The Face of Deception ed-1 Read online

  Im not considering the original deal.

  Five hundred thousand for you. Five hundred thousand to go to the Adam Fund for Missing and Runaway Children. I understand you contribute a portion of your fees to that fund. His voice lowered persuasively. Do you realize how many children could be brought home to their parents with that amount of money?

  She knew better than he did. He couldnt have offered a more tempting lure. My God, Machiavelli could have taken lessons from him.

  All those children. Arent they worth two weeks of your time?

  They were worth a decade of her time. Not if it means doing something criminal.

  Criminal acts are often in the eyes of the beholder.

  Bullshit.

  Suppose I promise you that I had nothing to do with any foul play connected with the skull.

  Why should I believe any promise you make?

  Check me out. I dont have a reputation for lying.

  Reputation doesnt mean anything. People lie when it means enough to them. Ive worked hard to establish my career. I wont see it go down the drain.

  There was silence. I cant promise you that you wont come out of this without a few scars, but Ill try to protect you as much as I can.

  I can protect myself. All I have to do is tell you no.

  But youre tempted, arent you?

  Christ, she was tempted.

  Seven hundred thousand to the fund.

  No.

  Ill call you tomorrow. He hung up the phone.

  Damn him.

  She replaced the receiver. The bastard knew how to push the right buttons. All that money channeled to find the other lost ones, the ones who might still be alivehellip;

  Wouldnt it be worth a risk to see even some of them brought home? Her gaze went to the pedestal. Mandy might have been a runaway. Maybe if shed had a chance to come home she wouldnthellip;

  I shouldnt do it, Mandy, she whispered. It could be pretty bad. People dont fork out over a mil-lion dollars for something like this if theyre even slightly on the up-and-up. I have to tell him no.

  But Mandy couldnt answer. None of the dead could answer.

  But the living could, and Logan had counted on her listening to the call.

  Damn him.

  Logan leaned back in the drivers seat, his gaze on Eve Duncans small clapboard house.

  Was it enough?

  Possibly. She had definitely been tempted. She had a passionate commitment to finding lost children and he had played on it as skillfully as he could.

  What kind of man did that make him? he thought wearily.

  A man who needed to get the job done. If she didnt succumb to his offer, hed go higher tomorrow.

  She was tougher than hed thought shed be. Tough and smart and perceptive. But she had an Achilles heel.

  And there was no doubt on earth that he would exploit it.

  He just drove off, Fiske said into his digital phone. Should I follow him?

  No, we know where hes staying. He saw Eve Duncan?

  She was home all evening and he stayed over four hours.

  Timwick cursed. Shes going to go for it.

  I could stop her, Fiske said.

  Not yet. She has friends in the police depart-ment. We dont want to make waves.

  The mother?

  Maybe. It would certainly cause a delay at least. Let me think about it. Stay there. Ill call you back.

  Scared rabbit, Fiske thought contemptuously. He could hear the nervousness in Timwicks voice. Timwick was always thinking, hesitating instead of taking the clean, simple way. You had to decide what result you needed and then just take the step that would bring that result. If he had Timwicks power and resources, there would be no limit to what he could do. Not that he wanted Timwicks job. He liked what he did. Not many people found their niche in life as he had.

  He rested his head on the back of the seat, staring at the house.

  It was after midnight. The mother should be re-turning soon. Hed already unscrewed the porch light. If Timwick called him right away, he might not have to go into the house.

  If the prick could make up his mind to do the smart, simple thing and let Fiske kill her.

  THREE

  "You know youre going to do it, Mama, Bonnie said. I dont understand why youre worrying so much.

  Eve sat up in bed and looked at the window seat. When she came, Bonnie was always in the window seat with her jean-clad legs crossed I dont know any such thing.

  You wont be able to help yourself. Trust me.

  Since youre only my dream, you cant know more than what I know.

  Bonnie sighed. Im not your dream. Im a ghost, Mama. What do I have to do to convince you? Being a ghost shouldnt be this hard

  You can tell me where you are.

