Blood Game

TWELVE

“AM I TO ASSUME THAT YOU’RE finished?” Caleb asked. “I don’t wish to interrupt, but my curiosity is off the charts. Considering, I believe I’ve been very patient.”

Joe had almost forgotten Caleb was there. He turned and braced himself. “Well? Say it. Not that I give a damn.”

“Don’t be on the defensive. Who could understand better?” He smiled. “And now I know what Megan confided in Renata about you. Ghosts? Very interesting. But not a talent I’d like to have.”

“Neither do I.” He paused. “But I’m beginning to accept it.”

“And use it. Touchy-feely?”

“Nothing so light. She went through hell.”

“Nancy Jo Norris?”

“Yes.”

“And was it worthwhile?”

“I’d better make sure it is.” He headed for his car. “I’ll call forensics and get them back here, but I need to get on the computer.”

“Am I invited this time?”

He nodded. “I may need you. I don’t know his exact location. Nancy Jo said he’s probably in a motel somewhere in Roswell. That’s about forty minutes from here. Sparse furniture. Flowered cotton bedspread.”

“Not very helpful.”

“Exterior door is painted red.”

“Better.” He got into Joe’s car. “You drive. You know the city.” He reached for Joe’s computer on the seat. “I’ll search for any motels in Roswell with red doors.”

IT WAS TIME TO MOVE, JELAK thought, as he reluctantly put the goblet back in the case. Perhaps a hotel somewhere outside the city. He’d always thought that losing himself in the center of a city was safer, but everything was changing now. That photo Quinn had released to the media was dangerous. He might be recognized. He’d been forced to make very public kills, and not only Joe Quinn but Seth Caleb was after him.

But he’d shown them both they couldn’t stop him. Margaret Selkirk had been a triumph, and soon he’d be beyond this running. Soon no one would be able to stop him.

He gave the perfect twelve goblet a final caress before he slowly shut the case. He could almost feel the power it was radiating.

Do you feel it, Eve?

You will.

“RED DOOR INN.” CALEB LOOKED up from the computer. “It’s a chain. There’s one on Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell.”

Joe’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Anything else similar?”

“Not so far.” He was flipping through the hotels. “Not in Roswell.”

“Then let’s go for it.” He reached for his phone. “I’ll call the desk and see if I can find out which room by giving a description of him.”

“IT’S A ONE-STORY MOTEL,” Joe said as he hung up. “The clerk said Jelak may be in room 24. He registered under the name of Ted Jonas two days ago. The clerk couldn’t recall his face, but remembers noticing that he had biceps like a weight lifter.”

“Yes, ” Caleb said. “How far?”

“A couple miles.” He looked at Caleb. “Get out here.”

“What?”

“You said that you could feel him. Well, by the looks of those tire tracks Jelak left in the mud, he must have been able to feel you too. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, but the circumstances are different. We’re in the middle of the city. There’s so much interference from other people that it’s doubtful that he could sense me.”

“Screw doubtful. I’m not having you blow it for me.”

“Dammit, I won’t blow it. We go in fast, and it won’t matter if Jelak knows we’re coming.”

Joe pulled over to the curb. “Get out.”

Caleb muttered a curse and opened the door. “You’re making a mistake. I can get him.”

“So can I. If you don’t send up any red flags.” Joe pulled out into traffic again. “I won’t take that chance.”

“I’m not going to give up.”

Joe knew that he wouldn’t. Caleb would do anything he had to do. He could only hope that he could find Jelak before Caleb managed to get to the motel.

ROOM 24 HAD TO BE ON THE far side of the U-shaped structure. Joe cruised slowly along the parking area, his gaze on the red doors.

The late-afternoon sun highlighted the faded brilliance of the chipped paint and the brass numbers on the doors.

Room 18.

A cleaning woman was opening the door of the room.

A stocky man in a Braves baseball cap was loading up his gray Honda at the end of the row of rooms. He opened the driver’s door and shoved a black Croco case into the passenger’s seat.

Goblets in a black Croco case.

He was going to change to a smaller car, maybe a foreign job.

And that man in the baseball cap wasn’t stocky, he was muscular.

Jelak.

Joe stomped on the brakes.

Jelak’s head lifted at the screeching sound. Fury twisted his face as he saw Joe jump out of the car. “No!”

He threw himself into the Honda.

Joe drew his Magnum. “Stop. You’re under arrest, Jelak.”

“The hell I am.”

Joe saw the dull luster of metal in Jelak’s hand and hit the pavement.

A bullet splintered the red door behind him.

Jelak was barreling toward him in the Honda.

Joe rolled out of the path of the tires as the car skidded by him.

