Eve

CHAPTER 10

A NUMBER SHE DIDN’T RECOGNIZE.

Unknown number.

Why get so tense? It could be a marketing or sales firm.

She punched the button. “Eve Duncan.”

“You sound very curt and businesslike. But then you always were a no-nonsense woman… in some areas.”

The breath left her body. She closed her eyes, struggling for control.

John Gallo.

“I can almost feel your shock.” His voice was mocking. “But I don’t understand. The moment you decided to stir up the pot, you must have known that I’d have to contact you. I couldn’t just let you fade into the great beyond. Though God knows I did try.”

“John?” she whispered. She tried to pull herself together. “You’re damn right I’m shocked. I didn’t even know you were still alive until yesterday.”

“Really? Then it was all due to Catherine Ling that I have this excuse for our rapprochement? I thought you’d stumbled across something that led you toward me and were just using her. I must thank her when we meet. And here I was so annoyed with her.”

“She’s my friend. She knows how much I want to find my daughter’s killer.”

“Our daughter,” John corrected.

Shock rippled through her. “No, Bonnie was mine and always will be mine. You had nothing to do with her.” She paused. “Unless you were the one who murdered her. Catherine thinks it might be you.”

“What do you think?”

“I don’t know. It might be true.”

“And what would you do if you found that it was?”

“I’d kill you.”

“Interesting.”

“Is it? I’m glad you find the prospect entertaining. I mean it, John.”

“I know you do. That’s why it’s interesting. You’ve developed the killer instinct. Whenever I thought about you, I thought of you strong, driven, the huntress, yet never violent. What did you think about me?”

“You were out of my life; and then I thought you were dead. I didn’t think of you.”

“Yes, you did. You may have pushed it into the background, but the memory was always there, wasn’t it?”

“No, my life was too full to remember a kid who dropped into it, screwed me, then disappeared.”

“I had years of fullness, too, and of emptiness, and of darkness, and of a haze somewhere in between. But I always remembered you, Eve. You were something to hold on to in the darkness.” He chuckled. “And in the haze you could be anything I wanted you to be. I must tell you about that period in my life.”

“I don’t want you to tell me anything. Except the truth about Bonnie. Did you kill her?”

“Would you believe me if I told you that I didn’t?”

“I might.”

“No, you wouldn’t. You never trusted me even when we were… close.”

“You were here in Atlanta the month she disappeared. I know that much. Do you deny it?”

“I don’t deny it.”

Silence.

“Is that all you’re going to say?”

“I didn’t phone you to answer questions. Phones are so impersonal, and impersonal is something we’ve never been with each other.”

“If you won’t answer questions about yourself, what about Paul Black? What’s your connection with him?”

“I know him. He’s part of my darkness.”

“Dammit, don’t give me double-talk. Black confessed to his cellmate that he killed Bonnie. Catherine also said he had some connection with you. What connection?”

He ignored the question. “I want to see you.”

“What?”

“I thought talking to you might be enough, but I’ve changed my mind. It’s been very… provocative. I’ve decided that there has to be final resolution. I know who you are, what you’ve become, but I have to reach out and touch it.”

“No, you don’t. You have to tell me if you killed my Bonnie.”

“We’ve already discussed the absence of my credibility.”

“Answer me.”

Silence. “No, I did not. Do you believe me?”

She didn’t answer.

“You see, if I’d answered yes, you would have believed me. But denial is always the problem. Should I say I killed her?”

“I want the truth.”

“You always did. I want to see you, Eve.”

“So you can kill me, too?”

“Why should I?”

“Because I’m after you. I’ll find you. I’ll find out if you killed Bonnie. If you’re a murderer, that would be reason enough to kill me.”

“Good reasoning. And, add to that the fact that you’ve already said that you’d kill me if you thought I’d killed Bonnie, it should make me very lethal-minded.”

“You’re taking all of this very lightly.”

