Текст книги "Body of Lies "

Автор книги: Iris Johansen

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 1 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

Body Of Lies

Iris Johansen

Eve Duncan circle – book 4

CONTENTS

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |

16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Epilogue |

Chapter 1

^ »

SARAH BAYOU, LOUISIANA

1:05 A.M.

October

THE FLATBOAT GLIDED SLOWLY THROUGH THE BAYOU.

Too slowly, Jules Hebert thought tensely. He had deliberately chosen a flatboat rather than a motorboat because it would be less obtrusive at this time of night, but he had not counted on this case of nerves.

Keep calm. The church was just up ahead.

“It will be fine, Jules,” Etienne called softly as he wielded the oars. “You worry too much.”

And his brother, Etienne, didn’t worry enough, Jules thought in despair. Ever since childhood it had been Jules who was the serious one, the one who had to accept the responsibility while Etienne ambled along through life with endearing blitheness.

“You arranged for the men to be waiting at the church?”

“Of course.”

“And you told them nothing?”

“Only that they would be paid well for the work. And I parked the motorboat to bring them where you told me to.”

“Good.”

“It will all go very easily.” Etienne smiled. “I promise you, Jules. Would I let you down?”

Not intentionally. The affection between them was too strong. They had been through too much together. “No offense. Just asking, little brother.” Jules stiffened as he saw the dark looming silhouette of the ancient stone church in the faint moonlight as they rounded the corner. It had been deserted for over ten years and exuded dampness and decay. His gaze flew to the sparsely scattered plantation houses on either side of the bayou.

No one. No sign of anyone stirring.

“I told you,” Etienne said. “Luck is with us. How could it be otherwise? Fortune is always on the side of the right.”

That had not been Jules’s experience, but he wouldn’t argue with Etienne. Not tonight.

Jules jumped out of the boat as they reached the landing, and the four men Etienne had hired streamed onto the boat.

“Be careful with it,” Jules said. “For God’s sake, don’t drop it.”

“I’ll help them.” Etienne leaped forward. “Christ, it’s heavy.” He put his massive shoulder beneath one corner. “On the count of three.” With great care they lifted the huge black coffin onto the landing.

LAKE COTTAGE

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Coffin.

Eve Duncan woke with a start, her heart pounding.

“What is it?” Joe Quinn asked drowsily. “Something wrong?”

“No.” Eve swung her feet to the floor. “I just had a bad dream. I think I’ll get a glass of water.” She moved to the bathroom. “Go back to sleep.” Good heavens, she was actually shaking. How stupid could she get? She splashed water on her face and took a few sips of water before going back into the bedroom.

The lamp on the nightstand was on and Joe was sitting up in bed. “I told you to go back to sleep.”

“I don’t want to go to sleep. Come here.”

She went into his arms and cuddled close. Safety. Love. Joe. “Want to make love?”

“The thought occurred to me. Maybe later. Right now, I want to know about your nightmare.”

“People do have bad dreams, Joe. It’s not that uncommon.”

“But you haven’t had one in a long time. I thought you were over them.” His arms tightened around her. “I want them to be over.”

She knew he did, and she knew he tried desperately to give her the security and contentment that he thought would rid her of them. But Joe should know better than anyone that the nightmare would never entirely go away. “Just shut up and go back to sleep.”

“Was it about Bonnie?”

“No.” Eve felt a ripple of guilt. Someday she had to tell him why the dreams of Bonnie were no longer painful. But not yet. Even after this last year with him, she still wasn’t ready. Someday.

“The new skull? You’ve been working hard on it. Maybe too hard?”

“I’m almost done. It’s Carmelita Sanchez, Joe. I should be able to notify her parents in a couple days.” Then there would be closure and, perhaps, peace for them.

“And you know my work never brings me anything but satisfaction. No bad dreams there.” Just sadness and pity and a driving passion to bring the lost ones home. “Stop probing. Bad dreams don’t have to have deep psychological implications. This was just a crazy, disjointed… It was probably something I ate. Jane’s pizza was a little too rich for—”

“What was it about?”

