“Wait. John was told that you were dead when he was in the hospital in Japan.”
“I might as well have been dead. Everyone thought I was crazy. I was having trouble getting off the medication. I didn’t want John to come back and see me like that.” His lips twisted bitterly. “I made a deal with Queen. He promised me that he and Jacobs would make it up to John. They said they’d make him a rich man. He’d have a good life. All I had to do was keep my mouth shut and disappear.”
“And you agreed?”
“They told me what the Koreans had done to him. I knew what John had gone through. I couldn’t help him. He deserved to have a new start.”
After being tortured and starved and cheated of all hope in that darkness in his cell. “Yes, he did. So you made the deal and disappeared.”
“I made the deal.” His lips tightened. “But I told them I’d be watching them, and if I saw any sign that they were trying to hurt John, I’d come back. And I did watch them. They got him well, then started to send him off on missions. I didn’t like that, but they said that they had to allow some time to pass before they could gather a fund together to give to John.”
“They were playing you.”
“And I would have stepped in, but then Black came back to Atlanta. He was one of Jacobs and Queen’s private hit men.”
“And he was angry because John had humiliated him.” She said slowly, “I suppose it could be true.”
“It’s all true.”
But there was more to the story than he had said.
“What else?”
“He killed the little girl to punish John.” But Danner was looking away from her.
“No. That’s not all.” She took a step back, and he let his hands drop from her shoulders. She braced herself. She didn’t want to hear the answer to this question, but she had to ask it. “How … did he kill her?”
“That’s enough.” He pushed her forward up the hill. “It’s time now.”
She jerked away and whirled to face him. “No, it’s not enough. How do you know he killed her? My daughter was taken at the park. Were you there? Did you see him do it?”
“I saw him.”
“You were there?”
He moistened his lips. “I was there.”
“Then you saw Bonnie?”
“I saw her. It was crowded, but I saw you with her on the swings. Then she ran away across the park toward the ice-cream truck.”
Eve could see Bonnie darting in and out of the crowds as she ran to get her ice cream. “And you saw Black there.”
“I told you I did.”
“Where was he?”
“Close,” he whispered. “So close. I knew it was going to be that day. It was so crowded. It would be so easy for him. I had to stop him.”
“But you didn’t stop him, did you?”
“I did. I did. I talked to her. I told her she had to go with me. I told her that there was a bad man who might hurt her or her mother. She believed me. She wasn’t afraid. She looked up at me, and she smiled. She said, ‘It’s all right, Ted. Don’t be scared.’”
“She knew your name?”
“I guess so. I don’t know how. Maybe I told her. I whisked her out to my car, which was parked in the street. I saw Black, but I didn’t know if he’d seen her with me. I had to hide her from him. I told her to jump in the trunk, and I’d let her out when it was safe. She didn’t argue. She did what I told her.” He swallowed. “She did what I told her.”
“He followed you?”
“I wasn’t sure, but I had to get her away. What if he’d seen her? I kept driving. I caught sight of a car that might have been Black’s a dozen times. I got caught in a traffic jam, and I was scared that he’d catch up with me. But then I finally broke free and got off the freeway. I drove out of the city until I came to the lake. Then I jumped out of the car and ran around to let her out.” Tears were running down his cheeks. “But he’d killed her. She was curled up as if she were asleep, but Black had killed her. The demon had taken her away.”
Eve stared at him in shock. “Oh, my God,” she whispered. “It was hot that day. She wouldn’t have lasted any time at all in that trunk.”
“No, he killed her. It wasn’t my fault. I’d never have killed John’s little girl. She was a pretty little girl and so brave … I wouldn’t have done that.”
Eve closed her eyes. “Heat. You thought you were saving her from Black but that trunk must have been hot as an oven. The heat killed her.”
“No! Stop saying that. I told you what happened.” His voice was harsh as he pushed her forward up the trail. “I kept my promise. Now it has to be over. She has to leave me alone. I have to give her what she wants.”
Her eyes opened, but she could barely see through the tears. “She’s here?” After all the years, the uncertainty. “You brought her here?”
“Of course I did. She’s John’s little girl. I had to find a special place for her. But she wouldn’t leave me alone. I tried to tell her that Black had killed her, but she wouldn’t believe me. Wherever I turned, she was beside me. Lately, it got worse. I tried to run away, but she was always there.” His hands clenched. “But I didn’t know what she wanted.”
And Danner couldn’t let himself believe that it had been his fault that Bonnie had died. A horrible accident that had become a guilt that had dominated his life and destroyed whatever sanity he still possessed.
“Listen. I can tell you what she wants.”
He shook his head. “I know now. A little girl needs her mother, and I took her away from you.”
And Danner wasn’t going to be dissuaded. She was so shaken that she didn’t even know if she could make the attempt. She would have to go along with it until she could either say something that would strike the right note or make a break.
Or find a way to kill Danner? He had killed her Bonnie. Accident or not, he had taken the daughter who had made her life worth living. Could she forgive him? She wasn’t sure that was possible.
She would think about that later, when she was able to reason and not just feel. At that moment, she couldn’t think of anything but Bonnie. An eagerness was beginning to spark within her.
He was taking her to Bonnie.
* * *
“SHE’S ON THAT CLIFF!” Joe stopped skidding across the sandy ground and shaded his eyes with his hand. “And that’s got to be Danner.”
“Yes, that’s Ted,” Father Barnabas said. “But how do we get to them?”
Good question, Joe thought. The cliff on which Danner and Eve were standing was several hundred feet above the valley floor, and it appeared as if they were going still higher.
Not by standing here wondering, he thought impatiently. “We go south, pick up that trail, and start climbing.”
And hope they were in time.
“There’s another trail that I ran across five minutes ago that would be quicker.”
Joe turned at John Gallo’s voice to see him coming toward them. “How much quicker?”
“Maybe only a few minutes.” Gallo added grimly, “But a few minutes can be enough.” He turned. “I’m heading back and taking the trail up to that cliff. Come if you like.”
Joe hesitated for only an instant. Gallo was an expert woodsman and tracker, and it didn’t matter how Joe felt about him personally. He was right, a few minutes could be enough to make a difference. He strode quickly after him. Ben and Father Barnabas were only steps behind.
Gallo glanced back at them as he moved swiftly through the trees. “This isn’t your job, Father. You shouldn’t be here. And who’s the kid?”
“Ben. He’s a friend of your uncle’s.”
“You’re John Gallo.” Ben was gazing at Gallo. “Ted told me about you.”
Gallo was frowning. “What?”
“Ben came along to protect Danner,” Joe said. “He doesn’t trust me.”
“He shouldn’t trust any of us,” Gallo said, his lips tightening. “And I don’t know if he’s going to get the chance to help him. We have to worry about Eve.” He turned back and increased his pace to a trot.
Joe caught up with him. “Where’s this trail? Time is—”
“There.” Gallo was now on the trail curving toward the cliff and running hard. “And I know all about time. When did you catch sight of my uncle and Eve, Quinn?”