“No. And, yes, I do feel safe. All your threats, and you weren’t able to touch me. You’re a coward. I was right in all things I told the world about you.”
Oh, shit, Joe thought. That’s right, wave the red flag at the bull.
But Zeus didn’t seem angry. When he spoke again, his voice was calm and honey-smooth. “You’re trying to make me mad. Are you trying to trace the call again? You’ll be disappointed. I have only one thing to say to you and then I’m gone … for a little while.”
“What?”
“You didn’t say ‘thank you’ when I complimented you on your house. That was rude, but I’ll forgive you. Do you know what I like about your house? It’s that lovely porch, with the hanging basket of flowers. I like plants and flowers far better than I like people. They have no ugliness about them unless I choose to make them ugly. Flowers make a statement, don’t they? You should pay attention to that statement.” He hung up.
He heard Eve’s exclamation before he crashed down the phone.
He threw on his clothes and ran out to the hall to see Eve at the top of the stairs.
“The porch,” she said as she ran down the stairs. She flipped on the light in the foyer. “He was talking about the porch. Why would he—”
“Don’t go out there.” He passed her and drew his gun as he carefully opened the front door. “Let me take a look. I just hope Bramwell doesn’t mistake me for Zeus and decide to take a shot at me.”
“Be careful, dammit.”
“Always.” His gaze was darting over the porch, street, and neighboring houses. It was still and dark except for the streetlight on the corner. “I don’t see anything.”
“That doesn’t mean he’s not there.” Eve pushed closer to him, following his gaze. “And where’s Bramwell? Shouldn’t he have come running when the lights went on?”
“Yes, he must be in back doing his hourly tour.” His gaze again wandered over the same area. “I don’t see anything. Maybe it was a bluff.” He took a step out onto the porch. “He might have wanted to keep you—” He broke off, stiffening.
She was right behind him. “What is it?”
“Go back inside.”
“The hell I will. What’s—” She inhaled sharply as she saw where he was looking.
A group of dark liquid drops was spattered on the floor of the porch.
As he watched, another drop fell from the hanging basket to the floor.
“Blood?” she whispered.
“Go back inside,” he repeated. He was remembering the details of Janey Bristol’s crime scene. He took a step closer and took out his flashlight. “You may not want to see this.” He shined the beam up to the bottom of the basket.
The earth at the bottom of the basket was soaked with blood that dripped steadily downward.
His beam traveled upward.
“Hair!” Eve’s eyes were focused on the patches of blood-soaked hair clinging to the head that had been shoved into the basket. “Oh, my God.”
“Easy.”
“Who is it? Another child?”
“I can’t tell. It could be Bramwell. I’ll have to move around to the other side to see the face.” He said through his teeth, “Have you had enough? Or do you want to see that, too?”
“No, but I’m not going to leave you out here to do it alone.” She braced herself, and said unevenly, “And it could be Bonnie. He told me he killed her right after he took her.”
“There wouldn’t be all this blood.” He moved around to get another view of the skull. “This is a fresh kill.”
“You said it might be Bramwell?”
“Maybe.” He was now shining the beam directly into the face. “No, it’s not Bramwell.”
She was suddenly beside him. “Then who is—” Her back arched as if struck. “McVey!”
Sandy hair soaked in blood, blue eyes staring at them, lips open in a silent scream.
“Dear God…” Eve ran to the rail of the porch, bent over, and threw up. “Brian…”
“I told you to go inside.” Joe was beside her, his hands on her shoulders. “Will you do it now? Lock the door. I need you to call Slindak and get him out here. I have to find Bramwell.”
“Yes…” She staggered toward the door, then, clinging to the jam, she turned to face him. “No. You can’t go without me. What if it’s some kind of trap? What if he kills you like he did Brian? I can’t—”
“What’s going on?” Bramwell was running up the porch steps. “Why are the lights—” He stopped short as he saw the bloody head. “What the hell?”
