*   *   *

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” Eve was standing waiting on the porch when Joe came toward her twenty minutes later. “I didn’t know what had happened to you.”

“Were you worried? Good. I was worried about you, too. And with a hell of a lot more reason.”

“Where have you been?” she repeated.

“You decided to declare war on Zeus. This evidently was going to be your first battle site. I know about war. First, you familiarize yourself with the terrain and the places that lend themselves to ambush. While you’re doing it, you make sure the enemy isn’t already within the gates.”

“That’s what McVey was trying to do.”

“Not well. He’d have had his throat cut, and the way to you would have been open. Where is he?”

“Inside. He’s calling in tomorrow’s story.”

Joe muttered a curse.

“Do you want to go in and cut him again?” she asked sarcastically.

“It’s tempting.”

She shook her head in exasperation. “For God’s sake, be civilized. This isn’t his fault.”

“But there’s a wide streak in me that isn’t at all civilized. I think you’ve always sensed that. If you’ll be honest, you’ll admit that’s one of the reasons that you thought that I could help you find Bonnie. You didn’t want some slick, dutiful cop who would make all the right moves. You wanted me. Because you knew I’d break any rule I had to break to get what I wanted. Isn’t that the truth? Well, you can’t have it both ways. You wanted me. You’ve got me. And there’s no way I’ll let you turn your back on me.”

She stared at him, her expression a mixture of frustration, anger, and something else that he couldn’t define. “Damn you, Joe. Okay, come in and talk. But don’t you dare hurt McVey.” She turned on her heel and opened the front door.

“I’ll try to resist.” He followed her and glanced around the living room. Nothing fancy. The furniture was contemporary, but there were doilies on the arms of the blue denim couch. Probably another legacy from McVey’s mother. It surprised him that McVey hadn’t stored them away. He wouldn’t have thought the reporter would be that sentimental. “McVey must not use this house much.”

“Only an occasional weekend. He told me he has a boat that’s stored at the marina a few miles away.” Eve led him down the hall to the kitchen. “But it was convenient for our purpose. Private. Out of the way. And he still had the phone service connected. Since he’s a reporter, he has to be reachable even on his time off.”

“Yeah, very convenient. It wouldn’t do to invite a killer to a place that wasn’t isolated. He might not accept the invitation.”

“That’s right.” She poured him a cup of coffee. “You might as well sit down. Though you can cut the sarcasm. I got the point. You don’t have to belabor it.”

“I’ll try.” He dropped down in a white chair at the kitchen table. “I’m having trouble with control at the moment.”

“That couldn’t be clearer.” She poured herself a cup of coffee. “I think you scared McVey.”

“He should have been scared.”

She sat down opposite him. “I never saw you like that before.”

“But you always knew it was there, didn’t you?” He stared directly into her eyes. “You said you grew up with violence all around you. Well, violence isn’t confined to the housing projects. It can exist anywhere. It may be a breeding ground, but you have to have someone to throw out the seeds.”

“And you’re a regular Johnny Appleseed,” she said dryly. “I didn’t expect you to get so angry. And I didn’t think you’d track me down so quickly. I thought I’d have time.”

“It wasn’t that difficult. I just had to stretch a little. Time for what? It’s obvious to anyone that you’re trying to set yourself up as bait. Would you like to tell me how you expect to do it without getting yourself killed?”

She glanced away from him. “I expect him to call me. McVey has set up a tracer on the phone. If I can keep him on the phone long enough, I can find out where he is.”

“And you don’t think he won’t suspect that’s what you’re doing? If he has any brains at all, he’ll know why you were so insulting in that interview.”

“He’ll suspect it. But if he’s as egotistical as you think, then he’ll still come after me. It would be a feather in his cap to be able to get to me in spite of a trap.” She moistened her lips. “And I’m counting on rage. He has to be full of rage if he could do what he did to those children. That’s why I was so insulting during the interview. I wanted to trigger that rage.”

“I don’t believe you’ll be disappointed.”

“I hope not,” she said quietly.

His hand clenched on his cup. “Look, he’s crazy. Nothing could be more evident. Crazy people don’t react as normal people do. Even when they know that there’s danger, they just keep on coming.”

“Maybe he won’t come after me. We may be able to trace his call and have the police pick him up before it gets that far.”

“Eve … Dammit.”

“Joe … Dammit.” She smiled unsteadily. “I had to do this. He can’t be allowed to go on. I know that the chances aren’t wonderful of everything coming out the way I want them. That’s why I didn’t want you involved. I knew you would try to stop me.”

“Damn right, I am.”

“Too late, Joe. If he’s as crazy as you think, he’ll already have his sights on me.”

“I could knock you out and have Slindak stuff you in a cell as a material witness.”

“And when he let me out, the problem would still be out here waiting for me.”

“Not if I find Zeus first.”

“What are the chances of that?” She shook her head. “My way is better.”

“Your way is as crazy as he is.” But he could see that he wasn’t budging her. “So what are you doing? Just camping out here and waiting for him to call you?”

“Yes.”

“And what if he comes instead of call? That’s what I did.”

“That’s why I had McVey get me a gun. But if I made him angry enough, he won’t want to just kill me. He’ll want to connect with me, tell me how wrong I am and what he’s going to do to me.”

“Maybe.”

“Am I supposed to argue with you? None of this is written in stone. I’m guessing, based on what you told me about the mind-set of serial killers.”

“I should have kept my mouth shut.”

She shook her head. “You were trying to help me. You did help me.”

“Enough to put you squarely behind the eight ball with the help of Brian McVey.”

“Am I hearing my name taken in vain?” McVey strolled into the kitchen, his gaze fixed warily on Joe. “Has Eve convinced you that you shouldn’t take my scalp?”

“We hadn’t gotten around to discussing you yet,” Joe said coolly. “But I doubt if she’d be able to tell me anything about you that would tip the scales.”

“I went to him,” Eve said. “He only agreed to what I wanted from him. It’s entirely my doing.”

“I’m insulted,” McVey said. “I contributed. I wrote a damn good article. Maybe not Pulitzer quality, but it’s the quantity of work that counts in this case. And I furnished the house and the telephone, not to speak of the equipment and technician who’s going to trace the dreaded call.” He grimaced. “Though it’s not really dreaded. It’s much anticipated. I admit I want to get this over with as soon as possible. I wasn’t expecting you to appear and offer me bodily harm.”

“I only offered. If you’d been following the one you’d set this bullshit trap for, you’d be missing a larynx.” He paused. “And you’ve convinced me that you’re just as much to blame as I thought. So maybe we should take it outside and start over.”

“You will not,” Eve said. “Since you won’t go away, you’ll stop trying to vent your temper on McVey.”

“Eve to the rescue,” McVey murmured. “I know it’s supposed to be the other way around, but I’ve always believed in women’s liberation. It’s much more comfortable.”

Joe ignored him and stared at Eve. “This is sloppy as hell. It would be a miracle if it worked.”

“But our killer isn’t neat or tidy. He’s sloppy, too. Or should I use the word ‘reckless’? Either way, he might take a chance if it suited him.”