Joe wasn’t going to give up. He would pick at the subject until everything was out in the open. “A coffin. Okay? I was walking toward this coffin, and it scared me.”

“Who was in the coffin?” He paused. “Me? Jane?”

“Stop trying to read something into it. It was a closed coffin.”

“Then why were you scared?”

“It was a dream. For heaven’s sake, I deal with dead people every day of my life.

It’s perfectly natural I should have an occasional macabre—”

“Why were you scared?”

“Drop it. It’s over.” She pulled his head down and kissed him. “Stop being a protective ass. The only therapy I want from you right now is strictly physical.” He went still, resisting. Then he relaxed and moved over her. “Well, if you insist. I suppose I’ll have to be a gentleman and let you seduce me.” Eve was surprised. She knew how stubborn Joe could be. She smiled and gently tugged at his hair. “Damn right, you will.”

“We’ll talk about the coffin later…”

SARAH BAYOU

The coffin was in place in the altar of the church.

Jules bent to check the pedestal beneath it to make sure it was sturdy enough to bear the weight of the specially reinforced airtight coffin. He’d had it built to his own specifications and had been assured there would be no problem, but it was his responsibility and he was determined not to fail. Nothing must damage the coffin’s precious contents.

“I’ve paid them off. They’re on their way back,” Etienne said from the doorway.

He came toward Jules, his gaze fixed on the coffin. “It looks so strange there… We did it, didn’t we?”

Jules nodded. “Yes, we did it.”

Etienne was silent a moment. “I know you were angry with me, but now you understand, don’t you?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Good. Well, here it is. We did it together.” Etienne put his arm affectionately around Jules’s shoulders. “It gives me a good feeling. You, too?”

“No.” Jules closed his eyes as the pain surged through him. “Not a good feeling.”

“Because you worry too much. But it’s over now.”

“Not quite.” Jules opened eyes that were full of tears. “Have I ever told you how much I love you, what a good brother you’ve been to me?” Etienne laughed. “If you had, I would have been the one who was worried. You’re not a man who—” His eyes widened in shock as he saw the gun in his brother’s hand. “What are you—?”

Jules shot him in the heart.

Disbelief was frozen on Etienne’s face as he fell to the floor.

Jules couldn’t believe it, either. Dear God, let him take that moment back.

No, for he would only have to do it again.

Jules fell to his knees beside Etienne and gathered him in his arms. Tears ran down his face as he rocked him back and forth. Little brother. Little brother…

Control. He had one other task to perform before he could allow himself to grieve.

The motorboat taking the men away from the church should be out of the bayou and on the widest part of the river by now.

He fumbled in his pocket for the switch and pressed the red button. He could not hear the explosion, but he knew it had happened. He had set the charge himself and he never allowed himself to make a mistake. There would be no survivors and no evidence.

It was done.

Jules turned back to Etienne and tenderly brushed the hair from his forehead.

Sleep, little brother. He prayed Etienne was at peace. He was glad it was too dim in the church to see the shock and pain frozen on Etienne’s face.

No, the church was not that dim. It was the coffin, huge, dark, and casting its shadow over both Jules and Etienne.

Casting its shadow over all the world.

“No, Senator Melton,” Eve said firmly. “I’m not interested. I have enough work to keep me busy for the rest of the year. I certainly don’t need any more.”

“It would help us enormously if you could see your way clear to changing your mind. It’s a very sensitive situation and we need your help.” The senator paused.

“And, after all, as a citizen, you do have a patriotic duty to—”

“Don’t give me that crap,” Eve interrupted. “Every time a bureaucrat wants to be put first on the list, he pulls out patriotic duty. You haven’t even told me what this job is going to be about. All I know is that I’d have to leave my home and my family and go running off to Baton Rouge. I can’t imagine a job important enough to make me do that.”

“As I said, it’s a very sensitive, confidential situation and I’m not at liberty to discuss it with you until you’re committed to—”

“Get someone else. I’m not the only forensic sculptor in the world.”

