Imitation in Death

Chapter21

She strode down the hospital corridor. She’d hooked her badge on her belt to stop any medicals from getting in her way. Roarke wanted to tell her the fire in her eyes would have done the job, but he was afraid it might dim that fierce light.

And he enjoyed seeing it too much to take the chance.

The guard she’d placed at the door to ICU was at attention when she turned the corner. In Roarke’s opinion, the uniform had likely scented her energy and whipped himself on alert.

Even as she reached for the door, it swung open. The doctor, Roarke thought, was a more courageous soul. He barred her path, folding his arms across his chest and using a frown as a shield.

“I was told you’d been notified and were en route. The patient is barely conscious and drifting in and out. Her condition is still critical. I won’t risk having her interrogated at this point.”

“Twenty-four hours ago, you told me she’d never regain consciousness. She has.”

“Frankly, I consider it a miracle she’s come out of a coma, even briefly.”

Sela Cox had asked for another miracle,Eve thought. And by God, she’d gotten it. “I don’t believe in wasting miracles. Somebody put her in that room, and there’s a chance she can tell me who before he puts someone else in the hospital. Or the goddamn morgue.” Now her voice lashed like a whip that had the uniform wincing. “You don’t want to get in my face on this.”

“On the contrary.” Laurence kept his melodious voice low. “I am in your face on this, and this is my turf. My patient’s welfare is paramount.”

“On that last point, we’re in perfect agreement. I want her alive and well.”

“For her testimony.”

“Goddamn right. If you think that makes me the enemy, then you’re just stupid. I put her in the dead column, Laurence, just like you. But she showed us both what she’s made of. Now, I want her to know the man who did this to her has been put away. I want her to know I’m going to do that for her, and that she had a part in making it happen. Right now, she’s just a victim. I’m going to help make her a hero. That’s something to live for. You’ve got two choices,” she said before he could speak again. “I have this officer restrain you, or you go in with me and supervise.”

“I don’t like your tactics, Lieutenant.”

“File a complaint.” She pushed open the door, glanced at Roarke over her shoulder. “I need you to wait.”

When she stepped in her heart sank again.Marlene lay still and deathly pale in the bed. Her mother stood beside her, holding her hand.

“She’s just resting,” Sela said quickly. “When you said you’d come, I asked my husband to go down to the chapel. They’ll only let two of us in here at a time.”

“Mrs.Cox, I must tell you again,LieutenantDallas ’ presence is against medical orders. Your daughter needs to remain calm and quiet.”

“She’s been quiet since this was done to her, and she won’t be calm until he’s caught and punished. I’m grateful to you, Doctor, more than I can begin to say. But Marley needs to do this. I know my child.”

“Watch your step,” Laurence warnedEve, “or you’ll be the one restrained.”

She kept her focus onMarlene as she moved to the side of the bed. “You should talk to her,Mrs.Cox. I don’t want to scare her.”

“I’ve told her you were coming.” Sela leaned over the bed, touched her lips to her daughter’s forehead. “Marley? Marley baby, wake up now.LieutenantDallas is here to talk to you.”

“So tired, Mom.” The words were slurred and soft.

“I know, baby. Just for a little while. The lieutenant needs your help.”

“I know you’ve been through a lot.”Eve ignored the doctor as he edged closer. “I know this is hard. I’m not going to let him get away with what he did to you. We’re not going to let him get away with it, Marley. You and me. You got away from him. You stopped him once. You can help me stop him once and for all.”

Her eyes fluttered open. It was painful to watch, the effort of lifting those lashes, the intense focus in those eyes. Eve recognized the look, the determination of fighting back pain.

“It’s all blurred, all runs together. Can’t bring it clear.”

“That’s all right. Tell me whatever you can. You were coming home from work. You took the subway.”

“Always take the subway. Just a few blocks. Hot night. Feet hurt.”

“There was a van.”

“Little moving van.” Marlene shifted restlessly, but before the doctor could move, Sela was stroking her daughter’s hair.

“It’s all right, baby. It’s all over now. Nobody’s going to hurt you again. You’re safe. I’m right here.”

“Man. Big cast on his arm. Never seen big cast like that. Couldn’t, couldn’t get the sofa in. Kept sliding back out, thumping against the street. Felt sorry for him. Mommy.”

Deliberately Eve stepped closer, took Marlene’s other hand. “He can’t get to you now. He’s never going to touch you again. He thinks he beat you, but he didn’t. You’ve already won.”

