Bonnie - Iris Johansen [87]
“No, he only said that when I told him my dad was on his way here to take me away from the camp. He’d gotten out of jail and wanted me to go back and help him.”
“But how would Danner stop him?”
Ben shook his head. “He said he’d tell him to go away.”
“And that would do it? I don’t think so.”
“You’re wrong. My dad never came to see me here. Ted met him before he got here and made him change his mind. He made him go away.”
Joe and Father Barnabas exchanged glances.
“Have you heard from your father since then?” Joe asked.
He shook his head. “But he might come back now that Ted has gone away.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that happening,” Joe said. He would leave it at that. The kid’s father was obviously a bastard who would use and abuse a boy like Ben, but the kid didn’t need to be made to feel any guilt about what had probably happened to him. “I think Danner probably frightened him away. That’s what I was trying to tell you about your friend, Ted. Sometimes, he can frighten people. If he frightened my Eve, she might try to run away and hurt herself. Some people deserve to be frightened, but not Eve. We have to find her and make sure that Danner doesn’t do anything to cause anything bad to happen to her.”
Ben shook his head. “He told me not to talk about him.” He turned and went into the tent.
“Very deftly handled. You were more diplomatic than I thought you’d be,” Father Barnabas said. “I’m impressed.”
“I’m not, I didn’t get what I needed. You thought I’d tear him up just to get what I want? Fate and life have done enough to that kid. For an instant, I was actually in full sympathy with Danner. I would have wanted to take down that bastard of a father, too.”
Father Barnabas shook his head.
“I didn’t expect you to agree,” Joe said. “But you’ll admit that Ted Danner could have been tempted to rid the boy of his father?”
“I’ll admit that Ted Danner has many temptations, and it’s difficult for him to know how to handle them.” His gaze went to the tent. “But it appears that the boy could be a help to us. He’s more familiar with Danner than anyone here. I was surprised that he said Danner took him when he went camping. All those people we interviewed were right. Danner was always a loner.”
“That’s what I’ve been hearing from everyone,” Joe said. “But maybe Ben didn’t represent a threat to him.” He remembered the boy’s luminous smile, which had reminded him of Bonnie’s in Eve’s sketch. It would have been hard for anyone to believe that smile hid anything threatening. “And Danner did have a relationship with Gallo when he was a boy. Perhaps he made some kind of connection.”
The priest smiled. “You’re analyzing. Would it be too difficult for you to accept that God might have brought them together for a reason?”
“But then that would mean that God wanted Danner to take out Ben’s father. Not exactly a merciful plan. How do you explain that?”
“I don’t. God has many faces, and I wouldn’t presume. I just believe that it’s easier to look at the big picture than try to take it apart. Though I’ve noticed you have a mind that tries to decipher at every turn. Since God gave you that brain, it would follow that He wants you to use it.” He glanced back at Ben’s tent. “So what’s your next step?”
“I go after him, I keep after him. There’s not much time. I have to find out where Danner is taking Eve.”
“You’ll be careful?” His gaze never left the tent. “I have a … feeling about him.”
And Joe knew what he meant. He’d been fighting that same protective instinct that Father Barnabas was experiencing. It was weird as hell. Ben was … unusual, like a light shining in the darkness. You wanted to make sure that light was never dimmed. In a way, that instinct was incomprehensible. The rough life the boy had evidently lived had never managed to extinguish that inner glowing. Why did Joe feel as if he had the responsibility of taking care of Ben? Was that what Danner had felt when he decided to guard the boy in his own lethal way?
Dammit, he didn’t want to worry about this kid. He had to find a way to use him to find