Quicksand

TEN

SHE WAS CLIMBING THE PORCH steps when her cell phone rang again.

"Who is Montalvo?"

She went still. "Kistle?"

"Who is Montalvo and why does your Jane feel safer that he's with you?"

Her heart started to pound and her gaze darted around her. "How did you know what Jane-"

"I decided I needed to be closer to you. There's such wonderful equipment available these days to encourage intimacy."

"You have a machine to let you listen in on my phone conversations?"

"Who is Montalvo?"

"Never mind him." Her gaze searched the woods. "You must be nearby if you can tune in on my phone."

"Not that near. Ask Quinn. I don't need to have you within touching distance yet. That's for later. I'm anticipating it."

"You're crazy. It's not going to happen."

"Then why did you accept my invitation? You knew why I told you to go home."

"You said… Bonnie."

"And Bonnie is the magic word, isn't it?"

"You meant me to think that you'd lead me to Bonnie."

"Then I'll have to do it, won't I? I have to keep my word." He paused. "But is bringing your little girl's body home worth your life? That's the question. It will be interesting to find out."

"Tell me where she is," she said unevenly.

"In time. But first we have to come to an agreement. Clayborne Forest was entertaining, but it began to annoy me toward the end. No police. No FBI. The moment I see any signs of the law I'm gone and your chance of getting Bonnie back is zilch. Do you understand?"

"Where is Bonnie?"

"Of course, you can bring Quinn. He's been on my preferred list from the beginning. And who is Montalvo?"

He wasn't going to give up. "A friend."

"Who can keep you safe? Now I wonder who would be able to… Ah, I think I know. There was another man in that forest who was woods-savvy besides your Joe Quinn. I had to use all my wits to avoid him a few times. He was very stimulating." He was silent a moment. "But I really don't want you to be kept safe, Eve. I want you to feel vulnerable. I may have to seriously target this Montalvo. You know, I've already begun to miss the little communications I've been sending you. I'm sure they had a wonderfully powerful effect."

"A stake through the heart of an innocent man would have a powerful effect on anyone, you bastard."

"Tsk-tsk. You mustn't be insulting. I can appreciate your attitude, but I'm the one in control and you have to be polite."

"You're not in control."

"Of course I am. Now, here's the way it's going to be. In a few days I'll give you the approximate location of where to find your Bonnie. You go after her and if you find Bonnie and I don't manage to kill you, then you win the game."

"And how do I know that Bonnie is where you say she'll be?"

"Oh, you don't. I may decide to make a few dry runs before I tell you the right location."

"While you get to take potshots at me on the chance that you've told me the truth. That's ridiculous."

"No, it's the prerogative of the one in control. I'm sure Quinn is certain he's capable of protecting you from me. He might even be able to do it. Take it or leave it."

"I'll have to think about it."

"By all means, just sit twiddling your thumbs in your cottage as you did in that hotel room in Bloomburg. In the meantime I'll be composing the next note I'm going to send you. Let's see, his name is Montalvo…"

He hung up the phone.

Her heart was beating hard, fast, and her hand was shaking as she pressed the button. Kistle would do it, she thought. He would kill Montalvo just to prove he could. He wasn't really worried about Montalvo as a threat. His ego was too great to admit anyone was a danger to him.

It was stupid to worry about Montalvo. No one was better at taking care of himself. But, dammit, how could she not worry when the danger to him came from helping her?

She had to see Joe. She had to tell him about the call from Kistle. He had said he wasn't close, but Joe would know if that could be true.

She jumped to her feet and ran down the steps. Joe and Toby were on their way back, but she couldn't wait. She started down the path toward him.

"YOU TELL HIM NO," JOE SAID flatly. "You sit tight and let him come to you."

"Is it true? Could he monitor my call from a good distance away or is he right on top of us?"

"He could do it with a high-tech scanner."

"He doesn't have my cell number."

"He doesn't have to zero in on a number. He can do a general scan until he locates the phone he wants. But he probably does have your number now after he monitored you."

"Shit."

"I can get a block put on the phones by tomorrow."

"Good. Do it."

"But we can't take a chance he's telling the truth about keeping his distance. I'll call in some security boys to make sure the cottage is guarded. And I'll check out the woods myself."

"Okay," she said absently. Then she quickly shook her head. "No, he'd regard a security team in the same light as the police. He said no police."

