Quinn - Iris Johansen [9]
Slindak was silent. “You think that’s likely?”
Hell, no, everything within him was rejecting the scenario he had put forward. “I’m just saying nothing should be ruled out.”
“I think you’d have ruled it out if you’d seen Eve Duncan after the kid was taken. I was one of the detectives who came to the park where the kid disappeared that day. Eve Duncan was terrified. And angry. And ready to take on the world to get her daughter back.”
“Then maybe we’ll be able to erase her name from the suspect list after we investigate a little further. You’ve made inquiries of neighbors and teachers?”
“The kid was bright and friendly and loved the whole damn world. Everyone said that Eve Duncan was totally dedicated to Bonnie. She was respected, even admired, by everyone we questioned. She worked two jobs, was finishing college with a 4.0 average, and still managed to be a great mother.” He paused. “I like her, Joe. Though she’s given our department nothing but grief since her daughter was kidnapped. Who could blame her? I’d do the same. Don’t give her a hard time.”
“I’m not trying to hurt her. I generally don’t like to become involved with the families of victims.” That was the truth. “And I can see why you’d admire her and want to protect her.” And God knows that was the truth. “If everything checks out, we’ll assume that we have a serial killer. I’ll check into a hotel, then come down to the precinct and go over the case files on the missing children.”
“I’ll be here,” Slindak said. “We’re all working extra hours on this case.” He hung up.
Joe stood there for an instant longer after he’d replaced the receiver, thinking about what Slindak had said. Everything that Slindak had recounted about Eve had been exactly what his own senses had told him. She was a victim who refused to be a victim. How could you help but want to come to her rescue? Slindak had obviously had that same response to her.
No, it hadn’t been the same for him. No one but Joe could have had this crazy, wild reaction when he’d seen Eve Duncan. It was too bizarre. He remembered what Slindak had said about him.
Cold as ice?
Never in this world. Not where Eve Duncan was concerned.
Two Weeks Later
“YOU SAID YOU’D HELP me,” Eve said, when Joe picked up the phone. “All those fine words, and you’re not doing a damn thing. Why haven’t I heard from you?”
Because he’d been trying to forget that first interview, divorce himself from his reaction to Eve herself, and concentrate on the case. He wasn’t about to tell her that concentration had been centered on going through all the files of known child molesters in the Southeast. “I haven’t had anything to report to you.”
“Well, I have something to report to you. Come and see me.”
He stared at the phone after she’d hung up. He could send Slindak.
But he knew he wasn’t going to do it.
He pushed back from the desk and stood up. He was feeling alive, eagerness mixed with a low, simmering excitement. This was what he had been waiting for no matter what he had been telling himself.
It was starting …
* * *
EVE THREW OPEN THE DOOR before he could ring the bell. “You took your time. Come in.” She turned her back and strode toward the kitchen. “I have something to show you.”
She was the same and yet not the same, he thought as he followed her. She was dressed in khaki slacks and a loose white shirt. The fragile restraint that was so difficult to watch was still there, but she was more forceful. The vitality that had so drawn him was burning high. She was not even quite as pale.
“What are you looking at?” She had turned at the kitchen table.
“You,” he said quietly. “You look better. You’re still too thin, but you appear to have been eating. That’s good.”
“I told you that I wouldn’t neglect myself. And I’m always thin.” She raised her brows. “You probably don’t like skinny women. Most men don’t. They like boobs and ass.”
He was surprised at her bluntness. “I find that thin women usually have a grace and elegance that’s appealing.”
“Very tactful. Very polite. But I understand that your tastes are definitely on the voluptuous