"Eve?" Jane was sitting up sleepily.
"It’s okay." Her hand tightened on the steering wheel. "Is that your car, Herb?”
“Sure. I’ve been behind you all day. Is something wrong? I got worried when you started speeding."
She slowly lifted the phone to her ear. "Damn you.”
“Just kidding." He hung up.
"You look beat." Sarah’s gaze narrowed on Eve’s face. "You okay?"
"I didn’t sleep well. How are you?"
"Fine. Monty and I are used to getting by with a few hours sleep." Eve got out her map. "We hit The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02
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the areas south of the church yesterday. I thought we’d go west today." She tapped a spot on the map. "This one first. Woodlight Reservoir."
"Are you sure? That will be a lot of ground to cover. You’ve got to pick your best shot," Sarah said. "I’ll give you until midnight tonight."
"You won’t change your mind?"
"No." Sarah turned and tossed Monty’s leash to Jane. "Come on, kid, we’ve got to get this show on the road."
Eve looked at her in despair. After last night, the search seemed futile. Why were they doing it?
Just to entertain that bastard?
No, they were doing it for the same reason Eve had in the beginning. The possibility that Dom might have made a mistake.
God, let him have made a mistake.
"We have to stop now," Sarah said quietly. "Sorry."
Eve’s hands clenched into fists. "It can’t be midnight.”
“It’s one-thirty." She gestured, and Monty jumped into the Jeep. "I suppose I should thank you for the extra time," Eve said dully. "You’d rather spit in my eye."
"That’s not true." Eve was frustrated, but she couldn’t fault Sarah’s work. The woman had worked from dawn until then with only short breaks for Monty to drink and rest. "I only wish you’d give in and let me have one more day."
"I can’t do that." Sarah didn’t look at her. "I know you have good reason to search, but it’s not my reason. My job is to protect Monty. I didn’t want to do this job, and I’ve given you two days."
"It’s not enough."
"I’ve given you all I can. And every hour of the past two days I’ve hoped we wouldn’t find that woman." She shook her head. "So maybe it’s just as well I’m out.
Maybe I’m not working as hard as you want me to work.”
“Bullshit. You’d never cheat."
"Find someone else."
"You know I can’t afford a delay."
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"I can’t help you." She started the Jeep. "Sorry."
"If you were sorry, you’d help me. Finding bodies isn’t pleasant, but I’d think you’d—"
"Pleasant?" Her voice was strained. "My God, you don’t know what you’re talking about."
"I know catching Dom and protecting Jane are more important than any objections you have to working another day or two."
"Your opinion. You have a right to it. I know only that I have to protect my world the way you’re protecting yours." She paused. "Sorry."
Eve watched the taillights disappear. She would feel all right soon. She was just tired and discouraged. She’d go back to the house and hit the Internet and see if she could find another Sarah Patrick.
TWELVE
Monty whined.
"Shut up." Sarah pressed the accelerator. "You don’t know when you’re better off."
Sad.
"I can’t help it if she’s sad. I have to take care of us."
Alone.
"We’re all alone." Not us.
She reached out and scratched his ears. "No, not us," she whispered. He whined again.
"I said no."
Child.
That thought was tearing at Sarah too. "It’s not our business. Eve will take care of her." Sad.
"Go to sleep. I’m tired of you nagging me. We’re through. We got lucky and I’m not risking another day."
Monty settled down in the seat and laid his head down on his paws. Child…
"Where is she, Mark?" Joe asked.
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“It wasn’t easy. The station was very cagey about giving me your new digital phone number.
You changed it two days ago. Why, Mark?"
"I get a lot of nuisance calls. All media people do.”
“And you took a two-week leave from the station."
"I was tired. I decided to come down here to Florida to bask in the sun.”
“Or you knew I’d be searching for you."
"Really, Joe, I’d hardly go to all that trouble to avoid you.”
“I think you would. Where is Eve, Mark?"
"How would I know?"
"She didn’t have the address of the welfare house. It took me fifteen minutes to bully the information out of Eisley. Yet Eve was able to go there and take the kid away. I put two and two together and came up with you, Mark."
"Do you think Eisley would tell me where it’s located?”
“I think you know where every body in the city is buried.”
“That’s an unfortunate turn of phrase."
"Where is she, Mark?"
"I’ve invested a lot of time and effort in this story. Eve doesn’t want you to know where she is."
"I’m going to find her."
"Then you’ll do it without my help."
“I don’t think so. I’ll find her or I’ll find you. Believe me, you’ll prefer that I find Eve."
"Is that a threat, Joe?"
"You’d better believe it. Where is she?”
“Let’s just say that she’s following Dom’s lead.”
“What lead?"
"That’s for me to know and you to find out," Mark said silkily. "I don’t like being threatened, Joe." He hung up.
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Joe leaned back in his chair, chilled to the bone. Christ.
Don’t let fear get to you. Just find her. Keep at Mark until you’ve wrung every drop of information out of him.
He dialed Mark’s number again.
Just find her.
Monty was howling.
Sarah sat upright in bed. Monty almost never howled.
She turned on the bedside lamp and swung her feet to the floor. He howled again and then broke off.
Oh, God.
She was through the front door in a heartbeat. "Monty?" No answer.
She turned on the living room light, then walked back outside, keeping the door open.
"Monty?"
No sound. Her hands clenched at her sides. "Monty, where are—"
Something beside his water dish. A large steak with bites taken out of it. She never gave Monty red meat. "No."
She ran out into the darkness. "Monty!"
She tripped over something furry. Something limp that— Please. Please. No.
"Monty!"
Someone was honking, lying on the horn until it ripped through the night.
What the hell?
Eve pushed away from the computer and stood up. The phone on the desk rang.
"We have an intruder at the gates," Herb Booker said. "Please stay inside the house until we check it out."
"For God’s sake, it has to be a drunk. I can’t imagine anyone very menacing waking the entire neighborhood."
"Please stay inside."
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"He’ll wake Jane up, dammit." She headed for the front door. The horn was still blaring as she walked down the driveway toward the gates.
Juan Lopez was there before her.
Sarah Patrick’s Jeep was stopped outside the gates. "Let me in, dammit.”
“Open up," Eve told Lopez.
He pressed a remote and the gates swung open. Sarah drove past Eve and up to the front door.
"It’s okay," Eve told the security men.
Sarah was climbing out of the Jeep when Eve caught up with her. Eve took one look at her face and asked, "What’s wrong?"