recall and I believe I would have recognized Bonnie. I knew how much it meant to you to find her.'
Eve felt a wild surge of disappointment. 'Kistle told me that she wasn't buried on the island.'
'I'm sure that isn't all the son of a bitch said.'
'He said… alligators.'
'What a monster. He chose the most horrible scenario he could dream up and handed it to you.' Megan shook her head. 'Even if she wasn't buried there, if that's where he took her life, I'd hear her voice.'
'You don't think she's there.' Eve pulled into the motel parking lot. 'I told him that I thought he was claiming credit for a kill he never made. It made him furious.' She moistened her lips. 'I killed him, Megan. I was afraid that somehow he'd wriggle away and go on slaughtering. I pulled the trigger four times to make sure he was dead.'
'Good. I don't know if he killed your Bonnie. You'll have to wait until they finish searching. I know he killed those other poor kids on that island,' Megan said. 'And if I'd been able to do it, I would have sent the bastard to hell myself.'
Eve parked as close to the motel as she could get. 'You're going to get wet.' She tried to smile. 'And Phillip told me to take care of you.'
'A little rain won't hurt me.' Megan didn't move to get out of the car. The rain was pounding, enveloping them in a cocoon. 'Don't ask me to do it again, Eve.'
Eve's eyes widened in shock. 'I wouldn't do that.'
'Yes, you would. If you come up empty. If they don't find Bonnie on that island. You couldn't help yourself.' She gazed out the windshield. 'And I'll turn you down, Eve. Not because of what I went through. I could take that, I think. But you couldn't take it. It would kill you.'
'No, it's what I want most in the world.'
'When we started out, I told you that I wouldn't do it except for Laura Ann. I told you not to try to find her through me. I could see what would happen.'
'I'd have my Bonnie back.'
'You'd have a horror to live with for the rest of your life,' Megan said. 'Because if I found her, you wouldn't be able to leave it alone. You'd want me to share exactly how she died and you wouldn't leave me alone until I told you.'
'No.'
'Yes. You love her, you'd want to share her death as well as her life. If someone else finds her, then you'll probably never know. But I'm the one who could destroy you. I won't do that.'
'You're wrong, Megan,' Eve said unsteadily. 'I'm not that weak.'
'No, you're strong. I admire you more than anyone I've ever met. But you've had your share of nightmares and I'm not going to give you any more.'
'I wouldn't ask you to-' She closed her eyes and tears rolled down her cheeks. 'God help me, I would. I'd find a way to make you help me. Don't do it. Don't let me hurt you.'
Megan's arms were suddenly around her. 'I won't.' She rocked her gently. 'It's going to be okay, Eve. You'll find her. I know you'll find her.'
Eve lifted her head and drew a shaky breath. 'I know it too. Maybe I already have.' She straightened away from Megan and smiled with an effort. 'But it would be nice if that was a psychic prediction.'
Megan shook her head. 'No.' Her hand reached for the door handle. 'It's a prediction based on the fact that you're smart and strong and life can deal from the bottom of the deck for only so long. If you need me, call me.' She opened the door. 'Except for that one thing, Eve.'
'Megan.'
Megan looked back at her.
'There aren't words to thank you.'
'Then don't try to find any.' She jumped out of the SUV and ran through the rain toward the entrance.
Eve watched until she disappeared inside. She suddenly felt lonely. Megan's warmth and vitality still lingered with her. She was the most caring individual Eve had ever met and she didn't want to see her walk out of her life.
But she would try to let her keep her distance. She had begun by thinking Megan was the ruthless intruder, but it wasn't Megan who was the danger, it was Eve herself. It was really Eve who Bonnie had been warning her against. Megan was only the instrument.
THE RAIN WAS COMING DOWN in sheets and the police had covered the entire glade under makeshift tarp canopies that allowed them to move freely from area to area.
Grave to grave.
Joe was wet, his boots muddy, in spite of the yellow ponchos the police were issuing to the team who were exhuming the bodies.
Small bodies. Pitiful bodies. The sight wrenched him to the core.
And made him want to kill Kistle all over again.
'It's incredible.'
Joe turned to see Montalvo standing behind him. Montalvo was soaked to the skin, raindrops running down his cheeks, but he didn't seem to be aware of it. His gaze was fixed on the rows of remains that had been exhumed. 'So much pain… I envy Eve. I would have been proud to rid the world of Kistle.'
'So would I.' It was what Joe had been feeling. 'What are you doing here?'
'The same as you. It's not finished. How many bodies have they found?'
'Twenty-two. They think there may be six more buried in this glade.'
'Bonnie?'
'I don't know. Kistle told Eve she wasn't here.' He turned away. 'I've got to get back to work. They want to get this site clean before they let the media anywhere near it.'
'I can see why. Where are they giving out the shovels and rain gear?'
Joe looked back at him. 'I told you, Bonnie may not be here.'
'But there are six other children who are buried here.' He met Joe's eyes as he added quietly, 'It's not finished for them either. Let's bring them home, Quinn.'
Joe didn't speak for a moment and then he turned away. 'You can get a poncho and shovel from the officer on the other side of the glade.'
JOE CALLED EVE'S CELL three hours later.
She braced herself and then pressed the button. 'Good news?'
'Bonnie isn't buried in the glade,' he said baldly. 'He had all the corpses labeled with their first names just as he told you. We found a body to correspond with every trophy in his damn memory box. It will take time to go over the entire island but she's not in the burial ground.'
Disappointment tore through her. 'No.'
'As I said, he may have buried her somewhere else on the island.' He paused. 'Or he may not have buried her here at all. There was no Bonnie trophy in that memory box. We think that box was only for the island. We have to find any other souvenir box he might have had.'
'Or he may not have been the one who killed her,' she whispered. 'But I was so sure this time.'
'So was I.' He drew a harsh breath. 'God, I don't know if I can go on with this-' He stopped. 'It may not be the end of the trail with Kistle. I won't give up yet. Go on back to the cottage. I'm going to go back to my precinct to make a report there. We think most of the victims were from Atlanta, and bodies will be sent to our medical examiner for identification and DNA tests. We won't know what kind of records to check until we find out how long ago they were killed.'
'Publish the names Kistle had on his labels and I'll bet you'll be flooded with calls from parents with missing children.' Eve shook her head. 'What am I thinking? That would be the worst way to find out your child has been murdered. Until the last minute they'll be hoping that their baby is alive and happy somewhere.'
'I'll be back at the cottage as soon as I'm through and I'll call you if I find out anything more. Will you be all right?'
'Yes.' She made an effort. 'Don't worry about me, Joe. It's not as if I haven't been disappointed before. Do what you have to do.'
