Countdown - Iris Johansen [7]
“I’ll hurry.” He brushed his lips on her forehead. “You did nothing wrong, Jane.”
“That’s not true,” she said shakily. “I didn’t save him. Nothing could be more wrong than that.”
2
So what do you know about these sons of bitches?” Joe asked as soon as he was out of the room. “Any witnesses when they took off out of that alley?”
Manning shook his head. “No one’s come forward yet. We’re not even sure there weren’t more than two men.”
“Great.”
“Look, we’re doing the best we can. This is a college town, and every parent of every student is going to be on our ass when they hear about this.”
“And they should be.”
“Ms. MacGuire offered to sketch the face of one of the perpetrators. Will it be accurate?”
Joe nodded curtly. “If she saw him, you’ll be able to use it. She’s damn good.”
Fox lifted a brow. “You wouldn’t be prejudiced?”
“Definitely. All the way. But it’s still true. I’ve watched her do sketches of people she’d seen for only an instant while she was under extreme duress, and they were absolutely correct in every detail.”
“The motive seems to be murky. Do you have the kind of money that would tempt someone to make a snatch?”
“I’m not a Rockefeller or a Dupont but I’m comfortable.” He shrugged. “Who the hell knows how much money it would take? I’ve seen drug addicts who’d cut their mother’s throat for ten bucks.” He glanced at his watch. Eve should be on her way here with her mother. Jesus, he’d hoped to have something to tell them. “What about tire tracks? DNA evidence?”
“We’ve got forensics going over the alley with a fine-tooth comb.” Manning glanced over his shoulder at the waiting-room door. “She’s a tough lady.”
“You bet she is.” Tough and loyal and loving and, dammit, she’d had enough trouble in her life without this happening to her.
“She was your ward?”
Joe nodded. “She’s been with us since she was ten. Before that she was in a dozen foster-care facilities and virtually grew up on the streets.”
“But she’s been on Easy Street since she’s been with you.”
“If you call working every spare hour to pay her way through college Easy Street. Jane doesn’t take anything she can’t pay for.”
“I wish I could say that about my son.” Fox was frowning. “She looks . . . familiar. She reminds me of someone. There’s something about her face.”
Oh, Jesus. Here we go again. “You’re right. She’s damn beautiful.” He changed the subject. “Which brings us back to another possible motive. Rape? Or white slavery?”
“We’re checking with Vice on any report of—”
“Shit.” The elevator doors had opened, and Joe saw Eve and Sandra get out. “Look, there’s Mike Fitzgerald’s mother. I’ve got to take her and Eve in to Jane. But I promised Jane a report on Mike. Will you try to pump one of those nurses and see what you come up with?”
“Sure. I’ll do it,” Manning said as he started down the hall. “You go back and take care of your family.”
Tough bastard. For a minute there I felt as if I was getting the third degree. I don’t know if I’d be able to keep my mind on the investigation if my family was involved,” Manning said as they headed for the nurses’ station. “And it’s clear he cares about the girl.”
“Yeah.” Fox was still frowning thoughtfully. “Protective as the devil. Who did you say her—” He suddenly snapped his fingers. “Eve Duncan!”
“What?”
“She said she lived with Eve Duncan.”
“So?”
“So I remember who the kid reminds me of.”
“Duncan?”
“No, I saw a Discovery Channel show about a year ago about one of the reconstructions Duncan did of an actress buried in the ruins of Herculaneum two thousand years ago. At least, it was supposed to be her, but there was some kind of big investigation connected with . . .” He shook his head. “I can’t remember. I’ll have to go back and check on it. All I recall was that there was a big fuss about it at the time.”
“You’re getting off track. Who does Jane MacGuire remind you of?”
Manning glanced at him in surprise. “I’m not off track. It was the reconstruction. She’s a dead ringer for that woman Eve Duncan was supposed to be doing the reconstruction of.” He hesitated, searching