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lane.
Joe.
She parked on the side of the highway and jumped out of the car. She fought her way through the crowd, but dammit, she couldn’t see anything.
'Eve.' Spiro was coming toward her from the edge of the cliff. He nodded to a policeman.
'She’s all right. Let her through.'
She ducked under the tape and ran to the edge of the cliff.
Spiro followed her. 'You shouldn’t be here, Eve. What are you thinking? This place is crawling with highway patrol and—'
'I don’t care. Where’s the rescue team?'
Spiro pointed at the line of moving lights at the bottom of the ravine. 'They’re almost at the car.'
What car? It appeared to be only a mass of twisted metal. 'Joe’s down there.”
“I know, he called me. But he was already on his way down when I got here.”
“Does anyone know what happened?'
Spiro shook his head. 'No witnesses. We don’t know yet if they were driven off the road or there was brake tampering. We’re not even sure if it’s Charlie’s rental car. The rescue team is going to try to radio back the license number.'
'But you think it is?'
'Don’t you?'
'Yes.' The lights were almost at the car now. 'Do they know how long it’s going to take?'
'It depends on what they find down there.' He paused. 'But I have to warn you. The rescue team is already smelling gasoline. Even worse, gas vapor will be hovering over the vehicle. All it would take is a spark.'
She went rigid. 'Then tell them to get out of there.”
“They have to try to rescue whoever’s in the car.”
“They don’t have to get blown up. I’ve seen burn victims and—”
“I know,' Spiro said quietly. 'No one wants that to happen. The squad leader will call off the The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02
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attempt if it gets too dangerous.'
'Joe won’t do that. He won’t take orders from anybody. He’ll do what he has to to get them out of that car.' God, she wished she were down there so she could do something.
'Take it easy, Eve. The rescue team isn’t going to make any mistakes that will get anyone hurt.
They’ll disconnect the battery and then steady the vehicle. And they’ll use Hurst tools to force their way into the car to avoid sparks.'
The lights were moving, weaving in and around the wreckage. Ten minutes passed.
Fifteen minutes.
'Why aren’t they coming back? Can’t you find out what’s happening?' she asked Spiro.
'I’ll try.' Spiro strode over to the command unit and came back a few minutes later. 'They’ve got one man out. They weren’t able to make a positive confirmation, but they think the other man is dead. The squad leader’s made the decision to pull his team out.'
'Why?'
He hesitated. 'The car hood is crushed. They weren’t able to get to the battery to disconnect it.
They managed to turn off the ignition, but anything could blow the car. The catalytic converter, the wiring…'
'And everyone’s coming up?”
“Look for yourself.'
The lights below were moving faster, away from the wreckage, back toward the incline.
Please let Joe be one of those men running to safety. Her gaze moved back to the wreckage.
One light still burned in the midst of the twisted tangle of metal. 'Joe.'
She had known it. Damn him. Damn him. 'My God, he’s crazy,' Spiro said.
Joe, get out of there. Please. One minute passed. Two minutes. Don’t stay. Don’t stay. Don’t stay. The wreckage exploded into a fireball. She screamed.
Joe.
She ran toward the cliff edge. Spiro caught her.