"Too bad. We'll do what we have to do to keep you alive. He's not in control unless we give him the reins."

"You're wrong," she said quietly. "He's in control because he has something I want more than anything."

"For God's sake, Eve," he said through his teeth. "We're not even sure he's the one who killed Bonnie."

"There's a damn good chance. You think so too."

"Not enough to risk your neck." He was staring at her expression. "I can't believe it. You're going to play the bastard's game."

"Maybe. I don't know. I have to think about it."

"No, you stay here."

"Listen to me, Joe." She turned to face him. "One thing that son of a bitch said was true. I can't sit on my duff and wait for things to happen. This is really my fight and I have to be involved as more than a rooting section. I didn't want to be in the way in Clayborne Forest, but maybe if I'd been on the scene, he'd have gone after me instead of those deputies and we'd have been able to catch him."

"And maybe you'd have been the one with the stake in your heart."

She shook her head. "He doesn't want to kill me immediately or he wouldn't have set up this elaborate baiting. He wants to be entertained."

"And you're going to let him torture you to amuse him."

"No, but I want Bonnie. I'm willing to take a chance to get her." She looked away from him. "But it should be my risk, not yours. I don't have the right to ask that of you."

"You're closing me out?"

"I don't want to be responsible for-"

"Screw it," he said harshly. "Do you think I'd let you go up against him alone? I may think you're nuts, but I couldn't do that."

"You've been with me all the way, but I thought…" Lord, this was difficult. "It's too hard for you now. You told me how you feel about Bonnie. I don't want you doing anything you're going to regret."

"I don't have any choice. I'd regret it more if I let him kill you. Go in the house." He strode away from her. "I'll check out the woods."

She watched helplessly as he disappeared into the woods. He was angry and frustrated and the bridge they had been building over the breach between them had collapsed. Damn Kistle. Damn her own obsession that was going to pull Joe into danger again.

Okay, she knew she had to do it and Joe refused to be left behind. It was going to happen. Now, how could she make it any more likely that they'd come out of this alive?

JOE DIDN'T COME BACK UNTIL dark and then he went immediately to the bedroom and took a shower.

"No sign of him?" she asked when he came into the living room.

"No," he said curtly. "You were right. He's not ready to play yet."

"There's stew in the refrigerator. Are you hungry?"

"No, I'll eat later." He went out on the porch.

She hesitated before following him. The tension was back and what she was going to say to him wasn't going to make him any more pleased. There was no use putting it off. He'd be pissed no matter when she told him.

She opened the screen door and went out on the porch. "I need to talk to you, Joe. I've been thinking."

He turned to face her. "Tell me you've changed your mind."

She shook her head and drew a deep breath. "I'm going to call Montalvo."

He stiffened. "What the hell."

"Kistle won't permit any help from the police or FBI, but I don't think he'd consider Montalvo as official. He'll only think of him as a friend of mine who might get in the way."

"My, my, that's exactly how I think of him."

"Dammit, Joe. We need help. Kistle's going to be waiting for us."

"Not Montalvo."

"Yes, Montalvo. I told you that Kistle was planning on targeting him. If he comes here to us, then he'll be safer, and if he goes with us to find Bonnie, we'll be safer. It makes sense."

"Not to me." His lips twisted. "But then you might be the winner no matter which one of us was killed by that bastard."

She flinched. "I didn't deserve that, Joe."

"Maybe not," he said. "I'm not thinking too clearly right now."

Because he was too hurt and angry to even try to understand what she was doing. "It's the best solution to a bad problem. I'm going to call him, Joe."

"Go ahead." He turned away from her. "But you should warn him that there's a better chance for death by friendly fire than in most wars."

"I'LL BE THERE IN TWO HOURS," Montalvo said. "Though I believe I'm a little insulted that you'd think I need protecting. If you think Kistle may be trying to dispose of me, it might be better for me to stay put and let him try."

"For God's sake, stop being macho. I'm sick of you and Joe thinking of this as some sort of cat-and-mouse game. And now Kistle is trying to set up his own game and it's scaring me to death. I know you won't go away and there's strength in numbers."

"What does Quinn say?"

"What do you think? Something about friendly fire."

He chuckled. "With Quinn the fire would definitely not be friendly. I'd come just to annoy him."