He lifted his Magnum and got off a quick shot.

He saw Jelak jerk as the bullet hit him. Fierce pleasure tore through him.

But the bastard didn’t stop. He rounded the corner of the motel and headed for the street.

Joe jumped in his car and did a U-turn.

Jelak was already on the street and heading for the freeway when he got around the building.

And Caleb was running down the block toward the Honda.

Shit. Jelak would pick him off. Joe aimed at the Honda’s rear tire.

The Honda swerved as the tire blew.

Caleb was alongside it and grabbed for the open window, his feet bracing against the side of the car.

Jelak was lifting his gun.

“Caleb, jump, dammit,” Joe called.

Caleb released the window, fell to the street, and rolled to the curb.

Jelak was on the freeway, riding on the rim of the blown tire.

Joe called for backup as he entered the street. Jelak couldn’t go far with that tire. They might have the bastard.

Caleb was up, running toward him, jumping into the passenger seat. “You screwed it up,” he said through his teeth. “You should have let me-”

“Shut up,” Joe said as he entered the freeway. “He has a bullet in him and a blown tire. I’ve called for backup. We’ll get him. And what the hell were you trying to do jumping on his car like a damn monkey?”

Caleb ignored him, his gaze on the cars whizzing in the lanes ahead of them. “I don’t see him. I don’t feel him. I think he’s already off the freeway. Take the next exit.”

It would make sense, Joe thought. That tire alone would have made Jelak try to get off the freeway as soon as possible. He exited the freeway at the next exit and started to double back.

“We’ve lost him,” Caleb said. “Dammit, it would have to be in the middle of the city. I can’t feel him.”

“I shot him. Maybe I got lucky, and the bastard’s dead.”

Caleb shook his head. “He’s not dead. I’d know it.”

Joe didn’t think he was dead either. He didn’t have any special insight like Caleb, but he was sure that all of Nancy Jo’s efforts had been wasted. If he’d been lucky, he would have found Jelak in that motel room instead of ready to fly the coop. He’d almost had him. “You’re probably right. Then we just keep on looking.”

HE WAS STAGGERING, JELAK realized, as he clutched the black Croco case tighter under his arm. He was getting weaker, and he had to find a place to rest, to heal. After he had abandoned the car behind that deserted warehouse, he must have walked miles. Twice he’d had to hide in the brush when a squad car had cruised slowly by.

And the blood was trickling out of the wound, Jelak thought, outraged. Precious blood. Nancy Jo, Margaret Selkirk, all the others… Blood that would give him the prize that he had striven for so long to gain. It wasn’t a strong loss, but even a little was too much. He’d tried to bandage it, but the blood was still seeping around the handkerchief he’d used as pressure.

The wound itself didn’t worry him. He didn’t think Quinn had hit a vital organ, and he was close enough to the divine state of resurrection that his strength would carry him through. But if he lost too much blood, then he would have to delay the final victory. Even Eve would not be able to send him over the top.

So he had to stop the blood, find a way to get to a doctor and get the wound stitched. Fury tore through him. Damn Quinn to hell. How had he found him?

Seth Caleb? More than likely.

It didn’t matter. Quinn had to be punished. He’d thought that Caleb was the main threat, but Quinn had found him. Quinn had shot him. He had to show him he couldn’t do this to him.

There was a BP gas station up ahead with the usual snack and convenience store. He could hear country music pouring out of the radio of the Ford truck parked by the pumps and saw a teenage girl with long, shiny brown hair filling up her Mazda.

He couldn’t afford to wait longer. He had to stop this trickle of blood.

He’d wait until there were no customers inside the snack shop and make his move.

ED NORRIS WAS SITTING IN the passenger seat of a dark blue limousine when Joe walked out of the precinct that evening. “I want to talk to you, Quinn.”

“And I don’t want to talk to you. It’s been a very bad day, and I have no desire to listen to your guff.”

“I’m not going to give you any guff.” Norris got out of the limousine. “And I don’t think it was a bad day if you managed to put a bullet into my daughter’s murderer.” He shrugged. “I could have wished you were a better shot and blown his brains out.”

“I was off-balance. He’d just tried to run me down.”

“Jelak did kill my daughter?”

“I believe he did. It’s early days. We have no proof.”

“Was that what you were doing at Allatoona earlier today? Looking for proof?”

“Yes. Of a kind.”

“What proof?”

“You have people following me all the time. I’m surprised you don’t know.”

Norris smiled. “I’m surprised I don’t either. Someone slipped up.”

He was actually being likable, Joe thought. He was getting a glimpse of the charismatic politician who was on his way to the White House.

