Quicksand (18 page)

"Ah, Quinn, I was expecting you," Montalvo said. "Perhaps not quite this soon, but I had the foresight to bring an extra coffee from Starbucks for you in case you came before I had time to make a pot." He handed him the large Starbucks cup and turned to Miguel. "Stop unpacking, Miguel. Don't be rude. We have a guest."

He probably expected Joe to toss the coffee in his face. Instead, Joe took off the lid and lifted the cup to his lips. "None for Eve?"

"It would be smart of her to let us go at it face-to-face." He leaned against the car and took a drink of his coffee. "And Eve is very, very smart. She's probably gnawing her fingernails because she wants to run down and handle this meeting herself, but she let you go alone." And Montalvo knew her well enough to be able to predict that response. Joe smothered the flare of anger the thought brought him. Keep cool. "That's right." He lifted his cup to his lips.

"But as you said, she's very smart. She knows I'm not going to break your neck . . . yet."

"May I go back to unpacking?" Miguel asked. "Violent discussions upset me."

"No, stay. I'm going to need you." Montalvo smiled. "But, I assure you, not to protect me. Drink your coffee and be quiet. Go on, Quinn."

"I'm just here to say that we're going to work together on this. This isn't going to be another Clayborne Forest. No working alone, no competition. That suited me too. But this is different. Eve is going to be right in the middle of it. She's not going to be at risk because you want to make points with her."

Montalvo's smile faded. "I didn't expect this. I expected anger, perhaps an attempt to shut me out. Not this."

"I'm angry. I
will
shut you out. But that's not what's important right now." He took another drink of coffee, threw the rest of it on the ground, and crushed the coffee cup in his hand.

"And if your ego demands you try to operate on your own, I'll crush you like I did that cup." Miguel gave a low whistle. "I really think the tent needs to be put up." Montalvo didn't look away from Joe. "Relax, Miguel, nothing is going to happen. When I was a boy like you, I might have acted precipitously and gone for the jugular, but I have a tendency to think before I leap these days." He finished his coffee. "And I do have a certain amount of ego, but I control it, Quinn. It doesn't control me. I happen to agree with you in this case, so I'll ignore your warning and chalk it up to concern for Eve."

"How kind," Joe said sarcastically.

"It is, isn't it?" Montalvo turned to Miguel. "Lay out those maps on the ground beside the fire."

"Right away." Miguel quickly reached into a box in the car and drew out several maps.

"Anything for a diversion." He spread two of the maps on the ground. "I brought boxes of books and magazines about the possible sites where we might find Kistle. And I bought three sets of maps. I can give you one set, Quinn."

"And why am I supposed to want these maps?" Joe asked.

"Because according to Murdock, the informant who told us about Kistle and Bonnie, these were the areas where Kistle liked to go hunting. He talked about them all the time." Montalvo pointed to the first map. "Chattahoochee Oconee National Forest." He pointed to the second.

"Okefenokee Swamp. The first place is fairly close, about two hours away. The second is in south Georgia. My bet is that he's going to lead Eve to one of those places."

"Maybe both of them," Joe said. "I've been to Chattahoochee National Forest. It could be a nightmare. Rough terrain, bluffs, streams."

"How well do you know it?" Montalvo asked.

"Pretty well. Several years ago I followed a lead that Bonnie was buried there. We didn't come up with anything." His lips twisted. "But that doesn't mean she's not there. We couldn't search every inch of that acreage and we had no coordinates."

"What about the swamp?"

Joe shook his head. "Never been there."

"Swamps are a good place to dispose of bodies."

"You speak from personal experience?"

"Very personal." Montalvo looked down at the map. "And, no, I haven't tossed any enemies into the swamp. We had to retrieve my wife from a swamp. She was murdered and thrown away like so much refuse."

"I don't think Kistle would take a chance on a body being retrieved. He's too careful. Of course, he could lie just to bring Eve to him."

"He could pick another place entirely," Miguel said. "But these were the only grounds where he mentioned hunting. It makes sense, if he was going to bury a body, that he'd have it planned out ahead of time, as he did with Bobby Joe."

Joe nodded. "He was younger then, but the basic MO was probably the same." Montalvo nodded. "That's what I thought. That means we have to learn these places as well as Kistle."

