Текст книги "Quinn"

Автор книги: Iris Johansen

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 17 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

“I hope you do.” She was silent a moment. “If it’s true, I’m happy for Gallo.”

“But you’re still skeptical. Oh, well, maybe Jacobs will be able to convince you when you get here. I’m tired of being the only positive voice. I’ve just had a depressing conversation with Gallo about touching people’s lives and changing them for the worse. It works the other way too, dammit.”

“Yes, it does. And you’re proof of it, Catherine. I’ll call you when I’m within a few miles of your place.” She hung up.

“She’s happy that Jacobs cleared you,” Catherine said to Gallo as she hung up.

“But skeptical.” He added quietly, “I’m glad you’re not skeptical. You’ve been a beacon in the darkness, Catherine. I know I’ve been a pain in the ass.”

“Yes, you have. In more ways than one.” She met his eyes. “And you’ll owe me when this is done.”

“I’ll pay you. Anytime. Any way. I’ll invent new ways to pay you.”

She tore her gaze away. “How much longer do we have to wait down here?”

“Another ten minutes.”

She hesitated. “Maybe we should wait for Eve and Joe.”

“And maybe we should have everything settled before they get here. I’ve never encountered Joe Quinn except for those few minutes before Black stabbed him, but he’s never had any warm feelings toward me.”

“That’s an understatement. You can hardly blame him. Eve is his whole world, and he considered you a threat to her.”

“I don’t blame him. If I’d been in his position, I would have tried to wipe me off the face of the Earth. I’m just saying that there are giant hurdles to overcome, and this may not be the time to do it.” He added, “And do you want to have Eve feeling the same way you do about squeezing the information out of Jacobs? I’m the only one who should have to bear responsibility for dealing with the bastard.”

No, she didn’t want to saddle Eve with anything more than she was bearing now. But on the other hand, she didn’t want Eve arriving and thinking that Jacobs had cleared Gallo because force was used. She wanted Eve to see the situation and judge for herself. Gallo deserved at least that from Eve and Joe. She said, “I’d like to wait, please. They should be here in another forty minutes.”

He opened his lips, and she thought he was going to argue with her. Then he closed them again. “Whatever you like. It’s your call.” He lifted his shoulders in a half shrug. “Who knows? An extra forty minutes of waiting may be the time it takes to make Jacobs more willing to cooperate.”

She wasn’t at all sure that call she’d made was the right one. It was a delicate situation, and Eve and Joe were as strong-willed as Catherine and Gallo. It could all blow up when they came together.

“And I know why you made it,” Gallo said softly. “I believe you may have a protective gene or two yourself, Catherine.”

“I do. I’m protective toward my son.” She lifted the bouillon to her lips. “You can take care of yourself, Gallo.”

CHAPTER

17

“DO YOU WANT ME TO TAKE a turn driving?” Eve asked Joe as she hung up the phone. “This fog is a hell of a strain on the eyes. We’re having to creep along.”

“I’m fine.”

Yes, he was fine, thank God, she thought as she gazed at him. He was still a little pale, and he’d lost at least ten pounds, but other than those two signs of weakness, he was the Joe she had always known. Since he’d left the hospital, he had been quiet, conserving his strength, but that strength was there. And so was his sharpness and incisive decision making. During their frustrating journey, he had managed multiple flight cancellations, rebookings, and dealing with airport and rental-car personnel with far more patience than Eve had.

He shot her a glance and smiled. “It’s not my eyes that kept me in that hospital, Eve. And the rest of me is doing just fine, too.” His smile faded. “Jacobs said that Gallo hadn’t killed Bonnie?”

She nodded. “But if he didn’t kill her, who did? Maybe Jacobs or Queen did it themselves?” She rubbed her temple. “I just don’t know. Catherine said Jacobs knew who did it and seemed scared to death to tell anyone.”

“He’ll be more scared when I get my hands on the bastard,” Joe said grimly. His foot unconsciously pressed harder on the accelerator, and the car jumped forward.