“No, I’m not.” The mockery was suddenly gone from his tone. “If I were, I’d be handling this in an entirely different manner. I’d disappear where you couldn’t find me. I’d find a way to rid myself of Catherine Ling in a manner of which you would not approve. But I found myself unwilling to do either. So the only other alternative is to come to terms with you.”

“After all these years?”

“A good many things got in the way. Not the least was Bonnie’s death.”

“If you didn’t kill her, why didn’t you contact me? I know she didn’t mean anything to you, but she was your daughter. Surely even you couldn’t be callous enough to ignore the fact that she’d been kidnapped.”

“I didn’t ignore it.” He paused. “When can I see you?”

“When you’re willing to come into an ATLPD precinct and make a full disclosure. There’s no way I’d risk meeting you one-on-one.”

“But of course you’ll do it. Do you think I don’t know how desperate you are? I’ve watched and followed your path for years. You’ve risked your life on much slimmer leads.”

“I’ll just wait until Catherine finds a safer way for me to contact you.”

“Like Nate Queen? He’ll never give her what she wants. He knows better.”

“How did you know she was dealing with Queen?”

“Why, I own him, Eve.”

“You pay him?”

“No, he pays me, and there are other elements to our arrangement. Fear does equally well. Actually, it’s sometimes more efficient.”

“He’s a government agent. Why should he be afraid of you?”

“Because I want him to be. Queen will not only not help you, but, if I choose, he’ll protect me from you. I’d really hate to ask him to do that. Will you come?”

“I’ve given you my answer.”

“But it’s not the one I want to hear,” he said. “Change your mind. I’ll let you know later where to meet me. In a public place, if you like. Though we won’t stay there.” He chuckled. “Doesn’t that sound ominous? One hand is stroking you; the other is holding the knife. Though, as I recall, you never had an objection to that method of doing things. You liked it soft, and you liked it rough.”

“Stop recalling,” she said through clenched teeth. “Forget everything that happened between us. None of it matters. It’s as if it never took place.”

“I can’t forget, and neither can you. What we were is the basis of what we are now. I’ll try not to be blatant about it, but I’m not going to ignore it.”

“I am.” She was silent a moment. “If I do come, will you talk to me? Will you tell me what I want to know?”

“You’re actually expecting me not to lie to you?”

“You never lied to me before.”

“You see, you can’t ignore our history, either. I could have changed. I have changed.”

“Will you tell me what I want to know?”

“I’ll tell you some things you want to know. I don’t promise to confess all to you.”

“Confess.” She jumped on the word. “Do you mean confess that you killed Bonnie?”

“Confess is just a word. Though it does bring up thoughts of courtrooms and church confessionals. I suppose I might indulge myself by cleansing my soul of a few sins. Do you know, I don’t believe I’d mind using you in that way. Very odd. I haven’t felt the need of sharing my sins in a very long time, perhaps never. Don’t you find that unusual?”

“There’s only one confession I want to hear from you.”

“Then step into my web. No one ever said that I was without guile. There’s no telling what secrets I may tell you.” He chuckled. “Though don’t tell Queen I said that. He doesn’t like the idea of my telling secrets. He may lose his sense of judgment and decide you’re a threat, too.”

“Evidently, you’re the threat.”

“I’ve never said that I wasn’t one. But I’ve always been honest about it. I even warned you, Eve.”

Yes, that was true. And she had ignored it and gone headlong into an affair with him. What an idiot she had been.

“You’re thinking that you would never make that mistake today,” John said. “You never know. My phoning you is probably a mistake, but I couldn’t resist. Every now and then, I have a lapse and just go for it.”

“Why? There’s an excuse for acting without thinking when we were that young, but all that’s behind us. We have responsibilities and knowledge of the consequences. We don’t have the right to ‘go for it.’”

