The Killing Game ed-2

by Iris Johansen

  "Maybe you’re right. Maybe Debby Jordan will be the key." He paused. "So let’s get breakfast and hit the road."

  "You’re going with us?"

  "You let the kid go. Why not me?”

  “Jane has to stay with me."

  He started to open the kitchen door, but she stopped him. "I don’t want you to go with us, Joe."

  "I’m going. You’re not going to get rid of me again."

  "Look, I’ve been careful. I’ve stayed out of sight. I’ve let Sarah handle the people who’ve come up and questioned us while we were searching, but there’s always the possibility the police might find me. I don’t want you to be with me if that happens."

  He grinned. "Then I’d make a quick arrest myself. Did I forget to tell you that I persuaded my department chief that it was his idea to send me here as the Atlanta liaison on the interstate task force? So my job you’re so worried about is safe."

  "The hell it is. You’re walking a tight line, and I don’t want you to go with—”

  “You’re repeating yourself."

  "And you’re not listening. I don’t need your help."

  He looked at her pointedly. "You let Logan help you."

  “I didn’t want his help.”

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  “But you still let him help you.”

  “That was different."

  "Yes, it was different. I wanted to strangle you when you left me and went to him for help." He smiled. "But now I believe it’s an encouraging sign. Think about it." She didn’t want to think about it. Suddenly she was feeling the same tightness in her chest, the same awareness she’d experienced the night before. Dammit, she didn’t want to feel this way around Joe. He was her best friend, almost her brother. "It’s all wrong. You’re spoiling everything."

  He went past her into the kitchen. "Adjust."

  "Easy, boy. You’re going too fast." Sarah tightened her grip on the leash. Monty had been tense and moving at top speed since he’d reached this field at the rear of Dawn’s Light Elementary School.

  Instinct or impatience? He’d gone through days of search with nothing to show. God knows Sarah was tired and impatient.

  It had to be nearly six. It was getting dark and the scraggly trees were casting longer shadows on the sparsely covered ground.

  "How much longer?" Joe called from the car, which was parked at the edge of the field.

  "Another fifteen minutes." She paused a moment, giving both herself and Monty a chance to catch their breath, her gaze fixed on Joe and Eve. It was odd watching them together. It was clear they were old friends; they had the comfortable habit of almost finishing each other’s sentences. Yet there was something disquieting about the tension between them. People were too complicated. Dogs were much easier… most of the time.

  "Are we almost done?" Jane asked.

  "Soon." She started moving again. "Why don’t you go to the car and get a sandwich? You must be hungry."

  Jane shook her head. "I’ll wait until you go back." She smiled eagerly. "Monty’s going faster, isn’t he? Why do you suppose he’s doing that?"

  "How should I know? I’m just along for the ride." Jane frowned. "What’s wrong with you?"

  "Nothing." Her stride lengthened. "Go back to the car. You can’t keep up.”

  “I always keep up."

  "I told you to go back," she said sharply. "We don’t need you." Jane stopped, stared at her for a moment, and then turned on her heel and walked away.

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  She’d hurt the kid’s feelings. But it couldn’t be helped. She couldn’t afford to concentrate on anything but Monty just then.

  Faster.

  To the left. Faster.

  Monty was straining at the leash. Close.

  Eagerness.

  Hope.

  Found!

  Monty started to dig.

  "No, Monty."

  Found.

  She didn’t try to stop him again. He’d find out soon enough. He froze into stillness.

  Gone?

  "Yes."

  He backed away. Gone.

  He was whimpering. Christ, he was hurting.

  She fell to her knees and put her arms around his neck. Child?

  "I don’t think so." But gone.

  She felt tears sting her eyes as she rocked him gently. "Shh.”

  “What’s wrong? Is he hurt?" Eve was standing beside her.

  "Yes." And it was her fault. She had tried not to think about this moment, but she had known it would come. "He’s hurt."

  "Should we take him to a vet?"