“Joe.”

“Sorry.” He lifted the pressure, and the car slowed. “You’re right, we don’t want to go off the road into the bayou. Hell, I can’t even see the side of road in this muck.”

“Then just crawl along. I allowed extra time when I told Catherine we’d be there in forty minutes.” She glanced out the thick white nothingness beyond the window. Every now and then, she’d catch a glimpse of the twisted branch of a tree jutting out of the bayou, but almost immediately it was gone. “But I wish this fog would go away. It’s really eerie.”

“You think so?” Joe shook his head. “I was thinking it was kind of … comforting.”

“You’ve got to be kidding. Why?”

“I don’t know.” He thought about it. “Or maybe I do. Before I came out of that coma, it was like this. It was like a soft blanket of fog that I was traveling through. Only it was dark and glowing, not this white mist. But I knew where I was and where I was going, and I wasn’t afraid. The fog around me felt warm and it somehow…” He searched for words. “… filled my heart. I could occasionally see something jutting out of the fog, but nothing was clear. Except you, Eve. ” He added simply, “And Bonnie.”

Her throat was suddenly tight. “And there’s nothing frightening about either one of us.” She reached out, and her hand clasped his on the steering wheel. “Because we love you.” She laughed shakily. “But I don’t believe that this particular fog is warm and comforting. And I’ll definitely disagree if you end up by dumping us in the bayou. I don’t care for either swamps or bayous. It makes me remember—” She inhaled sharply, her body stiffening.

His gaze flew to her face. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. I saw something.” She turned in the seat, her gaze on the fog-shrouded bayou. “Someone.”

“A fisherman?” Joe asked. “Those would be the only people I’d think might be out in weather like this. Was he in a boat?”

“No. Maybe. I only caught a glimpse—” But that glimpse had startled her. “And it wasn’t a man. Or I guess it could have been, but I got the impression– Pull over, Joe!” Her gaze was fixed on the bayou just ahead. “Now.”

“Why?” He was frowning as he pulled over to the side of the road. “You think there’s someone in trouble?”

“No,” she whispered. “Not any longer.” She hopped out of the car and ran to the edge of the road, her gaze fixed on the billowing mist hovering over the water. “She’s not in trouble. That’s all over.” Her eyes were straining to catch another glimpse of that small figure moving slowly through the fog. No, she had vanished as quickly as she had come.

“It’s Bonnie. But why is she here? And why didn’t she come closer? This isn’t like her. She’s acting as if she’s—” A ghost, a spirit, a mystery from the mist. Not like her Bonnie. Her daughter had always been so real when she came to her that Eve had felt as if she could reach out and touch her, hug her.

“Bonnie?” Joe had come to stand beside her, his gaze on Eve’s face. “Are you sure? We were just talking about her. You could have been thinking about Bonnie and it translated thought into—”

“Imagining that I saw her?” Eve finished. “No, I did see her. That first glimpse could have been imagination, but then I saw her again as we rounded that curve. She was right there before me. I saw her face.” She gestured at the bayou. “She was there, Joe. You didn’t see her?”

He shook his head. “Not this time, Eve.”

She shook her head in frustration. “I tell you, she was there.”

“I’m not questioning you about anything concerning Bonnie,” he said gently. “I’m far beyond that, Eve. If you say you saw her, then she was here. I’m only saying that I didn’t see her. I’ve no idea how all this works. It’s new to me. Maybe she didn’t want me to see her this time. Maybe she only wanted you. You saw her for years and years before she ever deigned to pay me a visit.”

“But I never saw her like this before. It … scared me.”

“Why?”

“She wasn’t … herself.” How to explain it to him when she was bewildered, too. “She was always happy when she came to me. I was the one who was anxious and worried and full of guilt. She’d laugh at me and tease me and tell me that everything was all right with her. That I shouldn’t fret so much about finding her and bringing her home.”

“And that’s a wonderful thing.”

“But she wasn’t like that when I saw her a few moments ago.” She repeated, “She scared me.”

