Im not yelling. It was true, but every word was laden with anger. I could strangle you.
You may have to stand in line.
Is that supposed to be funny?
No. Im in trouble, Joe.
Thats pretty clear. Did you kill Logan?
Her hand tightened on the receiver. What?
Did you kill him?
Are you nuts?
Answer me. Look, if you did it, I know it was self-defense, but I have to know so I can fix it.
Why would you think Of course I didnt kill him. Hes not dead. Its all a lie.
Silence. Then Id say youre in very deep shit. Have you seen CNN?
About Barrett House burning? Yes, I know about that.
No, the latest bulletin. The one that mentions you as a suspect.
Me?
Novak, that hotshot lawyer of Logans, was in-terviewed, and he said you were staying with Logan at Barrett House. He paused. He said you were Logans lover and he had been concerned about the relationship because you were unbalanced.
Son of a bitch.
They know about Lakewood, Eve.
She stiffened. How could they know? How could anyone know? You buried the records. You promised me that I
I dont know how they found out. I thought I had it covered.
You should have been more Christ, she was blaming Joe for something that wasnt even his re-sponsibility. They mentioned Lakewood?
Yes. He paused. I told you that there was no reason to hide it. Theres nothing wrong about
It seems there is reason.
Joe cursed softly. Tell me where you are. Ill come to you.
She tried to gather her wits. I shouldnt see you. As long as youre not involved youll be
Tell me. I am involved. Tell me or Ill hunt you down. Im damn good at hunting.
She knew better than anyone else how deter-mined Joe could be. Im coming to Atlanta. I need to see Kessler. Ill meet you at the Hardees parking lot out in Dekalb at ten tomorrow morning. Thats about six blocks from Emory.
Right. He didnt speak for several seconds. How bad is it, Eve?
Big-time. It couldnt be any worse.
Sure it could. You couldnt have me to help fix it.
She smiled shakily. Thats true. That would make it worse. She thought of something. Will you dig up a picture of Logans assistant, Margaret Wilson, and run it over to my mother? Tell her that Margaret is the one whos going to help her.
Help her do what?
Shes going to see that Mom gets to somewhere safe.
Im taking care of her. There was an edge to his tone. You dont need any other help.
Dont do this to me, Joe. I need all the help I can get. Will you get the picture to her?
Of course Ill do it. But youd better have a damn good reason for not trusting me.
I do trust Maybe hed understand when she explained everything to him. She thought of some-thing else. And will you find a picture of James Timwick and a man called Albert Fiske, who works for him? Bring it with you tomorrow.
Timwick should be no problem. Hes on the news fairly frequently, but whos Albert Fiske?
A name I need to put a face to. Good-bye, Joe. She pressed the end button.
Lakewood. My God, Lakewood.
She put her phone back in her purse and stood up. She could hear the television in the next room. Logan and Gil would be hearing about Lakewood.
But Logan must already know. The lawyer was his snoop and it was Logans money that had dug up all the facts about her past.
Logan again. Damn him.