Her eyes fluttered again. “I can’t remember much. I was going to help him, then something hit me. It hurt. I never hurt like that. I don’t know after that, I don’t know.” Tears began to leak. “I can’t remember anything after that, except Mom talking to me, or Dad or my brother. Uncle Pete? Was Uncle Pete here, and Aunt Dora?”

“Yes, honey. Everyone’s been here.”

“I was just floating somewhere while they talked to me, then I woke up here.”

“Before he hurt you, you looked at him.” Eve felt Marley’s fingers twitch in hers. “I bet you hesitated a little, got an impression of him. You figured he was okay, just some guy in trouble. You’re too smart to go up to someone who looked dangerous.”

“He had that big cast, and he looked so upset and frustrated. He was cute. Curly dark hair. Curly hair and a ball cap. I think. I can’t… He looked over at me and smiled.”

“Can you see him now. In your head? Can you see him, Marley?”

“Yes… I think. It’s not clear.”

“I’m going to show you some pictures. I want you to look at them and tell me if one of them is the man with the cast. Just see his face in your head, and look at the pictures.”

“I’ll try.” She wet her lips. “I’m so thirsty.”

“Here you are, sweetheart.” All but crooning, Sela brought a cup and straw to her daughter’s lips. “Take your time. Remember you’re safe now.”

“Hard to stay awake. Hard to think.”

“She’s had enough, Lieutenant.”

At Laurence’s voice, Marley stirred again, struggled to look toward him. “I heard you, when I was floating I heard you. You told me not to give up. That… you wouldn’t give up if I didn’t.”

“That’s right.” It was the compassion in his voice, on his face that had Eve stifling her impatience.

“And you didn’t give up,” Laurence said. “You’ve made me look real good around here.”

“Give me one more minute,” Eve pleaded with him. “Just one more minute, Marley, and we’ll be all done.”

“You’re the police?” Marlene turned her head on the pillow and looked impossibly young, impossibly frail. “I’m sorry. I’m getting mixed up.”

“I’m the police.” Eve drew out photos of her suspects. “When you look at these pictures, remember he can’t touch you now. You got away, you didn’t give up, and he can’t touch you.”

She showed them to Marlene one at a time, watching her eyes for that shock of recognition. She saw it, and the fear that rode with it.

“Him. Oh God, him! Mom. Mommy.”

“LieutenantDallas, that’s enough.”

She elbowed the doctor back. “Marley. Are you sure?”

“Yes, yes, yes.” She turned her face into her mother’s breast. “That’s his face. Those are his eyes. He smiled at me.”

“It’s all right. He’s gone.”

“I want you out. Now.”

“I’m going.”

“Wait.” Marlene groped for Eve’s hand again, and turned her bruised and exhausted face away from her mother. “He was going to kill me, wasn’t he?”

“He didn’t. You beat him. And you stopped him.” She leaned over the bed, spoke very deliberately as Marlene’s eyes fluttered closed again. “You’re the one who stopped him, Marley. You remember that. Don’t ever forget that.”

She stepped back while the doctor checked the vitals, the monitors. Then she turned and left the room.

“Got that son of a bitch,” she said to Roarke and kept walking toward the elevator. “I need to go to Central, put this together. I still want you to check the travel dates. I want this ice-cold and locked. I’ll have my warrant within two hours if I have to strangle a judge to get it.”

“Lieutenant! Lieutenant, wait.” Sela rushed down the corridor. “You’re going after him now.”

“Yes, ma’am, I am.”

“Did you mean what you said, that she’d stopped him?”

“I did.”

She pressed her fingers to her lids. “That’s going to get her through. I know my girl, and that’ll get her through this. They didn’t think she’d ever wake up. I knew she would.”

“You sure as hell did.”

Sela laughed, then clamped a hand over her lips to hold back a sob. “Dr. Laurence, I know he was rude to you, but he’s been very kind to us, and worked very hard for Marley.”

“I was rude right back. We’re all just looking out for her.”

“I just wanted to say that I’ve thought of Dr. Laurence as her guardian angel, and you as her avenging one. I won’t ever forget you.” She rose on her toes, gave Eve a quick peck on the cheek, then hurried away.

“Avenging angel.” Embarrassed, Eve hunched her shoulders as she stepped into the elevator. “Jesus.” Then she straightened, grinned fiercely. “I can tell you this, when I’m finished, Niles Renquist will see me as a demon from hell.”