Joe put his hand on her arm and pulled her close. “You said that before. Why? What was different?”

“She was sad. Her face was so sad. Bonnie was never sad.” She could feel the tears sting her eyes. “Or if she was, she never let me know. Did she hide it, Joe? Did she hide it so that I wouldn’t be unhappy?” She swallowed hard. “And what is she doing here, dammit? First, you’re talking about that death fog you went through. Then I see Bonnie, and she’s not my Bonnie. Is she trying to tell me something?”

“If she was, then she’d come right out and say it, wouldn’t she?”

“No, she can be enigmatic as hell.”

He smiled. “That sounds very human and very special.”

“Yes.” Bonnie had always been special, and she had remained special even after that monster had taken everything else from her. Her gaze searched the bayou, but she saw nothing but mist. She could feel nothing. She turned away. “She’s gone.” She moved back toward the car. “And you’re probably thinking I’m acting as neurotic as hell.”

“No.” He got into the car and stared thoughtfully out at the bayou. “It’s not neurotic to be upset about a change in someone you love. And you love Bonnie with all your heart. The whole thing is very strange. I’ve just been trying to piece together the puzzle.”

“That’s like you,” she said as she fastened her seat belt. Joe’s mind was always delving and striving to make logic out of chaos. And most of the time, he was able to do it. “When you come up with something, let me know.”

He started the car. “I’m working on it. Bonnie appeared to you and wanted you to know she was unhappy about something.”

“Maybe she’s always been unhappy. She’s dead, dammit.”

“But you have to balance the experience of years against this one episode. That would mean that there was something unusual happening to change that balance.” He paused. “Something to do with Gallo?”

“If he didn’t kill her, why would she be sad?” She shook her head and smiled with an effort. “Only you would analyze ectoplasm and try to make it rational.”

“Would Bonnie like you referring to her as ectoplasm?”

“Yes, she’d probably giggle.”

“You said that without even thinking. So it doesn’t seem to me that you have to worry about this one case of melancholy.”

She nodded, and this time the smile was genuine. “Not as long as I have you to set me straight.”

“No problem.” He was gazing straight ahead. “But as you said, this is unusual. We should probably be looking out for ‘unusual.’”

“Why?” She tilted her head. “I assume you’re not just being cryptic?”

He didn’t look at her. “No, I’m just remembering what Bonnie told me, that we were coming to the end. Ends aren’t always happy, Eve.”

She was silent for a long moment. “You’ve been telling me that for years in one way or another. Sometimes, I resented it. Sometimes, I was grateful. But you’ve been preparing me for this, haven’t you?”

“I’ve been preparing both of us for it. I knew the first time I met you that we were going to have to be strong to face what life had dealt us. And the end may be the hardest part of all. It’s been a long time coming.”

“That’s what I thought. I tried and tried again, and nothing came of it. I couldn’t find Bonnie. I couldn’t find the monster who killed her.” She whispered, “And I couldn’t see why. I thought if there was a God, then He should help me find my little girl. She was so wonderful. Everyone loved her. God must have loved her, too.” She turned her head and gazed out at the thick mist flowing by the window. No Bonnie in that mist. She had come and gone. But she was near …

“But lately I’ve wondered if there’s a reason that I had to wait. I don’t think I was ready. You’re right, whatever I have to face, I’ll have to be strong enough to take it. Perhaps I had to learn something about myself before I could bring her home. Perhaps I had to learn about you, Joe. I think I learned a lot about both of us when I was waiting for you to wake in ICU.”

“And are you ready now?”

“I think so.” Her hand reached for his and clasped it tightly. “We’ll have to see, won’t we? Lord, I hope I’m ready, Joe.”

*   *   *

“THEY’RE COMING.” Catherine turned away from the window. “At least, I think they are. I can barely see the headlights in the fog. They should be here in a couple minutes.” She leveled a glance at Gallo. “And, no matter what Joe says or does, you’re not to respond with any antagonism, do you understand?”