  Sarah shook her head. "It wouldn’t do any good." Please stop whimpering. You’re breaking my heart.

  Gone.

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  "What happened?" Joe knelt beside the dog. "Does he need first aid? I’ve had training in—"

  "He found her."

  Joe stiffened. "Here? Debby Jordan?"

  "I guess it’s her," she said dully. "It’s a human being and it’s dead." She rose to her feet. "I’m taking Monty back to the car. He’s done his job." She gently tugged on the leash. "Come on, baby."

  Monty wouldn’t move.

  "You can’t help, Monty. It’s time to go." He lay there, whimpering.

  "Can I help?" Joe asked quietly.

  "He won’t leave her. He knows she’s dead, but he won’t accept it." She tried to steady her voice. "The damn idiot never accepts it."

  "Then we’d better get him away from here." Joe picked up the retriever. "Easy, boy. I won’t hurt you. Sarah wants you to go back to the car."

  "Should I come with you?" Eve asked.

  "Stay here." Sarah followed Joe. "There’s no way I’m bringing Monty back if we lose the exact location."

  Jane ran toward them when she saw Joe with Monty in his arms. "What’s wrong? What happened to Monty?"

  "He’s okay." Joe set Monty carefully on the backseat. "He didn’t want to come back to the car."

  "Why not?"

  Joe turned to Sarah. "I’ve got to get back to Eve and mark the site. Will you be okay?"

  Sarah nodded, then she climbed into the backseat and lifted Monty’s head onto her lap.

  Jane stood watching her. "He looks sick.”

  “He’s not sick, he’s just sad."

  “Why?" She stiffened and her gaze flew to where Eve was standing. "He found her?"

  "He found someone."

  Jane shivered. "You know, I didn’t really think it would happen. I knew it was right to search for The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02

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  her, but I—"

  "I know." Sarah tried to smile. "I had mixed feelings about finding her too.”

  “Because you were afraid it would upset Monty?"

  "I knew it would hurt him."

  "He’s been like this before?"

  "Every time. When I brought him back from Tegucigalpa, he wouldn’t leave the cabin for a month. He lost seven pounds. I had to coax him to eat."

  "Will it be like that this time?"

  "I hope not." She stroked Monty’s head. "You shouldn’t have taken him there."

  "He saved many, many lives. Was I to stop him from doing that?"

  Jane frowned. "I guess not. But I don’t like it."

  "Neither do I."

  "Are all dogs like him?"

  "Golden retrievers are wonderful family and handicap dogs because of their gentleness. They’re full of love, and Monty seems to have gotten a double dose."

  Jane’s hands knotted into fists at her sides. "I hate that he’s hurting like this. Tell me what to do to help him."

  Sarah knew from past experience that there was no quick fix. But the child was hurting almost as much as the dog, so she had to do something. "Climb in and sit with us. Pet him. Let him know you’re here."

  "He’d like that?
"

  "He likes children, and he particularly likes you, Jane. It could help." Jane scrambled into the backseat and started stroking Monty. "He’s still whimpering. You’re sure this is helping?"

  Sarah wasn’t sure of anything but that love and a child’s life force were miracles in themselves.

  She could use a little of that life force herself. "It couldn’t hurt. Just stick with it."

  There was silence in the car for several minutes. "Why do you do this?" Jane whispered. "You love Monty. You have to hate it."

  "Not many other people are able to do what we do." She cleared her throat. "But I have to be The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02

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  careful how I use Monty. I’m responsible. I have to be the one who protects us."

  "Why?"

  "Because Monty is what he is and he loves me." Her hand moved caressingly on the dog’s head.

  Come on, boy. Please don’t hurt anymore. It’s killing me. We have to get you over this. She whispered, "And he’ll never, never tell me no."

  Debby Jordan was lying beneath this ground. Eve stared down at the area Sarah had indicated.

  It didn’t look like a grave.

  "Here?" Joe was standing beside her, carrying a red emergency flag he must have taken from the trunk of the car.

