Eve shook her head.

Barbara Eisley turned to Mark. "Thanks for dinner. But I still haven't forgiven you for quoting me in that story." She turned and made her way through the tables toward the rest room.

"Thank God." Eve reached for the briefcase. It was unlocked and there was only one disk in the leather pocket on the side. Bless Barbara Eisley. She tucked it in her purse. "She wants us to take it."

"You mean steal it," Joe murmured as he threw some bills down on the table.

"Which puts her in the clear." Eve turned to Mark. "Do you have a laptop with you?"

"In the trunk of my car. I always keep it there. We can check the disk as soon as we reach the parking lot."

"Good. You'll have to drop into Barbara Eisley's office tomorrow and leave the disk on her desk. I don't want to get her into trouble." She stood up. "Let's go. We need to be out of here before she comes back. She might change her mind."

"Not likely," Joe said. "It's pretty clear you impressed her when you were a kid."

"Or Jane did." She started for the door. "Or maybe she's just a woman trying to do the right thing in a wrong world."

THERE WERE TWENTY-SEVEN records on the disk. It took Mark twenty minutes to scan the first sixteen.

"Jane MacGuire," Mark read from the computer screen. "The age is right. Four foster homes. Physical description checks out. Red hair, hazel eyes."

"Can you print it out?"

Mark plugged a small Kodak printer into the laptop. "She's living right now with a Fay Sugarton who's also foster parent to two other children. Chang Ito, twelve, and Raoul Jones, thirteen."

"The address?"

"Twelve forty-eight Luther." He tore off the printout and handed it to her. "Do you want me to get out my street map?"

Eve shook her head. "I know where it is." Dom had said she would recognize the place. "It's in my old neighborhood. Let's go."

"You want to go see her tonight?" Joe asked. "It's almost midnight. I doubt if this Fay Sugarton will take kindly to being awakened by strangers."

"I don't care how she takes it. I don't want--"

"And what are you going to say when you do see her?"

"What do you think? I'm going to tell her about Dom and ask her to let us keep Jane until the danger is over."

"It will take some persuasion to make her do that if she cares anything about the kid."

"Then you'll have to help me. We can't leave her in a place where--"

"You're going to need Fay Sugarton's cooperation," Joe said quietly. "You don't want to get off on the wrong foot."

Okay, be sensible. Dom had set up the elaborate ploy because he wanted her to make contact with Jane MacGuire. He probably wouldn't make a move until she'd--

Probably? God, was she risking a child's life on probabilities? He could be at that house on Luther Street right then. "I want to go tonight."

"It would be better--" Mark began.

She cut him off. "I just want to make sure everything's okay there. I won't go inside and wake everyone up."

Mark shrugged and started the car. "Whatever you say."

THE HOUSE ON Luther Street was small and gray paint was peeling from the porch steps. But the rest of the house appeared neat and well cared for. Cheerful fake greenery hung from plastic baskets on the porch.

"Satisfied?" Mark asked.

The street was deserted. No cars cruising, no one stirring. Eve wasn't satisfied, but she felt a little better. "I guess so."

"Good. Then I'll drive you and Joe to his apartment and come back to watch the house."

"No. I'll stay here."

"I was expecting that." Joe reached for his phone. "I'll call for an unmarked car to park out here tonight and have the officer go in immediately if he sees anything out of the ordinary. Okay?"

"I'll stay here too," Mark said.

She looked at the two of them, undecided. And then she opened the car door. "Okay. If you hear or see anything, you call us."

"You're going to walk? Let me run you home."

"We'll get a taxi."

"In this neighborhood?"

"So we'll walk until we get to where we can find one. I don't want you leaving here."

Mark looked at Joe. "Will you please tell her she shouldn't be wandering this neighborhood? It's too dangerous."

"Jane MacGuire wanders around this neighborhood every day of her life," Eve pointed out. "She manages to survive." Just as Eve had survived all those years ago. Jesus, it was all coming back to her.

"The car will be here in five minutes." Joe had finished his call and he and Eve got out of the car. "Don't worry, I'll take care of Eve," he told Mark. "Or maybe I'll let her take care of me. This is her turf."

"We'll be back at eight in the morning." Eve started down the street. Nothing really changed around here. The grass growing in the cracks in the sidewalk, the dirty words chalked on the pavement.

"And how do we get back to civilization from here?" Joe asked as he fell in beside her.

"This is civilization, rich boy," Eve said. "The real wilds are four blocks south. You'll notice I'm heading north."