Quinn - Iris Johansen [40]
“I’ll try to resist.” He followed her and glanced around the living room. Nothing fancy. The furniture was contemporary, but there were doilies on the arms of the blue denim couch. Probably another legacy from McVey’s mother. It surprised him that McVey hadn’t stored them away. He wouldn’t have thought the reporter would be that sentimental. “McVey must not use this house much.”
“Only an occasional weekend. He told me he has a boat that’s stored at the marina a few miles away.” Eve led him down the hall to the kitchen. “But it was convenient for our purpose. Private. Out of the way. And he still had the phone service connected. Since he’s a reporter, he has to be reachable even on his time off.”
“Yeah, very convenient. It wouldn’t do to invite a killer to a place that wasn’t isolated. He might not accept the invitation.”
“That’s right.” She poured him a cup of coffee. “You might as well sit down. Though you can cut the sarcasm. I got the point. You don’t have to belabor it.”
“I’ll try.” He dropped down in a white chair at the kitchen table. “I’m having trouble with control at the moment.”
“That couldn’t be clearer.” She poured herself a cup of coffee. “I think you scared McVey.”
“He should have been scared.”
She sat down opposite him. “I never saw you like that before.”
“But you always knew it was there, didn’t you?” He stared directly into her eyes. “You said you grew up with violence all around you. Well, violence isn’t confined to the housing projects. It can exist anywhere. It may be a breeding ground, but you have to have someone to throw out the seeds.”
“And you’re a regular Johnny Appleseed,” she said dryly. “I didn’t expect you to get so angry. And I didn’t think you’d track me down so quickly. I thought I’d have time.”
“It wasn’t that difficult. I just had to stretch a little. Time for what? It’s obvious to anyone that you’re trying to set yourself up as bait. Would you like to tell me how you expect to do it without getting yourself killed?”
She glanced away from him. “I expect him to call me. McVey has set up a tracer on the phone. If I can keep him on the phone long enough, I can find out where he is.”
“And you don’t think he won’t suspect that’s what you’re doing? If he has any brains at all, he’ll know why you were so insulting in that interview.”
“He’ll suspect it. But if he’s as egotistical as you think, then he’ll still come after me. It would be a feather in his cap to be able to get to me in spite of a trap.” She moistened her lips. “And I’m counting on rage. He has to be full of rage if he could do what he did to those children. That’s why I was so insulting during the interview. I wanted to trigger that rage.”
“I don’t believe you’ll be disappointed.”
“I hope not,” she said quietly.
His hand clenched on his cup. “Look, he’s crazy. Nothing could be more evident. Crazy people don’t react as normal people do. Even when they know that there’s danger, they just keep on coming.”
“Maybe he won’t come after me. We may be able to trace his call and have the police pick him up before it gets that far.”
“Eve … Dammit.”
“Joe … Dammit.” She smiled unsteadily. “I had to do this. He can’t be allowed to go on. I know that the chances aren’t wonderful of everything coming out the way I want them. That’s why I didn’t want you involved. I knew you would try to stop me.”
“Damn right, I am.”
“Too late, Joe. If he’s as crazy as you think, he’ll already have his sights on me.”
“I could knock you out and have Slindak stuff you in a cell as a material witness.”
“And when he let me out, the problem would still be out here waiting for me.”
“Not if I find Zeus first.”
“What are the chances of that?” She shook her head. “My way is better.”
“Your way is as crazy as he is.” But he could see that he wasn’t budging her. “So what are you doing? Just camping out here and waiting for him to call you?”
“Yes.”
“And what if he comes instead of call? That’s what I did.”
“That’s why I had McVey get me a gun. But if I made him angry enough, he won’t want to just