“You’re the best.”

“I’ve gotten a lot of press. That doesn’t mean—”

“You’re the best. False modesty doesn’t become you.”

“Okay, I’m damn good.” She paused. “But I’m not available. Get Dupree or McGilvan.” She hung up the phone.

Joe looked up from his book. “Melton, again?”

“He won’t give up. Lord save me from politicians.” Eve went back to the pedestal and began smoothing the clay over the skull. “God, they’re pompous.”

“Melton has the reputation of being fairly down-to-earth. He’s certainly popular.

They say the Democrats are grooming him for president.”

“I wouldn’t trust any politician. They’re all bedfellows in Washington. They scratch each other’s backs.”

“Sounds a little disgusting.” Joe studied her. “But you’re intrigued. It’s sticking out all over you.”

“So, I’m curious. Melton’s evidently experienced at piquing people’s interest.” Eve didn’t take her gaze from the sculpture. “The only thing he’d tell me was that it was my patriotic duty. Bull.”

“No more than that?”

“He said we’ll discuss it when I commit.” She smoothed the area under the eye crevice. “I wonder who they think it is…”

He watched her for a moment without speaking. “Louisiana in October isn’t too unpleasant. We could take a jaunt down to New Orleans. The department owes me some time, and Jane might like it.”

“You’re not invited.” She made a face. “Highly confidential and top secret.”

“Then screw him.” He thought about it a moment. “Was that a little lacking in tact and understanding? I know better than to try to get in the way of your job. If you’re tempted, I guess we could put up with being without you for a few weeks.”

“Why should I be tempted?” She wiped her hands on a towel and moved over to stand at the window. The lake was glittering blue on this fine autumn afternoon, and Jane was down on the shore playing with the new puppy Eve’s friend, Sarah Patrick, had given her. The girl was tossing a stick for Toby, and the mixed-breed dog was running crazily to retrieve it. They both looked so alive and healthy and wonderfully happy.

Well, what was there not to be happy about here in this place at this time?

“Eve?”

She glanced over her shoulder at Joe, her protector, her best friend, her lover. He was the bedrock of her life, and every moment with him and Jane was precious. She smiled at him. “Hell, no, I’m not tempted. Screw Melton.”

“She refused,” Melton said when Jules Hebert picked up the phone. “She suggested I get Dupree.”

“I don’t want Dupree,” Hebert said curtly. “We need Eve Duncan. I told you that from the beginning. It has to be her.”

“It looks like you’ll have to make do with Dupree. He has a decent reputation.” Hebert drew a deep breath. He had seen examples of Eve Duncan’s work on academic Websites and compared it to that of other leading forensic sculptors. It was like comparing a da Vinci masterpiece with a cave drawing. He couldn’t entrust this skull to a Neanderthal. It was too important to him. It was important to Melton and the rest of them, too, but Jules didn’t care about them. Not now. Melton had a safe job in a safe world. He sat in his office and lifted his finger and sent men like Hebert out to take his risks and do his bidding. “You told me I had to find a way to verify. Give me Eve Duncan and I’ll do it.”

“You made the mistake; it’s your job to correct it.” Jules’s hand tightened on the phone. “There’s always a way to get what you want, if you work at it. What’s the problem?”

“My bet is that she’s so mired in domesticity that she can’t see beyond her little cottage in Georgia. It’s only what you’d expect from a woman.”

“Never underestimate women. I’ve known some that I’d rather avoid than come up against. Duncan is obviously very strong-willed. You approached her in the way that I suggested?”

“Yes, she seemed interested, but that didn’t make her accept.”

“Then we didn’t press the right buttons. There has to be some way. Tell me about her.”

“You know her reputation, or you wouldn’t be so sure she’s the right one for the job.”

Jules looked down at the newspaper with the picture of Eve Duncan that had first led him to call Melton. It was a photo of a woman in her early thirties with a strong, intelligent face framed by curly red-brown hair. She wore wire-rimmed glasses and looked out at the world with an odd mixture of boldness and sensitivity. “I know about her professional capabilities. I need to know more about her background. I need to know how to manipulate her.”

