Bonnie - Iris Johansen [104]
His friend, his family, the first person who taught him to trust in a world that was devoid of it.
Eve. Bonnie. How had the three people he loved become entangled in this nightmare that was tearing him apart?
It had happened, and now he must deal with it.
His eyes were stinging as he checked the directions for Providence.
* * *
“ANY SIGN?” FATHER BARNABAS asked.
Joe lowered the infrared binoculars. “Nothing.” It was not dawn yet, but that shouldn’t have prevented him from seeing signs of life. They were inside the canyon area, and he could scan the area immediately outside. But it wasn’t as if there was a fence to seal off the canyon. The surrounding area was as porous as Catherine had said, and there were thickets of trees that could shelter any interloper, dammit. All he could do was keep a constant vigil and hope that Catherine could notify him when Danner approached.
If she had even been able to get close enough to Danner to give him that information. She would have had to escalate her speed, then make constant observations once she was within sight of Danner and Eve.
He lifted his binoculars again.
Nothing.
Come on, Catherine.
He glanced at Ben, who was sitting on the ground beside him. The boy was calm and hadn’t said a word since they’d left the hill.
“Okay?”
Ben nodded but didn’t look at him. “She’s near, Joe.”
He stiffened. “Who’s near? Eve?”
Ben shook his head.
And Joe wasn’t going to delve any deeper. Eve was the only one he had to worry about at the moment. He scanned the thickets.
His phone rang.
Thank God. Catherine.
“Do you have a visual on them?” she asked.
“No, what the hell are you talking about?”
“They’re in the canyon. They have to be. I finally caught sight of them fifteen minutes ago. They were on the trail outside the park, and a few minutes later, they disappeared.”
He muttered a curse. “We’re watching the area. I haven’t caught a glimpse of them. What were their coordinates when you lost them?” As she read them off, he checked them on the GPS. “That’s twenty minutes north of here, toward the ridge. He didn’t come all the way down to the main Providence area. It’s high country.” He jumped to his feet. “I’m on my way.”
“I’m following his trail from where he entered the canyon,” Catherine said. “I’ll call you if I spot him.”
Shit, Joe thought. “Twenty minutes.”
Too long.
Panic.
“Joe!”
He didn’t pay attention to the priest’s shout as he started to run.
Twenty minutes. Who knew what could happen in that time?
Eve …
CHAPTER
15
SOMETHING WAS DIFFERENT, EVE thought.
The ground was sandy, and the trees were thinning on either side of them since they’d made that last turn. The sky was still a cold gray, the trail misty, and she could make out very little in the dimness.
But something was different.
“You said we were going to Providence,” Eve said. “When do we get there?”
“We don’t.” Danner didn’t look at her. “It’s Providence National Park, and it’s four miles from here. We don’t have to go through the main part of the park. We just have to border the edge. I found this path years ago, and it saves me time when I just have to check.”
“Check?”
“Hurry.” His pace increased as the ground beneath their feet began to climb. “You said you wanted to be here, didn’t you? I wanted it, too,” he asked roughly. “Well, you’re here.”
And Danner’s voice was jerky and his face pale and taut in the dimness.
She was here.
Eve felt an excitement that was part eagerness and part dread.
Bonnie?
“Look at you,” Danner’s gaze was fixed on her face. “They say I’m crazy, but you know what I’m going to do, and it doesn’t matter to you.”
“It matters. But I can deal with it.” She wanted him to stop talking. The excitement was building, and she had to control it. Why wasn’t it just sick horror? This had to be her daughter’s murderer. He had not said the words, but it had to be true. “I’ve tried to find answers since the day Bonnie disappeared. I’ve been searching