Iris Johansen - Blood Game

No! He would not accept that as truth while he was functioning perfectly normally in every other way.

He started the car and pulled away from the curb. He would continue on as if nothing had happened until he could figure out what he was going through. In the meantime, he would stop at the precinct and take a look at the goblet Eve had discovered in the refrigerator and compare it with the goblet found in the hand of Nancy Jo Norris.

Then he would go home to Eve and Jane. It seemed strange that this morning he had only wanted to get away from them. After what had happened in the woods, he supposed he should be even more afraid that they would notice something wrong with him. Somehow that wasn’t the case. He was willing to risk them tearing down his protective barriers in exchange for the love and comfort he knew they’d give him.

In the end, pride and ego didn’t mean a damn. Love was the only thing that mattered.

“PATTY AVERY’S ON HER WAYover with Toby,” Jane said as she came out of the bedroom. “She called me on my cell and told me to stay put. She said that she never got to see me anymore, and she was going to make damn sure that she at least had a cup of coffee with me before I took off again.”

“It’s true,” Eve said as she put the coffee in the coffeemaker. “Joe and I see more of Patty than you do. She’s a godsend when we need someone to take care of Toby when we have to leave on a trip. She’s been a good friend to us as well as to you.”

“She was my best friend in high school, and I thought that we’d drift apart, but she wouldn’t let that happen,” Jane said as she got the cups down from the cabinet. “Patty is a virtual steamroller. She told me once that she didn’t have that many friends, and she couldn’t afford to lose one.” She frowned. “Heaven knows she has enough on her plate without taking care of Toby. How is her grandfather doing?”

“Not well. He’s always been a bastard and his physical condition is deteriorating and he takes it out on Patty. She can’t do anything that pleases him. That’s why she keeps herself busy doing anything that will keep her close to home. She cooks, studies the stock market, repairs cars. Toby is a blessing. She said she wishes she could keep him permanently.”

“He’s a sweet boy. I miss him.” Jane smiled. “After I finish this Parisian exhibit, I’m going to take him home. I like to leave him here because he can get more exercise but he’s no spring chicken. We need to be together.”

Eve nodded. “He’s been with us a long time. When Sarah Logan first gave him to you as a pup, I had my doubts about a dog that was half golden retriever and half wolf, but he’s very affectionate.” She tilted her head. “And I think I hear Toby and Patty in the driveway. There’s no missing the sound of that souped-up engine she put in her Camaro. I’m surprised she doesn’t get a ticket.”

“Are you saying you wouldn’t have Joe try to fix it?” Jane asked teasingly.

“You know better than that. He’d never fix a ticket.” She grinned. “Though he might ask the officer just to give her a warning. He says she’s a wonder. He admires her mechanical ability tremendously.” She added soberly, “And her strength and endurance.”

“Yes, he would be able to recognize those qualities. He sees them every day.” Jane headed for the door to the porch. “Did you talk to Joe while I was napping?”

“Yes. He sounded… better. But he said he might be late.”

“That doesn’t matter.” She opened the door. “Patty! It’s about time you-” She staggered backward as Toby launched himself at her. “Okay, boy.” She hugged him fiercely. “I missed you too. I think your face is a little whiter. But it’s very becoming.” She pushed him down as she turned to Patty. “And you look gorgeous.” She gave her a hug. “That long black braid looks very exotic and Old World.”

“It keeps the hair out of my face,” Patty said. “I’d cut it but my grandfather would have a tantrum and I like to keep the peace. That’s the name of the game right now.” She came into the cottage. “Hi, Eve. Wonderful to see you.” She turned back to Jane and flipped her single braid back over her shoulder. “Now give me a cup of coffee and tell me what’s happening to you in the real world. I have a lot of catching up to do.”

JANE MACGUIRE WAS YOUNG, Jelak thought.

Perhaps not quite as young as Nancy Jo Norris, but all the vigor and bloom of youth was there in the strength and lithe beauty of her body as she hugged her friend. Young, but fully a woman in contrast to the petite woman she was greeting, whose round baby face made her look almost childlike.

Jelak lowered his binoculars. He had hoped to get a glimpse of Eve Duncan, but she hadn’t come out to greet the woman who had obviously delivered the big dog to them. He was planning to get here earlier, but he had slept too deeply after he had taken Nancy Jo’s gift. The blood first made him dizzy, then drugged, and, when he woke, strong as thunder, strong as Samson. He could feel that strength soar through him now, along with a faint regret. He’d wanted to see Eve’s face, dammit. He had seen her only in newspaper photos and on TV since he had left Atlanta all those years ago.

Instead he had been given a bonus he hadn’t expected. Jane MacGuire. There was no question that she would be a beacon to draw Eve Duncan. He would probably need it. That police car parked down the road would keep him from getting near her. Well, not keep him from acting but make it more difficult.

She must have found the goblet he had given her.

Did it frighten you, Eve? I hope it did. Fear is good. It conditions you mentally and makes the blood run faster… and sweeter.

It had been a risk to give her the goblet before the act, but she was very special. She had to anticipate, to know it was coming toward her. But now he had to deal with the difficulties that the warning brought. He had no problem with overcoming complications. He always found them interesting. He might just have to swerve around them and go another route to get to Eve.

A route called Jane MacGuire.

____________________

“DETECTIVE QUINN.”

Joe turned as he was walking into the precinct to see a tall, handsome man in his early fifties hurrying toward him from the captain’s office. He recognized that broad, intelligent face though it was now haggard and ravaged with pain. “My sincere sympathy, Senator Norris. I can’t tell you how sorry I am that-”

“I don’t want your sympathy. I want to know what you’re doing about finding my little girl’s murderer.” His lips tightened with pain. “Though she’s not a little girl, is she? But that was all I could think about when I was looking down at her in that morgue. My little girl…”

“We’re doing everything we can. I just came back from Allatoona. I’m going to check the preliminary reports now.”

“Your captain says you’re the best,” Norris said. “I hope she’s right. I’ll find a way to crucify you if you drag your feet. I lost my wife six years ago. It’s just been me and Nancy Jo since then. Now she’s gone too.” He turned away. “I’m going out to Allatoona now. I want to see the place where she was killed.”

I’ll find my father.

The words of that imaginary woman in the woods came back to him. Now Nancy Jo’s father was trying to seek a connection with his daughter by seeing where her life had ended. “I have to warn you, the media is still camped out there.”

“I don’t give a damn.”

Joe watched him stride out of the precinct. Poor bastard. You never knew what was going to come out of the fog and hit you. Norris had everything a man could hope to possess: money, a brilliant career, a child he loved. Take away the one most important ingredient, and he’d found out how empty the rest could be.