'Deputy Charlie Dodsworth.' He shook his head wearily. 'No, that's not right. They've made me acting sheriff until the next election. I talked to an Eve Duncan at your phone number and she told me-'
'Eve? You called Eve? I told Sheriff Jedroth to call me on my cell phone. Why the hell-'
'I didn't call her. She called me,' the deputy interrupted. 'The sheriff is dead and Kistle had his phone and contacted her.' He turned toward the exit. 'I'll give you a ride into town. I have some questions to ask you.'
'Jedroth's dead? How did-'
'Not now.' Dodsworth waved his hand to stop the flow of words. 'I've got to have my questions answered first. You'll have your turn. I've had one hell of a night. I lost my friend. And we lost that damned child killer in the woods. Now I've got to find a way to catch the bastard. What you know, I have to know.' He went ahead of Joe through the door and out into the parking lot.
Joe hesitated and then followed Dodsworth toward the patrol car. It was clear all hell had broken loose since he had talked to Jedroth earlier tonight. Kistle had called Eve. My God, it was the last thing Joe had wanted to happen. He should call her and ask what that-
'Detective?' Dodsworth had opened the passenger door. 'I want to get this over with quick. I have to go and see Maggie Jedroth and try to explain why her husband died tonight.'
How many times had Joe had to break that news? Whether in a big-city precinct or a sheriff's office in a little town, the life of a cop still sucked sometimes. 'Fifteen minutes. Ask your questions. Then I have to ask a few of my own and make a phone call.'
'I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING about Kistle's background,' Joe said impatiently. 'I told you, I traced him by his cell phone he bought in Detroit. If I knew any of his friends or family, I'd be on my way to see them, since you lost the bastard.'
'We'll get him back. Why did Kistle call Eve Duncan?'
'My number was the last number on the sheriff's phone.'
'But he talked to her. She said he was taunting her, telling her he could never be caught.'
'How could I know anything about that? When I call her, I'll ask what he said.' And he needed to make that call right now. Find a way to skip over the unessential questions and give the sheriff a quick summary. 'Look, the reason that we're after Kistle isn't only that he may be a child killer. He could have killed Eve Duncan's child, Bonnie. That makes it very personal. If he did call to taunt Eve, it may mean that he's the one we're searching for.'
'It wasn't hard to figure out that it was personal after we read the report on you. You may be in luck,' Dodsworth said. 'Because we're not going to let him slip away from us.' He parked in front of the sheriff's office. 'Now come inside and sign a statement and we'll-'
'No way. I'll do it later. I told you that-'
The deputy's radio blared out. 'Charlie. Where are you, Charlie?'
'Dodsworth,' he answered. 'Have you got him, Pete?'
'No. God, Charlie. It's bad here. You gotta come and-'
'What the hell is going on?'
'Bill Parks and Lenny Brewster. They're dead, Charlie. Shot.'
'Kistle?'
'I guess so. You gotta come and see them.'
'I'm on my way.' Dodsworth was backing out of the parking space. 'I should be there in ten minutes.'
'Where are we going?' Joe asked.
'Clayborne Forest.' Dodsworth pressed the accelerator and put on the siren. 'That was Pete Shaw, a deputy, on the radio. Parks and Brewster were in the posse tracking down Kistle.'
THE PATROL CAR WAS MET at the edge of the forest by a lanky young deputy whose face was pale enough to show the freckles scattered on his thin cheeks. 'They're dead, Charlie. I was talking to them ten minutes before we found them. We split up, but there were two of them and-'
'Take it easy, Pete.' Dodsworth got out of the car. 'You did the right thing. Where are they?'
'Still at the bog. I called the medical examiner and told him to come take a look.'
'Take me there.' He glanced at Joe. 'Coming?'
Joe was already out of the car and shedding his jacket. 'You bet I am.' He threw the jacket on the hood of the car. 'Let's get out there.'
'Pete Shaw, Joe Quinn,' Dodsworth said. 'He's Atlanta PD, Pete.'
But the young deputy was already yards away in the brush ahead of them.
The forest itself was pitch-black, but Joe could see beams of flashlights dotting the darkness as he moved after Dodsworth. 'How big is this forest?'
'Over a thousand acres.'
'And how many men do you have out here?'
'Twenty, maybe twenty-five. We had a lot of volunteers. Everyone liked Jim Jedroth.'
Eager young men like this Pete Shaw who wanted to catch the monster and had no idea what they were up against, Joe thought. 'The victims were shot in the bog?'
'We think so.' Pete had stopped to wait for them. 'But we found them on the bank. It's ugly, Charlie.' He pulled aside a bush to reveal an area lit by lanterns and teeming with men, some in uniform and some in camouflage hunting garb. 'I don't understand why- See for yourself.'
'God,' Dodsworth murmured. 'What did he do to them?'
The two dead men were propped up against a tree. Their eyes were wide open and staring into nothingness.
'Bill was shot in the head. Lenny has a bullet wound in his throat,' Pete said. 'But after he killed them he set them up like that and pounded short wooden stakes through their hearts. It looked like he was using them to fasten those messages on their chests.' He swallowed hard. 'Son of a bitch.'
Joe could see the scraps of notebook paper, but they were stained with blood and he was too far away to read what they said. He had to get closer. He shouldn't compromise the crime scene, but it had already been trampled by the ten or twelve searchers at the scene. He'd just be as careful as he could.
He moved toward the victims. 'Do the notes both say the same thing?'
'Yeah.' Pete followed them. 'Same thing.'
Joe squatted down a few feet from the dead men. 'Give me your flashlight.'
He shone the beam on one of the bloodstained notes. Some of the ink had smeared and run, but he could still decipher the letters. It appeared to be three words. The first one started with an F…
He stiffened.
THREE
EVE FINALLY RECEIVED A CALL back from Joe when she was at the gate in Atlanta ready to board her flight. Her first reaction was profound relief, the second was anger. 'Why the hell didn't you tell me you'd located Kistle?'
'Jane must have told you my reasons by now. Nothing I can say is going to make you like it any better. I did what I thought was best for you.'
'Stop sheltering me, Joe. How many times have I told you that I won't have it where Bonnie is concerned?'
'I can't do anything else,' he said simply. 'I won't watch you be hurt unnecessarily.'
She felt melting warmth mixed with frustration. 'Joe, it was wrong. I have to-' She broke off. Arguing would get them nowhere. 'Have they caught Kistle yet?'
'No, the bastard has to be pretty woods-savvy. He's been running the deputies ragged.'
'Maybe he's not in the woods at all. Couldn't he have made his way to another road or major highway?'
'Maybe. They have guards patrolling around the perimeter of the forest, but he might be able to avoid them if he wanted to do it.'