– -«»--«»--«»--

It was a tricky business, both politically and personally. Peabody was going to be pissed, and undoubtedly sulky, that she hadn’t been called in. She’d just have to suck it up, Eve thought, as she prepared to make her pitch to Commander Whitney.

He was, she imagined, none too pleased himself to have been called back into Central. When she stepped into his office and noted the tuxedo covering his big frame, she fought back a wince.

“Sir, I’m sorry to have interrupted your evening.”

“I assume your reasons for doing so will be strong enough to placate my wife.” As Eve wasn’t quite as successful in holding back the wince this time, Whitney nodded. “You don’t know the half of it. You’d better have Niles Renquist cold, Lieutenant, because before I deal with my wife, I’ve got the ambassador, the U.N., and the British government in line.”

“Marlene Cox has positively identified Niles Renquist as her assailant. I have a statement from Sophia DiCarlo, employed as au pair in the Renquist household, which conflicts with his and Mrs. Renquist’s claim that he was home during the time of one of the murders. He is in possession of the stationery used for the notes left at the murder scenes, and he fits the profile. At this time Captain Feeney and expert civilian consultant Roarke are doing a search and scan on travel. I believe we will confirm that the subject was in London, Paris, Boston, and New L.A. at the time of previous murders, which match the methods of this case. Under ordinary circumstances, this would be enough for a search warrant and a warrant to bring the subject in for questioning on suspicion.”

“But these aren’t ordinary circumstances.”

“No, sir. The subject’s diplomatic status and the political arena add a sensitivity and a level of bureaucracy. I request that you speak directly with the judge and the necessary parties to expedite the warrants. He will kill again, Commander, and soon.”

“You want my head in the noose, Lieutenant?” He cocked his head. “You have the statement of a woman in severe physical and emotional distress. A woman with head trauma. You have a statement from a household employee, who in your report claims to have been sexually abused by the subject. Those are both shaky. Owning or purchasing the brand of paper used in the notes isn’t enough, and you know it, or Renquist would have been in a cage before this. And there are others who fit the profile. All of this will be argued by Renquist’s representatives and attorneys, and the British government. You need to lock this down.”

“If I get into his house, into his office, I’ll lock it down. It’s him, Commander. I know it’s him.”

He sat in silence, wide fingers tapping on the surface of the desk. “If you’ve got any doubt, if there’s any room for doubt, it would be best to hold off on taking these steps. We can surveil, watch his every move until there is no doubt, and the case is a noose around his neck.”

Good luck watching his every move if he gets back inside the U.N.,Eve thought, but tried to put it more diplomatically. “Renquist may already be in the wind. Without the search, he stays in control. He’s the only one who knows the identity and whereabouts of his next target. If he beats me to her, she may not be as lucky asMarleneCox.”

“Once the calls are made and the ball starts rolling, it could flatten both of us. I can survive it. I’ve had more years wearing a badge than you’ve had breathing. I can live with retirement. The ramifications of this should you be wrong will damage your career, perhaps irrevocably. Understand that.”

“Understood, sir.”

“You’re a solid cop,Dallas, perhaps the best under my command. Is it worth pushing this forward now? Is it worth possible reassignment, losing your status in Homicide, and your credibility?”

She thought of the dream, of the dead and the victims yet to come. There’s always another, her father had said. And damn him, he was right. “Yes, sir. If I weighed status more heavily than the job, I shouldn’t be here. I’m not wrong, but if I were, I’d take the hit.”

“I’ll make the calls. Get me a goddamn cup of coffee.”

She blinked at the order, looked vaguely around his office. The little twinge of resentment she felt as she walked to his AutoChef told her maybe status wasn’t so far down on her list after all.

“How do you want it, sir?”

“Coffee regular. Get me Judge Womack,” he said into the ‘link. Then barked out a “Come” at the knock on his door.

Feeney hustled in, a grim smile on his face. Roarke strolled in behind him, grinned cheekily at Eve. “I wouldn’t mind a cup, while you’re at it.”

“I don’t serve civilians.”

“Serve and protect, Lieutenant,” he reminded her. “Protect and serve.”

“Bite me,” she mumbled under her breath and carried the coffee to Whitney’s desk.

“We got ‘em,” Feeney said.

“Hold that call. What have you got?”

“Me and the civilian here did some E-finessing. If only the budget could afford this boy.” With sincere affection, he slapped Roarke’s shoulder. “Devious mind and magic fingers. Ah well.”

“Cut through the bullshit, Feeney, and give me some weight.”