  I dont know where he buried me. I wasnt there anymore.

  Convenient.

  Mandy doesnt know either. But she likes you.

  If shes there with you, then whats her real name.

  Names dont matter anymore to us, Mama.

  They matter to me.

  Bonnie smiled. Because you probably need to put a name to love. Its really not necessary.

  Very profound for a seven-year-old

  Well, for goodness sake, its been ten years. Stop trying to trap me. Who says a ghost doesnt grow up? I couldnt stay seven forever.

  You look the same.

  Because Im what you want to see. She leaned back against the alcove wall. Youre working too hard, Mama. Ive been worrying about you. Maybe this job with Logan will be good for you.

  Im not taking the job.

  Bonnie smiled

  Im not, Eve repeated.

  Whatever. Bonnie was staring out the window. You were thinking about me and the honeysuckle tonight I like it when you feel good about me.

  Youve told me that before.

  So Im repeating it You were hurting too much in the beginning. I couldnt get near you.hellip;

  Youre not near me now. Youre only a dream.

  Am I? Bonnie looked back at her, and a loving smile lit her face. Then you wont mind if your dream stays around a little longer? Sometimes I get so lone-some for you, Mama.

  Bonnie. Love. Here.

  Oh, God, here.

  It didnt matter that it was a dream.

  Yes, stay, she whispered huskily. Please stay, baby.

  The sun was streaming through the window when Eve opened her eyes the next morning. She glanced at the clock and immediately sat up in bed. It was al-most eight-thirty and she always got up at seven. She was surprised her mother hadnt come in to check on her.

  She swung her feet to the floor and headed down the hall to the shower, rested and optimistic as she usually was after dreaming of Bonnie. A psychiatrist would have a field day with those dreams, but she didnt give a damn. She had started dreaming of Bonnie three years after her death. The dreams came frequently, but there was no telling when shed have them or what triggered them. Maybe when she had a problem and needed to work through it? At any rate, the effect was always positive. When she awoke she felt composed and capable, as she did today, confident that she could take on the world.

  And John Logan.

  She dressed quickly in jeans and a loose white shirt, her uniform when she was working, and ran down the stairs to the kitchen.

  Mom, I overslept. Why didnt you

  No one was in the kitchen. No smell of bacon, no frying pans on the stovehellip; The room appeared the same as it had been at midnight when shed come in.

  And Sandra hadnt been home when shed gone to bed. She glanced out the window, and relief rushed through her. Her mothers car was parked in its usual spot in the driveway.

  Shed probably gotten in late and had overslept too. It was Saturday and she didnt have to work.

  Eve would have to be careful not to mention shed been worried, she thought ruefully. Sandra had no-ticed Eves tendency toward overprotection and had a perfect right to resent it.

  She poured a glass of orange juice from the
re-frigerator, reached for the portable phone on the wall, and dialed Joe at the precinct.

  Diane says you havent called her, he said. You should be phoning her, not me.

  This afternoon, I promise. She sat down at the kitchen table. Tell me about John Logan.

  There was silence at the other end of the line. Hes contacted you?

  Last night.

  A job?

  Yes.

  What kind of job?

  I dont know. Hes not telling me much.

  You must be thinking about it if youre calling me. What did he use as bait?

  The Adam Fund.

  Christ, has he got your number.

  Hes smart. I want to know how smart. She took a sip of orange juice. And how honest.

  Well, hes not in the same category as your Miami drug runner.

  Thats not very comforting. Has he ever done anything criminal?

  Not as far as I know. Not in this country.

  Isnt he a U.S. citizen?

  Yes, but when he was first establishing his com-pany he spent a number of years in Singapore and Tokyo trying to improve his products and studying marketing strategies.

  It seems to have worked. Were you joking when you said he probably left a few bodies by the wayside?

  Yes. We dont know much about those years he spent abroad. The people who came in contact with him are tough as hell and they respect him. Does that tell you anything?

  That I should be careful.

