Bonnie

“Weapons?”

“No, he must have taken them with him.” He was examining the cartridges. “A Magnum and an M16. The rifle is still here.”

“Taken them with him where?” Catherine asked. “And why take Eve? If he was going to get rid of her, this would be the place to do it.” She was examining the tire tracks. “He didn’t change cars and double back. He left the truck here and must have set out on foot.” She glanced at the woods surrounding the glade. “We just have to find his prints and track him.”

Gallo nodded as he moved toward the north. “And hope that he’s not waiting to pick us off.”

“It’s promising that you admit that’s a possibility, but I don’t believe there’s any danger. That’s why I wasn’t too worried that he’d still be in this glade. No matter what he feels about anyone else, it appears he still cares for you.” She turned and rounded the hood of the truck to head for the south border of the glade. “And if I’m lucky, I’ll bask in that warm, fuzzy circle that surrounds you. Though from what I remember of him standing over me at that bayou, I may not be—” She broke off as she knelt on the ground. “I think I found the missing GPS.” Her finger touched the wreckage of the iPhone. “Eve’s phone. We definitely won’t be able to track her by that.” She got to her feet and moved across the glade. “So we rely on ourselves and not technology.”

He smiled slightly. “It’s not as if we don’t have experience.”

His words brought back a flood of memories of those weeks she had stalked Gallo in the wilds of Wisconsin before she had become convinced he had not killed Bo

He nodded and turned away. “It may take two of us. My uncle is sharp and experienced. He’ll try to cover his prints.…”

*   *   *

WHEN JOE WAS TWENTY minutes from the cathedral, he placed a call to Father Barnabas. He didn’t expect it to be picked up, but he took the chance. It rang four times before it was answered.

“Father Barnabas, my name is Joe Qui

“Where are you, Detective Qui

“About twenty minutes from you. Detective? Eve told you about me?”

“No, we didn’t discuss anything but Ted Da

“That’s true. Is the detective still there?”

“No, he just left. But there’s a policeman on duty. I reminded him about the adage about locking the barn door after the livestock was stolen, but he insisted anyway. If you wish to see me privately, it would be better if we met in the rose garden in the back. You can go to the cross street beyond the church and double back and go in the garden gate.”

“You’ll meet with me?”

“Certainly. I’ve been expecting you. Eve Duncan is a strong woman, and her disappearance would cause ripples that go far and deep. I’ll see you by the fountain in the garden.”

There was a uniformed policeman on guard outside the cathedral when Joe drove past it and up to the cross street. That meant that the back entrance would likely be unguarded.

Ten minutes later, he was walking down the garden path toward the fountain. It was dark, but the fountain area and the man sitting on the bench beside it were illuminated by a gas lamppost on the rosebushes on either side.

“Father Barnabas?”

“Sit down, Detective Qui

“Yet the two of you have had a close relationship that’s spa

“Lately, our relationship has not been as close as it once was. He won’t listen if I don’t say what he wants to hear.” The priest’s smile faded. “Da

“But you refused to help Eve when she asked you to help her find him.”

“I’ve been trying to bring him back to some kind of normalcy since the moment I started treating him at the VA hospital. There have been times when I thought I was coming close. I thought it was my responsibility to find him before he did any more harm.” He met Joe’s eyes. “My responsibility, Detective. There is so much good in Ted Da

Joe shook his head. “It’s not going to happen. Not if he killed Bo

“But what if he didn’t do either? He has a chance.”

“All I care about is Eve’s chances.” Joe’s lips tightened. “And I’ll be the one who shoots Da

His brows lifted. “Are you threatening me?”

“If you don’t show me a way to find Da

“And you love Eve Duncan very much.” His gaze shifted back to the shimmering spray of the fountain. “Love is a wonderful thing. Through all his torment, Da

“Then you should have saved him when you had a chance instead of shunting him off to another psychiatrist and joining the priesthood.”

Father Barnabas flinched. “Do you think I haven’t thought about that? I wasn’t vain enough to think that I was the only competent psychiatrist in the country. I thought I was doing the right thing. I’d come to a point with some of my patients that I’d tried every skill I’d learned to bring them back to the human race. I couldn’t do any more. I couldn’t perform miracles. But God can do what I can’t. I decided to quit claiming I was brilliant and all-knowing and give Him a chance.”

“And you’re not sorry?”

The priest shook his head. “Why? Occasionally I get to even be present for one of his miracles. Sometimes they’re small, sometimes they fill me with wonder. No, I’m not sorry.”

Dammit, I like this man, Joe thought with frustration. He might be co

The priest chuckled. “It doesn’t work that way. I’m permitted to observe, not orchestrate. But you’re right, it is up to me. You’re not going to have to damage your conscience by harassing a priest.”

“My conscience isn’t in danger. Not if it concerns Eve.” He met his gaze. “And I regard you as damaged goods in the clergy department. You may be very dirty.”

“And I may not. You’re not sure.”

“Evidently, the court wasn’t either. I can see you’d be a very believable witness. But your obsession with finding Da