Bonnie - Iris Johansen [84]
“I’d like to understand more,” he said softly. “I’d like to explore…” Then he shook his head, and his hand dropped to his side. “Stay out of it, Catherine. Stay away from me. You’ll be better off on both counts.”
The abruptness of his withdrawal jarred her. It was right, but it should have been she who made that move. It only emphasized the vulnerability that she was always on guard against. “Yeah, that’s not a bad idea either.” She took a step back. “But I choose what’s good for me, Gallo.” Dammit, her body still felt flushed, tingling, ready. And it had only taken a touch. The realization annoyed and bewildered her. What the hell was this yen that she had for Gallo?
She turned her back on him. “And I may choose to let you stumble around and get your throat cut. I’ll have to take it under consideration.”
* * *
“HE’S HEADING IN THIS general direction.” Joe turned to the priest as he hung up the phone. “But Catherine says he’s smart, and it’s going to be difficult. She’ll let us know if he veers off in another direction as he approaches this area.” He looked out the window of the office at the grounds that contained neat rows of tents and project areas that were teeming with teenage boys and girls. “But I may have to take off and join them if we don’t get a lead here. This has proved a zero so far.”
“We have a few more counselors to question,” Father Barnabas said. “I told you that we wouldn’t get much more help from the administrator.”
And he had been correct. Max Daltrop had been pleasant, busy, and noncommittal, with the emphasis on busy. He had said that he had barely known Ted Danner but that he’d had good reports on him from the supervisors. Then he’d hesitated before requesting that they be careful about leaking any information about an alleged criminal who had acted as a counselor here. Joe couldn’t blame him. As far as he could tell, this camp did good work, and all it would take would be a hint of scandal to have a rush of bureaucrats pouring in to investigate closing it.
The priest’s gaze was on Joe’s face. “Max is a good man. He’s trying to cooperate.”
“I know. I won’t cause him any trouble unless I have to do it.” He looked down at his list. “We have three names left. Two supervisors, Bob Kimble, Dory Selznik, and a counselor, Ben Hudson.”
“Suppose you take Kimble and Selznik, and I’ll take the counselor, Ben Hudson. I believe that might be the most efficient path.”
“Why? Any reason?”
“Ben Hudson is twenty but has the mental capacity of a child of ten. I have the background to deal with him.”
“Ten? And he’s a counselor here?”
“Why not? A job makes any man feel worthwhile. Max put him in charge of teaching weaving and leather crafts. He’s almost an expert at it, and he does a good job of showing the kids how to do it.”
“And why does Daltrop think that we could get any information out of him? It doesn’t seem likely.”
“You never know. Danner spent a lot of time with him while he was working here. The kid trailed around the camp behind him like a puppy dog.”
Joe stiffened. “He did? Then that might mean he trailed him outside the camp.”
“And it might not. Max thought that it could be possible. But he asked me to do the questioning.”
Joe’s lips twisted. “Because he didn’t want me to be rough on one of his protégés? I’m not that much of a hard-ass. I don’t target problem