Quinn - Iris Johansen [31]
Joe didn’t answer. He turned to Slindak. “Did the newspaper or TV station he called manage to tape or trace the call?”
“No, the calls were made one after the other with no advance notice. They weren’t expecting it. He asked for the program director at CNN. At the newspaper he asked for Brian McVey, who wrote the article in this morning’s paper. McVey tried to put him on hold and stall, but he hung up.”
“Damn. But at least we can talk to them and ask the questions we can’t ask Ellen Bristol.”
“If they’ll answer,” Slindak said sourly. “They may want to protect their story.”
“They’ll answer,” Joe said grimly. “They’ll tell me everything I want to know.” He turned back to Eve. “Come on. I’ll check you into my hotel. Those reporters may be camped out in front of your house.”
He took out his car keys and tossed them to Slindak. “Get one of your officers to drive my car outside the subdivision to the gas station on the corner and leave it there. Eve and I will go out the back door, cut across the yard, and try to lose ourselves in the subdivision.”
Slindak nodded. “It’s your best shot. You’ll probably be seen, but we’ve ordered the media not to trespass on the Bristols’ property.” He made a face. “Not that they don’t break the rules when the stakes seem high enough. But it will give you a little time.” He gave the keys to the officer guarding the door. “You heard him, Dunigan. See if you can’t lose them if they follow you. Then report back here.” As the door closed behind him, he turned back to Joe. “This is nasty. But it may be a break for us. At least we’re not dealing with a phantom any longer.”
“No, I think that the Bristols would agree that it wasn’t a phantom that savaged them today,” Joe said.
“I’ll go out in front and give a statement,” Slindak said. “That should distract them until you get out of here.”
“Thanks.” He took Eve’s arm. “Let’s see if we can find that back door.”
She nodded. “The kitchen.” She was already moving down the hall. “There it is to the right.”
A moment later, they were on the deck outside the kitchen door. A chain-link fence. No back gate.
“We go over the fence,” he said. “Then cross the backyard next door and keep on moving. At the end of the block, we turn north one block and double back toward the subdivision entrance. Okay?”
She nodded and ran down the steps. “Stop planning and start moving.”
He glanced around, but couldn’t spot any media. That didn’t mean they weren’t under observation. But Slindak might have drawn them away. They might get lucky. He followed Eve, who was already across the yard and had entered the bed of daffodils bordering the fence.
She slipped and almost fell. “Be careful. Mud.”
He nodded. “Irrigation. There’s a price for these nice lawns and landscapes.” He helped her across the fence and climbed after her. “Run!”
* * *
JOE GLANCED OVER HIS shoulder as he opened the car door for Eve at the gas station. “I think we made it. I’ll drive around for five or ten minutes to make sure that we’re not being followed.”
“I feel as if I’m in some Alfred Hitchcock movie. Jumping over fences, dodging from yard to yard,” she said as she got into the car. “This isn’t right. It’s not the media that we should be afraid of.”
“We’re not afraid.” He drove out of the gas station onto the street. “We’re just avoiding an unnecessary annoyance. And getting you to a place where you’ll not be hurt by their questions. You looked like a butterfly being stabbed by a dozen pins when they surrounded you.”
“You got me away from them.” She was gazing out the window. “I’m used to the reporters now. I was more shocked by what had happened to the Bristols than I was about being attacked by them. I was just too stunned to react. It was the last thing I expected.” She looked at him. “You didn’t answer me. He called those poor people and the media. He hadn’t done anything like that before. Do you have any idea why he would do it now?”
“Maybe. Ellen Bristol said that he sounded proud when he told her about killing Janey.”
Eve shuddered. “Horrible.”
“Yes, but it may