"No way," Joe said. "We've got a chance with the national forest since I've been there, but none of us knows anything about the swamp."

"I'm going down there tonight," Miguel said. "I've paid lots of Montalvo's money to a park ranger who will take me through it and reveal all its secrets."

"Optimistic."

"I'm good in the jungle, even better in a swamp. You would have seen for yourself if the colonel had let me go into Clayborne Forest." He held up his hands. "But I've told him the park ranger will do all the work and keep my bandages pristine clean."

"He'd better," Montalvo said grimly. He looked at Joe. "I was going to go to the national forest, but it would be a waste of time if you know it well."

Joe's lips lifted in a sardonic smile. "You'd follow my lead?"

"You wouldn't lead Eve astray," Montalvo said softly. "And I'll have to be close to her if I'm to protect her." He got to his feet. "Give him his maps, Miguel. I'll start to put up the tent." Joe took the maps Miguel handed him and stood up. "I'll let you know when Eve hears from Kistle."

He wheeled and started up the path toward the cottage.

MIGUEL STOOD WATCHING QUINN
for a moment. "I didn't think you would let him talk to you like that. It's not like you, Colonel."

Montalvo shrugged. "I'm sorry to disappoint you. Do you think I'm afraid of him?" Miguel shook his head. "No, but I don't understand."

Montalvo drove the tent pegs into the ground before he spoke again. "I would have handled the situation in exactly the same way that he did. It's hard to condemn a man who does that." Montalvo remembered saying something to Eve about them being mirror images of each other. Strange. Now he was seeing his reflection in Joe Quinn.

He dismissed the thought. "As soon as we get the tent up, I want you to get something to eat and sleep a few hours. I want you to be at Okefenokee by daybreak."
KISTLE'S PACKAGE WAS DELIVERED
by UPS late the next afternoon. It was the size of a shirt box and wrapped in brown paper.

Joe brought it up to the porch. "It's very light. Do you want me to open it?"

"No, I'll do it." Eve stared at the box for a moment before taking it. It wasn't going to bite her. Or maybe it would. She wouldn't put it past Kistle to put a tarantula in the box. Nevertheless, she had to open it.

She tore off the brown paper and opened the white box.

A child's blue hair ribbon.

She felt sick.

"Is it Bonnie's?" Joe asked.

That had been her first thought. But Eve had seldom put ribbons in Bonnie's hair because she had too many curls. When she did, the ribbons were always yellow. Bonnie loved yellow. She said it reminded her of the sun. "No, it's not Bonnie's." She touched it gingerly. On closer inspection she could see traces of brown stain on the satin. Dirt?

Or blood?

"There's an envelope." Joe took it out of the box and opened it. "Two pictures." He handed her one taken somewhere outdoors. There was a pine tree and close to it was a huge rock. Then he handed her the second one.

"Oh, God."

It was a picture of a little girl with shiny brown hair tied back with a blue ribbon. Eve's gaze flew up to Joe's face. "He's still doing it. It's Clayborne Forest all over again. He's still doing it."

"Easy. We don't know that yet. He didn't send us a body part. He sent us a ribbon."

"With blood on it. That stain has got to be blood."

Joe was checking the envelope. "There's a piece of paper here." Joe pulled it out and glanced at it before handing it to Eve. "He evidently wants to drag this out."
Watch the news tonight, Eve. Her name is Laura Ann.

"The evening news," she repeated. "What time is it?"

"Three-thirty. Channel two has news starting at five."

She looked at the other picture, of the pine and rock. "And what the hell is this?"

"A clue?"

"Where he buried Bonnie?" She shuddered. "Or where he buried that little girl, Laura Ann?"

"We'll have to wait and see." Joe headed for the kitchen. "In the meantime I'll make a pot of coffee. You're pale as a tombstone. You can use it. Hell, I can use it." Pale as a tombstone.

Only Bonnie had never had a tombstone. She was lost, and so might be this other little girl. Watch the news. Five o'clock. It was going to seem like forever.

ELEVEN

NINE-YEAR-OLD LAURA ANN
Simmons was the first story on the news. She had not shown up at home the day before and her mother, Nina Simmons, had at first thought her ex-husband might have picked her up at school. He had denied it when she managed to contact him. Laura Ann was still missing and the police were now considering foul play.