“I have the right to take whatever I can take. It’s an integral part of my personality. One of my personalities anyway. Queen will tell you that I probably have several swirling about, causing turmoil to him and everyone else.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ask him. He’ll be delighted to tell you about all my little foibles. He thinks I’m crazy.”

Eve felt a chill. “And are you?”

He was silent a moment. “Yes, occasionally.” He added mockingly, “But don’t let that keep you from renewing our acquaintance. Look upon it as a challenge. I’ll be in touch.” He hung up.

A challenge? Eve was shaking as she pressed the disconnect. This wasn’t the kind of challenge she needed or wanted. The entire conversation with John Gallo had been disturbing. Disturbing and frightening. His voice had been the same, and yet the intonations of mockery had been different. She had found herself trying to anticipate what he was going to say, but it had been like talking to a stranger.

For God’s sake, he was a stranger. What was she thinking?

She wasn’t thinking at all. Emotion had taken over.

Then throw it out and start thinking like the woman you’ve become and not the girl you were.

She drew a deep breath. What had she learned from that call?

Not much. He had admitted he had been in Atlanta at the time of Bonnie’s kidnapping. He had said he had not done it, but the underlying mockery had made everything he’d said suspect. Nate Queen and Army Intelligence evidently knew everything about him, but the odds were that Catherine wouldn’t be able to get anything out of them.

And he’d said that he was unbalanced at times. There had been no mockery in those words.

Crazy. It would take a man who was unbalanced to kill a helpless child, his own flesh and blood.

Bonnie.

The pain was always there, but the possibility of John Gallo’s being her killer had brought the agony alive again.

The agony and the bitterness.

He might well have killed her if he’d been gripped in a fit of insanity. If he had not killed her, then he could know who did.

Damn him.

All these years he had been alive, standing on the sidelines, watching her pain. What kind of monster had he become? If Catherine had not been able to unearth this connection, would he have continued to stand back and monitor the hell Eve was going through?

No way. She knew about Gallo now. There would be no more of his standing in the shadows like a vampire drinking in her pain and loss. She’d jerk him into the sunlight and burn him alive if she found he’d killed Bonnie.

She pulled out her phone and dialed Catherine. “I just talked to John Gallo on my cell. You’re going to find it hard as hell to find out anything from Nate Queen. Gallo says he owns him. I believe him.”

“Shit.”

“But Gallo wants me to meet with him. Somewhere public.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I can’t be sure. He says he wants to ‘resolve’ our relationship. It sounds like some kind of whim.” She paused. “He admitted he wasn’t stable.”

“Then you stay away from him. We’ll set up a trap.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Think about it? You just said he was crazy. That’s the only way to handle it.”

“What if he gets spooked? He said his other choice was just to disappear. Evidently, he’s damn good at that. No one knew he was alive all these years.”

“You’re thinking about meeting him.”

“He may have killed Bonnie. Or he may know who did. It’s possible he could tell me where to find Paul Black. I’d lose all of that if I blow this chance.”

“That’s not all you could lose if you meet Gallo. He felt safe before. You’re a threat to him now that you know he could have killed Bonnie.”

“I can’t blow it,” Eve repeated.

“Stay where you are. I’m coming back to the cottage.”

“Catherine to the rescue? I didn’t say that I’m meeting him. He didn’t even set up a place yet.”

“I know you. I’m tempted to call Joe and tell him to-”

“No!” No threat to Joe. The hint that John Gallo was unbalanced had made the danger even more clear. If Eve was going to take a chance, it would not be with Joe’s life. “Joe can’t be involved, Catherine. I’d keep you out of it, too, but there’s a chance that you’ll be able to find out more from Nate Queen. We need all the help we can get. I’m having trouble getting anything but double talk from Gallo.”

“Then it’s a waste. Stay away from him.”

She wanted to stay away from him. It wasn’t possible. “I’ll try to keep in contact with you.”

“I’m on my way.” Catherine hung up.