“I was looking for evidence connecting the car Jelak abandoned to your daughter’s crime scene.” That was true at least.

“And you found it?”

“I found it.”

“And you were able to locate Jelak from it.”

“Yes. Much good it did me.”

“But you almost had him.”

Joe tilted his head and gazed curiously at him. “Almost isn’t good enough. I thought you’d be ranting and raving.”

“You have a right to that opinion. I’ve given you a hard time.”

“Are you apologizing?”

“Maybe.” He looked Joe in the eye. “I felt like I was being crucified, and everyone was taking their turn with the hammer and nails. I’ve dealt with red tape and bureaucracy, and I couldn’t stand the thought of Nancy Jo’s death being buried in it. You were a prime target, and I let loose.”

“I noticed,” Joe said dryly.

“And I’ll still be after you. I just wanted you to know that you’re the only one I’ve seen who’s brought in results. You found Jelak once; I think you’ll find him again. You don’t have to worry about one of my employees tailing you any longer. If you see a car behind you, it will be me. When you find him, I want to be there.” He paused. “If I didn’t have to keep on your ass, I think I’d like you, Quinn.” He added, “And I believe my Nancy Jo would have liked you too.”

“I know I would have liked her, Senator.” He turned away from him. “And now I’m going to go home and soothe my wounds and prepare for the next foray. I wanted to get Jelak. I’ve got to get him.”

“Because of your Eve Duncan.”

“Because of Eve and your daughter and Margaret Selkirk and all the other women who Jelak is victimizing. They’re all important.” Nancy Jo had said something like that, he remembered. He strode toward his car. “They all matter.”

“YOU COULD TALK ABOUT IT.” Eve turned over in bed and laid her head on his shoulder. “You’re lying there stiff as a board and staring into the darkness.”

“I should have caught him,” Joe said. “Caleb said I blew it, and he was right.”

“He was wrong. Caleb is a fanatic, and you shouldn’t listen to him.”

“It’s hard not to listen to him. He insists on making himself heard.”

“You almost got Jelak. That’s more than he did.”

“Almost, again. If you finished one of your reconstructions and stepped back and realized that you’d almost got it right, what would you do? You know the answer. You’d smash the clay and start again.”

She chuckled. “Okay, no more comforting bullshit.” She paused. “But you never told me how you found him in the first place.”

He was silent. “Nancy Jo. She can connect with him.”

“How?”

“Blood. Her own blood that he took from her.”

She shuddered. “I’m sorry I asked.”

“No, you’re stronger than that. As strong as she was when she was trying to find him for me.” He pulled her closer. “She’s desperate. She wants to protect her father, but it’s more than that. It’s something to do with the blood he took from her. It’s like an obscene bond that links them together even though she’s no longer alive.”

“Blood.” She had a sudden memory of that suffocating moment when she had been working on the reconstruction. “I can understand how she feels.”

“I felt… sorry for her. She was touching the blood on that seat and trying to help me, but she was hurting. I didn’t know how to help her, so I just kept asking her questions, hammering at her.” He added in frustration, “I don’t know how to handle any of this. At first, I was afraid of her. Then I just wanted to get rid of her because she was disturbing my life. But gradually I began to change. I can’t look upon her as anything but the person she was when she was alive. She’s still that person.”

“Is she?”

“Except that she’s learning, changing. I never thought much about life after death. I never expected to have to-I don’t know the rules any more than Nancy Jo does. Was I right to go to her and ask her to help? It hurt her. Shouldn’t I have left her in peace? They always talk a lot about rest and peace.”

“If you didn’t force her, then it was her choice.”

“Yeah, some choice. She’s scared that Jelak is going to kill her father. She’d do anything to keep that from happening.”

Eve got up on one elbow and shook her head as she looked down at him. “Only you, Joe.”

“What?”

“For a man who was mad as hell that this thing had happened to him, you’ve taken a giant leap. Now you want to protect her rights even from yourself. I suppose I should have expected it. It’s how you are, what you do.” She kissed him gently. “You’ve tried to protect me from the moment you met me.”

“I had no other option. I knew from the beginning that protecting you was protecting myself.” He pulled her back down and cuddled her close. “And you can’t tell me that if you were faced with this craziness that you wouldn’t try to figure it out and make it better for everyone.”

Bonnie.

If Eve had accepted that Bonnie was a spirit instead of trying to tell herself that she was a hallucination or dream, would she have been able to put her little girl’s soul at rest? The thought was unbearably painful. Joe was searching, trying to find answers, trying to set everything right for Nancy Jo. All these years Eve had only taken comfort, love, and survival from Bonnie. She had thought bringing her home was the one true answer, but what if it wasn’t? What if she could find some other way to give Bonnie what she needed? What if the solution had been there all along, and she had ignored it? Joe wasn’t ignoring anything, he was probing, questioning. “You’re a better person than I am, Joe. I believe I’d have a tendency to hide away from a truth as uncomfortable as this. Just do what you think is right. That always works for you and everyone around you.”