"And then I'd feel like shooting you myself. Don't make this difficult for me or I'll deal with Kistle on my own. I'd rather do that anyway. I'm tired of watching other people risk their lives because I'm choosing to let Kistle lead me down the garden path because of Bonnie."

"You forget that I did that to you. I used Bonnie to make you risk your life when I first met you. Turnabout is fair play. But I wouldn't expect a garden path. I'd say it will be full of thorns." He went on crisply, "But I'll try to restrain myself from antagonizing Quinn unduly. And I won't stay at your cottage. Miguel and I will camp out in your woods until you hear from Kistle. That way I can keep an eye on you." He added, "And you can keep an eye on me. Won't that be cozy?"

She ignored the question. "Kistle may object to Miguel."

"He appears fairly innocuous. He's young and boyish and he has two bandaged hands. Kistle will think he can pick him off at will. And I don't want him targeting Miguel because I'm out of his immediate reach. I want him with me."

He was right, Eve thought. Kistle would strike out at whatever victim he could if cheated of the one he wanted. "I'm sure Miguel will like that. He's been aching to go after Kistle since the beginning. I'll see you in a few hours." She hung up and went back out on the porch, where Joe was sitting on the swing with Toby at his feet. "He'll be here tonight. He's bringing Miguel and he's going to camp out in the woods."

"Good. I can't say I'd enjoy having him underfoot." He looked out at the woods. "At least he'll be of some use protecting you if he's out there."

She sat down in the swing beside him. "Everyone wants to protect me and I'm the one causing all this. Change your mind, Joe. I'm neither stupid nor helpless. Let me do this alone."

"No way." He looked away from her. "Let me do it alone."

"No way. I'm done with hiding away and waiting. Kistle wants me out on the firing line and that's where I want to be."

"Then we're at an impasse."

It seemed to Eve as if they'd been living in that state for months. "I guess we are." She reached out and tentatively touched his hand. "Does that mean you don't want to hold me? That's not what it means to me."

"No." His arm slid around her shoulders and drew her to him. "I'd want to hold you if you were going to lead me down to hell. Because if that's where you were, that's where I'd want to be."

She put her head on his shoulder. "Sometimes I think that's where I have been leading you," she said unsteadily. The moment was filled with love and poignant sadness and she wanted to hold him, touch him, and protect him. "And anytime you want to turn back, I'll understand."

"I'm not going anywhere." He was still staring out at the lake. "And I'll work with Montalvo because, when I'm not pissed off, I can see how he might help to keep you alive."

"I wasn't sure you'd be willing to do that."

"I knew every minute I was in Clayborne Forest that I was fighting against time. I was sure you'd dive in as soon as you couldn't stand it any longer. Do I want to break Montalvo's neck every time I see him? Hell, yes. But I can't afford indulging my feelings toward him right now. My focus has to be totally on you. And I'd put up with a Saddam Hussein or a Satan if he could help."

"No friendly fire?"

"Maybe later. I'm not promising anything." He reached for his phone. "But right now I'm going to call Jane and try to keep her on the other side of the Atlantic. I don't want her caught up in this hell ride."

"How are you going to do that?"

"How do you think? Make up a whopper of a lie."

THE CALL FROM KISTLE CAME an hour later. "Really, Eve. You're spoiling all my fun. I was counting on a more dramatic death for Montalvo than the rest of you. It was going to be like the riveting prologue to the main novel. Now he'll just be one of the crowd."

"You were listening in on my phone conversation."

"Yes. Are you surprised?"

"No, I thought there was a good chance. You knew I'd warn him."

"I didn't realize I'd drive you to tuck him under your wing. But I did learn something of value. Quinn and Montalvo are at odds. That may mean I can divide and conquer."

"Don't count on it."

"I never count on anything. That's why I'm so good in the wild. There are certain patterns that never change, but almost everything else is unstable."

"Including you."

"Including me. I'm sending you a present tomorrow. I think it will serve to keep the adrenaline flowing. Good night, Eve."

She turned to Joe sitting on the couch beside her. "He's still scanning my phone. He knew about the call to Montalvo. I think he's accepted his coming here."

"The block will be on by morning. What else?"

"He's sending me a present tomorrow." She shuddered. "He was practically salivating. I kept thinking of those men with a stake in their hearts. He wants to scare me."

"So what's new?" Joe turned away. "I saw two cars' headlights coming up the road before I came in from the porch. It's probably Montalvo. I'm going down to meet him."