“She’s illegitimate and grew up in the slums of Atlanta with a crackhead for a mother. In later years, the mother gave up drugs, and she and Duncan became close.

Eve got pregnant herself when she was sixteen and gave birth to a child, Bonnie. She went back to school and was working her way through when her seven-year-old little girl was murdered by some nut who had killed eleven other children. They couldn’t find the body, and that spurred Duncan to become a forensic sculptor. She studied at Georgia State and became one of the top forensic sculptors in the country.

She works freelance and also with several police departments nationwide.”

“And her personal life?”

“She’s living with Joe Quinn, a detective with the Atlanta Police Department.

They’ve been friends since her daughter was murdered over twelve years ago, but they’ve only been living together for the past two years. She’s recently adopted a twelve-year-old girl, Jane MacGuire, who grew up on the streets just as Duncan had done. They live in a lake cottage outside of Atlanta. Her daughter, Bonnie, is buried on the grounds.”

“You told me the body had never been found.”

“Until last year. New information emerged, and they located the skeleton in the Chattahoochee National Forest. DNA tests confirmed that the skeleton was Bonnie Duncan.”

And Eve Duncan was now at peace, Hebert thought. He knew the value of closure. He could imagine the dark world Eve Duncan had lived in all those years.

“Anything else?” Melton asked. “I’ve got all the details; I can cross the T’s and dot the I’s if you need it.”

So cut-and-dried. Jules was sure Melton would relate all those details in the same detached way he’d revealed Eve Duncan’s past history. “That won’t be necessary.” He couldn’t leave this to Melton, he thought wearily. He’d have to work on Eve Duncan’s weaknesses himself.

She’s so mired in domesticity that she can’t see beyond her little lake cottage in Georgia.

She had a man and a child, and her own personal cross was buried on that property near her home. She was probably very happy. And why not? She had earned her peace.

So the only way to get what he needed was to destroy that peace. And he knew he would do it, just as he did everything that needed doing. Drop everything and get to the airport. He had to get her to leave Atlanta immediately.

But there was one thing he had to do before he left.

“I’m going to Atlanta.”

“I’m glad to see you’re taking action. This had better be solved soon. Remember, you don’t have much time to clear up your mess. Boca Raton is set for October twenty-ninth.”

“You don’t have to remind me. I can take care of both matters.”

“We’ve trusted you for a long time, but the Cabal isn’t too pleased with you after that blunder with Etienne.”

And Melton was even less pleased. He was probably looking over his shoulder and thinking he’d be next. Lily-livered bastard.

“I had to shoot him. It was self-defense.”

“Was it?” Melton paused. “I admit I’ve been wondering if you’re playing a double game.”

“You have no reason to accuse me of that.”

“Well, then, you’d better make sure your mistake has no repercussions.”

“That’s why I’m going to Atlanta. I’ll find a way.”

“See that you do.” Melton hung up.

The threat had been veiled, but Jules couldn’t mistake Melton’s intention to pressure him. He smothered the anger and tried to compose himself. It was the first time in years that any of the Cabal had been in the least critical of him. He had served them faithfully. Wasn’t he entitled to their trust?

Well, they had trusted him with Etienne, and he must make amends for that.

Boca Raton.

It would be all right. Jules had made the advance preparations and the plan was proceeding nicely. He could leave the matter alone while he concentrated on the Duncan project.

Eve Duncan. Hebert leaned back and closed his eyes. He would go soon, but another few moments wouldn’t hurt. You’d think after all these years that he’d become hardened, but it had never happened. Not with the innocents.

Get a grip. He had killed Etienne; anything else would be easy in comparison.

Joe Quinn, Jane MacGuire, and hadn’t Melton mentioned Eve Duncan’s mother?

Which one would he have to choose?

“Look at him.” Jane’s expression was glowing with pride as she gazed at her puppy. “I think he’s even smarter than his daddy, Monty, don’t you?”