Definitely Catherine to the rescue, Eve thought. Well, she would deal with her friend when she arrived. Catherine was at her rental house in Louisville, Kentucky. That meant that it would take her at least four or five hours to reach the cottage. Unless she took a helicopter. Eve wouldn’t rule out that possibility.

At any rate, she’d better marshal her arguments and start making plans to avoid Catherine’s machinations.

The FedEx truck was coming down the lake road to the cottage.

First things, first. She’d set up the skull that the Austin PD had sent her and start the initial measurements. There was no reason to neglect her job because her personal life was suddenly in such chaos.

“You have my package?” She came down the steps as the truck stopped. “I’ll take it. I have to sign for it, as usual?”

“Yep.” The uniformed driver bent down and grabbed the box. The next minute he’d jumped down and was holding the clipboard out to her.

She took the pen and scrawled her name. “Thank you.” Her finger was tingling, and she absently rubbed it against her pants as she handed him back the clipboard and pen. “Always right on time.”

“Not this time. Long overdue.” He raised his head and looked her straight in the face.

She froze with shock.

John Gallo. Different, so different. Yet unmistakable.

“It’s okay,” he said quietly. “Don’t be scared. It’s nothing, really.”

Darkness.

EVE WASN’T ANSWERING HER phone. It was going straight to voice mail.

Not good.

Catherine frowned as she pressed the disconnect. There was a possibility that Eve might be ignoring her call to avoid an argument. But that wasn’t like Eve. She had no problem with confrontation.

She tried to call again. Same result.

Okay, bite the bullet. Eve might not be pleased with her, but Catherine wasn’t going to go against instinct. It had saved her neck too many times to ignore it. She dialed Joe Quinn.

“Catherine,” she said when he answered. “Are you at the precinct?”

“Yes.”

“Do me a favor. Call Eve. See if she answers. I need to know if she’s just not answering my calls.”

“And why would she do that?”

“Because I’m pushy, and she doesn’t want to be pushed. Just do it. Okay?”

Joe hung up.

He called back two minutes later. “What the hell is happening?”

“She didn’t answer?”

“I called three times.” His voice was harsh. “Voice mail. Why were you pushing her?”

“I’m in my car on the way to the lake cottage. But it will be several hours before I get there. Go home and check to make sure everything is okay.”

“Why shouldn’t it be?” he asked. “Dammit, answer me, Catherine.”

“John Gallo called Eve. He wanted to arrange a meeting.”

Joe muttered an oath. “And, of course, she was going to do it.”

“You know Eve. The chances are good. She thinks she should handle this herself.”

“I know. And she wouldn’t listen to you. She won’t listen to me, either. What else did Gallo tell her?”

“That Nate Queen won’t tell her anything. He said they have an arrangement. No, he said he owned Queen.”

“Yes, and that would be the only excuse she’d need. I’m getting in my car now. I should be home in thirty minutes. I’ll call you from there.” He hung up.

The deed was done. If nothing was wrong, then Eve was going to be very upset with her. Catherine sighed as she hung up the phone. At least she hadn’t told Joe the most frightening thing about Gallo’s call. No use worrying him unless necessary. Now all she could do was wait for Joe’s call.

The call came forty minutes later.

“She’s not here,” he said curtly. “The Jeep was still in the driveway. The house was left unlocked. A half-full coffee cup was on the front porch railing.”

“No note?”

“Nothing.”

“Shit.”

“My sentiments. If she went somewhere to meet Gallo, she would have used her own transportation. And she wouldn’t have left the house unlocked. We always use the alarm.”

“You think that Gallo decided he didn’t want to wait to set up a meeting?”

“Don’t you?”

“Yes.” She hesitated. “There’s something else you should know. Gallo admitted to Eve that he was unbalanced.”

There was a silence, then an eruption of oaths. “My God, and she was going to meet him anyway? No wonder you were on your way back down here. You should have called me right away.” He added roughly, “Oh, I know why you didn’t. You two have this bond, and everyone else is on the outside. But if anything has happened to her, I’ll break your neck, Catherine.”

