The Face of Deception by Iris Johansen

certainly gave it to me.”
    “I'll keep looking.” He changed the subject. “I ran into your mom's current flame tonight. Ron's a nice guy.”
    “She thinks so. Thanks for keeping an eye on her for me.”
    “I don't think I'm going to have to do much more of it. Ron seemed pretty protective himself.”
    “I haven't met him yet. Mom's afraid I'll scare him off.”
    “You might.”
    “What do you mean? You know I want whatever's best for Mom.”
    “Yep, and you'll kick ass until you get it for her.”
    “Am I that bad?”
    Joe's voice softened. “No, you're that good. Look, I've got to go. Diane wants to catch a nine o'clock movie. I'll call you when I know anything more.”
    “Thanks, Joe.”
    “Forget it. I probably didn't help you much.”
    He probably hadn't, Eve thought as she hung up. Logan's interest in JFK might be just coincidence. What possible connection could there be between the ex-president and her present situation?
    Coincidence? She doubted if anything Logan did was coincidental. He was too sharp, too much in control. His search for information about Kennedy was too recent not to be suspicious, and if he'd tried to keep his interest in Kennedy under wraps, it was for a reason.
    What reason? It couldn't be of—
    She stiffened with shock.
    “Oh, my God.”

SEVEN

    The library was unoccupied when she entered a few minutes later.
    She slammed the door closed, flicked on the light, and strode toward the desk. She opened the right-hand drawer. Just papers and telephone books. She slammed it shut and opened the left-hand drawer.
    Books. She pulled them out and set them on the desk.
    The Warren Commission Report was on top. Beneath it was the Crenshaw book on the Kennedy autopsy and then a well-thumbed book titled
The Kennedy Conspiracy: Questions and Answers
.
    “May I help you?” Logan stood in the doorway.
    “Are you crazy, Logan?” She glared at him. “Kennedy? You've got to be out of your mind.”
    He crossed the room and sat down at the desk. “You appear to be a little upset.”
    “Why should I be upset? Just because you've brought me here on the wildest goose chase ever conceived by man. Kennedy?” she repeated. “What the hell kind of crackpot are you?”
    “Why don't you sit down and take a deep breath.” He smiled. “You scare me when you loom over me like that.”
    “Bullshit. This isn't funny, Logan.”
    His smile vanished. “No, it's not funny. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. I tried to be so careful. I take it you didn't just decide to ransack my office out of curiosity. Joe Quinn?”
    “Yes.”
    “I heard he was very smart.” He shook his head. “But you're the one who sicced him on me. Why couldn't you have just left it alone?”
    “You expected me to wander around in the dark?”
    He was silent a moment. “No, I guess I didn't expect it. But I hoped. I wanted you to go into this unprejudiced.”
    “I'd be unprejudiced no matter what I suspected. You have to be when you do my kind of work. But I can't believe you want me to help you dig up Kennedy.”
    “No manual labor is required. I just need you to verify—”
    “And get shot in the process. For God's sake, Kennedy is buried at Arlington Cemetery.”
    “Is he?”
    She went still. “What the devil are you saying?”
    “Sit down.”
    “I don't want to sit down. I want you to talk to me.”
    “Okay.” He paused. “What if it isn't Kennedy buried at Arlington?”
    “Heaven help me, not another conspiracy theory?”
    “Conspiracy? Yes, I guess that about covers it. But with a slight twist. What if it were one of Kennedy's doubles who was shot in Dallas? What if Kennedy died before the Dallas trip?”
    She stared at him in disbelief. “Kennedy's doubles?”
    “Most public figures have doubles to protect both their lives and their privacy. It's estimated Saddam Hussein has at least six.”
    “He's a dictator of a third-world country. No one could get away with that here.”
    “Not without