“I understand that you’re expecting a lot from me.” He got up from the chair and crossed to the window. “I believe you’re talking about diplomacy. We both know that’s not my forte.”

No, it wasn’t, and she could already see that familiar trace of recklessness in his face. “I’m not having it, Gallo. Joe was the victim, and you can be patient if he’s pissed at you.”

“And if I’m not, then you’ll go after me yourself. I believe you’re proving that you’re protective of more people than your son,” Gallo said. “But I admit I like it better when it’s me you’re protecting.” He watched Joe and Eve get out of the car. “Do you want me to go and greet them?”

And watch Eve have to handle the confrontation between the two men who had shaped her life? Catherine was already at the front door and throwing it open. “Come in out of this mess,” she called. “I wish I could offer you a cup of coffee, Eve. But we’re limited to bouillon.” She made a face. “Not even good bouillon.” She turned to Joe. “You look wonderful.” She gave him an appraising glance. “Maybe you’ve lost a little weight. But I knew you’d make it.”

“That’s more than I did.” Eve gave her a quick hug. “And you’ve lost a pound or two yourself since I last saw you.”

“I kept her on the run,” Gallo said from where he stood by the window. “But no more than she did me.” His gaze shifted to Eve’s face. “Hello, Eve.”

She stiffened. “Hello, John.”

Joe stepped quickly forward. “Gallo.”

Gallo’s expression was wary. “Hello, Quinn. Am I going to have problems with you?”

“I’m not sure,” Joe said coolly. “You deserve them. You’ve been getting in my way since the moment you decided to come back into Eve’s life.”

The two men were like two lions, arching, frozen in place but ready to attack, Catherine thought. She took a step forward, then stopped. They’d have to work it out for themselves sometime. It might as well be now.

But Gallo had seen that movement from the corner of his eye. “Catherine says I have to be diplomatic since I’m the one who has been causing all the trouble. She’s about to step in and take me out.”

“I’d be glad to save her the trouble.” Then Joe glanced at Eve. “But you may not be important enough for me to be bothered with right now, Gallo.”

Oh, shit. Catherine saw that flicker of recklessness appear in Gallo’s expression again.

He said, “Perhaps I could up the ante, and that would make you think I’m—”

“Stop it.” Eve stepped forward between the two men and faced Gallo. “Catherine said that Jacobs knows who killed Bonnie. That’s all I care about. If you love Bonnie as much as you say, then that’s all that you should care about, too.” She paused. “I thought it was you, John. I’m still not certain it’s not. Prove it to me.”

“Yes, prove it to her, Gallo,” Joe said. “I think we need to talk to Jacobs.”

“Fine,” Catherine said. “We’ve been waiting for you.” She turned toward the stairs. “If you want to ask Jacobs questions, then come upstairs and do it. Maybe you’ll have more luck than we did.”

Gallo hesitated and gestured toward the stairs. “By all means, I was looking forward to questioning the bastard myself, but I’ll forgo the pleasure. Catherine has already pointed out that I need to be kind and diplomatic to guests.”

“And you’re doing what she wants.” Eve was gazing at him searchingly as she started up the stairs. “I find that curious.”

“Do you?” He smiled. “But can’t you see I’m terrified of your friend Catherine?”

Catherine made a rude sound. “Shut up, Gallo.” She turned to Joe. “Jacobs is going to cause us trouble. I hope he’ll be more cooperative now that he’s had time to think.”

“He’ll be cooperative,” Joe said grimly as he moved past her up the stairs. “Tell me what he’s told you so far. No, on second thought, let me start fresh.”

“Lord, it’s chilly up here.” Eve shuddered as they reached the bedroom door. “What are you doing, Catherine? Are you trying to freeze information out of him?”

Catherine frowned. “It wasn’t this chilly before.” She opened the door. “I don’t know why it would—”

“Dear God!” Eve took a step back, her gaze on the bed. “Catherine?”

