Eve - Iris Johansen [101]
She opened the case and pulled out her toiletries and a change of clothes. She headed for the bathroom. “Then we’ll be ready to move, too.”
His question stopped her at the bathroom door. “Did you tell Quinn you were coming?”
She didn’t look at him. “I wouldn’t have left without letting him know what I was doing. Did I give him details? No.”
“So we’re in this alone.”
“Yes.” She closed the door behind her.
Alone.
She did feel poignantly alone and vulnerable at that moment. She was used to Joe being there, a presence that was both exciting and comforting. But she was dealing with John Gallo, who was not at all comforting. Exciting? As exciting as falling off a cliff into the darkness. She didn’t know what he was going to do next or even whether he was telling her the truth. She was going on instinct and memory, and the latter could have been twisted by the passage of time. And obeying instinct would be skipping through landmines.
She stripped and stepped under the spray.
I wish you were here, Joe.
* * *
“MILWAUKEE,” JOE TOLD CATHERINE when he called her from the airport. “Eve took the two forty flight on Delta.”
“And you’re on your way.”
“I will be in another hour. It’s the first flight out. But finding out where she was going is going to be a hell of a lot easier than tracing her once she gets off the plane. What did you find out?”
“Hanks may be in Denver,” she said. “He owns a condo there. I’ve called the number, but there’s no answer.”
“And Judy Clark?”
“Judy has a mother, Stella Kamski, in St. Louis. It’s a possibility. Judy lived with her until she was married. And after Judy’s divorce, she moved back in with her until she went to work for Gallo. Her mother even took care of her kid for a while. I spoke to the mother, and she said she hadn’t heard from her daughter in months. She seemed … stiff.”
“You think she was lying?”
“As I said, I think she’s a possibility. Judy Clark may be with her, or she might know where she is. I’m on my way there now. She lives in a subdivision in Webster Groves. It’s about a four-hour drive from where I am now.”
“Call me if you can get anything out of her.”
“You know it.” Catherine hung up.
But even if Judy Clark was with her mother, Catherine might not be able to get her to talk. She had been close-mouthed and obstinately loyal in her encounter with her. Hell, she might not even know where he was. It was clear that Gallo was very careful about confiding anything to anyone.
But there was always a chance, and it was all Catherine could think to do. The chances were pretty slim.
She just hoped Joe would be able to trace Eve when he reached Milwaukee.
* * *
“WHY DOESN’T SOMEONE COME?” Eve’s hand clenched on the gray drapes as she gazed from the window down at the lights of the traffic spearing the darkness. “I can’t say much for your trap, John.”
“I’ve never seen any bait more eager to spring the teeth shut.” He smiled across at her from where he was lying on the bed. “You’ve not been here more than five or six hours. Are you always this impatient?”
“We’re close. I want it over.”
“It’s like the watched kettle that never boils. Come to bed, and that alarm in 1502 will probably go off in five minutes.”
She didn’t answer, her gaze fixed on the street.
“Come to bed, Eve,” he said quietly. “I’m not going to jump you. If you like, I’ll curl up on the floor. I’ve learned to sleep anywhere.”
“I’m not afraid of you.” She turned to look at him. “I can take care of myself. That’s one of the first things that Joe taught me.”
“Good for him. Though, as I remember, you were pretty effective when I knew you.”
She nodded. “But Joe says technique always carries the day. I learned that the night you saved little Manuel … and me.”
“How is Manuel?”
“Well, I hope. I lost track of Rosa and her son. She married and left for San Diego a year after I moved out of the housing development.” She shook her head. “It’s sad that it’s so easy to lose touch with people. They come in and out of your life, then they’re gone. A lot of it is my fault. I’m so busy most