“That’s what I want to know,” Joe said grimly. “I have a lot of questions to ask you, Bramwell.” He turned back to Eve. “I evidently don’t have to go hunting him down. Now will you call Slindak?”
She nodded jerkily and disappeared into the house.
“Who is it?” Bramwell was looking up at the basket. “Pretty gory, huh?”
“Brian McVey.”
“The reporter? He doesn’t look much like the photo that runs with his byline.” He grimaced. “That was stupid. Of course he doesn’t. Poor guy.”
“How did he get here without you seeing it?”
“It wasn’t here before I made my rounds thirty minutes ago.”
“And why did it take you thirty minutes to make those rounds?”
“I saw something funny. The flowers in the border were all crushed, and the back gate was open. I was looking around to see if I could find the reason.”
A red herring, Joe thought, to give Zeus enough time to deposit McVey’s head in the hanging basket, get away, and make his phone call to Eve.
“And you saw nothing suspicious before you started your rounds. A car? A pedestrian?”
“The Simmonses, that young couple who live in that duplex down the street, drove in and went into their house, but that’s all. I was on the job and watching close, Agent Quinn.” He looked again at McVey’s head. “But evidently not close enough. Slindak is going to kick my ass.”
“Probably. I may help him.” He turned and went down the porch stairs. “Stay here and guard Eve Duncan. If you screw up, I’ll put your head in that basket with McVey’s.”
Five minutes later, Joe was looking down at the broken lock on the trunk of the Simmonses’ Saturn. It would have had to be held shut from inside so that it wouldn’t fly open as the car was driven. He carefully lifted the lid of the trunk.
Drops of dark blood on the black plastic interior.
He tensed as the smell wafted up to him.
And something else …
CHAPTER
8
“SLINDAK SHOULD BE HERE ANYTIME,” Eve said, when Joe walked into the house. “He said to tell you that he can’t wait until you go back to Washington, so that he can sleep through the night.” Her lips were trembling, as she added, “Of course, he had a few words for me as well. He holds me to blame for all of this.”
“Did he say that?”
“No, don’t go on the attack. He didn’t have to say it. It couldn’t be clearer, could it?”
“He’s lucky to have your help. At least, we have a chance of bringing Zeus down now. They were running around in circles a few weeks ago. He can stuff his damn blame where the sun doesn’t shine.”
“Lucky?” Her lips tightened. “And was McVey lucky to have my help, too?” She shuddered. “I must go out on the porch and tell him how lucky he is.”
“I knew this was coming.” He pulled her to her feet. “We’re going into the kitchen. I’ll make you a cup of coffee, and we’ll talk.” He pushed her down at the kitchen table. “Sit there and block out everything.” He turned to the cabinet and got down the coffeepot. “That shouldn’t be hard. You have plenty of practice.”
“I do, don’t I?” Her smile was bitter. “Only I think that the blocks are beginning to crumble. What do I do when the flood rushes in and overwhelms me?”
“No problem. I’ll be there to pull you out.” He heard the sirens. “You’ll have to finish making t
his. I have to go out and report in to Slindak. It’s probably better for you to be busy anyway.”
“Yes.” She got to her feet and reached for the tin of coffee. “Go on. I don’t need you to coddle me.”
The coffee was ready, and Eve was sitting at the table with a cup cradled in her hands when he came into the kitchen thirty minutes later. “Is he … gone?”
He knew she didn’t mean Slindak. “Yes, they took him a few minutes ago.” He poured a cup of coffee. “But forensics is still working on the porch and the backyard and the Simmonses’ car.”
“The car?”
He nodded. “Zeus hid in the trunk of the car of the young couple down the block. He couldn’t just walk down the street carrying a bloody head under his arm. He was watching and knew that you were guarded. He waited in the trunk until he saw Bramwell go toward the backyard, then got out and placed the head in the basket. He’d already gone around back and arranged a suspicious scenario for Bramwell to investigate to keep him from coming back too soon.”
