. "Stop frowning. I'm fine, Phillip."

"You look like hell." He pushed her back and his gaze raked her face. "What did they do to you?"

"I did it to myself. I had a choice and I made it." She started for the exit. "It wasn't easy." He took her duffel and medical bag and fell into step with her. "Was the little boy murdered?" She nodded. "And tortured."

"God in heaven, why didn't you back away?"

"It was too late. Bobby Joe had me. I couldn't leave him until it was over." She looked away from him. "Do you mind if we don't talk about it, Phillip?"

"No." He smiled gently. "How about the two of us going home and letting me fix you a hot chocolate? Then we'll watch that new Robin Williams DVD."

"Sounds good." Hot chocolate was Phillip's remedy for almost everything. Hot chocolate, understanding, and love. Lord, she was glad she had him. "I told you on the phone that Eve Duncan was there. She was kind to me, Phillip. I liked her." She made a face. "Though she didn't like me much in the beginning. She thought I was a phony and she didn't try to hide it. She's one tough cookie."

"So I've heard. Did she make it difficult for you?"

"At first. It didn't matter. I was too upset to care."

"Dammit, you were doing them a favor."

"Stop being so protective. She was almost as tense as I was. She thinks Kistle may be the one who killed her daughter. I can see how she'd be impatient with some so-called psychic coming on the scene. Later it was okay. Though she did ask me a lot of questions."

"Did you answer them?"

"Most of them. But I ducked the one about why I hadn't wanted to touch anyone. I was surprised she remembered that, after everything else that went on."

"Damn, I forgot that being that upset might be a trigger."

"I didn't. I can't forget it. It's with me all the time now." She shook her head. "But I think it was all right. I tried to be careful."

"Well, it's all over now." Phillip opened the car door for her. "You won't have to see any of them again."

"Yes, it's over." She got into the car. She hoped she sounded convincing. She kept remembering Eve's face as she'd sat there asking her questions. She'd been deeply intent and yet curiously receptive to everything Megan had told her. Megan had said good-bye to her when she'd walked out of that hotel room, but she had a feeling it was not a final farewell. She hadn't told Phillip the truth.

It wasn't over.

"HE KNEW ABOUT BONNIE'S
song, Joe," Eve said when she'd finished telling him about Kistle's call. "I told him he could have read about it somewhere, but it's such a little thing."

"I'll call the office and have them go back and check all the news stories written about Bonnie. It will take a while to go through them. If he was as obsessed as Montalvo said, then it could be in an out-of-town newspaper."

"And do you think Kistle was bluffing? Do you think he was going to kill that man he heard in the bushes behind him?"

"Who the hell knows?" Joe said. "I'd say he was bluffing, but there's no telling. And there are so many men here that there would be no way to know which one he's targeting. I can't go and find him."

"Then we just have to wait and see." Her hands tightened on the telephone. "I hate it, Joe. I'm tired of sitting here and waiting. I want to
do
something." She paused. "He wants me there. That's why he called me. He's getting bored with long-distance harassment." Joe cursed. "I knew that was coming. No. Hell, no. If he wants you there, all the reason for you stay where you are."

"You wanted me to stay in Atlanta, now you want me to stay here at the hotel. You're smothering me in the name of safety. Kistle is my business, Joe. If he wants me in that forest, then my being there will make it easier to trap him."

"And easier for him to kill you," he said harshly. "I'm not letting him put a stake through your heart. You'll get in the way. You got what you wanted. By morning Cassidy will have this place crawling with agents. Now let them do their work. Let me do my work." She didn't speak for a moment. "I'll wait a little while, if he hasn't killed another man. But not long, Joe. He wants me, and, by God, I want him." She hung up.

CASSIDY ARRIVED AT THE
command site at five-thirty the next morning. He was obviously not pleased. He came immediately over to where Joe was standing. "Let's get this over with. I've sent a forensic team to the grave site and I have agents coming in from Atlanta and Chicago. They should be here by noon. What areas have you already searched?" Joe shook his head. "He's moving around. You're not going to be able to zero in on him that way."

"Have you brought in dogs?"

"The second day. No luck. He killed squirrels and spread false blood trails. They were completely distracted."

"I'm bringing in the trackers from North Carolina we used for the Rudolph operation."

"Good." Joe rubbed the back of his neck. God, he was tired. "But they didn't find Rudolph, did they?"

Cassidy immediately bristled. "That was an impossible mission. Knock it off, Quinn."

"No offense. I'm just telling you that you may run into the same problems." He looked Cassidy in the eye. "And I think you know that, or you wouldn't have had the good sense to go back to St. Louis. Now you're stuck with us, but you'd better realize that it's not going to be a slam dunk." He turned and headed for his car. "Now I'm going to go get a shower and some breakfast and at least four hours' sleep. Dodsworth is a good man and you'll find that Deputy Pete Shaw is smart and eager to learn. Don't step on his toes. Call me if you need me." As he got into the car, he saw Montalvo coming out of the forest. He looked wet and dirty and as tired as Joe was feeling. He had passed him coming and going in the last few days. Needless to say, they hadn't exchanged more than a curt nod of recognition. But today Joe was feeling a sort of odd kinship with him after talking to Cassidy. Montalvo knew the difficulties and frustration of chasing that bastard, and whatever other emotions he felt toward Montalvo, the man knew what he was doing in that forest. He had as good a chance as Joe at snagging Kistle.

And if he did, Joe would take Kistle away from him. There was no way he was going to let the authorities take over Kistle until he got some answers from him.