  She gestured to the spot. "I can’t believe Monty found her. I’d almost given up hope."

  "Not you." He anchored the flag and stood up. "That should do it. Have you thought about what we should do now?"

  “We can’t excavate ourselves. We’d disturb any evidence. The local police?”

  “We could go that route." He paused. "Or we could call Spiro.”

  “I’m wanted for kidnapping. I won’t let him take Jane away from me.”

  “Then we’ll have to work a deal, won’t we?" His lips tightened. "One that won’t make you a bait."

  "We don’t even know for sure it’s Debby Jordan who’s buried here.”

  “But you have a hunch it is, don’t you?"

  "Yes, I think it’s her. He wanted me to find her, and we found her. But he wanted to stretch it out. This was probably too soon for him. We’ll have to see what he does next."

  THIRTEEN

  "How’s Monty?" Joe asked as Eve came down the stairs later that evening. "Sarah’s worried. He wouldn’t eat his supper. Jane’s hanging over him." She shook her head. "I thought he was going to be good for her, but I didn’t foresee this.”

  “He probably is good for her. Caring never hurt anyone. There’s not enough of it in this world."

  Joe had cared. She remembered how tenderly he’d lifted the retriever and carried him back to the car. Strange how moving the gentleness of a tough man could be. "Did you reach Spiro?"

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  "Yes, he’s on his way. He said he would have come anyway. Charlie’s come across something pretty interesting about the other two cases."

  "What?"

  "He wouldn’t talk about it.”

  “So much for sharing information."

  "We’ll get it out of him. Right now he thinks he’s doing us a favor. We just have to convince him that we stand on equal ground."

  The phone rang.

  She tensed.

  Joe looked at her. "Shall I get it?"

  It wouldn’t be Dom. Dom always called on her digital phone. "No, I’ll answer it." She picked up the receiver.

  "Good to hear your voice, Eve," Mark Grunard said. "Though I wish I’d heard it earlier. You promised you’d contact me."

  "There wasn’t any reason. I didn’t know anything. How did you find out where I was?"

  "Joe and I made a deal, and he keeps his word. Is he there?”

  “Yes." She handed the phone to Joe. "Mark Grunard."

  She sat and watched his face as he talked to Mark. No expression. The wariness and stillness were firmly back in place.

  "He’s coming." Joe hung up. "He wants to be on the spot in case anything interesting happens."

  "He said you made a deal."

  "It was the only way I could get him to tell me where you’d gone. I called him after I found out about this house."

  "Without asking me?"

  "Did you ask me before you flew the coop?" He added softly, "I’d have made a deal with the devil himself to find you, Eve. Shall I tell you what I’d do to keep you?" The words came out of left field, surprising her, shaking her. "I don’t want to—”

  “I didn’t think you’d want to know." He turned and moved toward the front door. "I’ll drop it The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02

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  for now."

  "Where are you going?"

  "Back to the burial site. I don’t like the idea of leaving it unattended." Her eyes widened. "You think he’ll come back to it?"

  “If he’s watching you, then he knows we found the grave.”

  “He won’t try to move the body. He told me once that it would be stupid.”

  “Then I’ll be guarding it for nothing. But it won’t hurt."

  "How long will you be there?"

  "Until Spiro meets me there tomorrow morning. Don’t expect me back until—”

  “I’ll go with you."

  "Go to bed, you’re not invited." He opened the door. "My job, Eve. You and Sarah have done yours."

  "It’s idiotic of you to go there tonight if you think he—" She was talking to air. He was gone.

  How dare he upset her and then terrify her by going back to Debby Jordan’s grave? And how could he think that she’d be able to sleep? She’d be up all night, imagining him by himself in that field.

  She would sleep. She wouldn’t think of him. Let him risk Dom coming back and finding him. It would serve him right. He’d probably enjoy facing that son of a bitch. He’d karate-chop him as he had Lopez and walk away.

  Her heart was pounding hard. Stop it. Don’t think of him. Go to bed and go to sleep.