“And then he made the call to me.” She shook her head. “Zeus had it all planned.” Her lips twisted. “I thought he’d go after me. But I should have known that I wouldn’t be enough. He couldn’t get to me easily, so he went after Brian.” She shook her head. “And I called him stupid.”
“He’s cunning.” Joe sat down across from her. “But he took a big chance. It’s clear he’s still as arrogant as he ever was. McVey was no fool. He wouldn’t have been an easy mark.”
“But Brian wasn’t expecting to be targeted. Maybe if I hadn’t set myself up in the aggressive role, he might have suspected. But we both thought that the setup would lead Zeus straight to me.”
“It did.”
“And I dragged Brian along with me.”
“Bullshit. He wouldn’t have had it any other way.” He held up his hand as she opened her lips. “Yes, I know that you think that I’m biased. You’re right. I wouldn’t have wanted McVey killed, but I did blame him for letting you set up that scenario at the lake house. I can’t deny it. But I’m not letting you think that anyone but Zeus is to blame for McVey’s head being in that basket.”
Eve was silent. “He was only twenty-six, Joe. He told me he was going to have a Pulitzer by the time he was thirty.”
“He told me the same thing. Too bad. He was smart and had enough drive to make it. But you have to remember, he was nagging you to let him come here and make another try at Zeus as late as yesterday morning. If you want to blame something besides Zeus for McVey’s death, then hang it on McVey’s ambition.”
“It was horrible.” She closed her eyes. “Brian’s eyes … I’ll never forget his face.”
“Then you’ll be giving Zeus exactly what he wants. Don’t do it, Eve.”
“I’ll do my best.” Her lids opened to reveal eyes shining with tears. “Because you’re right. You’re pretty damn smart, Joe. How did you get that way?”
“I’m a natural. Me and Solomon and a few other gifted guys out there. We could run the world if you gave us a chance.”
“I believe Solomon tried.” Her voice was steady, but her hand was shaking as she lifted her cup to her lips. “Okay, I’ll stop blaming myself because of McVey and see if I can help find that bastard who murdered him. Zeus must be feeling very triumphant right now.”
“Yes, smug and self-satisfied as a Cheshire cat. But he may have tripped up.”
She went still, her eyes locking with his. “What are you talking about?”
“Ego. He’s always been careless because he thought no one could touch him. I thought I’d seen signs that he was changing but maybe not. Maybe that arrogance is just too ingrained to overcome.”
“And why do you think he may have tripped up? How was he careless?”
He shook his head. “I’m not discussing it with you yet. I have to check on some things, then think about it. I know you, Eve. You’ll grab hold and try to run with it. I’m not ready to do that.”
“Tell me.”
He shook his head. “When I’m sure.” He finished his coffee and stood up. “Now get to bed and try to sleep. I’m going out on the porch and see what I can help wrap up. And I want to make sure that they clean it, so that it’s not going to hurt you every time you go out there.”
She was glaring at him. “You’re not being fair.”
“No, but I’m making it easier on myself. It won’t hurt you to wait. I’m not having you disappointed if my theory doesn’t pan out.” He headed for the door. “And thinking about how angry you are at me will keep you from dwelling on what happened tonight.”
“Your decision, your opinion. Tell me, dammit.”
He paused at the door to look back at her. Her eyes were glittering, and her cheeks flushed with color. Much better than when he’d walked into the house earlier. Good.
He turned and went out onto the porch. “When I’m ready.”
* * *
THE LAB TECH HANDED JOE the report the next morning. “Here it is. No wonder you didn’t send it up to the Bureau for analysis. A first-year intern could have done this one.”
“Thanks.” Joe scanned the report before turning away. It was what he’d expected, but he still felt a flare of excitement at the confirmation. “I appreciate your making it a priority.”
The tech shrugged. “No problem. Literally.”
Joe moved quickly down the hall toward the elevator.
One down.
A moment later, he was at Slindak’s desk in the squad room. “Did you check out that shoe factory in Toronto?”
“Yes, we haven’t got the report yet.”
“Give me the name and phone number. I’ll follow up.”
