Jane glared up at him.
"Police. Detective Quinn." He reached into his pocket and showed her his badge. He repeated,
"We’re here to help."
The child relaxed a little.
"Where are you hurt?" Eve asked.
Jane was still glaring at Joe. "Get off me.”
“Get off her, Joe."
"This could be a mistake." Joe stood up and grabbed the bat. Jane slowly sat up. "Lousy cop.
Why weren’t you here before?" Tears were running down her cheeks again. "Never here when anyone needs you. Lousy cop. Lousy cop…"
"I’m here now. Where are you hurt?"
"Not hurt. She’s hurt."
Eve stiffened. "Ms. Sugarton?"
"Fay." Jane looked toward the kitchen. "Fay.”
“Jesus." Eve jumped to her feet and ran toward the kitchen.
Blood.
And more blood. On the Formica table.
On the overturned kitchen chair.
On the tile floor where Fay Sugarton lay slumped, eyes staring at them across the room, throat gaping where it had been slashed.
"Don’t move." Joe was standing beside her. "There could be tracks. We don’t want to disturb them.”
“She’s dead," Eve said dully.
The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02
Page 107 of 286
"Yes." He turned her around and gave her a push toward the living room. "Go back and take care of the kid while I call this in. See if she saw anyone." She couldn’t tear her gaze from those staring dead eyes. "Dom," she whispered.
"It has to be Dom."
"Go."
She nodded and moved slowly from the kitchen.
Jane was sitting huddled against a wall, her knees drawn up to her chest. "She’s dead, isn’t she?"
"Yes." She dropped down on the floor beside her. "Did you see anyone?”
“I tried to help her. She was bleeding. I tried to stop the bleeding… but I couldn’t.
I couldn’t stop it. My health teacher said if we ever have an accident, we should always stop the bleeding first. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t stop it."
Eve wanted to reach out and draw Jane close, but she could almost see the wall the child had built around her. "It wasn’t your fault. I’m sure she was already dead."
"Maybe not. Maybe I could have helped her if I’d been smarter. I didn’t pay much attention to what my teacher said. I didn’t think— I didn’t know—" Eve couldn’t stand it. She reached out and tentatively touched the child’s shoulder.
Jane jerked away. "Who are you?" she said fiercely. "Are you a cop too? Why weren’t you here?
Why did you let this happen?"
"I’m not police, but I have to know what happened. Did you see—" To hell with it. The child was in no shape to answer questions. "What do you say we go on the porch and wait for the police to get here?"
At first she didn’t think the girl would agree, but then Jane rose to her feet and strode out of the house. She sat down on the top porch step.
Eve sat down beside her. "My name is Eve Duncan. The detective inside is Joe Quinn."
The girl stared straight ahead. "You’re Jane MacGuire?" The girl didn’t answer.
"If you don’t want to talk, that’s fine. I know you must have cared very much for Ms. Sugarton."
"I didn’t care anything about her. I just lived with her."
"I don’t think that’s true, but we won’t talk about it now. We won’t talk at all. I just thought it would make you feel better if we weren’t strangers."
The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02
Page 108 of 286
"Talking doesn’t mean anything. You’re still a stranger."
And the child was going to make sure she stayed that way, Eve thought. The tears were gone, but her back was straight and rigid and the wall of distrust was higher than ever. Who could blame her? Any other child would have been in hysterics. It might have been a healthier reaction than withdrawal. "I don’t feel much like talking either. We’ll just sit here and wait.
Okay?"
Jane didn’t look at her. "Okay."
The child was still covered with blood, Eve realized suddenly. She should do something about it.
Not now. Neither of them was in any shape to do anything but sit there. She leaned her head against the newel post next to her. She couldn’t get the memory of dead eyes out of her mind.
Fay Sugarton had been a good woman, trying to do her best. She didn’t deserve—
"I lied." Jane was still looking straight ahead. "I think… I liked her."
“So did I."
Jane fell silent again.
Eisley pulled up at the curb at the same time as the first police squad car.
The officers poured into the house, but Barbara Eisley stopped before Jane. Her expression was amazingly gentle as she spoke to the child. "Do you remember me, Jane? I’m Mrs. Eisley."
Jane stared at her without expression. "I remember you.”
“You can’t stay here any longer."
"I know."
"I’ve come to take you away. Where are Chang and Raoul?”
“School. Basketball practice."
"I’ll send someone for them." She held out her hand. "Come with me. We’ll get you cleaned up and then we’ll talk."
"I don’t want to talk." Jane stood and walked to the car at the curb. "Where are you taking her?" Eve asked.
"The Child and Family Services holding facility.”
“How safe is it?"
The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02
Page 109 of 286
"It has security and she’ll be surrounded by other children.”
“I think you should let us take—"
"Bullshit." Barbara Eisley whirled on her, her tone as hard now as it had been gentle before.
"She’s my responsibility and none of you are going to touch her. I should never have become involved in this mess. The newspapers and politicians are going to come down on me like a ton of bricks."
"We have to keep her safe. Ms. Sugarton wasn’t the target. She probably just got in the way."
"And you weren’t able to help her, were you?" Barbara Eisley’s eyes bored into her. "Fay Sugarton was a decent woman, an extraordinary woman who helped dozens of kids. She shouldn’t have died. She might be alive now if I hadn’t given you that—"
"And Jane might be dead."
"I should have kept out of it and that’s what I’m doing from now on. Stay clear of me and stay away from Jane MacGuire." She turned on her heel and walked to the car.
Eve watched helplessly as it pulled away from the curb. Jane was sitting up straight in the passenger seat, but she looked terribly small and fragile.
"It was the only thing to do."
She turned to see Joe standing in the doorway. "I was hoping we could get her away before anyone showed up from Family Services."
He shook his head. "I called Eisley."
Her eyes widened. "What?"
"Child and Family Services always has to be involved in cases like this. They serve to protect the children from the media and police interrogation. They’ll take the heat off Jane."
"We could have protected her."
"Would she have let us? We’re strangers to her. At the welfare facility she’ll be surrounded by kids and staff. She’ll be much safer, and we can still keep an eye on her."
Eve was still uneasy. "I wish you hadn’t…"
"She may be a material witness to a murder case, Eve. Did she talk to you?"
Eve shook her head.
"Then I’ll have to see her later tonight."
The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02
Page 110 of 286
"Can’t you leave her—" Of course he couldn’t leave Jane alone. She might have seen something. "Barbara Eisley may not let you talk to her. She’s not pleased with us."
"Sometimes it helps to have a badge." He pulled her to her feet. "Come on. I’ll drive you home.
Forensics will be here any minute. I’ll have to come back, but you don’t need to be here."
"I’ll wait for you."
"No, you won’t. I may be here hours and the media will be right behind the forensics team." He nudged her down the steps. "I called Charlie. He’s at the lobby of my apartment building now and will keep an eye on you until I get there." He opened the car door for her. "As soon as you’re inside the apartment, call Spiro and Mark and tell them what happened."