Only if they found her before Malcolm killed her. He couldn’t have let Latisha go or there’d be no two-week delay. And if she’d managed to get free on her own, why would she send an e-mail? Why wouldn’t she just come home?

Something was up. “Have you called Detective Willis?”

“Not yet. I wanted to tell you first. I’m starin’ at her message right now. I can’t hardly believe it.”

“Gloria, I…” She’d been about to explain why this message might not be a good thing. It wasn’t fair to get Gloria’s hopes up and then have them dashed in the cruelest possible way, which to Jane’s mind was a greater possibility than Malcolm releasing Latisha on a specific day. But she couldn’t bring herself to spoil Gloria’s happiness. Besides, she didn’t know everything. Maybe she was wrong.

“What?” Gloria said when she didn’t continue.

“I want you to know that we do care.”

“I know you do,” she said. “That’s why I called you.”

“We’ll find her before those two weeks are up,” Jane said. “Detective Willis and several other officers are canvassing my neighborhood. Surely, someone saw something.” Sebastian had been at the complex all morning, too, talking to anyone he could, but she figured there wasn’t any reason to explain who Sebastian was. “I’m going back in a few minutes to help. I had to open the office for the volunteers who do telephone soliciting around dinnertime.”

“Will you let me know what the police find?” Gloria asked.

“I will.”

Jane had just hung up and was picking up her purse and briefcase when Jonathan let himself in. “Good, you’re here.”

“You’ve been looking for me?”

“That security guard over at Cache Creek called this morning to say he’s found several images of your man.”

They’d already established that Malcolm frequented the casino, but Jane wanted to see him in action. “Can we view those images?”

“He burned us a DVD of the segments that contain Malcolm.”

“Great! I’ll head over there right away.”

“I already got it for you.” He took it from his coat pocket and held it up for her to see.

“How nice!” she said.

“I figured you were pretty busy, what with your guest and all.”

She narrowed her eyes. “How’d you know I have a guest?”

“After I got the message, I tried to call you and Kate answered. She said you were in the Quick Stop, picking up a snack for her lunch.”

“I’m assuming that wasn’t all she said.”

He grinned. “No. She was pretty excited to report that you’d had a man stay the night. She seemed quite taken with him.”

They must’ve been on their way to school. “She didn’t tell me you called,” Jane said.

“I told her not to worry about it, that I’d contact you later. Then I went to get the DVD myself.”

Jane wondered how long it would be before Kate mentioned Sebastian to the Burkes-or Wendy. “Have you seen it?”

“Not yet. I just got back and now I have to run off again.”

“I appreciate the help.” She tried to take the DVD, but he held it out of reach.

“Jane, I hope you know what you’re doing with this Sebastian guy. I really don’t want to see you get hurt.” He looked-and sounded-more serious than he usually did.

Grabbing his arm, she finally got her hands on the DVD, which she promptly put in her purse. “I won’t get hurt,” she said, scoffing as if it was ridiculous to worry. But she knew there were no guarantees. Especially now. Whether she wanted to acknowledge it or not, she was falling in love with Sebastian.

And love had never been kind to her before.

Twenty-Two

There it was.

Malcolm drove past The Last Stand twice before turning in. It was only six o’clock in the evening, but dark came early in January, and he wasn’t really worried that he’d be recognized-at least, not at first glance. He’d stopped by a secondhand store on the way and bought a wig, a pair of glasses and some women’s clothing. Although he’d never used a disguise before, the image staring back at him whenever he looked in the rearview mirror seemed pretty damn convincing, certainly convincing enough to let him move around unnoticed, especially after dark. If he’d been a bigger man, it might not have worked so well, but this was one time when being only five foot nine was an advantage.

The reception area appeared to be closed for the night, but there was a light in one of the back offices. Did that mean someone was working late? Jane Burke, perhaps?

The possibility sent a tremor of excitement through him.

A single car sat in the lot, parked behind the building, by the rear exit.

The Chinese restaurant and the liquor store at the far end of the adjacent strip mall had moderate traffic. Malcolm drove around to the front and parked his van there so it wouldn’t stand out. Then he waited for a man who’d just exited the liquor store to drive off-he saw no reason to invite scrutiny of his costume up close-and climbed out.

An obscure-sounding church and a few thousand square feet of empty retail space were sandwiched between the liquor store and The Last Stand. Wearing size ten high heels, which clicked confidently against the pavement as he walked, Malcolm passed them, along with a dry cleaner, as if he had a legitimate reason to be there. Then he ducked into the narrow alley between the end of the mall and the building that housed the charity and took off his shoes. How women maneuvered in such uncomfortable footwear, he had no idea.

Shoving a heel in each pocket of the heavy wool coat he’d bought to go over his dress, he hugged the cinder block wall as he slipped on his tennis shoes and moved around to the back. Once there, he stood in the shadow of the building, waiting to see if he could catch a glimpse of the occupant.

Movement in the hallway outside the office with the light on caught his attention. Someone was standing there, using a copier. Malcolm could see the distinctive glow each time the machine lid was lifted. But it wasn’t a woman. This person was far too tall.

Disappointed, Malcolm cursed under his breath. He’d been entertaining visions of leaving Jane Burke bleeding on her desk. If he couldn’t get to Mary, he’d take someone who meant even more to Sebastian. He liked the ruthlessness of giving the bastard an immediate and vicious response to his e-mail.

But he hadn’t really expected it to be that easy. He had to do his homework, make plans. This was more of a reconnaissance mission than anything else. He’d known that from the beginning.

Carrying a stack of copies, the man went back into an office, and Malcolm took out his gun before creeping closer. The door was unlocked. He could tell without even touching it. The guy inside probably saw no reason for heightened security, not this early at night and not if he was only stopping by to make a few copies.

Would he come back into the hall right away?

No, Malcolm didn’t think so. From the muted sounds drifting toward him, he could tell that the man was now on the phone.

With one gloved hand, Malcolm pulled the swinging door open far enough to squeeze inside. Maybe he wouldn’t meet Jane in the next few minutes. But he’d meet her soon. Especially if he could learn a little more about her. Starting with her address…

“So he looks like his picture?” The voice of the man in the office came to him more clearly, since they were both in the building.

“He’s put on some weight, but you can definitely tell it’s him.”

The second voice surprised Malcolm. Maybe this person wasn’t alone, after all.

Leaning slightly to the right so he could see into the room, he found the guy he’d watched in the hall standing behind a desk, collating copies. The second voice was coming from a speakerphone.

“When was he last there?” The punch of a stapler punctuated this question.

“Just after Christmas.”

He plopped the document on a stack of others and stapled the next one. “Did he win anything that night?”