Bonnie - Iris Johansen [36]
But there was a difference in him, Catherine thought. It was the first time she had been with him for any length of time since he had gotten out of the hospital. He was familiar, yet there were … depths. Good God, she was thinking like someone from a soap opera. “I’ll take your word for it. But I still don’t believe you won’t go after Danner.”
“Of course I will. That’s what I told Eve. Only I’ll give her space.” He leaned back in the seat. “But not too much.”
“What did you find out about the fingerprints?”
“What I suspected. No prints on the truck from anyone but the kid he stole it from. But I think we might have gotten a couple from the storeroom at the alligator farm. The minute you told me about the sketch of Ted Danner, I asked Julian to run a match check through the National Database. He’ll call me as soon as he gets the report.”
“And then we’ll know for sure if Danner is alive.”
“Presumably,” Joe said dryly. “Ghosts don’t leave fingerprints. Now let’s head for the airport.”
“Where are we going?”
“You tell me. You said Venable was supposed to start checking on Ted Danner. Get on the phone and see what he’s found out.”
* * *
GALLO WAS TEN MINUTES late pulling up before the Marriott in a gray Mercedes.
“You know this isn’t a good idea,” he said, as she got into the car. “Can I talk you out of it?”
“You know you can’t. We’ve already discussed it. Drive.” She leaned back in the seat. “And tell me everything you know about Ted Danner. You can bet that Catherine will have a report from Venable anytime now and will be sharing it with Joe.”
“And will he share it with you?”
“If there’s anything that might threaten me. Otherwise, he’ll probably try to beat me to the punch.”
“To protect you.”
She nodded. “To protect me. Since Danner almost killed Catherine, I have to assume that he has reason to think it’s needed. Tell me about your uncle.”
He glanced away from her. “You know he’s supposed to be dead. We’re not sure that he’s not.”
“You’re sure,” she said. “No one knows Danner better than you do.”
“I only got a glimpse of his profile.”
“And it shocked you so much that you couldn’t move.” She paused. “I didn’t see his face at all. I only saw him moving toward Catherine. That was why I couldn’t even make a connection with Danner until I saw the finished sketch. That man at the bayou moved like an athlete, a young man. There was a springiness to his step. The Ted Danner I met was almost crippled. He moved slowly, like an old man.”
“Yes, he did.”
She was studying his face. “But you still recognized him.”
He nodded jerkily. “He wasn’t always crippled like that, only after that last mission. All the time I was growing up my uncle was strong as a bull and could beat me in any race. When we were up in the woods, he was so quiet, so good, that he could get within a yard of any forest animal before it knew he was there. I watched him do it any number of times.” He paused. “Just as I watched him when he was coming up behind Catherine. It was as if he’d turned back the clock.”
“Or had an operation on his spine that turned it back for him. Was that on the books before you left for basic training?”
He shook his head. “He said they had to do all kinds of testing.”
“I saw him when Bonnie was six months old, and he still looked crippled. That’s a long time to wait for surgery.”
“Maybe they weren’t sure they could do it.” His lips tightened. “He had spells when he was in terrible pain.”
“You told me once he was on prescription drugs.”
“But he kicked the habit. He wouldn’t let himself fall into that hole.” He glanced at her. “You’re trying to build a case for his being a drug addict, and that would be a reason for his killing Bonnie.” He shook his head. “He hated drugs. He told me he’d rather have the pain than mess up his head like