“Our suspect took diplomatic, public, and private shuttles-and the private transpo was buried deep-to Paris, to London, to Boston, and to New L.A. He was in those cities during the time of the unsolved murders preceding the ones here. He frequently travels to London, as you’d expect. Less frequently to Boston. For London he uses the diplomatic transpo. For Boston, public, though it’s first-class and pricey all the way. But for the West Coast, he went private, and alone. Two trips by this method, the first, one month before the murder of Susie Mannery, the second, two days before with a return the following day-the day after the murder. Same pattern on the other unsolveds.” He turned to Eve. “Bull’s-eye, kid.”

– -«»--«»--«»--

Even with the added weight, it was almost midnight before Eve had the warrants in hand. Still, her earlier fatigue had burned away in a rush of adrenaline.

“How did you know?” Roarke asked as she drove uptown. “Walk the civilian through it.”

“It had to be one of them. The stationery was too pointed, too much there for it not to be. He used it purposefully, to bring himself into it. The attention, the amusement, the excitement. He needs that.”

She swung in behind a Rapid Cab, and let the cabbie plow the road for her. “But he’d have to know there’d be others, in New York, viable suspects. So he wouldn’t have been the first to buy it. Smith was, and Smith would be easy to track. He’s public, and he likes to make a splash.”

“Go on,” Roarke prompted.

“There’sElliotHawthorne with his supply of the same paper.”

“Speaking of him, he’s divorcing his current wife. Something about a tennis pro.”

She took time to smirk. “FiguredHawthorne would get around to it. He was a toss in, never seriously on my list. Too old for the profile, and nothing there. No pop.”

“But you still had to take the time to check him out, had to have him in the general mix. That would’ve pleased Renquist.”

“There you go. Then Breen, sending him the paper, just added a nice touch for Renquist. Breen was the expert, and someone Renquist probably admired. A month’s pay says we find Breen’s books in Renquist’s office. He’s studied Breen, the work and the man.”

“You never thought it was Breen.”

“Didn’t fit. Arrogant enough, knowledgeable enough. But this isn’t a guy who hates or fears women.”

She remembered his devastated face as she hammered at him, remembered the broken look in his eyes. She’d have to live with her part in putting it there.

“He loves his wife, and that makes him a sap, not a murderer. He likes being at home with the kid. Probably he’d do it whatever the mother did. But I pushed him anyway, pushed him hard.”

He heard the regret in her voice, and brushed a hand over her arm. “Why?”

“In case I misjudged him. In case…” She blew out a breath and tried to let the guilt blow out with it. “In case I was wrong. I liked him, right off, the same way I didn’t like Renquist.”

“So you worried part of it was personal for you.”

“Some. And Breen could’ve been involved, that was an angle I had to factor in. He could’ve provided the killer with data, pooled all of it to put into his next book. How he acted and reacted, answered, didn’t answer, in interview mattered.”

“He’ll get through it,Eve, or he won’t. It’s his wife who betrayed him, not you.”

“Yeah, all I did was shatter his nice fantasy shield. Anyway, anyway. Renquist’s got a good line on Breen. I bet he knows about the wife’s sidepiece. I’ll double that bet and say we’ll find unregistered equipment in his office, equipment he’s used to research and track the other suspects. He lined them right up for me, the son of a bitch.”

“I value my money too much to take that wager. Why notCarmichaelSmith?”

“Because he’s pitiful. He needs a woman to adore him, and tend to him. He doesn’t kill them or who’d rub his feet and stroke his head?”

“I appreciate a good foot rub myself.”

“Yeah.” She snorted. “Take a number.”

He reached out to twist a lock of her shaggy hair around his finger, just to touch. And asked the next question just to keep her talking. “Fortney, then.”

“Peabody’s favorite. Mostly she leaned toward him because he offended her sensibilities. She’s soft yet, you know.”

“Yes. I know.”

“She’ll keep some of that, the soft.”Eve tried not to think about the exam in the morning, and how much ofPeabody ’s ego and esteem was wrapped up in it. “That’s good,” she added. “It’s good she’s got the makeup to keep some of it. You get too hard, you stop feeling, then the job’s just being on the clock.”

You’ve never stopped feeling, he thought. You never will. “You’re worried about her.”

“I’m not.” She shot the words out, then hissed when he chuckled. “Okay, maybe I am. A little. Maybe I’m worried she’s so nervous and sweaty about this damn, stupid detectives’ exam that she’ll blow it. Maybe I wish I’d waited another six months to put her up for it. If she blows it, it’s going to set her back-inside. It’s so fucking important to her.”

