Bonnie - Iris Johansen [76]
He smiled slightly. “It’s not as if we don’t have experience.”
His words brought back a flood of memories of those weeks she had stalked Gallo in the wilds of Wisconsin before she had become convinced he had not killed Bonnie. That time had become a fascinating and challenging game when the prey had turned hunter, and they had gradually begun to know each other in ways that neither had dreamed. For the briefest instant, she felt a stirring of the sensual heat that had become a part of the chase before she blocked it. “Yes.” She met his gaze. “And this time we’ll be working toward the same goal. We’ll be doing this together.”
He nodded and turned away. “It may take two of us. My uncle is sharp and experienced. He’ll try to cover his prints.…”
* * *
WHEN JOE WAS TWENTY minutes from the cathedral, he placed a call to Father Barnabas. He didn’t expect it to be picked up, but he took the chance. It rang four times before it was answered.
“Father Barnabas, my name is Joe Quinn. I need to talk to you. I know you’ve undergone a terrible experience but—”
“Where are you, Detective Quinn?”
“About twenty minutes from you. Detective? Eve told you about me?”
“No, we didn’t discuss anything but Ted Danner. But the detective who questioned me seemed to have tapped a good deal of information regarding you and Eve Duncan. He asked me if I knew you, and he told me that he had to question you. I told him that you had nothing to do with the taking of Ms. Duncan, but he said that it was always necessary to question the husband or significant other in a relationship.”
“That’s true. Is the detective still there?”
“No, he just left. But there’s a policeman on duty. I reminded him about the adage about locking the barn door after the livestock was stolen, but he insisted anyway. If you wish to see me privately, it would be better if we met in the rose garden in the back. You can go to the cross street beyond the church and double back and go in the garden gate.”
“You’ll meet with me?”
“Certainly. I’ve been expecting you. Eve Duncan is a strong woman, and her disappearance would cause ripples that go far and deep. I’ll see you by the fountain in the garden.”
There was a uniformed policeman on guard outside the cathedral when Joe drove past it and up to the cross street. That meant that the back entrance would likely be unguarded.
Ten minutes later, he was walking down the garden path toward the fountain. It was dark, but the fountain area and the man sitting on the bench beside it were illuminated by a gas lamppost on the rosebushes on either side.
“Father Barnabas?”
“Sit down, Detective Quinn. I’d stand to greet you, but I’m still a little woozy.” The priest smiled. “I’m sure that Eve Duncan didn’t mean to hurt me by that blow to the head, but it was immediately followed by one by Ted Danner. He definitely meant to put me out of action for a while.”
“Yet the two of you have had a close relationship that’s spanned years.” He sat down on the bench. “He was willing to give that up just to make sure he got his hands on Eve? Why?”
“Lately, our relationship has not been as close as it once was. He won’t listen if I don’t say what he wants to hear.” The priest’s smile faded. “Danner has changed. He claimed that his medication is keeping him from being alert enough to guard himself from the demons and refused to go back on it. His illness has become uncontrollable. There are times when he believes everyone is his enemy.”
“But you refused to help Eve when she asked you to help her find him.”
“I’ve been