  Right. He has the reputation of being a straight shooter and he inspires loyalty in his employees. But you have to consider that all of that is on the surface.

  Can you find out anything more for me?

  Like what?

  Anything. Whats he been doing lately thats un-usual? Will you dig a little deeper for me?

  Youve got it. Ill start right away. He paused. But its not going to come cheap. You call Diane this afternoon and you come down to the lake house with us next weekend.

  I dont have time to She sighed. Ill be there.

  And without any bones rattling around in your suitcase.

  Okay.

  And you have to have a good time.

  I always have a good time with you and Diane. But I dont know why you put up with me.

  Its called friendship. Sound familiar?

  Yeah, thanks, Joe.

  For digging out the dirt on Logan?

  No. For having been the only one holding back the madness that had clawed at her during all those nights of horror, and for all the years of work and companionship that had followed. She cleared her throat. Thanks for being my friend.

  Well, as your friend, Id advise you to go very carefully with Mr. Logan.

  Its a lot of money for the kids, Joe.

  And he knew how to manipulate you.

  He didnt manipulate me. I havent made any decision yet. She finished her orange juice. Ive got to get to work. Youll let me know?

  That I will.

  She hung up the phone and rinsed out her glass.

  Coffee?

  No, shed make a pot at the lab. On weekends Mom usually came down in the middle of the morning and had coffee with her. It was a nice break for both of them.

  She took the lab key from the blue bowl on the counter, ran down the porch steps, and started for the lab.

  Stop thinking about Logan. She had work to do. She had Mandys head to finish and she had to go over that packet the LAPD had sent her last week.

  Logan would call her today or come to the house. She hadnt the slightest doubt. Well, he could talk all he pleased. He wouldnt get an answer from her. She had to find out more about

  The lab door was ajar.

  She froze on the path.

  She knew she had locked it the previous night as she always did. The key had been in the blue bowl, where she always threw it.

  Mom?

  No, the door jamb was splintered as if the lock had been jimmied. It had to have been a thief.

  She slowly pushed open the door.

  Blood.

  Sweet Jesus, blood everywherehellip;

  Blood on the walls.

  On the shelves.

  On the desk.

  Bookcases had been hurled to the floor and ap-peared to have been chopped to pieces. The couch was overturned, the glass on all the picture frames had been shattered.

  And the bloodhellip;

  Her heart leapt to her throat.

  Mom? Had she come to the lab and surprised the thief?

  She strode forward, panic making her heart race.

  My God, its Tom-Tom.

  Eve whirled to see her mother standing in the doorway. Relief turned her knees weak.

  Her mother was staring at a corner of the room. Who would do that to a poor little cat?

  Eves gaze followed hers and her stomach lurched. The Persian was covered with blood and barely recog-nizable. Tom-Tom belonged to their neighbor but spent a lot of time in their yard chasing the birds at-tracted by the honeysuckle.

  Mrs. Dobbins is going to be heartbroken. Her mother stepped into the room. That old cat was the only thing she was close to in the world. Why would Her gaze had moved to the floor by the side of the desk. Oh, Eve, Im sorry. All your workhellip;

  Her computer had been smashed, and beside it lay Mandys skull, shattered and destroyed with the same cruelty and efficiency that had been used on everything else in the room.

  She fell to her knees beside the pieces of the skull. It would take a miracle to put it together again.

  Mandyhellip; lost. Maybe forever.

  Was anything taken? Sandra asked.

  Not that I can tell. She closed her eyes. Mandyhellip; They just destroyed everything.

  Vandals? But weve got such nice kids in the neighborhood. They wouldnt

  No. She opened her eyes. Will you go call Joe, Mom? Ask him to come right away. She looked at the cat, and tears rose to her eyes. He was almost nineteen and deserved to have a kinder death. And get a little box and a sheet. While were waiting, well take Tom-Tom to Mrs. Dobbins and help her bury him. Well tell her he was run over by a car. Its kinder than telling her that some mindless savage did this.