Catherine’s gaze followed Eve’s. She went rigid. “No. Eve, no. We didn’t– Gallo!”

There was water on the floor around the bed.

Jacobs was still bound, spread-eagled on the bed.

And there was a knife sticking upright in his chest.

“Shit!” Gallo pushed by them and ran to the bed. Jacobs’s mouth was still taped, and his eyes were wide open, staring at the ceiling. Gallo checked the pulse in his throat, but they all knew it wasn’t necessary. “Dead. But how the hell—”

“The window.” The sheer white drapes were blowing from the open window, and Catherine was there in a heartbeat. “We were downstairs. He had to have come in the window.”

Dammit, she could see nothing through the heavy fog.

But she could hear something.

The splash of water being moved, the sound of suction in the mud …

“He’s in the bayou!”

“Heading south.” Gallo had already swung his legs over the sill and was climbing hand over hand down the side of house to the roof of the porch.

Gallo might think he was Spider-Man, but she’d make almost as good time going down to the front door and wouldn’t risk falling and breaking her neck, Catherine thought. She turned and was running out the room when Joe grabbed her arm and spun her around.

“One question,” he said.

“I don’t have time, Joe.”

“You have time for this one.” His glance shifted to Jacobs. “This isn’t some con you set up to convince us that Gallo was innocent? He didn’t get overenthusiastic and stick that knife in Jacobs?”

Her eyes widened. “I wouldn’t do that, Joe.”

His expression didn’t lose its hardness. “I wouldn’t think that you would, but I wouldn’t think you’d be so dedicated to exonerating Gallo either. I don’t know what’s going on with you, Catherine.”

She tore herself away from him, her eyes blazing. “And you think because he once managed to convince Eve that he was the sun and the moon, that he’d dazzle me so that I’d lie for him? No way, Joe. He didn’t kill Jacobs, and neither did I. We were both downstairs waiting for you. Whoever did this must have followed us from the casino.” She turned on her heel. “And now I’m going to go into that bayou and try to catch the son of a bitch.”

“Go on,” Joe said quietly. “Eve and I will be right behind you as soon as I figure out which—”

But she didn’t hear the rest because she was already down the stairs and throwing up the front door.

Swirling fog.

Dampness.

And the sudden splash of movement in the bayou.

“Gallo!”

“Here.”

He was already in the water.

She took off her boots and socks, left her gun on the bank, and made sure her knife was firmly in its holster on her thigh. Then she jumped off the mossy bank and moved in the direction in which she’d thought she’d heard his voice.

The water was only up to her waist that close to the bank, but she couldn’t be sure what was in the water with her. Everything from water moccasins to alligators frequented the bayous. Just be careful and look sharp. She couldn’t see anything at any distance, but she would be able to tell if one of those predators was within striking distance.

Hell, she hated being blind in the dense mist. And Gallo would also be blind. They’d be lucky if they didn’t attack each other. But she didn’t want to call out again and draw possible fire.

Or another wicked knife like the one in Jacobs’s chest.

Move slowly, as silently as possible, in the water.

She listened.

She couldn’t hear Gallo moving through the water. Not even a whisper of sound.

Where was—

“Catherine.”

She jerked with shock. He was right beside her. His white shirt was plastered to his body, and his sheathed bowie knife was shoved into the waist of his black trousers.

His gaze was fixed on the south. “He’s heading in that direction. Every now and then, I can hear him brush against something. Or he’ll startle a bird, and I’ll hear the wings…”

Catherine started forward. “What are we waiting for?”

“He’s very good. Damn good. We go too fast and lose his sound, and he could circle and come up behind us. There are times I can’t hear him at all. The bayou is deeper once you get a distance from the bank. He’s probably swimming.” He was silent again. “Do you hear that?”

Birds moving from branch to branch.

“He’s going southwest now.” He started forward. “You circle and see if you can come at him from the west. I’ll track him on the direct route.”

“West,” she repeated as she started out. “You said Jacobs’s killer was so good. Yet we heard him plainly from Jacobs’s bedroom.”