“Easy to say. The rules may be different.” He paused. “And I can’t make any mistakes now. He’s getting too close.” He shifted in bed. “Go to sleep. Staying awake and listening to me trying to sift through this thing isn’t going to do any good.”

“It’s doing good for me,” she said. “I’m learning what a fine man you are, Joe. I always knew it, but reinforcement is always welcome.”

“And it took a ghost to show you what a sterling character I am.”

“No, it took your response to the situation.” She pressed her lips to his shoulder. “And the knowledge that I’m still learning from you. Good night, Joe.”

He didn’t answer. His hand was gently stroking her hair, and he was still staring into the darkness.

Thinking, she realized. Trying to solve the puzzle. Trying to make everything come out right…

As he had tried to make everything all right for her all those years ago when she had been spiraling downward into a depression from which there probably would have been no return.

But there had been a return, and it had started that night over a year after she had lost Bonnie. She had gone to bed, and Joe had called her on her cell phone.

“I’m fine, Joe. It’s just a little cold.”

“A little cold that’s lasted over a month,” Joe said grimly. “Not surprising since you’ve practically stopped eating. You must have lost ten pounds in the last couple weeks.”

“You’re exaggerating. Maybe a few pounds.” She wished he’d just hang up. She was so tired. All she wanted to do was close her eyes and go to sleep. She knew Joe meant well, but he kept at her all the time. To eat, to get more rest, to stop the constant frantic work, any work, that filled her days and kept her sane.

“If you’re not better tomorrow, I’m taking you to a doctor.”

“No, it’s just a cold, Joe.” She paused. “Any news?”

“Do you think I wouldn’t have told you right away? No news. We haven’t found her.”

Yes, she shouldn’t have asked the question. She knew it hurt Joe to have her do it. Yet she had to ask it every time. The question dominated every moment of her life since Bonnie had been taken over a year ago. “I’m sorry. It’s not that I think she’s alive and you’ll find her and bring her back to me. I’ve accepted that my Bonnie is dead.” But it still hurt to put that acceptance into words, and she had to stop for a minute. “It’s just that every night I’d put her to bed, tuck her in, and kiss her good night. It hurts me to think of her thrown away somewhere, out there all alone.”

“We’ll find her, Eve.”

“I know you will… someday. I want to go to sleep now, Joe. I’m very tired.”

He muttered a curse. “I’ll be over at ten to pick you up and take you to the doctor.”

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Thank you for everything, Joe. Good night.” She hung up.

She set her phone on the bedside table and turned out the light.

Go to sleep. There was no pain when she just let go and let the darkness carry her away. She was beginning to welcome, embrace, that darkness.

“But you can’t have it, Mama. You have to come back.”

Bonnie’s voice, Eve realized hazily. She was feverish. It couldn’t be Bonnie. Bonnie was lost…

“I’m not lost. I’m here with you. I’ll always be with you, Mama. Open your eyes and look at me.”

Eve slowly opened her eyes. Bonnie was sitting on the window seat with one leg tucked beneath her. She was wearing the Bugs Bunny T-shirt and jeans in which Eve had last seen her. “See?” Her smile lit her small face. “I’m here. Why are you so sad? We’re still together.”

“No, you’re-” She couldn’t say the word. Not when this Bonnie was so glowingly alive. “You’re a dream.”

“Am I? I don’t feel like a dream. But maybe you’re right. Does it matter?”

“No.” Not as long as she could see her smile, hear her voice. “I’ve missed you, baby.”

“I’ve missed you, too, Mama. But we’re together now. You should have known we’d be together. It just took a little while.” She leaned back against the alcove wall. “But Joe is scared you’re going to get really sick. You’ll have to get better so that he doesn’t worry so much.”

“I know. But sometimes it doesn’t seem to matter.”

“It matters to me. Everything you do matters to me.” She smiled. “So I know that you’ll do everything you can to get well and strong. Just like you used to tell me, Mama.” She chuckled. “Eat your vegetables. Wear your sweater. Don’t jump into puddles.”

Eve found herself smiling. “I promise I won’t jump into any puddles. And you didn’t pay attention to me as much as you should have, young lady.”

“But I always knew that everything you did was to keep me happy. You always wanted me to be happy.”

“I still want that, baby.”

