Iris Johansen - Quinn

“No, I don’t. But might is always right, and I have the advantage.” The sun had gone down an hour ago, and he turned off the lights in the living room. “So go to sleep.” He sat down in a chair across the room. “Four hours at least. Then I’ll let you work a little longer before I leave and go back to my place.”

“Go now. I don’t want you sitting there in the dark like a guard at an asylum.”

“Asylum. Strange choice of words. Why not a guard at a jail?”

She didn’t answer.

“Unless you’re worried because you might have a nervous breakdown. Do you think about it?”

“No, I don’t think about myself at all. I don’t matter. That just came out. Now stop trying to dig into my psyche.”

“Naturally, you’re distraught, and all kinds of crazy ideas are going through your mind. You’re walking a fine line, but we’ll get through it.”

“We? I’m the one who is walking that line. You’re strong and sane, and everything is in control in your world.”

“I’ll walk the line with you. If you think you’re going to fall, reach out, and I’ll be there.”

She was silent. “Why are you being so kind to me? You’re tough and cynical and… I don’t think that you’re one of those do-gooders who want to save the world.”

“The world is too big a project. You’re damn right I’m not a do-gooder. I usually run the other way. But every now and then, I run across someone who it bothers me to see struggling. I want to see you come out on top of this. It will make me feel good. It’s purely selfish.”

“Well, that relieves me,” she said dryly. “I’d hate being someone’s project.”

He chuckled. “No chance. You’d toss me out on my ear.”

“Maybe not,” she said. “I told you that I didn’t feel as alone when I was with you.”

“Then I may be safe for a while. Until the situation turns around, and you don’t need me any longer. Now why don’t you stop talking and try to nap.”

“I don’t want to sleep. You can force me to lie here, but you can’t make me sleep.”

“Are you paraphrasing that proverb about leading a horse to water?”

“I guess so.” She was silent again, and the next words came haltingly in the darkness. “Three months. The pattern is wrong for Bonnie. She has a chance that it wasn’t that monster, doesn’t she?”

“She has a chance.”

“You’re so damn encouraging. Give me a break.”

“I’d like to give you anything that you want from me. But I won’t give you lies… or false hope.”

“Damn you.” She said a moment later, “No, bless you.”

“Go to sleep, Eve.”

“If I do, the nightmares will come.”

“No, they won’t. I’m here for you. After you go to sleep, I’ll turn on that little stained-glass lamp by the door. If you show any signs of distress, I’ll wake you.”

“You’ll keep them away?”

“I’ll guard you through the night.”

“I shouldn’t be this weak. I hate it. I should be able to handle… I hate it.”

“I know you do. But it’s my turn now. When I’m walking my fine line someday, I’ll expect you to guard me from the night monsters.”

“I’ll do it. I promise…”

She was still, but Joe didn’t hear her breathing even and steady for another five minutes. Then he got to his feet and turned on the stained-glass lamp. He tucked a worn red cotton throw over Eve before he went back to his chair across the room.

He leaned back and watched the play of the soft, colored light on her face. Her cheekbones were more prominent than he had noticed before. She had lost weight in the short time since he had first met her. She couldn’t afford to lose it. He had to get her to eat more, dammit.

Eat and sleep so that she could survive.

So that he could survive.

HE DIDN’T HAVE TO WAKE Eve until almost three hours later.

She jerked upright when he put his hand on her shoulder. “No!”

“It’s okay,” Joe said. “You were starting to breathe hard. I figured that you were being ambushed.”

“I was.” She pushed the hair back from her forehead. “But you showed up with the cavalry just in time.” She swung her feet to the floor. “I need to get a glass of water and wash my face.” She glanced at the clock. “I assume I’m being permitted to get back to work?”

“For a little while.” He headed for the kitchen. “I’ll put on a fresh pot of coffee while you-”

Eve’s phone rang, and she picked up the receiver on the chest by the door and answered it. “Just a minute.” She frowned as she handed the receiver to Joe. “Detective Slindak. He said you told him you’d be here.”

He nodded. “I had to give him a contact number. I was planning on calling him anyway.” He spoke into the phone, “Quinn.”

“I tried to get you at your hotel first,” Slindak said sourly. “You must be burning the midnight oil.”

“You might say that. Problems, Slindak?”

“Big-time. Some hunters found a child’s remains in a cave in Gwinnett County.”

“Girl or boy?”

He could see Eve tense.

“Girl. There wasn’t much left of the kid, but the scraps of clothing that remained coincided with the description of what Janey Bristol was wearing when she disappeared. I’m heading out to the crime scene. I thought you’d want to go, too.”

“I’ll meet you there.” He pulled out his notebook and pen. “Give me the directions.” He scrawled rapidly. “Is forensics already there?”

“Yes. And the officers who were called secured the area as best they could. There were three hunters who made the discovery, and they ducked into the cave to shelter from the rain. It’s still raining cats and dogs up there. They pretty well messed up the crime scene.”

“Great,” Joe said sarcastically. “Not that it would probably have done much good anyway. The kid has to have been subjected to animal and environmental exposure for all these months. But there might have been something. I’m on my way.” He hung up.

“Who?” Eve asked.

“Not Bonnie. We can’t be sure. The body is in poor condition, but the clothing would point toward Janey Bristol.”

Eve crossed her arms across her chest as if to keep them from shaking. “Six years old…”

He turned toward the door. “I’ll call you when I know more.”

“I’m going with you.”

He had been half-expecting it. “This is going way beyond just looking at records, Eve.”

“Yes, it’s looking at the remains of that poor kid. It makes me sick to think of it. But I have to be there.” Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “I know nonprofessionals aren’t welcome at crime scenes. But you’ve stuck your neck out for me before. Do it now. I won’t get in your way. Look, I won’t even go to the crime scene itself. I’ll stay in the car.”

“And you’ll still see things you don’t want to see.”

“So I’m supposed to bury my head in the sand? No, I don’t want to see it. But that little girl didn’t want to be killed, either. It could have been Bonnie.” Her lips tightened in a mirthless smile. “Why not let me go? Slindak should be expecting it. You said he thought we might be sleeping together. He’ll just think that I’m getting what I paid for.”

“And what if I don’t want him to think that?” Joe asked grimly.

She ignored the question. “Take me, Joe,” she said urgently. “You knew I wouldn’t be satisfied with studying those reports. You knew where this would lead.”

Yes, he had known. Why was he even arguing? When he had copied the reports, he had made the ultimate commitment.

One more attempt.

“What would you do if I said no?”