“Well… he’s very good. But rolling over isn’t exactly the same as saving lives after an earthquake.” Eve smiled as she packed Carmelita’s reconstructed skull in a box.

“He’s got a way to go.”

“Well, he’s only four months old. I have to train him.” Jane snapped her fingers and Toby bounced to his feet. “Maybe I should go out to California and let Sarah help me. I bet she could teach him in no time. She offered to do it when she gave him to me.”

Providing Sarah had time to do it, Eve thought ruefully. Besides traveling all over the world with a canine rescue group, Sarah was trying to adjust to marriage and keep her golden retriever, Monty, and his mate, Maggie, content and peaceful.

Peaceful wasn’t that easy when it came to dealing with an untamed wolf like Maggie.

“That could be a good idea. We’ll ask her when she might have a chance to do it.” She addressed the label on the box ready for collection. “But not until your school breaks for the Thanksgiving holidays.”

“I could make it up. I’m ahead anyway.”

In more ways than in her studies. Jane’s background had ensured that in both experience and character she was twelve going on thirty. Eve was glad to see this wild enthusiasm over the puppy. Heaven knows the girl had been cheated out of most of the joys of childhood. “Maybe. We’ll talk about it.”

“Are you going to the FedEx office? Can Toby and I go with you?”

“Sure. Right after I go and put some fresh flowers on Bonnie’s grave. I haven’t been up there this week.”

“The chrysanthemums by the side of the house? I’ll get them. Toby and I will go with you. He needs to stretch his legs.”

“What are you talking about? That puppy dashes around every minute of the day.”

“Running up hills is different. It’s good training and helps the lungs.” She ran out of the cottage. “We’ll meet you.”

Eve smiled and shook her head as she went out onto the porch. They’d be there long before she reached the grave, and she’d be lucky if Toby didn’t tear up the flowers Jane put down on it.

Not that it mattered. Flowers were only flowers. And Bonnie would have loved to see the puppy tearing around, full of life and joy. She started on the path around the lake.

To her surprise Toby was being comparatively sedate, lying on his back beside the grave while Jane scratched his tummy. “I told you hills were different,” Jane said.

“He got tired. He needs to get in shape.” She turned around and began picking weeds from the grave. “It doesn’t need much cleaning at this time of year. I was up here three days ago and there was hardly any clover or anything.”

“You were up here?”

“Sure. I know it’s important to you. You love Bonnie.” Jane straightened the flowers “There. I was going to brush those maple leaves off, but the red color looks kind of pretty. Like a cozy little blanket.”

“Yes, it does.” Eve looked down at the fallen leaves. A blanket for her Bonnie. The phrase spoke of home and shelter from harm. Everything she’d wanted for her daughter.

“Is it okay?” Jane asked.

“It’s beautiful.” Eve swallowed hard. “Have I told you lately how much I love you, Jane?”

“You don’t have to tell me.” Jane didn’t look at her as she jumped to her feet.

“You keep thinking you’re cheating me or something. It doesn’t have to be even. I don’t expect it.”

“It is even. It’s just… different.”

“Right. I’ll see you at the car. Maybe we can rent a video while we’re in town, now that you’re finished with Carmelita. Joe said he wanted to see that new sci-fi spoof.” The girl streaked off with Toby romping at her heels.

Still a few problems there, but they’d come a long way. They had such a strong foundation that Eve couldn’t believe they wouldn’t work everything out eventually.

Time to go. She looked down at the grave. “Goodbye, Bonnie,” she whispered.

She turned and started to follow Jane.

A sudden chill went through her.

She whirled and looked back up the hill. “Bonnie?” Nothing. No sound. No rustle of trees…

Yet, had there been… something?

Imagination. She must have been working too hard on Carmelita. Bonnie never gave her this sense of menace…

“Eve!” Jane was waving at her from the bottom of the hill. “Toby’s treed a squirrel. Or maybe it’s a raccoon. Come and see.” Eve turned around and her pace quickened. “I’ll be right there.” Chapter 2

« ^ »

THE CHILD COULD BE THE KEY.

