Quicksand (5 page)

"Take me there." He glanced at Joe. "Coming?"

Joe was already out of the car and shedding his jacket. "You bet I am." He threw the jacket on the hood of the car. "Let's get out there."

"Pete Shaw, Joe Quinn," Dodsworth said. "He's Atlanta PD, Pete." But the young deputy was already yards away in the brush ahead of them.

The forest itself was pitch-black, but Joe could see beams of flashlights dotting the darkness as he moved after Dodsworth. "How big is this forest?"

"Over a thousand acres."

"And how many men do you have out here?"

"Twenty, maybe twenty-five. We had a lot of volunteers. Everyone liked Jim Jedroth." Eager young men like this Pete Shaw who wanted to catch the monster and had no idea what they were up against, Joe thought. "The victims were shot in the bog?"

"We think so." Pete had stopped to wait for them. "But we found them on the bank. It's ugly, Charlie." He pulled aside a bush to reveal an area lit by lanterns and teeming with men, some in uniform and some in camouflage hunting garb. "I don't understand why— See for yourself."

"God," Dodsworth murmured. "What did he do to them?" The two dead men were propped up against a tree. Their eyes were wide open and staring into nothingness.

"Bill was shot in the head. Lenny has a bullet wound in his throat," Pete said. "But after he killed them he set them up like that and pounded short wooden stakes through their hearts. It looked like he was using them to fasten those messages on their chests." He swallowed hard.

"Son of a bitch."

Joe could see the scraps of notebook paper, but they were stained with blood and he was too far away to read what they said. He had to get closer. He shouldn't compromise the crime scene, but it had already been trampled by the ten or twelve searchers at the scene. He'd just be as careful as he could.

He moved toward the victims. "Do the notes both say the same thing?"

"Yeah." Pete followed them. "Same thing."

Joe squatted down a few feet from the dead men. "Give me your flashlight." He shone the beam on one of the bloodstained notes. Some of the ink had smeared and run, but he could still decipher the letters. It appeared to be three words. The first one started with an F . . .

He stiffened.

For you, Eve.

THREE

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 twentyfour-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 triggerhappy 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.