“So you’re a philosopher. How very … deep.”

He laughed. “Perhaps I’ve been getting carried away. It’s just that I’ve been looking forward to talking to you about this.”

“You wanted to brag, gloat. I’ve met men like you before. And one woman.”

“No you haven’t,” he snapped, suddenly angry. “There are no others like me.”

“Funny thing for a copycat killer to say.”

“Copycat? No such thing. I bested them all and showed how it should be done.”

Drop it. She might be pushing him toward the edge. She shifted uncomfortably in the rear compartment. “I can’t feel my arms.”

“Those ropes around your wrists have been soaked in water for days. And I learned to tie my knots from the Bristol University Royal Naval Unit. I know you have no weapons because I searched you before I tossed you back there. So by all means, try your best to get free. It’s not going to happen.”

“What an efficient serial killer you are. Colby taught you well.”

“Yes. And no.” He drove in silence for a moment. “I’m not new to the game. I’ve done this before. But it was Colby who made me an artist. He showed me that it takes more than just skill. It takes imagination. Why do you think people still remember Jack the Ripper? It wasn’t just because it was so shocking for the time … Throughout history, there have been many more gruesome and prolific killers. The real reason was his letters to the media. Once you capture the public’s imagination, you will live forever.”

Kendra tugged at the ropes. Chatsworth was right. She wasn’t going to slip out of his knots. So she had to go another route. Think. He had said something about weapons and searching her …

“Forever? That’s a funny thing to say less than twenty-four hours after your buddy Colby dies,” she said. “He’s already on his way to obscurity.”

“Not likely. Long after everyone has forgotten those Scotland Yard detectives, people still remember Jack the Ripper. And soon, everyone will forget you ever existed, Kendra Michaels.”

Weapons. He’d said she’d had no weapons. But what about that strange blade she’d taken from Wallach and tucked in her jacket pocket. She’d completely forgotten it in all the action that had followed. Was it so slender he’d missed it? She started to try to manipulate her tied hands toward her pocket. Keep him busy and talking.

“Why did you try so hard to interview me?” she asked. “Was that part of your thrill sport? To go face-to-face with me in front of a national viewing audience, gambling that I wouldn’t recognize you?”

“Not at all. Actually, I was never willing to take that chance. I knew you wouldn’t consent to that interview. You’ve turned down every request over the years, many from journalists much more respectable than I. But I knew you and the FBI were checking out all the journalists and others who had visited Colby. I decided to put myself in front of you on my own terms. I chose the video footage you saw of me, and I made bloody sure it was from a distance and angle that couldn’t relate to the dashing, fake, police officer you saw. So although my name would inevitably come up on the list of Colby’s visitors, they would know you had seen Bobby Chatsworth on the DVD my producer sent. I was sure they’d think it would be unlikely I’d push for a face-to-face interview if I had anything to hide. That’s why I sent my producer to try to woo you.”

“She has no idea she’s working for a monster.”

“Oh, she knows I’m a monster. Just a different kind. It became necessary for me to frequently disappear, of course, following story leads that would never quite pan out, so that I could pop back and forth to San Diego and play my game with you. But it was worth the effort.” He paused. “It’s interesting you could tell I was suppressing an accent during our brief conversation the other night … But it wasn’t a Southern drawl, it was my distinct West Country British accent I was trying to hide. A few more words, and a few more minutes of conversation, you might have pinned it down. Still, I chalk that up as a victory.”

Kendra tried to clear her head. She was still woozy from the anesthetic, but she needed desperately to focus on checking for that needle knife.

And also focus on unsettling him, knocking him slightly off balance. Undercut that sense of control serial killers craved. She had an idea that Chatsworth had an intense desire for both control and self-aggrandizement.

“You didn’t do too shabbily that night. But lately, you’ve been getting sloppy. My mother and my friend, Olivia, are still alive and doing fine.”

He chuckled. “Of course they are. I never intended to kill them.”

“Seriously? ‘I meant to do that’ went out in the fourth grade.”

The knife was still in the pocket! She could feel the outline half-in, half-out of the lining. Now to get it out and work on those ropes.

“Oh, Kendra. I had every confidence at least one of them would find their way out of that house. You see, I had a small problem. Adam Lynch had you squirreled away in that magnificent bunker of his, and when you’re not there, you’ve been almost constantly under his watchful eye. I needed to do two things, draw you out and draw him away from you. The attack on their mountain retreat was enough to draw you and the entire San Diego FBI field office out here. I knew you would feel compelled to accompany your dear, sweet mother to the hospital, but I knew that the disappearance of Lynch’s mercenary compatriot would also leave your protector in the woods for the next few hours.”

“You killed Martlin.”

“Oh, he was very tough. But the thing about tough guys is that it’s harder to be tougher than a bullet. Especially if it’s aimed by someone of superior skill and intellect. No one will find him until at least daybreak.”

Kendra felt as if she were going to be sick again. Another life lost.

“So you see, with a bit of planning, problem solved. I was waiting for you near the hospital before you even left San Diego. I have to credit Colby. He taught me the value of planning several steps ahead.”

“Colby only used you.”

“It was a mutually beneficial relationship. I did some things for him on the outside, but he had funds he could tap to help things along, and he was incredibly resourceful. We were able to move things back and forth through the prison’s food service vendor, a contact Colby cultivated himself. Those items included the blouse you found at that young woman’s house. There were things with his DNA at each of the crime scenes, but Colby insisted that they be difficult to find. I think he was hoping you’d be the one to find them. Which you did on the first crime scene after you joined the case. Well done.”

“I don’t want your praise.”

“But I feel that I have to pat you on the head. You’ve made the game so enjoyable. However, you should really praise me, too. I’ve explained how brilliant I’ve been. Is there anything else you’d like to know?”

“Just one question. Now what?”

“Can’t you guess? Why, Kendra, of course you’ve made the logical deduction.” He was silent a moment, then he whispered, “Now I finish Colby’s work for him.”

CHAPTER

15

Mount Laguna

“GET OVER HERE, LYNCH,” GRIFFIN SAID. “I’m at the helicopter. I have something you’ve got to see.”

“Ten minutes. I’m waiting for a report on the searchers in the west quadrant.”

“Now,” Griffin said. “We may not have ten minutes.” He hung up the phone.

Shit.

Lynch didn’t hesitate. He didn’t like the sound of Griffin’s tone. In four minutes, he’d left the woods and was striding toward the helicopter, where Griffin was standing with Metcalf. “So what’s so urgent?”

“Reade sent me a sketch by Dillingham that he told her he’d been working on for Kendra. Did you know about it?”