"Nice crib," Leelee said.

He laughed, then pointed the gun at the floor in front of the dresser and television. "You. Smart-ass. Sit down over there." He put the gun at her temple. "If you move, I kill you."

Leelee nodded, and slid down onto her bottom.

"You." Aaron grabbed a scarred wooden chair from near the window and pointed the gun at it. "Here." He held it for Emma.

"Now listen up, girlies. Here's the game plan." Aaron poured himself a drink with the gun pointed at Leelee and his eyes darting back and forth between the women. He slammed back the whiskey and hissed between his teeth.

"It's going to be your basic murder-suicide. Leelee kills you-" He pointed at Emma. "Then kills herself. And the insurance money is mine."

"Insurance?" Emma's mouth fell open. "This is about our life-insurance policies?"

"Why, yes it is!" Aaron mimicked her surprise. "Thank you again for being kind enough to keep me as your beneficiary."

"Oh, God." Emma closed her eyes. It was the only thing he'd asked for in the divorce settlement, that they'd remain beneficiaries on each other's policies for two years, a guarantee that at least one veterinary practice would thrive if anything were to happen to one of them. Since they'd gone into debt together in residency and later as business partners, she thought it was equitable.

And now he was going to kill her for it.

"You don't have to do this," Emma said calmly. "We can work something out. I won't go to the police. No one has to know-"

"Shut up!" he screamed, waving the gun in her direction. At that moment, it occurred to Emma that the man in front of her was a stranger. She knew nothing about him. Maybe she never had.

And she'd be damned if she'd let him hurt two innocent children.

"This is not going to work, you know," Leelee said from her place on the floor. "They have insurance investigators and criminalistics people like on CSI. It'd be a no-brainer to figure out you did it for the money."

"Shut… the… fuck… up," Aaron whispered. "Do you want me to blow your head off? Is that it?"

Emma was trying to get Leelee's attention-because shutting up sounded like a real good idea right about now. But Leelee wasn't looking.

"Besides, your bitchin' new ride is right outside for the world to see."

Aaron stalked toward her. Emma willed the girl to be quiet. "And what's my motive?" Leelee continued. "I'm the Carroll County Middle School Geography Bee champion, for crying out loud!"

Aaron clicked off the safety and stuck the gun to Leelee's mouth. "This will shut you up."

"I'm pregnant!" Emma screamed.

Aaron turned his head and stared at Emma. Leelee gasped and sat up straighter.

"What?" they both yelled at the same time.

"I'm going to have a baby, Aaron. Please let us go. Don't kill us. I'll give you everything I have if you just let us go."

Aaron cocked his head, as if considering her offer. "Who's the father?"

Emma swallowed, her eyes darting from Leelee's shocked face to Aaron. Then back to Leelee-the girl had begun to furiously saw her wrists against the little metal drawer pull behind her back.

"The father is Thomas, my fiancé."

"Fiancé?" they both yelled.

"Yes."

Aaron stared at her with narrow, ugly eyes, and Emma checked quickly to see that Leelee almost had her hands free.

"Pops and I will sell the farm and give you all the profit." Emma's voice was soft and steady as she held Aaron's gaze. "It's worth a fortune to developers now-millions, Aaron. Think about it. That would be so much better than whatever my insurance might be worth. And you can have it all."

As a sickening smile spread across his face, Emma knew she had never been more frightened in her life. It was eerie seeing an Aaron who wasn't Aaron-gutted out and hollow. Her stomach clenched again.

"You lying whore." With that, his open hand cracked across her mouth, and Emma's head swung around from the force.

"Buttwipe!" Leelee shot up from the floor and lunged at Aaron.

In her swimming vision, Emma watched Leelee make a single upward slice with her forearm, knocking the gun from Aaron's grip. The gun went sailing over the bed just as Leelee jumped Aaron, knocked him back on the mattress, and straddled him, hitting and punching wildly.

Emma was on her feet, ready to do whatever she could to beat Aaron to a pulp and get them out of there, when the door was bashed open and two men stumbled in. They both had guns.

"Hey-it's a party," said the uglier of the two.

Thomas raced down the lane, gravel and dust flying around the Audi like a swarm of hornets. He saw Emma's truck, and his heart soared-then sank. The driver's side door was flung open, and Beckett was standing in the driveway-in tears.

"Beck?" Thomas flew out of his car and ran to the old man. He grabbed him by the shoulders.

"They're gone. Something happened. I think he has them."

"Emma's gone? Leelee?"

"Aaron's got 'em."

"What do you mean he's-"

"Here." Beckett handed him a fine-grained black leather wallet. "Hairy had it in his teeth when I got back from the Super Fresh just a minute ago. The dog was going nuts-spinning and jumping and crying. I think Aaron has the girls."

"Did you look-?"

"House. Barn. Everywhere. They're gone."

Thomas looked down at the mishmash of tire prints in the gravel. Hell if he could tell if another car had been here. Then he saw the deep cuts in the stones, like somebody's feet had been dragged across the lane.

"I'm calling in." Thomas ran to the car, yelling over his shoulder. "How long ago, Beck? How long ago do you think?"

He shook his head. "I've been home no more than five minutes. That's all I can tell you."

Thomas dialed Reg and told her to get an APB on Aaron Kramer. He flipped open the wallet and started reading from the expired Maryland driver's license.

"White male, DOB 6-14-67, five-nine, one fifty-five. He's got brown eyes, brown hair. He's-"

Thomas stopped. He stared at the little picture at the top right corner of the license and turned it in the light. He imagined what that clean-cut man would look like in a scraggly beard and a pair of blue contact lenses.

"He's Larry. Oh, fuck."

"Who's Larry?"

Thomas dumped the contents of the wallet onto the front seat and started looking for something-anything-that might indicate where Aaron had taken them. He found two condoms, two obviously stolen credit cards, a few bucks, and a handwritten receipt for a motel room-paid up until tomorrow.

Thomas gave Reg the address to the King of Hearts Motor Court in Bowie, then gave her the physical descriptions of Leelee and Emma. "Bring in the STATE team," he said. "Get everyone in position for a possible hostage situation. I'm on my way."

"Done. Meet you there."

Beck was waiting on the other side of the car door, his face drawn in worry. Hairy was cradled in his arms.

"I swear to God I'll bring them home," Thomas said. "I'll call you as soon as I know anything."

"The hell you will!" Beckett ran around to the other side and jumped in shotgun. He tossed Hairy in the back. "We're all going. Now drive!"

Thomas was soon back on the road, blue light flashing, keeping the line open with Reg. The Special Tactical Assault Team Element was already on the way. Troopers from the Prince George 's County barracks were on site, awaiting orders. The motel manager was being interviewed. The rest of the motel and all nearby buildings had been cleared.

"She's pregnant," Thomas said.

The old man stared at him with startled blue eyes, then looked him up one side and down the other. He broke out into a wide smile. "And?"