She started to follow him and then stopped. It would be better if she let him go alone. She wasn't going to be able to play referee forever. They were grown men and they'd have to work it out for themselves.

She went to the door and watched him stride down the path toward the place on the other side of the lake where the cars had parked.

A very sensible decision but, dammit, she wanted to be down there with them instead of waiting here like some nitwit lady in a tower.

MONTALVO AND MIGUEL HAD already built a fire and were unpacking their gear by the time Joe reached their camp.

"Ah, Quinn, I was expecting you," Montalvo said. "Perhaps not quite this soon, but I had the foresight to bring an extra coffee from Starbucks for you in case you came before I had time to make a pot." He handed him the large Starbucks cup and turned to Miguel. "Stop unpacking, Miguel. Don't be rude. We have a guest."

He probably expected Joe to toss the coffee in his face. Instead, Joe took off the lid and lifted the cup to his lips. "None for Eve?"

"It would be smart of her to let us go at it face-to-face." He leaned against the car and took a drink of his coffee. "And Eve is very, very smart. She's probably gnawing her fingernails because she wants to run down and handle this meeting herself, but she let you go alone."

And Montalvo knew her well enough to be able to predict that response. Joe smothered the flare of anger the thought brought him. Keep cool. "That's right." He lifted his cup to his lips. "But as you said, she's very smart. She knows I'm not going to break your neck… yet."

"May I go back to unpacking?" Miguel asked. "Violent discussions upset me."

"No, stay. I'm going to need you." Montalvo smiled. "But, I assure you, not to protect me. Drink your coffee and be quiet. Go on, Quinn."

"I'm just here to say that we're going to work together on this. This isn't going to be another Clayborne Forest. No working alone, no competition. That suited me too. But this is different. Eve is going to be right in the middle of it. She's not going to be at risk because you want to make points with her."

Montalvo's smile faded. "I didn't expect this. I expected anger, perhaps an attempt to shut me out. Not this."

"I'm angry. I will shut you out. But that's not what's important right now." He took another drink of coffee, threw the rest of it on the ground, and crushed the coffee cup in his hand. "And if your ego demands you try to operate on your own, I'll crush you like I did that cup."

Miguel gave a low whistle. "I really think the tent needs to be put up."

Montalvo didn't look away from Joe. "Relax, Miguel, nothing is going to happen. When I was a boy like you, I might have acted precipitously and gone for the jugular, but I have a tendency to think before I leap these days." He finished his coffee. "And I do have a certain amount of ego, but I control it, Quinn. It doesn't control me. I happen to agree with you in this case, so I'll ignore your warning and chalk it up to concern for Eve."

"How kind," Joe said sarcastically.

"It is, isn't it?" Montalvo turned to Miguel. "Lay out those maps on the ground beside the fire."

"Right away." Miguel quickly reached into a box in the car and drew out several maps. "Anything for a diversion." He spread two of the maps on the ground. "I brought boxes of books and magazines about the possible sites where we might find Kistle. And I bought three sets of maps. I can give you one set, Quinn."

"And why am I supposed to want these maps?" Joe asked.

"Because according to Murdock, the informant who told us about Kistle and Bonnie, these were the areas where Kistle liked to go hunting. He talked about them all the time." Montalvo pointed to the first map. "Chattahoochee Oconee National Forest." He pointed to the second. "Okefenokee Swamp. The first place is fairly close, about two hours away. The second is in south Georgia. My bet is that he's going to lead Eve to one of those places."

"Maybe both of them," Joe said. "I've been to Chattahoochee National Forest. It could be a nightmare. Rough terrain, bluffs, streams."

"How well do you know it?" Montalvo asked.

"Pretty well. Several years ago I followed a lead that Bonnie was buried there. We didn't come up with anything." His lips twisted. "But that doesn't mean she's not there. We couldn't search every inch of that acreage and we had no coordinates."

"What about the swamp?"

Joe shook his head. "Never been there."

"Swamps are a good place to dispose of bodies."

"You speak from personal experience?"

"Very personal." Montalvo looked down at the map. "And, no, I haven't tossed any enemies into the swamp. We had to retrieve my wife from a swamp. She was murdered and thrown away like so much refuse."

"I don't think Kistle would take a chance on a body being retrieved. He's too careful. Of course, he could lie just to bring Eve to him."