“Wasn’t it to you?”

“That was different. It was,” she said with conviction when he raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t going to blow it. I had more confidence in myself than she does. Had to. I didn’t have anything else.”

She surprised herself by smiling, looking over at him. “Then.”

It didn’t surprise her to feel his hand brush her cheek. “Enough mush. Back to Fortney. He cloudedPeabody ’s thinking. He’s a putz, and just not smart enough for this. Not an organized thinker, and not cold enough. Violent tendencies toward women, but a sock in the eye isn’t mutilation. You gotta be cold to mutilate. And brave, in a screwed-up way. Fortney’s not brave enough to go the whole route. For him, sex is his way of humiliating women. He bought the paper second, and I imagine that gave Renquist a smile-if he was following the purchases.”

“And you believe he was.”

She gazed at the rearview to make sure the team was still behind her. “Dead sure, and he likely did a search on Fortney and knew he’d be inNew York during this period. Takes time to put on a show, months of lead time. Renquist didn’t plan this overnight.”

“Keep going.”

Roarke was keeping her talking, she realized, so she wouldn’t lose her temper and her patience with the traffic. Which was hideous. She toyed briefly with hitting the sirens and punching it. But that violated procedure. She’d do this straight, right down the line.

“He needed time to scope out his targets, so you’ve got several weeks between him sending the paper to Breen and the first murder. The first inNew York,” she amended. “We’re going to find more bodies, or what’s left of them, scattered over the planet, and possibly off.”

“He’ll tell you,” Roarke deduced.

“Oh yeah.” Her face was grim as she threaded through a narrow break between bumpers. “Once we get him in, he’ll tell us. He won’t be able to stop himself. He wants his place in the history books.”

“And you’ll have yours. Care about it or not, Lieutenant,” Roarke said when she scowled. “You’ll have yours.”

“Let’s stick with Renquist. He’s a perfectionist, and he’s had years of practice. In his work, within the image he’s built, he has to be discreet, diplomatic, often subservient. And this goes against the grain, day after day. At heart, he’s an exhibitionist, a man who finds himself above others-even as he’s been hammered down by females all his life. Women are inferior, yet they have power over him, so they have to be punished. He hates us, and killing us is his greatest joy, his finest accomplishment.”

“You were going to be his last.”

She glanced over, saw him watching her. “Yeah, he’d have gotten around to me, later rather than sooner because he’d want to string this out. I saw it in his eyes the first time I met him. Just an instant. Couldn’t stand the son of a bitch. I wanted it to be him.”

She pulled up in front of the Renquist home, and the search team pulled up behind her. “This is going to be fun.”

She waited for Feeney, let the team file in behind. Home security scanned her badge, then the warrant, before shifting to a holding pattern. Within two minutes, the housekeeper, in a long black robe, opened the door.

“I’m sorry,” she began, “there must be some mistake-”

“This warrant authorizes me and my team to enter this residence and conduct a search thereof. I am also authorized to arrest Niles Renquist on multiple counts of suspicion of murder in the first degree, and a count of first-degree assault with intent. IsMr.Renquist on the premises?”

“No, he’s away on business.” She looked more baffled than annoyed. “I’ll need to ask you to wait here while I informMrs.Renquist of these… circumstances.”

Eveheld up the warrants again. “These mean I don’t have to wait. But go right ahead and tell her we’re here. After you direct me toMr.Renquist ’s home office.”

“I’m not… I can hardly take the responsibility for-”

“It’s my responsibility.” She signaled the team behind her to enter. “Split into groups of two. I want a complete and thorough room-by-room. All recorders on. The office?” she said to the housekeeper.

“It’s on the second level, but-”

“You’re going to want to lead the way,Stevens, then step back. You don’t want a part of this.”

Without waiting for the housekeeper,Eve started up the staircase.Stevens came after her in a trot. “If you’d just let me wakeMrs.Renquist and inform her-”

“As soon as you show me his office.”

“It’s the last door, on the right. But it’s secured.”

“You got the code?”

She pokered up then, struggling for dignity as she stood in her nightrobe surrounded by cops. “OnlyMr.Renquist has the code. It’s his personal office, and he handles sensitive material. As an official of the British government-”

“Yeah, yeah, blah blah.”Eve decided she’d been right. This was fun. “My warrant gives me the right to open this door, with or without the code.” She pulled out her master. “I am employing that authorization at this time, and using a police master code to disengage the subject’s security on this door.”

