“She’s been dead over eight years. What are the chances we’ll ever find her murderer?”
“Damn good if we try hard enough.” He got to his feet. “And I’m trying hard, real hard. I’ll find the son of a bitch. I’ve got Eve Duncan, and soon I’ll have a face.” He moved toward the door. “And right now, I’m going back to that grave site and take another look to see if I can find anything more.”
“You’ve been out there five times. Don’t you think it’s a little excessive?”
“No.”
I felt like she was calling to me.
He had said that to Eve Duncan, and he was still hearing that call even though the bones were long gone from that crime scene.
“You can never tell what you’ll find if you look hard enough. Want to come along?”
“Waste of time.” Ron grimaced. “Oh, what the hell.” He got to his feet, grabbed the Duncan and Quinn dossiers, and followed him toward the door. “Why not?”
*
“Are you still going to wait up for that call from Jane?” Joe asked as he paused before going back to their bedroom. “Want company?”
Eve chuckled. “I’ve got company.” She moved across the room to her worktable, where the FedEx box remained unopened. “No, you go on to bed. You’ve got to work tomorrow morning. I won’t be too long. I’ll just take care of the setup and preliminary measuring, then come to bed after I get Jane’s call.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He still didn’t move. “Sure you’re okay?”
“Absolutely.” She started to unfasten the box. “Stop hovering. You’re acting like a grandma with her first grandkid.”
“I beg your pardon.” Joe’s voice was suddenly deep, silky smooth, and infinitely sensual. “Grandma? Me? I think we’re going to have to address that insult when you come to bed.”
She glanced up at him and suddenly lost her breath. Thigh muscles that were compact and yet sleek and full of leashed power. Tight stomach and buttocks. In this moment, he was totally male, completely sexual, and she could feel her own body respond. Even after all these years together, their sexual chemistry was just as explosive as when they had come together when he had been the FBI agent sent to investigate Bonnie’s death. “I’ll look forward to it,” she said softly.
He grinned. “That was my intention. Anticipation is the name of the game.” The next moment, he’d disappeared down the hall.
She stared after him for a moment before she ruefully shook her head. She was tempted to go after him, but he could just wait until she got the call from Jane. Anticipation worked both ways.
She looked back down at the box and completed opening it. Then she carefully removed the plastic ties that held the skull in place and the protective plastic wrap around the skull itself. “Let’s see you,” she murmured as she took the skull in her hands. She always talked to these lost children when she first started the reconstructions. It seemed to aid her in making a connection and helped her over the first painful shock of seeing their remains. She never got used to that moment. She held the skull under the light. “Small. You were small for nine. I wonder if they were wrong about you…” Small, delicate features … fragile. She looked so fragile and vulnerable. Nothing appeared to be broken or devoured by animals.