“Sure.” Slindak studied Joe’s face as he searched the papers on his desk for the information. “You’re wired. What’s happening?”
“Nothing yet.” He took the report Slindak handed him. “But maybe soon.” He turned and went to his desk across the room.
A moment later, he was dialing the number in Toronto.
Fifteen minutes later, he leaned back in his chair and looked down at his scrawled notes. It was all coming together.
But there were still a few pieces to fit into the puzzle. Get to work and make it happen.
He reached for the telephone again.
* * *
EVE MET HIM AT THE FRONT DOOR when he came back to the house that afternoon. “Well?”
“You’re barring the door. Does that mean you’re not going to let me in the house unless I divulge everything I know?”
“You’ve got it.” She grimaced and stepped aside. “I’d do it if I thought I could get away with it. I’m frustrated as hell, Joe. I didn’t think you’d—” She stopped, staring at his expression. “You look … Joe?”
“How do I look?” He passed her and went into the living room. “Slindak said ‘wired.’ Yeah, that’s what I feel.” More than that, he thought, as he turned to face her. He had the bastard in his sights and was aching to pull the trigger. “I think I’ve got him.”
She inhaled sharply. “What?”
“Or at least I know how to get him.”
She dropped down on the couch. “Talk to me. Who is he?”
“Zeus could be either Donald Novak or Ralph Fraser.”
“You don’t know which one?”
“I will by the end of the day.” He paused. “I’m going to go pay him a visit.”
“You know where he is?”
He nodded. “It was easy to trace him. He’s not trying to hide. He doesn’t think it’s necessary.”
She shook her head. “My mind is spinning. Start at the beginning.”
“The beginning.” He pulled her up and toward the back door. “We’ll start here.” He threw open the door. “What do you see?”
She looked at him in confusion. “Fence, flowers, lawn.”
“A nice lawn. Pretty flowers. Did you put in the landscaping after you moved in?”
“No, I wouldn’t have been able to afford i
t. It was already established. I just took over the care of it.”
“But you were offered a maintenance contract by the landscape company who does most of the rest of the neighborhood.”
She nodded. “The price wasn’t too bad, but I’m a student and work two jobs. I can cut my own lawn.” She frowned. “Where is this leading?”
“It’s leading to the fact that there was a landscape-maintenance crew in your neighborhood several times a month. Including five of the homes on this block. That’s why all the lawns and gardens look so well kept.”
Her eyes widened. “Yes…”
“And all the houses of the victims’ parents that we visited had the same nice lawns. They all had that in common if nothing else. Such a little thing…”
“The landscape company?” Eve repeated. “Is that what you’re saying? He works for the landscape company?”
“It would be the perfect opportunity for him to observe possible victims playing in the neighborhoods where he was working. He could take his pick of the children.”
“Are you guessing?”
“Yes, but I’m betting I’m right. In the trunk of the car where he was hiding last night, there was blood, but there was also a scraping of something that looked like dirt. It wasn’t dirt; under testing, it proved to be fertilizer. It was a common brand used by most landscapers in the area. I contacted the company in Toronto that manufactured the shoes from which we got that print in the cave. Heavy rubber content. The company said that it sold those shoes almost exclusively to professional gardeners and irrigation specialists.”
“And last night on the phone Zeus said something about liking plants and flowers better than he liked people,” Eve said. “I didn’t think anything about it.” She moistened her lips. “But you did.”
“Only because it was all coming together for me.”
“This landscaping company…” She lifted her hand to her cheek. “I know I’ve seen their truck in the neighborhood, but I can’t even remember the name.”
“Johnston and Son. They service every one of the subdivisions of the kidnapped children. It’s a big company, and they have branches all over the Northeast as well as the South. The operations are extensive in Georgia. It wouldn’t have been a stretch for Zeus to have killed those children who disappeared outside Atlanta.” He paused. “But the company is based in Toronto, Canada. I checked with Johnston and Son personnel in Toronto, and the only workers they have in Georgia who were hired in Canada are Novak and Fraser.”