Jules Hebert faded away into the bushes as Eve left the grave site. The expression on the woman’s face had told it all. She was a mother, and radiated the love, endurance, and tenderness that all mothers possessed. The death of a child could move a woman to do almost anything.

Jane MacGuire?

The idea made him sick. He did not like to kill children. He stopped and leaned against the birch tree at the bottom of the hill. He could do it. He could do anything he had to do. He had proved that.

But maybe it wasn’t necessary. He had to clear his head and think. Would he have to do this? Would it even bring the result he wanted? The situation was critical, but wouldn’t it be better to explore other avenues? Everyone had secrets. Suppose he probed and pried until he knew every detail of these people’s lives. He had always been good at that. He might be able to find something he could use…

It would take time.

Not if he bent all his will and effort to the task. He had come to admire Eve Duncan, With her strength and intelligence, she reminded him of his own mother.

Surely, he could wait a few more days.

Boca Raton.

Three days. Taking any more time would be irresponsible. He could allow himself three days to find another option.

Then he would have to kill the child.

“I need to talk to you.” Jane’s voice was hesitant. “Could you spare a moment, Eve?”

“I don’t have time to—” Eve looked up from the skull she was charting and saw that Jane was so pale her freckles stood out. “What’s wrong? Is it Toby?”

“Toby’s fine.” Jane moistened her lips. “I didn’t know what to do. I thought about telling Joe, but it’s really you… I tried to fix it, but I couldn’t. And then I didn’t want you to go up and see—I had to tell you.”

“What are you talking about, Jane?”

“Will you come with me?” Jane moved toward the door. “You have to see—”

“See what?”

“Bonnie…”

“What do you mean—”

Jane was gone, running down the porch steps and down the path.

“Jane!”

Eve ran after her but didn’t catch up until she was almost up the hill. “Why are you—”

Then she saw it.

“I didn’t know what to do.” Jane’s voice was uneven. “I tried to clean it up.” Blood smeared, dripping over the headstone.

Eve shuddered. “What did you—What happened here?”

“I don’t know. I came up today to clean off the weeds and it was like this. No, not like this. I made it worse. I’m sorry, Eve.”

“Blood.”

“No, I don’t think so. At first, I thought… But it’s paint or something.” She edged closer to Eve. “I couldn’t get it off.”

“Paint?”

Jane nodded. “Someone drew a big X through Bonnie’s name and everything else on the tombstone.” She took Eve’s hand. “Who would do this to you?” Eve couldn’t imagine who would commit a horror like this. She felt… bruised. “I don’t know.” It was hard to think. “Maybe some kid who thought it was funny to desecrate a grave.” But not her Bonnie’s grave. Not her Bonnie. “I can’t think of anyone else.”

“I’m gonna get him,” Jane said fiercely. “Maybe he’ll come back. I’ll wait here and when he does, I’m gonna get him.”

Eve shook her head. “It would only make it worse.” She turned away. “Come on, we’ll get back to the cottage and see if we can find something to clean it off with.” Jane fell into step with her. “We’ll tell Joe as soon as he gets home. He’ll get him.”

“Not until we clean up the tombstone.”

“You’re afraid he’ll be so mad, he’ll do something to him. He should do something. I’ll help him.”

Jesus, she couldn’t handle this right now. Eve knew very well Joe’s response would be just as violent and protective as Jane’s, and she was too shaky to play peacemaker. Besides, she didn’t want to be a peacemaker. Shock was quickly being replaced by anger. She wanted to wring that sicko kid’s neck. Not a good example for Jane. And Joe was an ex-SEAL and would think little of doing just that. “Just go to the shed and see what you can find. There may be some turpentine left from last spring when we painted the porch.”

“Having trouble?”

George Capel glanced impatiently at the man in a blue Saturn who had cruised to a stop beside him on the side of the road. What a stupid question, when he was standing here with his head under the hood of the Mercedes. “Not unless you’re a mechanic. It’s dead as a doornail.”

