“I can handle any trouble he’s dishing out.”

“No, Joe.” She went into the cottage and got the leather case with Victor’s skull from her bedroom. She took it back out on the porch and thrust it at Jennings.

“Thank you.” He unfastened the snap, glanced inside, and then fastened it again.

He looked up and said soberly, “I apologize for causing you this disturbance. It wasn’t my choice. I would have been glad to give you a little more time, but the matter is too urgent.”

“Don’t you think I’m feeling a sense of urgency? My daughter almost died in that condo.”

“You can safely leave the matter in our hands now.”

“I left my daughter’s safety in your hands and you fouled up. Why should I believe you’ll be any more effective in finding Hebert?” He flinched. “I deserved that.” He turned and went down the stairs. “I’ll try to keep you informed.”

“Not likely,” Joe said. “I was an agent. I know the drill.” Jennings got in the car. “I’ll do what I can. That’s all I can promise.” Eve watched the two cars wind down the road and around the bend. She should have felt relieved, she told herself. Victor was out of her hands, and the responsibility was entirely with Jennings. But she didn’t feel relieved. She felt strangely flat and…

cheated.

“He was hard for you to give up,” Nathan said.

“I hadn’t completed the work. I needed to do the video overlay and the final comparison.”

“The Bureau will do it.”

“But Victor was mine.”

“You didn’t have to give him up,” Joe said. “I would have backed you.”

“Yes, you would have fought them all and probably lost your job.”

“Maybe.”

“And you love that damn job.”

“Yes, but it’s way down on my list. Shall I tell you what’s at the top?”

“No,” she said unevenly.

“I didn’t think so.” He started down the stairs. “Then I’ll go try to find Galen and tell him what’s happened.”

“I’m sorry, Eve,” Nathan said. “I tried to help.”

“I know. You should have kept quiet. Jennings may have been too absorbed to follow up on what Joe said, but later he’s going to remember you being here.”

“So what? It won’t kill me.” He grimaced. “I hope.” Eve felt a chill go through her.

“Hey, it’s a joke.”

“Yeah.” She nodded jerkily and went into the cottage.

Chapter 15

« ^ »

JENNINGS WAVED THE POLICE CAR ON PAST HIM AND PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF

the road. He speed-dialed Robert Rusk in Washington. “I’ve got it, sir. It wasn’t pleasant. I like that woman, and if we’d given her another day she’d probably have turned it over without a protest.”

“You didn’t have time to be diplomatic,” Agent Rusk said. “We’ve got to know if this is Harold Bently. You brought the photos of him with you?”

“Sure.” Jennings turned on the overhead light before taking the three pictures out of the briefcase and spreading them on the passenger seat. Then he opened the leather case and carefully pulled out the skull. “I’m doing a comparison now.”

“And?”

He studied the features of the skull and then carefully did the same to the photographs. He gave a low whistle. “Duncan’s really good.”

“Is it Bently?”

“No doubt about it.” Jennings studied the skull again. “It’s definitely Harold Bently.”

“You’re positive?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

“Shall I bring it to the office right away? And I need to talk to you about Boca Raton. I may have found the—”

He never finished the sentence.

Eve heard the explosion first. The sound was so loud it shook the cottage.

She ran out onto the porch.

“What the hell?” Nathan was running down the porch steps.

Then the night sky lit up with a red glow.

“I don’t know what—” Eve stared in horror at the tops of the pine trees flaming on the horizon. She ran down the steps and up the path, followed closely by Nathan.

“Come on, we’ll get the car.” Joe was beside her, taking her arm and pulling her toward the jeep. “I think it’s on the road. But it’s got to be a couple miles away.” Eve and Nathan jumped into the jeep and Joe stomped on the accelerator.

She moistened her dry lips as they raced down the road. “What is it?” Joe didn’t answer.

The sky was still lit by a baleful red glow.

Fire.

But what had caused it?

As they turned a corner in the road, she saw billowing black smoke and a roaring inferno. At first she couldn’t tell what was at the heart of the flames.

Joe took a deep breath as he stopped the car. “Christ.” A car, or pieces of a car.

“My God.” Nathan jumped out of the jeep.

Eve’s eyes widened in shock. “Jennings?”

Joe nodded. “That’s my guess.”

“Could he still be alive?”

She knew the answer before Joe said, “No chance. Whatever device blew that car was damn powerful. There’s not much left of the metal.” And human flesh was so much more fragile. “It was a bomb? How?”

“It may take days of lab work to determine that. Somebody didn’t want any pieces left to put together.”

“Hebert,” Eve said dully. “He seems to be very good with explosives. The condo was—

“I’m getting the hell out of here.” Galen was running toward them. “My guy at the highway phoned to say the police car is turning around and coming back. They must have heard the explosion.”

“I’ll talk to them,” Joe said.

“Fine. But that won’t help me. You two may be fairly above suspicion, but I’m not.” Galen glanced at the burning car. “And you may have a few things to explain yourselves. You tell me you’re hostile to Jennings, and a few minutes later his car blows up. Jennings was FBI. The least that could happen is that you’ll be grilled about your involvement. I’ll call you later tonight after all the hoopla dies down.”

“I’ll go with you.” Nathan got out of the car.

“Then you’d better move fast.” Galen turned and disappeared into the forest.

Nathan muttered an oath and trotted after him. “Wait, dammit, I’m carrying a lot more weight than you are.”

Eve turned and looked back at the burning car. Poor Jennings…

“Listen,” Joe said. “Galen’s right; there are going to be all kinds of questions. I’ll handle as much as I can, but I can’t keep you out of it entirely.” Eve nodded numbly. She was so stunned, it was difficult to think what was best to do. She didn’t want to end up at either the police department or FBI headquarters answering interminable questions. On the other hand, taking off and running was not an option, either. “I don’t expect you to keep me out of it. I’ll be okay.”

“Tell me that after we get through this night.” He flipped open his phone. “I’m calling the chief and telling him to get a forensic crew out here right away. I want any evidence to be channeled first through our labs. There’s no guarantee that the Bureau won’t step in, since Jennings was one of their own, but if they do barge in and take over, at least they’ll be obligated to share results with the ATLPD.”

“Will your chief bow to pressure?”

“Probably. Like I said, if the tests are already underway before the FBI steps into the picture, the chief will have a legitimate gripe if the information isn’t shared. The Bureau is always saying that everything’s peaches and cream between the Feds and local police departments, but the antagonism is still there. It would be a bad public relations move for them to refuse access.”

Eve continued to look at the flames as he spoke quickly into his phone, and felt her stomach clench. At first, she’d only been aware of the smell of gasoline and burning pine, but now she realized there was another scent…

“You okay?” Joe’s gaze was on her face.

She took a deep breath and nodded. “But let’s go back to the cottage.”

“Sorry.” His gaze was on the road. “Here comes the patrol car. I’ll get you out of here as soon as I can.”

They didn’t get back to the cottage until after the forensic team arrived at the wreckage fifteen minutes later. Special Agent Hal Lindman from the FBI Atlanta field office arrived an hour later, followed closely by two detectives from Joe’s precinct. It was several hours after that when the questioning ended and the final statements were taken.