“Will you stop joking?'
'Who’s joking?' He reached out and touched her cheek. 'I’m probing. I have an idea something very important is happening here. Why, Eve?'
She swallowed to ease the tightness of her throat. 'I never gave Bonnie a puppy. She wanted it and I put it off. And then it was too late.'
His brows lifted. 'And what’s the connection? Is taking me into your bed the equivalent of giving me a puppy?'
She shook her head. 'The puppy’s not for you, Joe. It’s for me. I’m being entirely selfish. I want to be near you. I want you to talk to me. I want you to make love to me.' She smiled shakily.
'And I won’t put it off. I won’t wait until it’s too late. Will you come to bed and be with me, Joe Quinn?'
'Oh, yes.' He slid his arm around her waist and started up the stairs. His voice was as uneven as hers had been. 'You’re damn right I will.'
SIXTEEN
When Spiro called Eve that afternoon, she told him what Dom had told her of his childhood.
'Did the technician monitoring the phone trace the call?'
'No, that’s been a washout, dammit. But what Dom told you computes with the little we’ve learned,' Spiro said. 'We’ve contacted the schools in Jamison. No school records for the Baldridge boys. But I managed to track down a couple of reports about an official going out to see Reverend Baldridge and inquiring why the boys weren’t in school. The reverend claimed his sons were being home-schooled. He didn’t think the boys would get a godly education in public schools.'
'Anything else?'
'One more thing. The reports were on Ezekiel and Jacob. No mention of Kevin.”
“If he never attended the services, maybe they didn’t know he existed.”
“Judging by the destruction of that hilltop, I’d say he wanted to make his presence known.'
'Not necessarily. He went for years and never seemed to need public recognition of his acts. It’s The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02
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only recently that he’s changed.'
'He was just starting out then. He hadn’t learned. He hadn’t evolved.' He paused. 'But even though he’s different now, he would still have traits that fit the usual pattern of the organized offender.'
'Above average intelligence, for one,' Eve said. 'But all this talk isn’t getting us anywhere. We need to know what he looks like. Where is that photograph?'
'Don’t get your hopes up. The photo may not be the answer.”
“What do you mean?'
'Just what I said.'
'We’re supposed to be working together. Stop being evasive. Tell me.' Spiro was silent.
Dammit, he was stubborn and FBI through and through. She was getting tired of prying information out of him. He had made a deal, but it was clear he wasn’t going to budge on this point. Okay, pin him down at least on the time. 'When?'
'Soon.'
'When?'
'God, you’re persistent. Tomorrow, maybe.' He hung up.
They didn’t get a duplicate of the photograph until two days later. Spiro came to the house and handed Eve a five-by-seven envelope. 'Here it is. You’re going to be disappointed.'
'Why?'
'Look at it.'
Joe moved to stand beside her as she opened the envelope and took out the photograph.
It had obviously been taken in a huge backyard. Two teenage boys sat in the foreground at a picnic table; a third was far in the background, coming down porch steps.
'According to Mrs. Harding, the kid on the steps is Kevin Baldridge,' Spiro said.
“The two at the picnic table are Ezekiel and Jacob.'
Dammit, Kevin Baldridge was not only far away but the photo had been slightly overexposed and, because he was in motion, his figure was blurred and completely unrecognizable.
'No wonder the police didn’t take this from the Hardings at the time,' Eve said. 'He’s just a The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02
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blur. He could be anyone. Joe told me that Charlie was troubled about this photograph. I can see why.' She looked at Spiro. 'Photo technology has improved enormously in the last twenty-five years. They might not have been
