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She pulled away from him and began kneading his arms with her hands, not even realizing what she was doing. “It’s hard, Adam. I know he’s evil. I know there must be a reason he’s doing all this, a reason that makes perfect sense to him, but in my gut, it feels like I smashed in that poor woman’s face. Oh, God, if I hadn’t fired at him, hit him—”

“Stop it,” he said and shook her good. “Now, here’s the bottom line. We’re going to leave her just as she is in the kitchen and make an anonymous call. No, don’t argue.” He lightly tapped his fingers against her mouth. “Listen, I know this is very hard to do, given the fact that we’re breaking the law and she’s not going to get the attention she deserves right away. Even Savich and Sherlock are having a real problem with it.

“Even though they’re part of the highest police force in the land, they realize that nothing good would be served if the world suddenly found out that you’re here and you’re up to your ears in another murder. The cops and the Feds would fight to see who could hold you and question you. On the other hand, you’d be protected, and that’s something, but not enough. All of us agree that you would be charged with murder and accessory to murder. It would be a nightmare and it would continue even if they ever let you go. Why? Because he would still be there, just waiting, and it would start all over.

“So, Savich and Sherlock have agreed to keep our connection under wraps for a while. He’s getting the woman’s phone records right now. We’ll find out how long he’s been here, holding her prisoner. We’ll find out who he called besides you. All the guys are going over the house, top to bottom, right now. They’re pros. If there’s anything to find, they’ll find it. If there are fingerprints, and I’m willing to bet there are, they’ll pull those up, too. But it’s going to take time because we’ll have to clean up after ourselves. The last thing we want is to have the police notice some stray fingerprint powder. So we can’t call in her murder for another couple of hours.”

“He knew the phone was tapped.”

“Oh, yes, he knew, and that’s why he had the surprise all ready for you. He can’t be far away now. He’s close. Real close. It’s possible he’s watching all of us right this instant, hiding in the pine trees, but I don’t think even he is that reckless. We’ll get him, Becca. You have to believe that. He’ll pay for what he did to Linda Cartwright.”

“Oh, God,” she said suddenly. “You’re right, Adam, he is watching. Maybe he’s a goodly distance away and using binoculars, but I don’t think so. I’ll bet he’s just over there, somewhere in those trees, and I think he watched you climb through that window, watched me come out here and puke up my guts. You said he was finally realizing who he is, what he likes, and this is it.”

Her eyes went blank, then she said, “He’s seen Tyler and Sam. Oh God, he knows I’m close to them and doesn’t that make them targets, too? What if he goes after them?”

“He could, but I doubt it and here’s why. He knows we’re not fools. He knows there are a lot of us. He wants you. He’s made his point. I can’t see him veering off course to kill Tyler or Sam. Why? He wants to nail me, but I’m with you, staying with you, taunting him. That’s why he wants me. Now, Dave and Chuck will start looking around here when they finish in the house.”

“He’ll be gone by then.”

“Probably.”

“Do you think he killed her in those short minutes between when he called me and all the men got here?”

Adam hesitated, then shook his head. “No, she’d been dead for several hours, at least.”

“But her face, Adam, her face. It looked—fresh, even though all the blood looked dried and clotted.”

“He did that after he called you, after he realized the phone was tapped. She was already dead, Becca.”

“How did he kill her?”

Adam didn’t want to say anything more about it, but he knew she wasn’t going to let it go, she couldn’t let it go. “He strangled her.”

“Why was there dirt all over her? God, it was even on her feet, in her hair.”

Oh,