The child was still covered with blood, Eve realized suddenly. She should do something about it.

Not now. Neither of them was in any shape to do anything but sit there. She leaned her head against the newel post next to her. She couldn't get the memory of dead eyes out of her mind. Fay Sugarton had been a good woman, trying to do her best. She didn't deserve--

"I lied." Jane was still looking straight ahead. "I think . . . I liked her."

"So did I."

Jane fell silent again.

BARBARA EISLEY PULLED up at the curb at the same time as the first police squad car.

The officers poured into the house, but Barbara Eisley stopped before Jane. Her expression was amazingly gentle as she spoke to the child. "Do you remember me, Jane? I'm Ms. Eisley."

Jane stared at her without expression. "I remember you."

"You can't stay here any longer."

"I know."

"I've come to take you away. Where are Chang and Raoul?"

"School. Basketball practice."

"I'll send someone for them." She held out her hand. "Come with me. We'll get you cleaned up and then we'll talk."

"I don't want to talk." Jane stood and walked to the car at the curb.

"Where are you taking her?" Eve asked.

"The Child and Family Services holding facility."

"How safe is it?"

"It has security and she'll be surrounded by other children."

"I think you should let us take--"

"Bullshit." Barbara Eisley whirled on her, her tone as hard now as it had been gentle before. "She's my responsibility and none of you are going to touch her. I should never have become involved in this mess. The newspapers and politicians are going to come down on me like a ton of bricks."

"We have to keep her safe. Ms. Sugarton wasn't the target. She probably just got in the way."

"And you weren't able to help her, were you?" Barbara Eisley's eyes bored into her. "Fay Sugarton was a decent woman, an extraordinary woman who helped dozens of kids. She shouldn't have died. She might be alive now if I hadn't given you that--"

"And Jane might be dead."

"I should have kept out of it and that's what I'm doing from now on. Stay clear of me and stay away from Jane MacGuire." She turned on her heel and walked to the car.

Eve watched helplessly as it pulled away from the curb. Jane was sitting up straight in the passenger seat, but she looked terribly small and fragile.

"It was the only thing to do."

She turned to see Joe standing in the doorway. "I was hoping we could get her away before anyone showed up from Family Services."

He shook his head. "I called Eisley."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"Child and Family Services always has to be involved in cases like this. They serve to protect the children from the media and police interrogation. They'll take the heat off Jane."

"We could have protected her."

"Would she have let us? We're strangers to her. At the welfare facility she'll be surrounded by kids and staff. She'll be much safer, and we can still keep an eye on her."

Eve was still uneasy. "I wish you hadn't . . ."

"She may be a material witness in a murder case, Eve. Did she talk to you?"

Eve shook her head.

"Then I'll have to see her later tonight."

"Can't you leave her--" Of course he couldn't leave Jane alone. She might have seen something. "Barbara Eisley may not let you talk to her. She's not pleased with us."

"Sometimes it helps to have a badge." He pulled her to her feet. "Come on. I'll drive you home. Forensics will be here any minute. I'll have to come back, but you don't need to be here."

"I'll wait for you."

"No, you won't. I may be here hours and the media will be right behind the forensic team." He nudged her down the steps. "I called Charlie. He's at the lobby of my apartment building now and will keep an eye on you until I get there." He opened the car door for her. "As soon as you're inside the apartment, call Spiro and Mark and tell them what happened."

She nodded. "And maybe I'll call Barbara Eisley and see if I can talk her into seeing me again."

"Give it a rest, Eve. Let her cool off."

She shook her head. She couldn't forget her last glimpse of Jane MacGuire, sitting ramrod straight, afraid she'd break if she lowered her defenses.

Dom could break her and butcher her. How close had Jane come to Dom in the kitchen?

Panic rose inside Eve at the thought. Smother it. The immediate danger to Jane was over.

The hell it was. "I'm calling Barbara Eisley as soon as I get to the apartment."

"NO," BARBARA EISLEY said coldly. "Don't make me repeat myself again, Ms. Duncan. Jane stays in our custody. Come near her and I'll have you tossed in jail."

"You don't understand. Dom killed Fay Sugarton in broad daylight. He managed to get inside her house and then he cut her throat right in her own kitchen. What's to stop him from doing the same thing to Jane at the welfare house?"