Ciara said, “What did I tell you? If that’s not a third-stringer, you can have my badge. Christ, he isn’t even shaving yet.”

Alex saw the agent blush, and turned to Ciara.

“Save the reprimand,” she said. “I’ll shut the hell up.”

“For novelty’s sake,” Alex said quietly, “give politeness a try.”

“Hi!” she said a little too brightly to the agent as he reached them. “I’m Detective Ciara Morton, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. This is my partner, Alexander Brandon, who’s in charge of the task force.”

His brows rose higher above his dark brown eyes, then he warmly shook their extended hands, returned their smiles, and said, “Special Agent David Hamilton, FBI. I know some of you say that stands for Fan Belt Inspectors, but really, only the guys in the vehicle lab back in Virginia have earned that rank. Would you like to see my badge or my razor?”

There was an uneasy silence, then Ciara said, “Your razor, to slit my wrists.”

“Oh no,” he said. “Besides, I haven’t heard a thing. Have any of you heard anything?”

Alex glanced behind him and saw that everyone else shook their heads.

“I understand we have a true cliff-hanger,” Hamilton said.

“Yes,” Alex said. “Some boaters noticed a long, tarp-wrapped bundle hanging over the side of the cliff here. Took a look through binoculars and saw that it had feet. When our department sent a team to take a look, they saw a six painted on the canvas in blood.”

“They were kind enough to draw a little line under the six,” Ciara said, “just so we wouldn’t get confused and think it was another nine.”

Hamilton grinned at her.

Alex said, “Our officers realized there were some other similarities to the previous cases, so they called us in.” He paused, then added, “We’ve made a preliminary identification.”

Hamilton moved closer to the litter. “Another longtime resident of California?”

“Couldn’t say. But he’s been on your list for a long time.” Alex used a gloved hand to pull the canvas back from the corpse’s face.

“Victor Elliot,” Hamilton said. “You’re right. On the list for about three years.”

Alex, seeing him pat down his pockets, handed him a pair of latex gloves.

“Thanks,” he said.

Alex watched him carefully remove a large gold and ruby school ring before putting them on. Hamilton bent nearer to the body. “Featured on Crimesolvers USA in February of last year.” He looked up at Alex. “I hear you’re the one who figured out that connection. The photos and description you sent out of this ‘Eric Grady’ are in all our field offices now.”

“Maybe we should try to get him featured on Crimesolvers,” Ciara said.

Hamilton laughed. “Maybe so. God knows Victor Elliot slipped past us for over a year.”

“Armored car robberies, right?” Alex said.

“Yes-six of them, and only three out of eighteen guards lived to talk about what happened. Victor Elliot masterminded the robberies. We captured everyone who worked for him, but we could never lay hands on Elliot himself.”

“Lay hands on him now,” Ciara invited.

Hamilton touched the canvas near Elliot’s arm and said, “My God, rigor hasn’t passed off yet?”

“He’s frozen,” Alex said.

“Defrosting,” Ciara corrected.

“Despite the heat of the day,” Alex said, “he’s far from thawed. We want to get him to the coroner’s office as soon as possible, so that he doesn’t end up smelling like the last three.”

Hamilton stood. “I heard they were fairly ripe. I’ll admit I wasn’t looking forward to getting a snout full of that when they called me to come out here.”

As the coroner’s assistant and the others moved the litter away, Alex showed Hamilton what he could of the scene. He pointed out the place where the rope had been anchored.

“There are a number of obvious differences this time,” Alex said. “Frozen body, openly displayed outdoors in a visible location. But while the others were hanging nude, this one was wrapped in a tarp-as you saw. The other bodies were also left hanging over bathtubs, but this setup is not as elaborate as those were. The person or persons who left this body here simply set up a rock climber’s anchor at the edge of the cliff and lowered the body over.”

“Person?” Hamilton said. “I thought you figured this was a duo at least.”

“Still do, but Victor Elliot was a small, thin man, so the body could have been placed here by someone acting alone. This time, the victim didn’t seem to have been subjected to torture-the autopsy will tell us more, but we didn’t see knife wounds, and the body was not exsanguinated. There does not seem to have been any use of blood-thinning agents, either. There was one wound to the back of the skull, probably a blunt instrument applied with some force.”

“That’s the presumed cause of death?”

“Too early to say.”

“Extreme cold seems more likely,” Ciara said.

“They froze him to death?”

“Too early to say,” Alex repeated, with emphasis, as he looked at Ciara.

“And the similarities to the other cases?” Hamilton asked.

“Left in an area known to be in the sheriff’s jurisdiction. Hanging upside down, tied around the feet and hands. A rappelling rope was used again-probably another length of the same one-the lab will be able to tell us if the ends match. There’s another difference, by the way-while the knots around the hands and the feet are similar to the previous three cases, the ones that actually held him over the edge of the cliff are tied differently. My guess is, someone else tied them this time.”

“I wonder how long it takes to freeze a human body?”

“Depends on weight, I suppose,” Ciara said. “Like a side of beef. For a skinny little guy like Elliot, maybe not too long at all. Just put him in the old home freezer overnight.”

“I guess so.”

“I don’t know that it would have been so easy, Ciara,” Alex said. “His arms and legs were extended when he was frozen-so he was frozen without his knees or elbows being bent. Elliot was thin, but he was about five seven-even if a home freezer was empty, it’s not likely he’d fit inside in that position.”

“So, you think he has been in a commercial freezer?” Hamilton asked.

“Maybe. Or, if he’s been in the freezer of a private home, it’s a big house.”

“A mansion,” Hamilton said, looking back at the lights along the peninsula.

“Yes, there’s a lot of wealth in this area,” Alex said. “It’s not the only wealthy area in Los Angeles County. But you know that, right?”

Hamilton blushed again. “The tan or the accent?”

“To my ear, the lack of accent. And the USC college ring.”

Hamilton laughed. “Yes, I went to SC. And I grew up in L.A. It’s one of the reasons why I was given the assignment, I’m told. I know the LASD and my agency aren’t on great terms right now…but I’m hoping we can improve the situation.”

“We’re on the same side,” Alex said.

“Thanks. Anything I can do to help out?”

“Do you know the last date anyone in your agency received a report on Elliot? Last time he was seen alive?”

Hamilton pulled out a Palm PDA and turned it on. He tapped the stylus on the screen a few times, then said, “We received reports in February, after the show aired.” He read for a few minutes, then said, “Looks as if we had a reliable report on February twenty-seventh, in Lafayette, Louisiana. A bank teller called to say someone who looked like Elliot had been in just before Christmas and set up a safe-deposit box. We took a look at the security camera tapes and agreed. We got a warrant and got his prints off the box, but something or someone must have tipped him off, because we watched the address he gave to the bank and he never showed up. We checked it out later, and he had definitely been there. Nothing after that.”

“So they’ve probably been working on your top ten list at least since February,” Alex said grimly. “They’ve got a big head start.”