“And I won’t blame you. But you’d do better to think of breaking Gallo’s neck as soon as we find him.”

“And that will be damn soon. Are you somewhere near a city?”

“Knoxville, Tennessee, is about thirty miles from here.”

“Go to the airport. I’m renting a plane, and I’ll pick you up.”

“And where are we going?”

“You tell me. Can you locate Nate Queen?”

“He should be back in his office at INSCOM Fort Belvoir, Virginia, by now. But he also has a condo in Alexandria. Should I call him?”

“No, we’re going to pay him a visit. There’s too much wiggle room on the phone. He’s going to talk. I’ll know everything he knows about John Gallo within an hour after I have him. I’m going to pin him down so tight he won’t be able to breathe. As a matter of fact, that’s an even better idea.” His tone was savage. “Gallo thinks he owns Nate Queen? He just yielded possession. I’m the one who’s going to own Queen from now on.”

San Francisco International Airport

The gate area was crowded, and Paul Black was barely able to get a seat at Gate 2.

He would rather have been at Gate 1. From where he was sitting, he could see a little girl of seven or eight standing next to a flight attendant. She was a pretty, brown-haired little girl, her hair pulled back in a blue ribbon. Her face was eager, her eyes shining.

A first flight?

She was probably one of the thousands of unaccompanied minors who flew every month entrusted to the airlines flight attendants. The flight attendant seemed to be in her early twenties and was chatting with the man next to her.

While the little girl was going toward the doughnut stand in the center of the gate area.

It would not be easy, but it would be possible, he thought.

Train stations, bus stations, airports were all prime areas to make contact. Airports were a little harder, but that only made it more interesting. He usually preferred bus stations in European and Asian countries, but he couldn’t be choosy at the moment. He hadn’t had a kill in over a week.

The little girl had her doughnut and was coming back toward the flight attendant.

The woman barely glanced at the little girl when she sat down next to her.

Maybe it would be easier than he thought.

The mind-set of the people at travel centers was always different. Sometimes the travelers were nervous, excited, unhappy, but there was always a chance that their altered perception would lead them more easily to do things they wouldn’t ordinarily do.

He had read once that Andrei Chikatilo, the Soviet serial killer who had been convicted of killing at least fifty-three women and children, had made a habit of contacting his prey at train stations. It was a wonder the fool had not been caught before. Personally, Black preferred to be unpredictable. It was the only safe method and, combined with his clever acquisition of Queen as a protector, it had worked wonderfully well for him. He had stopped counting at sixty-two kills and, though he had occasionally skirted capture, he had never been really in danger.

Paul Black glanced up at the clock. He had forty minutes before he boarded the flight. Time to spend them doing something he’d enjoy. He took out his cell and dialed Nate Queen.

“I’m coming after you, Queen,” he said softly. “I just thought I’d let you anticipate a little.”

“Black?” Queen’s voice was hoarse. “What are you talking about? Why? Haven’t I protected you? Let’s talk.”

The bastard was scared shitless, Black thought. Good. Fear was power. It was as heady as straight vodka. “I don’t like to talk. That’s what’s made our relationship work so well. You give me an assignment, and I do it. I give you a bill, and you pay it.” He paused. “Benkman didn’t like to talk, either. He just wanted to kill me and walk away. You shouldn’t have sent him, Queen.”

“Why would I want to kill you? You’re valuable to me.”

“I think you’re playing both ends against the middle. You don’t care how faithful an employee I’ve been over the years.” His voice was mocking. “No gold watch. Just a bomb under the terrace. So I must have been more valuable to you dead than alive.”

“It wasn’t me.” Queen’s voice was panicky. “Maybe Gallo did it on his own. He doesn’t tell me everything.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll get to you both.”

“Look, we can work this out. You need me as much as I need you. They would have executed you years ago if I hadn’t protected you. You know that’s true.”

