The Face of Deception Read online

  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.

  Right. Sandra hurried outside.

  Mindless savage.

  The destruction was savage, but it was neither mindless nor random. Instead, it was thorough and systematic. Whoever had done this had wanted to shock and hurt her.

  She gently stroked a piece of Mandys skull. Vio-lence had touched the girl even in death. It shouldnt have happened to her any more than brutality should have ended the life of that poor little cat. Both were wrong. So wrong.

  She carefully gathered up the skull pieces, but there was no place to put them. The pedestal across the room was smashed like everything else. She laid the pieces on the blood-smeared desk.

  But why was the skull on this side of the room? she wondered suddenly. The vandal had deliberately carried it over before smashing it. Why?

  Then the thought flew out of her mind as she saw the blood dripping from the top drawer of the desk.

  Oh, God, more?

  She didnt want to open the drawer. She wouldnt open it.

  She did.

  She screamed and jumped back.

  A river of blood inside and, in the middle of the sticky pool, a dead rat.

  She slammed the drawer shut.

  Ive got the box and sheet. Her mother had reappeared. Do you want me to do it?

  Eve shook her head. Sandra looked as squeamish as Eve felt. Ill do it. Is Joe coming?

  Right away.

  Eve took the sheet, braced herself, and then moved toward the cat.

  Its all right, Tom-Tom. Were taking you home.

  Joe met her on the doorstep of the lab two hours later. He took one look and handed her his handkerchief. Theres a smudge on your cheek.

  We just buried Tom-Tom. She wiped her tear-stained cheeks. Moms still with Mrs. Dobbins. She loved that cat. It was her child.

  Id want to kill someone if they did anything to my retriever. He shook his head. We dusted but didnt come up with any prints. He probably wore gloves. We did find partial footprints in the blood. Big, probably belongs to a man, and only one set, so Id bet it was a single perpetrator. Is there anything missing?

  Not that I can tell. Justhellip; destroyed.

  I dont like it. Joe glanced back over his shoulder at the wreckage. Someone took a long time to do that thorough a job. It was pretty vicious and it doesnt look random to me.

  I didnt think so either. Someone wanted to hurt me.

  Any kids in the neighborhood?

  None Id suspect. This was too cold.

  Have you called the insurance company?

  Not yet.

  Better do it.

  She nodded. Only the day before shed told Logan she wasnt worried about leaving the lab unlocked. She hadnt imagined anything like this could happen. I feel sick, Joe.

  I know. He took her hand and squeezed it com-fortingly. Ill have a black and white keep an eye on the house. Or how about you and your mom coming to my place for a few days?

  She shook her head.

  Okay. He hesitated. I should get back to the precinct. I want to check records, see if theres been any similar crimes in the area lately. You going to be all right?

  Ill be fine. Thanks for coming, Joe.

  I wish I could do more. Well question your neighbors and see if we come up with anything.

  She nodded. Except for Mrs. Dobbins. Dont send anyone to her house.

  Right. If you need me, just call.

  She watched him walk away and then turned back to the lab. She didnt want to go inside. She didnt want to see that violence and ugliness again.

  She had to do it. She had to make sure nothing was missing and then call the insurance company. She braced herself and then walked in. Again, the blood struck her like a blow. God, she had been so frightened when she had thought that blood might be her mothers.

  Dead cats and butchered rats and blood. So much blood.

  No.

  She ran out the door and sank down on the doorstep. Cold. She was so cold. She clasped her arms around her body in a futile attempt to banish the chill.

  Theres a police car parked outside. Are you all right?

  She looked up to see Logan standing a few feet away. She couldnt deal with him now. Go away.

  Whats wrong?

  Go away.

  He looked behind her at the doorway. Some-thing happened?

  Yes.

  Ill be right back. He went past her into the lab. He was back beside her in a few minutes. Very nasty.

  They killed my neighbors cat. They smashed Mandy.

  I saw the shattered bones on the desk. He paused. Was that where you found them?

  She shook her head. On the floor beside it.

  But you and your mother werent hurt?

  Lord, she wished she could stop shivering. Go away, I dont want to talk to you.

  Wheres your mother?

  At Mrs. Dobbinss. Her cat Go away.

  Not until someones here to take care of you. He pulled her to her feet. Come on, were going to the house.

  I dont need anyone to take care He was half tugging her down the path. Let me go. Dont touch me.

  As soon as I get you to the house and get some-thing hot inside you.

  She pulled her arm away from him. I dont have time to sit around having coffee. I have to call the in-surance company.

  Ill do it. He nudged her gently up the steps and into the kitchen. Ill handle everything.

  I dont want you to handle everything. I want you to go away.

  Then be quiet and let me get you something to drink. He pushed her down into a chair at the table. Its the quickest way to get rid of me.

  I dont want to sit She gave up. She was in no shape to do battle just then. Hurry up.

  Yes, maam. He turned toward the cabinet. Wheres the coffee?

  In the blue canister on the counter.

  He ran water into the carafe. When did it happen?

  Last night. Sometime after midnight.

  You locked the lab?

  Of course I did.

  Easy. He measured coffee into the coffeemaker. You didnt hear anything?

  No.

  Im surprised, with all that damage.

  Joe said he knew exactly what he was doing.

  He turned on the coffeepot. Any idea who did it?

  She shook her head. No fingerprints. Gloves maybe.

  He took a cardigan from a hook on the laundry room door. Gloves. Then it wasnt done by amateurs.

  I told you that.

  He draped the sweater over her shoulders. So you did.

  And this is my mothers sweater.

  You need it. I dont think shed mind.