“He was in a hurry. He’d probably just finished knifing Jacobs when we were coming up the stairs. He needed to get in the water and away from the bank.”

“And after those first few minutes, he felt safe and could take his time.”

“As I said, he’s really good. Be careful, Catherine…” He disappeared into the mist.

But that mist wasn’t as thick, she realized suddenly. Gallo had gone at least four yards before she had lost him to view. Maybe the fog was dispersing.

She went a few more yards, her hopes rising with every step. They had gotten lucky. Yes, the mist was definitely lifting. They’d soon be able to see the bastard who had killed Jacobs.

And the killer would be able to see them.

*   *   *

“THE FOG’S BEGINNING TO LIFT,” Joe said, as he and Eve reached the edge of the bayou. “That will help.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the car. “We can’t help Catherine much in that swamp. Come on, we’ll take the car and go along the road bordering the bayou. We didn’t see any sign of a car when we drove up to the house, so he must have parked up ahead and around the curve of the bayou. That’s where he’ll probably be heading.”

Eve nodded as she got into the car. “Then why would he jump into—” She answered herself. “A false trail. So that we wouldn’t find his car.” A bold move, possibly a deadly move. Catherine and John Gallo had followed him into the bayou and were trying to find him while lumbering blindly in the thick fog. Joe said it was lifting, but not enough.

Please, let us have a break in this damn fog.

“I’ll go slow. Hell, I have to go slow.” Joe had already started the car and hit the lights. “You keep an eye out. He could have come back to the bank anywhere along the road.”

She nodded, her eyes straining as they tried to pierce the thick layers of fog hovering on the bank. She rolled down the window so that she could better hear anyone moving in the water. Her heart was pounding, and the muscles of her stomach were clenched with fear.

She had a sudden memory of Bonnie’s face as she’d seen it earlier. Sadness. Such sadness.

Why? The death of Jacobs?

Or the death of someone else, someone whose death Bonnie knew would hurt Eve? A chill went through her at the thought. Not Joe. Please God, not Joe. You’ve just given him a new lease on life. Not Catherine, who had hardly started to know the meaning of joy and had a son who needed her. Not Gallo, who had perhaps suffered more than all of them.

If this is the end, shouldn’t it be you and me, baby?

“Eve.” His eyes were on the road ahead of him, but Joe’s voice was soft but clear. “It’s going to be all right. We’re going to get through this together.”

She nodded jerkily. “I know, Joe.”

Together. Yes, they’d be together, but maybe not right away.

Eve could not forget the sadness in her daughter’s face.

Let it be me, Bonnie.

*   *   *

CATHERINE STOPPED AND STOOD still in the water as she saw the pale fog-shrouded glow of headlights on the road leaving from the direction of the house.

Joe and Eve.

Smart.

They were betting that the man who had killed Jacobs had a car parked somewhere on that road bordering the bayou. It was reasonable that he’d be heading across the bayou in the direction where he’d left it.

She tried to pull up a mental picture of the curve of the road around the bayou. Gallo had said the terrain was shaped like a hook …

And Gallo had told her that they should go southwest.

And sent her west.

But the hook of land surrounding the bayou extended to the east. That would be where that car would be parked. Southeast. And Gallo was heading due south.

And would probably soon veer to the southeast.

Damn him.

Anger was seething through her. The son of a bitch was trying to protect her. Who the hell did he think he was? She was every bit as competent a professional as he. She should have slapped that damn macho tendency down as soon as it raised its head. Now it was getting in the way of her job.

And could get them both killed.

But not if she could help it.

She turned and headed southeast.

*   *   *

JACOBS’S KILLER WAS DEFINITELY heading southeast toward the hook of land bordering the bayou, Gallo thought.

He could hear him, and, if he got lucky, soon he might be able to see him.

The fog was lifting for a few seconds, hovering, then closing down again. All he’d need would be those few seconds to draw his knife and hurl it.

If he was close enough.