“Then stop looking so sad. You’ve got to be happy too.” She tilted her head. “I don’t want to talk about vegetables and puddles. Would you like to sing a song with me?”

“I’d like that very much. ‘All the Pretty Little Horses’?”

“No, that’s not my favorite now. I like the one about wishing on a star. It’s happier. It’s all about dreams coming true. Do you remember the words?”

“Yes, I remember every song we’ve ever sung together, Bonnie.”

“Your voice sounds kind of funny. Maybe I should start.”

“Maybe you should.” She leaned back, her gaze fixed on her little girl, on her Bonnie.

It was a dream, but let it go on.

Let Bonnie not go away.

Bonnie’s voice came softly from the darkness. “When you wish upon a star…”

EVE DIDN’T KNOW AT WHAT point she drifted into a deep sleep that night. When she woke the next morning, she expected to return to that same profound depression.

It didn’t happen. She felt a strange serenity and optimism that came as a complete surprise.

And what she thought were dreams of Bonnie became part of her life. They didn’t come every night, but frequently enough so that she never lost that feeling that on some level Bonnie was still with her.

And with that knowledge she had begun to function, to slowly come alive again.

Came alive and turned to forensic sculpting, a work that filled her life, and to Joe, who became the reason to live, to go on.

She moved closer to him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Can’t you sleep?”

He was still trying to fix her problems, heal her. “I’m fine.” She kissed him on the chin and put her head back on his shoulder. “Nothing is wrong, Joe.”

Dahlonega, Georgia

THE TEENAGE GIRL’S BLOOD was worse than useless, Jelak thought in frustration as he got into the Mazda that was parked in front of the brick office with the small sign on the door: R. J. BAKER, M.D. Nicole Spelling’s blood had fed him but not given him anything more to replace the precious and quality blood he had lost. She had been too young, too shallow.

Oh, well. She had proved useful. He’d forced her to drive him to this small burg outside Atlanta to find a doctor who could take care of his wound. He’d been careful to choose an M.D. with a practice on the edge of town, and all had gone well.

It was about time. Joe Quinn had ruined all his plans for a quick finale to his glorious quest. He had put him on the run and forced him to take that inadequate Nicole Spelling just to survive.

Suppress the anger and hatred. He’d get his own back. What do you care about, Joe Quinn? What can I take from you that will punish you enough?

The answer was clear, and every bit of the blood in his body was pounding in response to it as he drove away from the office and headed back to Atlanta.

“A BP GAS STATION WAS ROBBED and Calvin Hodges, the attendant, murdered,” Schindler said as he came into the squad room the next morning. “It was on Hawthorne Street, a few miles from where we located Jelak’s car last night.” He paused. “There was a CLOSED sign on the door, and they didn’t discover the body until this morning, when Hodges’s wife drove out to check on him. The attendant was killed with a knife thrust to the heart. But there was blood on the floor near the door. It’s probably not Hodges’s.”

“Any vehicles missing?”

“No, the attendant’s car was still parked in the back,” he added grimly. “But the last credit card to be entered into the gas pumps was for a Nicole Spelling.”

“So?”

“Her parents reported her missing last night.”

“Shit.”

“Age sixteen, just got her license, driving a red Mazda her parents gave her for her birthday,” Schindler said. “They said that she had a date to celebrate with her boyfriend. She’d bought a new dress and was very excited. That’s why they were so worried when she hadn’t come home on time.”

“Sixteen.”

“Yeah, sucks doesn’t it?” Schindler said. “We’ve put out an APB on her and the car, but nothing yet.”

And there probably wouldn’t be anything good, Joe thought. Another Nancy Jo.

No, Nicole Spelling was even younger, almost a child.

His phone rang. Caleb.

“No, we haven’t caught him,” he said when he picked up. “But he’s been busy. We have a dead gas-station attendant and a missing sixteen-year-old girl.”

“It’s logical. He’d want to replace the lost blood.”

“I’m not in the mood for logic right now.”

“I can understand that. So I’ll go right to what’s important. He’s going to be angry and frustrated. There’s no telling what Jelak will do. Expect anything.”

“I always do.” He paused. “Particularly from you.”

“That’s very intelligent of you. I hate to be predictable. But remember that I’m a very good ally. You may need allies soon.” He paused. “What about enlisting a little help from your friend in a better place? It worked before.”

“It was difficult. She told me not to ask her again.”

“But you may anyway. Isn’t that right?”

A teenager celebrating her sixteenth birthday. “Yes.”

“And so you should. Priorities, Quinn. Call me when you find out something.”

Priorities.

His job was keeping people alive. Keeping Eve alive.

Any way he could.

And now he had to bite the bullet and call Eve and tell her about Nicole Spelling.