"She’ll can your ass.”
“I’ll risk it."
It was clear he’d risk anything to get his way in this matter. Basil shrugged. "Okay, I’ll do it. It will be a pleasure to see you kicked out on your ear."
"Good." Quinn headed for the door. "I’ll be back in an hour to pick up the recommendation."
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"I’m going to lunch. Make it two hours." A minor victory, but he’d take anything he could get.
"You think it’s the Duncan kid, don’t you?"
"I don’t know. Maybe."
"And you want her mother to work on the skull? You bastard. What if it is Bonnie Duncan?
What the hell do you think that will do to her mother?" The only answer was the door closing behind Quinn.
AN ISLAND SOUTH OF TAHITI THREE DAYS LATER
He was coming.
Her heart was beating hard, fast. She was too excited. Eve Duncan drew a deep breath as she watched the helicopter settle on the tarmac. Good heavens, you’d think she was waiting for the angel Gabriel. It was only Joe.
Only? Her friend, her companion through the nightmare that had almost torn her apart, one of the anchors of her life. And she hadn’t seen him in over a year. Dammit, she had a right to be excited.
The door was opening and he was getting out of the aircraft. God, he looked tired. His face was almost always without expression and, to anyone unfamiliar with it, impossible to read. But she knew that face. From a thousand different situations she had memorized every glance, every tightening of the mouth, the little secret signs that told so much. There were new deep lines graven on either side of his mouth, and his square face was a little pale.
Yet his eyes were the same.
And the smile that lit his face when he saw her…
"Joe…" She ran into his arms. Safety. Familiarity. Togetherness. All was right with the world.
He held her tightly for a minute and then pushed her back and dusted a kiss over the bridge of her nose. "You have a few freckles. Have you been using your sunscreen?"
Protective. Bossy. Caring. Two minutes, and they were back where they were when she’d left him all those months before. She grinned up at him as she adjusted her wire-rimmed glasses.
"Of course, but it’s hard not to get a little sun here."
He looked her up and down. "You’re like a beachcomber in those shorts." He tilted his head.
"And relaxed. Not totally relaxed but not wound up tight as you were the last time I saw you.
Logan’s been taking good care of you."
She nodded. "He’s been very kind to me."
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"And what else?"
"Don’t be so nosy. It’s none of your business.”
“That means you’re sleeping with him.”
“I didn’t say that. But what if I am?"
He shrugged. "Nothing. You were in pretty bad shape after what you went through with that last reconstruction. It’s entirely natural for you to have drawn close to Logan. A billionaire who whisked you away from the media to his own island in the South Pacific. I’d be surprised if you hadn’t fallen into his bed and even more surprised if he hadn’t made sure you did."
"I don’t fall into anyone’s bed. I make a choice." She shook her head. "Now, stop picking at Logan. You always were like pit bulls with each other." She led him toward the Jeep. "And he’s going to be your host while you’re here, so you might as well be civil."
"Maybe."
"Joe."
He smiled. "I’ll try."
She breathed a sigh of relief. "Did you see Mom before you left?”
“Yes, she sent you her best. She misses you."
Eve wrinkled her nose. "Not much. She’s too involved with Ron. Did she tell you they’re going to be married in a few months?" He nodded. "How do you feel about that?"
"How do you expect me to feel? I couldn’t be happier for her. Ron’s a nice guy and Mom deserves a good relationship. She’s had a rough life." That was an understatement. Her mother had grown up in the slums, been addicted to crack for years, and when she was fifteen had brought Eve into the same nightmare world. "It’s good she has someone. She’s always needed people, and I’ve always been too busy to give her the attention she should have."
"You did your best. You were always more like a mother than a daughter to her.”
“For a long time I was too bitter to do her much good. It was only after Bonnie came that we managed to bridge the gulf." Bonnie. When her daughter had been born, she had changed everything, transformed Eve’s whole world and everyone in it. "It will be better for Mom now."
"And what about you? She’s all you have."
Eve started the Jeep. "I have my work." She smiled at him. "And I have you, when you’re not yelling at me."
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"I notice you didn’t say Logan. Good."
"Were you trying to trap me? I care very much for Logan.”
“But he hasn’t got you sealed and delivered." Joe nodded with satisfaction. "I didn’t think he could do it."
"If you don’t stop talking about Logan, I’ll dump you beside the road and let you hitchhike back to Tahiti."
"I’d have a tough time. No boats land on this island.”
“Exactly."
"Okay. Since you have me at a disadvantage."
Yeah, sure. Joe at a disadvantage was a rare phenomenon. "How’s Diane?”
“Fine." He paused. "I haven’t seen much of her lately."
"A cop’s wife was a hell of a life. Another rough case?"
"The roughest." He gazed out at the sea. "But I wouldn’t have seen her anyway. Our divorce was final three months ago."
"What?" Shock rippled through Eve. "Why didn’t you tell me?”
“There wasn’t much to tell. Diane never really became accustomed to being a cop’s wife. She’ll be happier now."
"Why didn’t Mom say anything to me?"
"I asked her not to worry you. You were supposed to be relaxing.”
“Oh, God, I’m sorry, Joe." She was silent a moment. "Was it my fault?”
“How could it be your fault?"
"You were my friend, you helped me. For God’s sake, I got you shot. You were almost killed. I know she was angry with me."
He didn’t deny it. "It would have happened anyway. We should never have gotten married. It was a mistake." He changed the subject. "What kind of work have you been doing since you’ve been here?"
She looked at him in frustration. The divorce must have hurt him, and she wanted to help. But he had always edged away from talking about his marriage. Maybe she could get something out The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02
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of him later. "I haven’t had much work. Principally superimpositions and age progressions. A few reconstruction cases the LAPD sent me." She made a face. "I soon discovered that most agencies prefer a forensic sculptor on the same continent. I’m pretty inaccessible here. I’ve actually done some regular sculpting to keep myself busy."
"Satisfying?"
"In a way."
“Not a good way?”
“It feels… strange."
"Most people would say that working on skulls is a little strange. What does Logan say?"
"Logan thinks regular sculpting is healthy for me. He’s probably right.”
“Does it feel healthy?"
"No, there’s something… missing.”
“Purpose."
She was not surprised Joe understood. He understood everything about her. "It’s the lost ones.
I could be doing more to help the lost ones come home. Logan says I need to distance myself.
He thinks I should walk away, that it’s the worst possible career for me to have."
"And what do you say to him?"
"To mind his own business." She grimaced. "Just like I tell you. I wish you’d both realize I’m going to do what I want to do regardless of what either of you think."