Iris Johansen - Eve

“I don’t want to ask him anything. From what I’ve heard of him, I’d just as soon not make his acquaintance.” She added grimly, “Unless it was to try to throw him into jail.” She turned away from the door. “It appears that I stay here.” She took her carry-on case and threw it on the bed. “How fast do you think Black will move?”

He shook his head. “I have no idea. But Queen will be pushing hard.”

She opened the case and pulled out her toiletries and a change of clothes. She headed for the bathroom. “Then we’ll be ready to move, too.”

His question stopped her at the bathroom door. “Did you tell Quinn you were coming?”

She didn’t look at him. “I wouldn’t have left without letting him know what I was doing. Did I give him details? No.”

“So we’re in this alone.”

“Yes.” She closed the door behind her.

Alone.

She did feel poignantly alone and vulnerable at that moment. She was used to Joe being there, a presence that was both exciting and comforting. But she was dealing with John Gallo, who was not at all comforting. Exciting? As exciting as falling off a cliff into the darkness. She didn’t know what he was going to do next or even whether he was telling her the truth. She was going on instinct and memory, and the latter could have been twisted by the passage of time. And obeying instinct would be skipping through landmines.

She stripped and stepped under the spray.

I wish you were here, Joe.

“MILWAUKEE,” JOE TOLD CATHERINE when he called her from the airport. “Eve took the two forty flight on Delta.”

“And you’re on your way.”

“I will be in another hour. It’s the first flight out. But finding out where she was going is going to be a hell of a lot easier than tracing her once she gets off the plane. What did you find out?”

“Hanks may be in Denver,” she said. “He owns a condo there. I’ve called the number, but there’s no answer.”

“And Judy Clark?”

“Judy has a mother, Stella Kamski, in St. Louis. It’s a possibility. Judy lived with her until she was married. And after Judy’s divorce, she moved back in with her until she went to work for Gallo. Her mother even took care of her kid for a while. I spoke to the mother, and she said she hadn’t heard from her daughter in months. She seemed… stiff.”

“You think she was lying?”

“As I said, I think she’s a possibility. Judy Clark may be with her, or she might know where she is. I’m on my way there now. She lives in a subdivision in Webster Groves. It’s about a four-hour drive from where I am now.”

“Call me if you can get anything out of her.”

“You know it.” Catherine hung up.

But even if Judy Clark was with her mother, Catherine might not be able to get her to talk. She had been close-mouthed and obstinately loyal in her encounter with her. Hell, she might not even know where he was. It was clear that Gallo was very careful about confiding anything to anyone.

But there was always a chance, and it was all Catherine could think to do. The chances were pretty slim.

She just hoped Joe would be able to trace Eve when he reached Milwaukee.

“WHY DOESN’T SOMEONE COME?” Eve’s hand clenched on the gray drapes as she gazed from the window down at the lights of the traffic spearing the darkness. “I can’t say much for your trap, John.”

“I’ve never seen any bait more eager to spring the teeth shut.” He smiled across at her from where he was lying on the bed. “You’ve not been here more than five or six hours. Are you always this impatient?”

“We’re close. I want it over.”

“It’s like the watched kettle that never boils. Come to bed, and that alarm in 1502 will probably go off in five minutes.”

She didn’t answer, her gaze fixed on the street.

“Come to bed, Eve,” he said quietly. “I’m not going to jump you. If you like, I’ll curl up on the floor. I’ve learned to sleep anywhere.”

“I’m not afraid of you.” She turned to look at him. “I can take care of myself. That’s one of the first things that Joe taught me.”

“Good for him. Though, as I remember, you were pretty effective when I knew you.”

She nodded. “But Joe says technique always carries the day. I learned that the night you saved little Manuel… and me.”

“How is Manuel?”

“Well, I hope. I lost track of Rosa and her son. She married and left for San Diego a year after I moved out of the housing development.” She shook her head. “It’s sad that it’s so easy to lose touch with people. They come in and out of your life, then they’re gone. A lot of it is my fault. I’m so busy most of the time that I don’t make the effort.”

“What about your mother?”

She shrugged. “We were fine while Bonnie was alive, but afterward we gradually drew apart. Bonnie was the magic that held us together. But even after Bonnie was taken some of the magic lingered. Sandra never went back on drugs. Just the fact that Bonnie came into our lives and stayed for a little while made an impression that never went away.” She gazed at him inquiringly. “Any more questions?”

“There will probably be a few as they occur to me. That curiosity…” He reached over and turned out the lamp on the nightstand. The room was plunged into darkness. “You’re tired. Come and lie down. I won’t touch you. You’ve convinced me I’d be putty in your hands.”

She hesitated, then left the window and moved toward the bed. “I have to admit I do know a lot about putty.” She lay down on the far side of the bed and tried to relax. It was difficult. Even though there were several inches between them, it felt strange to be in a bed with a man other than Joe. How many years had it been?

“I know you do. You told me about the forensic process at dinner. Your hands aren’t quite the same as they were when you were younger. They were always shaped well, but now they look stronger, knowing.” He was silent a few moments. “Are you going to tell Joe about this?”

“Yes. Why not? Nothing is going to happen.”

“I have a vivid imagination. I think I’d want you to lie to me.”

“Joe would not. Which shows how different you are from him. And how similar Joe and I are.”

“Two straight arrows. He doesn’t bore you?”

“Joe? Not likely. And he wouldn’t bore you either, John. There’s a razor-sharp edge to that straight arrow.”

“I gathered so from talking to Hanks after their encounter the other night. He told me that Quinn wanted me very badly and to be careful. Should I be careful, Eve?”

“Yes, Joe doesn’t trust anything you’ve told me. He might act before I could stop him.”

“Would you protect me from him? I’m touched.”

“I’d protect him from himself. He has a conscience, and guilt can be a terrible thing.”

He was silent. “I know.”

The only sound in the dark room was the resonance of their breathing against the backdrop of the traffic down in the street.

“What are we going to do, Eve?”

“We’re going to find Bonnie’s murderer.”

“No, what about us?”

“There is no us. We put a period to that a long time ago.”

“You can’t put a period to anything between us,” he said quietly. “It might have been possible if you hadn’t had Bonnie. But the moment she appeared in our lives, she changed the dynamics. You have to accept and admit that to yourself and to me. Otherwise, we’re not going to be able to fight our way through this.”

“She was my daughter, John.”

“That may have been the way you wanted it, but Bonnie evidently didn’t agree with you. She came looking for me, Eve. She came into that hot box of filth and pain, and she found me. And I thank God for it every day of my life.”