And he would be close enough.

He could feel the excitement and tension searing through him. Another hunt. But this was nothing like the hunt with Catherine. Even in the darkest hours of those days, he’d known that it was different from anything he’d ever experienced. There might have been lethal danger, but it had been coupled by challenge. This hunt was different. No beautiful, sleek, panther who could turn and rend him in the flash of an eye.

This was only prey.

And the sounds of the prey were approaching closer to that far bank.

The fog lifted …

Gallo caught a swift glimpse of the shadowy bank, a gnarled cypress tree dipping its roots in the water, Spanish moss hanging from another tree near—

Near a gleam of metal. A car?

He couldn’t be sure. The fog had closed in again, dammit.

But that gleam of metal was a little too opportune. The bank had to be the prey’s destination.

He began to carefully, silently, swim toward it.

*   *   *

CATHERINE PULLED HERSELF from the water onto the bank. Now that she had a destination, she could move faster over ground. She should be somewhere near the road, and the car would probably not be parked on the road itself but hidden in the shrubbery.

She moved swiftly through the heavy palmettos and shrubbery that bordered the bank. Her sopping-wet clothes were plastered to her body, and the soles of her bare feet were being scratched and bruised with every step.

Pain.

Ignore it. Block everything out. Concentrate on the job.

She had to find Jacobs’s killer before he got away.

Find the car. Wait for him to show.

But she had to be careful. She couldn’t kill the bastard even though it would be safer.

Eve still needed him. Eve still had to know about her Bonnie—

*   *   *

EVE STRAIGHTENED IN HER SEAT. “I saw someone.”

Joe tensed. “Where?”

“He’s gone now. I only got a glimpse. This damn fog. Not close. Around that bend. I saw someone climbing out of the water onto the bank.”

“Gallo? Catherine?”

She shook her head. “He was thin, wearing a dark blue or black wet suit.”

“Around that bend?” Joe pulled to the side of the road. “Then we go the rest of the way on foot. We still have to use the lights and we don’t want to scare him off.” He got out of the car. “I can do this alone, Eve.”

“No, you can’t.” She jammed her hand in the pocket of her Windbreaker and gripped her .38 revolver. A weapon to protect Joe as Joe had always protected her. Would it do any good? The more time that passed, the greater the cold dread that was icing through her.

She got out of the car and joined him as he strode into the brush bordering the bayou. “You said together, Joe.”

*   *   *

HE HAD HIM.

A man in a dark wet suit, tall, thin, moving quickly along the bank toward the gleam of metal that Gallo had identified as a vehicle.

Yes.

Gallo unsheathed his knife as he stood up in the shallow water near the bank.

Dammit.

The prey had disappeared as a fresh billow of fog descended.

No, there he was again. He was moving with a lithe jauntiness as if he had all the time in the world.

You don’t have any time at all, bastard.

Bring him down permanently or just wound him? Gallo thought as he raised the knife and lined up the target. It would depend on how long he had before the fog settled once—

Oh, my God.

No!

His hand holding the knife fell nervelessly to his side as he stared in horror at the man in the wet suit.

No. No. No.

Not prey at all.

But the man had sighted prey of his own, Gallo realized. His stance had changed, and now he was in stalking mode. He’d drawn a knife from the holster at his waist.

Stalking whom?

Catherine.

Catherine, standing at the edge of the trees. Catherine, setting her own trap for the man in the wet suit, the man who had killed Jacobs, the man who had killed Bonnie.

Dammit, what is wrong with me, Gallo thought in agony. Throw the knife.

*   *   *

IT WASN’T A NEW VEHICLE, Catherine noticed as she cautiously approached. It was a beat-up blue Chevy truck, and the tires looked worn, almost bald.

No sign of the driver of the truck.

She’d been listening and hadn’t heard anyone come out of the bayou.

But she might not have been able to hear him. She didn’t have quite as keen perceptions as Gallo. And he had said this creep was good. She trusted Gallo’s judgment.