"Foul," Eve repeated. "Oh, yes, no one could be fouler than Kistle." She felt sick as she looked at the photo of the little girl on the television. She was small for her age and had long, dark brown hair held back by a ribbon. Her blue eyes were wide and bright and her eager smile lit the screen with warmth. "Can you find out anything more from the department, Joe?"

"I can try." Joe pulled out his cell phone. "But it sounds like the investigation is just beginning. We probably don't know much."

"Wait." She looked at the blue ribbon in the box sitting on the couch. "Don't tell them about this yet. There may be a chance that—"

"I wasn't going to tell them anything. One way or another Kistle is going to use that little girl. Until we know how, I don't want to rock the boat." The precinct answered and he started talking and went out on the porch.

She looked at the snapshot of Laura Simmons. The little girl wasn't smiling, but she didn't look frightened either. Maybe the picture was taken before she realized she had something to fear from the man taking her picture.

Her cell phone rang. She looked down and saw the ID. John Spacek. She wasn't surprised that it was Kistle when she picked up. She had been expecting him. "Who is John Spacek? How did you get his phone?"

"The usual manner. He and his wife won't need it any longer. Did you see the news?"

"Have you hurt her?"

"Laura Ann? Not yet. I've been too busy making plans to welcome you."

"Let her go. This is between you and me. There's no reason to involve a child."

"There's every reason. It will add spice to the pot. For you, the prize of a dead girl's bones would be enough. But what about Quinn and Montalvo? I'm sure keeping Laura Ann alive would be more of an incentive."

"We don't even know if she's alive now."

Joe had come back into the house and stopped short at the door as he saw her expression.

"She's alive," Kistle said.

"Let me talk to her."

"Not yet. I'll do that when I think you need encouraging. Besides, she's sleeping now. I had to keep her quiet. But I'm moving her out in a few hours and it won't matter if she screams." Eve's hand tightened on the phone. "Send her home."

"No. Laura Ann will be near Bonnie's resting place. If you find one, you find the other. If I win and you die, then Laura Ann dies. And though you'll no longer care if her body goes back to her parents for proper burial, I'll guarantee that will not be the case. They'll never find her. Just as they've never found Bonnie."

"Why involve her at all? She'll just get in your way. Let her go."

"Oh, I'll never let her go. That's part of the game. The only way that she's going to stay alive is if you take her away from me. Now for the rules. You've got two days to find Bonnie and Laura Ann. I sent you a clue. Use it." He hung up.

"Is she alive?" Joe asked as he watched her press the disconnect.

"I don't know. He says she is. He wouldn't let me talk to her. He said she was unconscious."

"He's using her as bait?"

Eve nodded. "He thought it might be a stronger motivation for you and Montalvo. He wasn't sure I'd care. For God's sake, what does he think I am? Of course I care." She drew a deep, shaky breath. "We have two days. Laura Ann is near where Bonnie is buried. We have to find Bonnie to find Laura Ann." She looked down at the picture of the pine tree and massive boulder. "And I guess this is our so-called clue." She got to her feet. "Dammit, it could be anywhere."

"But the chances are it will be either Chattahoochee National Forest or Okefenokee Swamp. He'll have figured out who must have tipped us off about him and will know we know about his old haunts."

"And what are we supposed to do? Flip a coin?"

"It may end up by us doing that." Joe took the photo and headed for the door. "But I'm banking on Kistle leaving us a little stronger clue. I'm going down to Montalvo's camp and look through those books Miguel unearthed. You start packing and call Patty and ask her to take Toby again. If we've only got two days, we'd better make tonight count."

"Wait."

He looked back over his shoulder.

"I want to go see Laura Ann's mother. Can you arrange it so that no one knows about it?"

"It will be difficult as hell. Her telephone lines will be monitored in case there's a ransom demand."

"Can you do it?"

"It would be smarter not to try, Eve."

"I don't care. I know what that woman is going through. Any information is better than none at all. She needs to know someone is doing something to help Laura Ann, that there's a chance of getting her back."

"Not the greatest chance." He lifted his hand as she opened her mouth to speak. "Okay, I'll set it up. I'll go over to her house and ask the captain if I can question her alone. Nina Simmons lives in a rental house in Marietta, right outside the Atlanta city limits. You follow me and I'll try to bring her outside and away from everyone else."