"It was the logical move. Not bad for a knothead."
"Not too bad." If Mom was safe, a prime weapon was taken away from Dom. He couldn’t hurt Eve through someone she loved.
The hell he couldn’t. He still had Bonnie.
But Bonnie was dead. Eve might be sick with horror at the thought of him having Bonnie, but he could no longer hurt her daughter. Eve was the only one who could be hurt, and she would hide that hurt from him.
"It’s okay. I told you, your mom’s safe," Joe said. "There’s no reason to be uneasy."
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She was uneasy. Trust Joe to sense it. Not about her mother. If Joe said she was safe, she was safe. She was just…
Forget about it. Go to sleep and when she woke they would find a way to catch the bastard and bring Bonnie home. He wasn’t invincible. He had made a mistake when he contacted Eve. There wasn’t any way he could really hurt her.
She had no reason to be uneasy.
Her name was Jane MacGuire and she was ten years old.
Dom had seen her a few days before when he was cruising the public housing developments on the south side. He had first been attracted by her red hair and then by her air of independence and defiance. She walked down the street as if daring the world to get in her way. No docile little bird here.
Too defiant to appeal to Eve Duncan? Her own daughter had been completely different. But then, Bonnie Duncan had not been brought up in four foster homes like Jane MacGuire. She’d had no need to learn to be streetwise.
He cruised slowly behind the kid. She was going somewhere. She had a purpose. She suddenly darted into an alley. Should he go after her and risk having her see him? The danger wasn’t that great. As usual when he was on the hunt, he’d taken the precaution of a disguise.
He parked the car and got out. She was too good a prospect. He had to make sure.
Son of a bitch. The creep was following her again.
Well, let him, Jane thought crossly. He was just another dirty old man like the ones who hung out at the school yard and drove away fast if Jane screamed for the teacher. She knew this alley and could run faster than him if she needed to get away. She had noticed him following her yesterday and kept to the public streets.
She couldn’t do that today.
"I’m here, Jane."
She saw Mike crouched inside a big cardboard box against the brick wall. He looked cold. He’d probably slept in the box last night. He usually did when his father came home. Bad luck the bastard had decided to wander back in January, when it was so cold.
She reached into a jacket pocket and handed him the sandwich she’d stolen from Fay’s refrigerator that morning. "Breakfast. It’s pretty stale. I couldn’t get anything else."
She watched him gobble down the food, then shot a glance behind her. The creep had ducked into the shadows of a garbage dump. Good place for him. "Come on. Time to go to school," she The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02
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told Mike.
"I ain’t going."
"Sure you are. You want to grow up stupid like your father?”
“I ain’t going."
She played her trump card. "It’s warm there."
Mike thought about it and then got to his feet. "Maybe I’ll go just today." She’d thought he would. The cold and an empty belly were enemies. She’d spent a lot of nights in alleys herself when she’d been staying with the Carbonis. That was the foster home before Fay’s and it was there she’d learned that if she caused enough trouble, not even the welfare money would make foster parents keep her. Welfare was always ready to give them another kid if one didn’t work out.
Fay was much better. She was always tired and often crabby, but sometimes Jane thought she might grow to like her… if she stayed long enough. She glanced back at the creep. Still hiding behind the dump. "I think maybe you should find another place to sleep tonight. There’s a place near the Union Mission. I’ll show you."
"Okay. You goin’ to school now?" Mike asked. "Maybe I could walk along with you."
He was lonely. He was only six and hadn’t learned how to ignore the emptiness yet. "Sure. Why not?"
She smiled at him.
Dom hadn’t been sure until he’d seen her smile.
The smile was warm and sweet. All the more appealing because of the kid’s usual air of wariness and toughness. Without that streak of softness he wouldn’t have been sure. But now he was convinced.
Little Jane MacGuire was perfect.
"You’re sure he’s the Devon boy?" Spiro said when Joe opened the door later that afternoon.
"It’s close enough." Joe gestured to the pedestal. "The picture’s on the worktable. See for yourself."
"I’ll do that." He crossed the room. "Where’s Ms. Duncan?”
“Still sleeping."
"Wake her up. I need to talk to her.”
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“Screw you. She’s exhausted. Talk to me."
"I have to—" He gave a low whistle as he compared the reconstruction with the photo. "Damn, she’s good."
"Yes."
He tossed the photo back on the worktable. "I almost wish it wasn’t him. You realize what this means?"
"Yes, and so does Eve."
"I’m going to have to use her, Quinn.”
“No one uses Eve."
"Unless she wants to be used," Eve said from the doorway. She came toward them. She’d obviously just gotten out of bed; her hair was tousled, her clothing rumpled. "And the fact that he’s John Devon doesn’t make that much difference to you, Spiro. You would have tried to use me anyway."
Spiro glanced back at the skull. "He could be telling the truth about Fraser taking credit for his kills."
"Some of his kills," Joe corrected Spiro. "All we have is the two boys.”
“Aren’t they enough?" Spiro turned to Eve. "Are you going to help me?”
“No, I’m going to help me. You and Joe keep my mom safe and I’ll let you use me as bait."
"The hell you will," Joe said.
She ignored him and asked Spiro, "He’s been watching me, hasn’t he?”
“Quinn told you?"
"No, but Dom knew about our trip to Talladega." She glanced at Joe. "What else?”
“Someone’s been keeping an eye on the cottage. I had Spiro send a forensic team yesterday to go through the bushes where he’d been standing, watching."
"Thanks for telling me."
"I’m telling you now. You were a little busy before." He smiled. "I don’t think he’ll be back with Charlie and those other guards patrolling outside and me inside."
“Don’t be too sure. He’s bored or he wouldn’t have taken these many chances." His smile The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02
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faded. "You think he’s that unbalanced?"
"I believe he’s desperate for some reason. But I don’t think he’ll try to kill me yet. Not until he gets what he wants."
"And when he does, we’ll be here," Spiro said.
"Will you?" she said wearily. "Why would he attack if he knows there’s a chance he’ll be caught? If he’s as smart as you believe, he’d find a way to get to me and elude you. Did your team find any evidence in the stuff they collected yesterday?"
"We’re still sifting through—" Spiro shook his head. "We don’t think so." She shrugged. "I rest my case."
"And what do you suggest?"
"That we go after him, not wait for him to come after me.”
“It’s much safer for you to—"
A knock on the door.
Charlie smiled apologetically. "Sorry to bother you, but I wondered if my call had come through.
It’s taken a lot longer than I thought it would."
"No call," Joe said.
"Why not ask me?" Spiro said dryly. "Did it occur to you that as your superior, I’m the one they would contact?"
Charlie eyed him warily. "Did they?"
"Last night. They’re faxing the full report to me at Talladega. They were surprised I knew nothing about your request that they call you directly."