“Sorry. I’m a computer salesman.” The man in the Saturn grimaced. “And believe me I’ve had my share of breakdowns. I remember once in Macon, it was the middle of the night and I—” He stopped. “But you’re not interested in that. What about a jump?”

“We can try.” Capel glanced at the man’s neat blue suit. “Better be careful. I’ve already got grease on my shirt.”

The man smiled. “I’m always careful.”

Ten minutes later Capel was cursing a blue streak when the car still failed to start.

“Piece of crap. For God’s sake, it’s a Mercedes. Do you know how much this car cost me?”

“A bundle. New?”

“Last year.”

“Sorry I couldn’t help. Maybe you’d better call for a tow truck.”

“When my car’s dead, my car phone’s dead, too. Do you have a cell phone?” The other man smiled. “You seem to be having trouble with mechanical objects. I remember a Stephen King book about machines gone amok. I listened to it on Books on Tape when I was driving through Iowa.”

Capel tried to keep his temper. “Do you have a phone?” he repeated.

“Sure, but it’s back at the motel on the charger. I was only going to go out and find a restaurant to have dinner.” He wiped his forehead with his handkerchief. “But hop in and I’ll give you a lift to the nearest service station. I’m new in this area. Do you know where one is?”

“There’s a Texaco two miles ahead.” Capel hesitated, gazing at the Mercedes.

“I don’t think it’s going anywhere.”

“That’s for sure. Piece of lousy junk.” Capel strode over to the passenger side of the Saturn and got in. “Let’s go. I didn’t need this. I left the office early because I’ve got tickets to the basketball game tonight. And then this has to happen. Damn, I hate car trouble. The sooner we get this over with, the better.”

“That’s what I think. I hate unpleasantness.” Jules Hebert got into the driver’s seat. “Let’s get it over with.”

Joe turned away from the grave. “We’ll replace the headstone.”

“I’ve got almost all the paint off.”

“But every time you look at it, you’ll remember. We’ll get a new headstone. I’ll see to it when I go into work tomorrow.” He looked at her. “You haven’t seen anyone around the place in the past few days?”

Eve shook her head.

“Don’t worry, it won’t happen again.”

“It’s a big property. It’s hard to keep trespassers off it.”

“It won’t happen again,” Joe repeated. “Go on back to the house while I take a look around.”

She looked at him warily.

“Hey, I’m a cop. Let me do my job.”

But this wasn’t a cop standing before her. He was in protective mode, and Joe could be lethal when he was this angry. “I don’t want you to do your job too well. It was vandalism.”

“It hurt you,” Joe said flatly. “I won’t allow that. Never again.”

“And I won’t allow you to kill some kid who thought this was just one big giggle.”

He was silent a moment. “If it’s a kid, he may get by with learning a lesson he won’t forget. Satisfied?”

“No.” But it was all she was going to get from him. Eve was beginning to hope they’d never find out who did this awful thing. “You can’t call a forensic team out here to solve a case of vandalism.”

“I’m pretty good on my own.” Joe turned away. “Go on back to the cottage. Jane needs you. She’s pretty shook up.”

“Not anymore. She wants to do the same thing as you. She said she was ‘gonna get him.’ ‘

“Good. Smart girl. But she doesn’t have to bother.” Eve watched in exasperation as Joe disappeared into the bushes. He was on the hunt, and there wasn’t anything she could do about it.

She turned and went down the hill.

Joe found the footprints almost immediately.

Not running shoes or mountain boots like most kids wore in this area. Regular shoes. Size eight or nine, and the imprint was shallow so the wearer wasn’t very big.

And he hadn’t tried to brush the footprints away. It was stupid enough to be a kid. Joe followed the prints down the hill.

Car tracks.

It was getting dark. Joe turned on his flashlight as he knelt down and looked at the tracks. He didn’t know enough about tire imprints to identify them. He’d go back to the cottage and get some plaster to make a mold, and then run it through the database at headquarters.