“And the reason you protected me is that you know the minute they catch me, I’ll tell everyone how you’ve constantly stolen evidence and whisked me away from the local police. In how many countries? At least a dozen.” Turn the screw. “And I’ll give details to the media. Ugly details horrify the media. You’re so comfortable in your cushy job, just waiting to retire and tap all the money you’ve stolen and go to some Caribbean island. That dream would be blasted to hell. They’ll start a witch hunt.”

“Maybe I made a mistake,” Queen said. “I admit I was getting nervous. I needed someone who would just do the kills I assigned, then go undercover until we needed him.”

“Oh, someone who didn’t like his job?”

He hesitated. “I may have thought that you were out of control.”

“I am. You’ve never been able to control me.”

The little girl at Gate 1 was wandering away from the flight attendant again. Black felt tension grip him. It was too tempting. The challenge, the possibility… the hunger.

“Give me another chance,” Queen said.

He jerked his attention away from the girl. “Why now? Why did you send Benkman now?”

“I told you that-” Queen stopped. “Gallo is becoming difficult. I’m tired of dealing with him. I needed a sacrificial lamb.”

Black burst out laughing. “And I was your lamb? What fools you are. You should have let me kill him when I wanted to do it.”

“We had our doubts whether you could do it. He’s as nasty a piece of work as you are.”

Black’s smile vanished. “I could do it.”

“Then maybe we could deal. You forget my lack of judgment. And I turn you loose on Gallo for a very substantial sum. Look on it as a challenge.”

The challenge was the little girl at Gate 1. Gallo would only be an amusement in comparison. “How much?”

“Double the last job.”

“You really are finding him difficult. Or me a threat.”

“A little of both,” Queen said. “I want information from him before he dies. I need a ledger he’s been holding.”

“How do you know I won’t take it?”

“You wouldn’t be interested. Blackmail requires a certain effort and restraint. You only want one thing from us.”

Freedom to keep doing what he loved best.

Queen knew him better than he’d thought.

“I might be interested. I’ve always hated Gallo’s guts.” He added, “As long as you understand, you won’t get another chance with me. Where is Gallo?”

“Mazkal, Utah.” He paused. “Where are you?”

“San Francisco.”

“Very close.”

“I’m close to you, too. Only a few hours away.”

“But you’d get nothing by killing me.”

“Except satisfaction.”

“Be reasonable.”

“But all the FBI profilers say that men of my persuasion are seldom reasonable.”

The flight attendant at Gate 1 was leaning on the departure gate desk and talking to the gate agent.

The little girl was standing several yards away looking out the huge window at the planes.

“Black, change your mind.”

“I may. Or I may not. If you’re not dead in the next twelve hours, then you’ll know that I’ve decided to forgive you and gone after Gallo instead.” He hung up.

He leaned back in his seat, his gaze on the little girl. Such shining brown hair, such a pretty little girl.

Her flight wasn’t due to board for another fifty-five minutes. That was enough time to lure her out of the airport.

If the flight attendant was as careless and self-centered as she appeared.

If the little girl was as innocent and eager as he judged.

If Black could use all his skill and cleverness to persuade her to come with him.

It would be difficult. It would be a challenge…

So should he accept that challenge? Should he forget her and get on his flight to Washington? Or should he catch a later flight to Utah?

Let the little girl decide.

He got to his feet and strolled casually toward the window.

If it proved too awkward or dangerous a task to take what he wanted, then he’d return to his own gate and continue to Washington.

If he was able to lure the little girl from the airport, then he’d come back after he’d sated himself and take the flight to Utah.

He stopped a good five feet from the child and gazed out the window, ignoring her. Never too close at the start. In the crowded airport, it would be better to use words rather than actions. And they must be the right words. But he would have no problem. He was an expert, a master, at this game.

Queen or Gallo?

Sweet little girl, you choose who is to die.