  Joe was sitting several yards away from the grave site, and she could feel his gaze on her as she approached, but she couldn’t see his expression in the darkness. There probably wasn’t any expression. She usually had to watch for the faintest flicker of an eyelash or the movement of his mouth to know what he was feeling. Though he’d made his feelings more than clear lately.

  "I was expecting you." Joe patted the ground beside him. "Sit down.”

  “Well, I didn’t expect to be here." She sat down and linked her arms around her knees. "I told you he wasn’t coming."

  "But you couldn’t let me run the risk alone.”

  “You’re my friend… sometimes."

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  "All the time. You shouldn’t have come here by yourself.”

  “I’m never by myself. One of the security men followed me.”

  “Which is the only reason I feel the slightest gratitude to Logan.”

  “He’s a good man."

  "No comment."

  She was silent as she gazed across the field at the red flag marking the grave. Are you there, Debby Jordan? I hope you are. God, I hope we can bring you home.

  "She had two children?"

  "Two little boys. According to the newspapers, she had everything. A good marriage, a family, friends. She was a good person trying to live a good life. Then one day she left home and never came back. No warning. No reason. Dom saw her and wanted her dead." She shook her head.

  "That’s what’s most frightening. You can live your life in the best way, the most moral way possible, and it doesn’t make any difference. A madman chooses you at random and takes away everything. It’s not fair."

  "That’s why we all have to live every moment as if it were our last and not close ourselves off."

  He was no longer talking about Debby Jordan. "I don’t close myself off. I just choose what I want in my life."

  "Then you should widen your selection. It’s pretty da
mn miserly."

  "I’m content with the way things are."

  “Bullshit."

  "Dammit, why do you want to change everything?”

  “Because I’m too selfish. I want more."

  "I can’t— I don’t want—"

  "Sex?"

  She stiffened. It was the one subject she hadn’t wanted to bring out in the open. God knows, she’d tried to push it away a hundred times while lying in bed last night.

  "I think you do want it." He wasn’t looking at her. "You’ve had a few sexual relationships since Bonnie died. Nothing serious. You wouldn’t let them be serious. That would have interfered with your work."

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  Joe had never spoken to her before about those fleeting relationships. She hadn’t known he’d even been aware of them. "It still would interfere."

  "Then you’ll have to learn to deal with it." His tone was almost offhand. "Because I’m here and I’m serious as hell. I’ve watched and I’ve waited. I learned to control jealousy and anger and desperation. I never tried to stop you from going to other men because I knew that every step would help you heal. But you needed something else from me. Well, you got it."

  "Joe…"

  "Everything I’ve done since I met you has been centered on you. You became my center. I don’t know why. I never wanted it." He finally turned to look at her. "But if you can see beyond Bonnie and all those other lost kids, you’ll find I’m pretty damn close to your center too."

  "You’re my friend, Joe."

  "Forever. But I can be more. I can please your body." He paused. "And I can give you a child."

  ‘No."

  "That scared you. You’re afraid to even think of it, but it would be the one act that might heal you. For God’s sake, it wouldn’t be a betrayal of Bonnie."

  "No."

  He shrugged. "I’m not pushing it. We have a long way to go before we get that far."

  She stared at him in pain and bewilderment. "Joe, it wouldn’t work.”

  “It will work. I’ll make it work." He smiled. "My first goal is to get you to think of me as a sex object instead of as a brother. Shall I tell you how good I am in bed?"

  He was joking. Or was he? She was so confused, she wasn’t sure of anything about him anymore.

  "No, I’d rather show you." His smile faded. "And I know this isn’t the time or place. Though it seems as though we’ve spent most of our years together balanced on the edge of a grave." He reached over and touched her cheek. "You should think about the fact that a good portion of the time I’m looking at you I’m not seeing my friend. I’m seeing you in bed or on top of me or putting your hands on— He threw back his head and laughed. "Your eyes are as wide as saucers.”