The housekeeper turned and fled up to the third floor.Mrs.Renquist,Eve thought, was about to get a rude awakening.

She used the master, and wasn’t the least surprised to find the police code denied.

“He’s taken extra precautions.” She looked over her shoulder at Roarke. “At this time I find it necessary and expedient to employ alternate methods. If the electronic experts on team are unable to disengage locks, I will utilize the battering ram.”

“Let’s have a look first,” Feeney suggested, andEve deliberately turned her recorder away so that it wouldn’t show Roarke crouching down with burglar tools in his hands.

“Feeney, I’m going to need you to confiscate all security discs. I suspect the subject doctored them, so that he wasn’t scanned when he left the house for the murders and attack.”

“If he did, we’ll find the shadows.” He tracked his gaze toward Roarke and had to bite down on a grin. Magic hands he thought again.

“I want all ‘links and transmission devices as well.” She didn’t look at Roarke, kept her back to him. But her mind was muttering: Hurry up, damn it, hurry up. I can’t stall much longer.

“Lieutenant,” Roarke said a moment later, “I believe the locks are now disengaged.”

“Good.” She turned back. “We’re now entering the private home office of Niles Renquist.” She opened the door, called for lights on full, then took a deep breath. “Let’s get to work.”

The room was meticulously organized, even elegant in its choice of furnishings and decor. The antique desk held modern communication and data equipment, and what she concluded, after a puzzled study, was an old silver inkwell and quill. There was a leather-bound notebook, an electronic calendar, and deeply cushioned chairs in dark, masculine green.

There was a neat black-and-white bath attached with the towels perfectly aligned on the rack.

He would wash up there after the murders, she presumed. She could see him perfectly, cleaning, grooming, watching himself in the long mirrors that shone on the walls.

She turned back, mentally measuring the room, and gestured to what looked to be a closet door.

“There. Five gets you ten his unregistered’s in there.”

She crossed the room, found the door locked. Rather than waste time, she waved to Roarke, then planted her feet at the sound of rushing footsteps.

With a pale peach robe swirling around her,PamelaRenquist rushed into the room. Her face was naked of enhancements, and looked older than it had. Her color was high, her teeth were already peeled back in a snarl.

“This is outrageous! This is criminal. I want you, all of you, out of my home immediately! I’m calling the ambassador, I’m calling the consulate, and your superiors.”

“Be my guest,”Eve invited, and all but slapped the warrant in her face. “I have all the proper authorization for this search, and I will complete same with or without your cooperation.”

“We’ll see about that.” She started to march to the desk, andEve blocked her. “You won’t be able to use this ‘link, or any of the house ‘links until the search is complete. If you wish to make a call or send a transmission, you are restricted to the use of your personal ‘links, in the company of a duly authorized officer. Where is your husband,Mrs.Renquist?”

“Go to hell.”

“He’s going to beat me there, I promise you.”

She caught the signal from Roarke out of the corner of her eye, and moved over to the unlocked door. She opened it.

“Well, well, well, what have we here. A little hidey-hole, complete with data and communication center. We’re going to find this is unregistered, Feeney. And look at all these discs. Renquist is a big fan ofThomasA.Breen, and his ilk. All these books and data on serial killers tucked in here.”

“It’s hardly against the law, even in this country, to have a private space, and to own books on any subject.” ButPamela was losing her furious color.

Eveeased farther in, and opened a barrel-shaped leather bag. “Not against the law to own surgical tools either, but it sure is funny. I’m sure he cleaned these very well, but I just bet we find traces ofJacieWooton ’s blood on them.”

She opened a long cupboard, felt her own blood pump when she studied the collection of wigs, the black cape, the city employee uniform, and other costumes. “Nileslikes to play dress up?”

She booted a container of plaster with her toe. “And does his own home improvements, too. A real Renaissance man.”

Opening a drawer, she felt a little hitch in her heart. Then reached in with a sealed hand and picked up a gold band, set with five small sapphires.

“LoisGregg’s ring,” she murmured. “I think her family will want this back.”

“Got another of that sick bastard’s souvenirs.”

Eveturned, saw Feeney’s face was white. He held the lid of a portable cold box, and she knew before he spoke what was inside.

“Looks like we found the rest ofJacieWooton.” Feeney breathed slowly through his teeth. “Son of a bitch has it labeled, for sweetChrist ’s sake.”

Evemade herself look, made herself take the step over and look down into the container where the icy steam was already dissipating. Within was a clear, sealed bag, with its horror meticulously labeled: