'Was there an investigation?'
'Of course. But no one could find Reverend Baldridge. It was decided that he had moved on.
Evangelists are usually traveling men, and he wasn’t very popular with the authorities anyway.
He’d been warned about the candles being a fire hazard.'
'Did he move on?'
'We’ll have to find out, won’t we?' Spiro glanced around. 'Christ, this place is weird.'
Eve felt the same way. 'If the fire happened that long ago, why hasn’t the grass grown back?'
'What else did you find out?' Joe asked. 'What about his family? What did Reverend Piper tell you about Kevin Baldridge.'
'He doesn’t remember a Kevin. His father was the pastor of the Bloom Street Baptist Church when Reverend Baldridge was preaching here. He was only a boy when his father brought him up here for services. He met Mrs. Baldridge once, but the only sons he recalls are Ezekiel and Jacob. He never met Kevin.'
'But we know there’s a Kevin. Mrs. Harding met him.'
'If he was here, he was kept out of sight.' Spiro shook his head. 'Though why is a mystery. It seems old Baldridge kept everyone in the family busy at the services, handing out candles, passing the collection plates…'
'I don’t like it here.' Jane was standing beside Eve. 'When can we go?' Even Jane was feeling bad vibes, Eve realized. 'Soon. Want to go wait in the car?'
Jane shook her head and moved closer. 'I’ll wait for you.'
'We might as well all go,' Spiro said. 'There’s nothing we can do right now. We’ll hop back to Phoenix and I’ll get a team to come here and go over the site.'
'After two decades and a fire?'
The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02
Page 238 of 286
'No one searched for graves in the area.'
'You don’t think Reverend Baldridge just moved on, do you?”
“I have to investigate every possibility. The old man seems to have been pretty unpleasant.'
'Yes.' Joe’s gaze wandered around the campground. 'Fanatics usually cause a lot of misery.'
'Well, if Kevin Baldridge is Dom, he’s created more than his share of misery.' Spiro started down the hill. 'Like father, like son.'
'Maybe it isn’t Kevin. Maybe it’s one of the other brothers.' Eve followed Spiro. 'But where was Kevin when the services were going on?' Spiro said. 'It smacks of rebellion against the old man.' He glanced over his shoulder. 'What are you doing, Quinn?'
Joe was kneeling, digging into the soft soil with a hand. 'Just checking something.' He lifted a palmful of dirt to his mouth and touched his tongue to it.
“Salt.'
Eve stopped in her tracks. 'What?'
'Like you, I was wondering why nothing had grown back.' Joe brushed his palm clean as he stood up. 'Someone plowed the area with salt either before or after the fire. He didn’t want anything to live in this place again.'
was early evening when they arrived back at Phoenix. Spiro left them at the airport and Joe, Eve, and Jane arrived at Logan’s house after nine o’clock.
To Eve’s surprise, Logan himself was sitting on the couch, playing cards with Sarah, when they walked into the living room.
'It’s about time.' He threw down his cards and stood up. 'Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were leaving town?'
'I’m glad you’re back,' Sarah said. 'He’s been here for hours driving Monty and me bats. He wouldn’t leave and then he wanted me to amuse him.'
Logan scowled at her. 'You cheated.'
'I’m just a better poker player than you are. What do you think rescue teams do between searches?' She rose to her feet. 'You deal with him, Eve. Monty and I are tired of watching him brood.'
'I don’t brood.'
She didn’t argue. 'Come on, Jane. You look as tired as I feel. Rough trip?” The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02
Page 239 of 286
“It was creepy there.' Jane stooped to pat Monty. 'Come on, boy. Let’s go to bed.' The retriever stretched and then followed Sarah and Jane from the room. Logan’s gaze followed Sarah. 'She’s still holding a grudge.”
“She played cards with you,' Joe said.
'Because she wanted to beat my ass.' He turned to Eve and went on the attack. 'Didn’t it occur to you that I’d be worried when Booker told me you’d left the house.'