He looked back at the forest that was still shadowed with night. Are you there, Kistle? Are you sitting there watching us run around trying to find you? Enjoy it. It's not going to go on for much longer.

NEW BLOOD, KISTLE THOUGHT,
as he watched the man in camouflage garb kneel to check which way the blades of grass were bending. An experienced tracker, and he was traveling with another tracker who was about a hundred yards north. They would find nothing, but their presence made things more difficult. The woods had been teeming with searchers all day and night. At first he'd regarded it as an escalation of the challenge, but it was beginning to annoy him. These men were like Quinn, they knew what they were doing. They were hobbling him and taking the joy out of the night.

And they were stopping him from going after Quinn. If he couldn't have Eve Duncan, then Quinn was the obvious next choice. Quinn had been relentless and he would never stop. It would be smart to take him out and accomplish the dual purpose of hurting Eve and ridding himself of a threat.

But how could he do that when he was being kept busy just surviving?

No, it was time he thought about the alternate plan. Things were not going his way at the moment. He had been furious that Eve had managed to find Bobby Joe. It had hurt his pride and made him want to strike out hard and deep. It was bad enough that he was unable to take credit for the splendor of his kills. Now his skill at concealment was in question. But he must handle any response very efficiently and with style. He mustn't let anyone think he was desperate or afraid.

He looked up at the night sky. It was a full moon and he could feel the excitement start to build inside him. It was almost like the time when he was a boy and he had pretended that the full moon transformed him into a werewolf. He could feel the strength flow into his muscles and his heart was beginning to beat harder.

He was ready.

EVE'S PHONE RANG AT THREE - THIRTY
in the morning.

"He's killed another man," Joe said baldly. "Sometime tonight. Cassidy just found him. It was one of his trackers."

Eve stiffened as the shock ran through her. "A note?"

"Yes, I don't know what it said yet. I've just notified the forensic boys and now I'll be on my way to him as soon as I hang up."

"No. Meet me at the command site. I'm going with you."

"Is there any way I can talk you out of it?"

"No." She swung her legs to the floor and stood up. "I'm on my way. I should be there in twenty minutes." She hung up.

Another dead man with another note. Dammit, would it never stop?

Miguel was waiting for her in the hall when she came out of the hotel room five minutes later.

"Your car or mine?"

"Who called you? Joe?"

"No, Montalvo. But Quinn evidently told him to do it. He didn't like you driving to the forest in the middle of the night alone. Neither did Montalvo."

"You mean they actually agreed on something?"

Miguel smiled. "They are more alike than they would like to admit, but they always agree on keeping you safe. Me too. My car or yours?"

"Mine. You shouldn't even be driving with those hands."

"It's not easy. I feel like a polar bear trying to knit."

"And you still want to go hunting in the forest with Montalvo?"

"I would not be knitting if I were chasing down Kistle." He punched the elevator button and then flinched with pain. "Ouch. But I'm becoming hopeful. I've been ordered to watch over you and you're edging closer and closer to Kistle. That means I'm closer."

"I'm glad someone is happy about it."

"Not happy. Just looking on the positive side. Montalvo and Quinn both want to give you Kistle. Wouldn't it be amusing if I did it instead?" He chuckled. "I wonder if I could do it. Montalvo would probably want to break my neck."

"This isn't some kind of contest, Miguel. A man died tonight." His smile faded. "And I'm truly sorry. But it's natural for men to compete against each other. We've been doing it since the cave days. Why else do we have wars? Wars are competition, no matter what the politicians call them. All those searchers in the forest who are going after Kistle are instinctively vying with each other to be the one to get him."

"Miguel, I don't want a discourse on why men believe this kind of horror is a game." He nodded understandingly. "I'll shut up. I didn't mean to upset you." He followed her into the elevator and then shook his head and frowned as he faced the elevator panel. "I'm strong as an ox, smart as a fox, and I'd fight like a tiger to protect you. But would you please press the button for the lobby? Buttons are hard for me right now."

THE COMMAND SITE WAS BRIGHTLY
lit and a medical examiner's SUV was parked beside the road when Miguel and Eve arrived.

Joe strode over to the car and opened the door. "Okay, you're here. Let's get on the move."

"Excuse me, Eve," Miguel said. "I believe Quinn considers me
de trop
now." He jumped out of the car. "I'll go try to find Montalvo."

Eve got out of the car. It was the first time she'd been here and the bustle and number of searchers amazed her. "It's like a military camp."

"They liked their sheriff in this town," Joe said. "And with every death more volunteers poured into the area. More doesn't necessarily mean better. It's hard to keep track of everyone. I think it's out of control, but it's not my show. The town is up in arms and the interim sheriff is trying to satisfy them." He took her arm and led her toward the woods. "And now we've got the FBI to stumble over and Cassidy is going like a steamroller."

"I still think it was right to bring them in."

"Except that he killed one of the trackers Cassidy brought in, to thumb his nose at us." Joe shrugged. "But it doesn't make much difference. A kill is a kill to him. It would have been someone."

"I'm not sure. His pride was hurt because we found Bobby Joe. He had to make the kill different. He had to make certain that we knew he was superior, that we couldn't stop him." He gave her a glance. "You're talking as if you know him."

"I'm on my way. He wants me to—" She stiffened as they came out of the brush into a small clearing. There were several people milling about, but she barely noticed them. Her gaze went immediately to the man dressed in camouflage who was propped against a pine tree. He was staring straight ahead, blue eyes wide open. She could barely see the note staked through his heart, for the blood covering his chest.