"One truth doesn't guarantee another."

"But it makes what he told me more plausible."

Another silence. "Yes."

"And if it's true, then he's been out there all along. Walking, breathing, enjoying life. When Fraser was executed, at least I had the comfort of knowing Bonnie's murderer had been punished. But it was all a lie."

"You're jumping to conclusions."

But she had a terrible feeling she wasn't. "There were two preteen boys Fraser admitted to killing. John Devon and Billy Thompkins."

"Yes, I remember."

"We have to identify only one of them to form a link between Fraser and the caller. I want you to persuade Spiro to give me one of those skulls to reconstruct."

"There may be some red tape. The FBI has their own way of doing things."

"You know Spiro. You were in the FBI. You can get him to cut through the tape."

"I'll try."

"Do it." She smiled mirthlessly. "Or you'll find another skeleton missing. If I can't have Bonnie, I will have one of those boys."

"You're already thinking of her as Bonnie."

"I have to call her something."

"There was another missing girl of about the same age on Fraser's kill list."

"Doreen Parker." She closed her eyes. "Damn you, Joe."

"You want it too much. I won't have you taking that kind of fall if it's not true."

"Just get me a skull."

He muttered a frustrated curse. "I'll get it for you. Spiro should be grateful for any help on this case."

"Then let him be grateful. We're going to need him. He knows about monsters."

"So do you."

Only one monster. The one who had dominated her life since Bonnie had disappeared. She had called the monster Fraser and now she found that might not even be its name. "I don't know enough. But I'm going to have to learn."

"You're so sure he's going to contact you again?"

"He'll call me." Eve smiled bitterly. "As he said, we have a bond."

Chapter FOUR

"Go to bed," Joe said as they stepped inside the cottage. "I'll call Spiro and put in a request for a skull."

Eve glanced at her watch. It was almost four in the morning. "He won't be in a very accommodating mood if you wake him up."

"I doubt he's asleep. He doesn't sleep much when he's on a case. He's pretty driven."

"Good." She headed for her bedroom. "I believe in driven."

"Tell me something I don't know." He reached for the phone on the table. "Go on, get some rest. I'll get your skull for you."

"Thanks, Joe." She closed the door behind her and moved toward the bathroom. Shower and go to bed. Don't think of Bonnie. Don't think of those two little boys. Don't try to draw conclusions. All that could wait until she was rested and able to conquer the horror and the shock. Tomorrow when she woke she would try to put the pieces together.

"YOU LOOK LIKE hell," Joe told Eve. "Couldn't you sleep?"

"A few hours. My mind wouldn't turn off. Is Spiro going to give me a skull?"

"He wouldn't commit. He said he'd discuss it when he finished talking to you."

"He's coming here?"

"He'll be here by three this afternoon." He checked his watch. "Another thirty minutes. You have time for breakfast or lunch. Which do you want?"

"Just a sandwich." She headed for the refrigerator. "I can't seem to get warm. I borrowed another one of your flannel shirts."

"I noticed. It looks better on you." He sat down at the bar and watched her build a ham and cheese sandwich. "I don't mind sharing with you. I've become accustomed to it over the years. It's kind of comfortable."

She nodded in perfect understanding. Being with Joe was as comfortable as feeling his soft shirt against her body.

"I have something to tell you." Joe shook his head when she looked up in alarm. "It's not that bad, but you have to know."

"Know what?"

"Mark Grunard's found out where you are."

She frowned. "Mark Grunard?"

"TV journalist. He must have spent days digging into records to find this cottage. I had to make a deal. You've heard of him?"

She nodded slowly. "He's on Channel Three. Investigative reporting. I remember him from Fraser's trial." She grimaced. "As well as I can remember anyone or anything except Fraser."

"I told you I had to find a way to draw reporters away from here. I couldn't do it by myself, so I had to make a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"Mark Grunard's spot on the six o'clock news last night was about the search for you. He showed a shot of this cottage and expressed his disappointment that this wasn't the hideaway. However, he had been given a tip about a houseboat off the coast of Florida. After the broadcast he hopped a plane to Jacksonville, and I'd bet half the reporters in the city did too."

"And what did you have to promise him?"