“I’m not trying to hurt her. I generally don’t like to become involved with the families of victims.” That was the truth. “And I can see why you’d admire her and want to protect her.” And God knows that was the truth. “If everything checks out, we’ll assume that we have a serial killer. I’ll check into a hotel, then come down to the precinct and go over the case files on the missing children.”

“I’ll be here,” Slindak said. “We’re all working extra hours on this case.” He hung up.

Joe stood there for an instant longer after he’d replaced the receiver, thinking about what Slindak had said. Everything that Slindak had recounted about Eve had been exactly what his own senses had told him. She was a victim who refused to be a victim. How could you help but want to come to her rescue? Slindak had obviously had that same response to her.

No, it hadn’t been the same for him. No one but Joe could have had this crazy, wild reaction when he’d seen Eve Duncan. It was too bizarre. He remembered what Slindak had said about him.

Cold as ice?

Never in this world. Not where Eve Duncan was concerned.

Two Weeks Later

“YOU SAID YOU’D HELP me,” Eve said, when Joe picked up the phone. “All those fine words, and you’re not doing a damn thing. Why haven’t I heard from you?”

Because he’d been trying to forget that first interview, divorce himself from his reaction to Eve herself, and concentrate on the case. He wasn’t about to tell her that concentration had been centered on going through all the files of known child molesters in the Southeast. “I haven’t had anything to report to you.”

“Well, I have something to report to you. Come and see me.”

He stared at the phone after she’d hung up. He could send Slindak.

But he knew he wasn’t going to do it.

He pushed back from the desk and stood up. He was feeling alive, eagerness mixed with a low, simmering excitement. This was what he had been waiting for no matter what he had been telling himself.

It was starting …

*   *   *

EVE THREW OPEN THE DOOR before he could ring the bell. “You took your time. Come in.” She turned her back and strode toward the kitchen. “I have something to show you.”

She was the same and yet not the same, he thought as he followed her. She was dressed in khaki slacks and a loose white shirt. The fragile restraint that was so difficult to watch was still there, but she was more forceful. The vitality that had so drawn him was burning high. She was not even quite as pale.

“What are you looking at?” She had turned at the kitchen table.

“You,” he said quietly. “You look better. You’re still too thin, but you appear to have been eating. That’s good.”

“I told you that I wouldn’t neglect myself. And I’m always thin.” She raised her brows. “You probably don’t like skinny women. Most men don’t. They like boobs and ass.”

He was surprised at her bluntness. “I find that thin women usually have a grace and elegance that’s appealing.”

“Very tactful. Very polite. But I understand that your tastes are definitely on the voluptuous side. So don’t be tactful. All I want is the truth from you.”

“About boobs and ass?” His brows rose. “And just how do you understand anything that intimate about me?”

“I called your office at Quantico. I told them I wanted to know everything there was to know about you. They tried to put me off and sidetrack me, but I kept at them. I called five times and got different agents. I finally found one who gave me what I wanted.”

“And why did you do that?”

“Because you made me believe you.” She stared him in the eye. “And I had to be sure there was something to believe in.”

“I see. And what did they tell you?”

“More than I thought they would. The person I talked to didn’t give me much of an argument. He seemed to be taking a kind of malicious enjoyment from telling me about you. I don’t think he was your friend.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. Who was it?”

“An Agent Rick Donald.” She saw his expression. “He doesn’t like you?”

“We’ve been in competition a few times.” And Donald had not come out on top. “No one can please everyone. What did he tell you?”

“Part of it was okay. That you’ve only been with the Bureau for a few years and have already solved three difficult cases. That you were a SEAL and decorated twice. Harvard graduate. Rich boy. Parents dead. You inherited a potload of money and don’t need to work.” She paused. “I didn’t like that. I have no use for a dabbler. But they said when you were on a case that you were totally dedicated. So I guess that’s all right.”

“I’m glad I don’t have to divest myself of all worldly goods,” he said mockingly.

“This isn’t funny,” she said. “I have to have someone who will take Bonnie seriously. You talk the talk, but I have to know.”

“And you evidently had to know about my private life as well. I’m not surprised he told you everything you wanted to know about me. He was probably as amused as hell. I’m just surprised you thought it important.”

“It’s important. You’re good-looking, you’re tough, you have a sort of virile magnetism that would be appealing to women. If you liked them too much, then they’d distract you.” Her lips tightened. “I grew up in the projects, and I know all about vices. Sex can be as addictive and distracting as any drug. I don’t want you screwing around when I need you. When Bonnie needs you.”

He looked at her in disbelief. “My God, I feel as if I’m applying for a Secret Service job.”

“And you’re probably pissed. I can’t help that. I have to do whatever needs doing. If you don’t like it, go back to Quantico and have them send me someone else.”

“I don’t like it,” he said coolly. “But I’m not pissed. I’m considering the source. But stay out of my private business, or I’ll start delving into yours.”

She looked surprised. “Really?” Then she shrugged. “But my private business couldn’t be more boring. Delve away.”

“I’ll do that. So I assume I’ve passed muster if you called me here to chew me out.”

“That’s not why I wanted you here. I just had to be honest with you.” She moistened her lips. “And I had to be sure you’ll be honest with me. The police won’t tell me the truth. They just make soothing noises and look away. And you said you’d help, but then you disappeared and pretended I wasn’t there.”

“Oh, I knew you were there.” Every minute. Though he’d tried his best to block her out. Now he realized there would be no blocking her out, and they would just have to learn to deal with each other. But this bolder, blunter Eve Duncan was easier to accept than the woman who had touched him so deeply that he’d wanted to scoop her up and heal every wound. He could handle this woman, and it was better for him to keep this aspect of her in the forefront. “I was busy.” He added with deliberate rudeness, “I didn’t know I was supposed to be here to hold your hand.”

She instantly flared. “I never asked you to—I don’t want pity. I want help.”

“Then tell me how you want me to start. Isn’t that why I’m here?”

She nodded. “Yes.” She drew a deep breath, obviously struggling to control herself. She looked down at the box of papers and envelopes on the table. “I need you to look at these. I want every one of them to be investigated.”

“What are they?”

“Letters. I’ve received a lot of letters since Bonnie was taken.” She tapped one pile. “These are the ones that are from people who say they’ve seen her alive and well in different locations.” She tapped the next pile. “These are the sick ones. Some of them say I’m to blame and should go to hell for letting Bonnie be taken.” She moistened her lips. “Some of them are from people who say they took Bonnie and describe what they did to her before they killed her. There are only three of those. Two of them I got the first week, and I turned them over to the police. They checked them out and said that they were nutcases and actually had alibis for the day that Bonnie was kidnapped. The last one I received yesterday. I held it to give to you. I was careful about fingerprints.” She gestured to the box. “Take them all.”