"He could pick another place entirely," Miguel said. "But these were the only grounds where he mentioned hunting. It makes sense, if he was going to bury a body, that he'd have it planned out ahead of time, as he did with Bobby Joe."

Joe nodded. "He was younger then, but the basic MO was probably the same."

Montalvo nodded. "That's what I thought. That means we have to learn these places as well as Kistle."

"No way," Joe said. "We've got a chance with the national forest since I've been there, but none of us knows anything about the swamp."

"I'm going down there tonight," Miguel said. "I've paid lots of Montalvo's money to a park ranger who will take me through it and reveal all its secrets."

"Optimistic."

"I'm good in the jungle, even better in a swamp. You would have seen for yourself if the colonel had let me go into Clayborne Forest." He held up his hands. "But I've told him the park ranger will do all the work and keep my bandages pristine clean."

"He'd better," Montalvo said grimly. He looked at Joe. "I was going to go to the national forest, but it would be a waste of time if you know it well."

Joe's lips lifted in a sardonic smile. "You'd follow my lead?"

"You wouldn't lead Eve astray," Montalvo said softly. "And I'll have to be close to her if I'm to protect her." He got to his feet. "Give him his maps, Miguel. I'll start to put up the tent."

Joe took the maps Miguel handed him and stood up. "I'll let you know when Eve hears from Kistle."

He wheeled and started up the path toward the cottage.

MIGUEL STOOD WATCHING QUINN for a moment. "I didn't think you would let him talk to you like that. It's not like you, Colonel."

Montalvo shrugged. "I'm sorry to disappoint you. Do you think I'm afraid of him?"

Miguel shook his head. "No, but I don't understand."

Montalvo drove the tent pegs into the ground before he spoke again. "I would have handled the situation in exactly the same way that he did. It's hard to condemn a man who does that." Montalvo remembered saying something to Eve about them being mirror images of each other. Strange. Now he was seeing his reflection in Joe Quinn.

He dismissed the thought. "As soon as we get the tent up, I want you to get something to eat and sleep a few hours. I want you to be at Okefenokee by daybreak."

KISTLE'S PACKAGE WAS DELIVERED by UPS late the next afternoon. It was the size of a shirt box and wrapped in brown paper.

Joe brought it up to the porch. "It's very light. Do you want me to open it?"

"No, I'll do it." Eve stared at the box for a moment before taking it. It wasn't going to bite her. Or maybe it would. She wouldn't put it past Kistle to put a tarantula in the box.

Nevertheless, she had to open it.

She tore off the brown paper and opened the white box.

A child's blue hair ribbon.

She felt sick.

"Is it Bonnie's?" Joe asked.

That had been her first thought. But Eve had seldom put ribbons in Bonnie's hair because she had too many curls. When she did, the ribbons were always yellow. Bonnie loved yellow. She said it reminded her of the sun. "No, it's not Bonnie's." She touched it gingerly. On closer inspection she could see traces of brown stain on the satin. Dirt?

Or blood?

"There's an envelope." Joe took it out of the box and opened it. "Two pictures." He handed her one taken somewhere outdoors. There was a pine tree and close to it was a huge rock. Then he handed her the second one.

"Oh, God."

It was a picture of a little girl with shiny brown hair tied back with a blue ribbon.

Eve's gaze flew up to Joe's face. "He's still doing it. It's Clayborne Forest all over again. He's still doing it."

"Easy. We don't know that yet. He didn't send us a body part. He sent us a ribbon."

"With blood on it. That stain has got to be blood."

Joe was checking the envelope. "There's a piece of paper here." Joe pulled it out and glanced at it before handing it to Eve. "He evidently wants to drag this out."

Watch the news tonight, Eve. Her name is Laura Ann.

"The evening news," she repeated. "What time is it?"

"Three-thirty. Channel two has news starting at five."

She looked at the other picture, of the pine and rock. "And what the hell is this?"

"A clue?"

"Where he buried Bonnie?" She shuddered. "Or where he buried that little girl, Laura Ann?"

"We'll have to wait and see." Joe headed for the kitchen. "In the meantime I'll make a pot of coffee. You're pale as a tombstone. You can use it. Hell, I can use it."

Pale as a tombstone.

Only Bonnie had never had a tombstone. She was lost, and so might be this other little girl.

Watch the news. Five o'clock. It was going to seem like forever.