“I told you, his name is Frederick.”

“So why was he after Meghan?”

“What do you think might have changed since the last time you asked that?”

“You said he was looking for her brother, but that’s really dumb, unless her brother has tits as big as hers.”

He didn’t reply but knew she caught his look of disapproval in the mirror.

She sulked. “Okay, so nothing has changed, but you aren’t telling me everything, either.”

“I don’t know everything yet. When I know more, I’ll tell you. Apologize to Meghan.”

She crossed her arms and glared at him, then said to Meghan, “I’m sorry for referring to your-”

He cleared his throat.

“-body in that way.”

“Apology accepted,” Meghan said.

He pulled over at a service station, filled the Suburban’s big gas tank, and paid cash. They all took a bathroom break, and he noticed that Spooky used the restroom in record time. He knew that this was due to her fear of being left behind. He thought of saying something to reassure her but knew she would be mortified if he said anything like that in front of Meghan. He reached into his bag of milagros and found a tin dog. He slipped it to her as they were getting back into the Suburban. For a moment, she looked as if she might throw it away, but then he saw her tuck it into her jeans pocket.

Meghan took a moment to readjust the seat and mirrors, then they were off.

He moved his own seat into a more comfortable position. He verified in the side mirrors that there were no cars or trucks behind them, then relaxed back into his seat. He needed sleep. Everything would be fine.

He had just closed his eyes when there was a loud popping sound, and the SUV swerved as Meghan jumped.

Kit’s heart raced, but there were no other cars nearby. No indication that they had blown a tire. He looked toward the backseat.

“Spooky…”

“What?”

“Exactly. What was it?”

She started laughing. He looked at the seat and saw a foil wrapper next to her.

“Did you just blow up a condom like a balloon and pop it?”

“Yes,” she said, still laughing.

He waited until she stopped, then said, “Don’t do it again.”

“Aw, Kit. There are a bunch more of them.”

“It wasn’t funny. Not at all.”

He heard a small snort and watched as Meghan struggled not to give in.

“Then why is Meghan laughing?” Spooky asked.

That proved to be Meghan’s undoing.

“Great,” he said. “Hand me a pillow, would you, Spooky?”

She did and said in a low voice, “Don’t be mad.”

“Are you done pulling stunts that could get us killed?”

She glanced at Meghan, who was faking deafness. “Yes,” she said. “I promise I won’t do anything like that again. Here. You can have all the rubbers, too.” She handed over two strips of them. She frowned. “You aren’t going to use them, are you?”

“No. Try to get some sleep.”

“I slept too much today.”

This was probably true, he decided, but was too tired to argue with her. Within minutes, he had dozed off.

Meghan glanced at him and kept that image of his face-seldom seen so free of care-in mind as she returned her attention to the road.

She told herself that there was absolutely no reason to feel depressed at his ready assurance that he wasn’t going to use the condoms.

25

Manhattan Beach, California

Tuesday, May 20, 11:25 P.M.

Alex had nearly reached home when his pager went off again. He called in and was patched through to a detective with the Albuquerque police, whose department had made some promising discoveries. “Eric Grady” had been there. They were dusting for prints in a Bronco, a pickup truck, and an abandoned rental car, and already had some from a home that had been ransacked before the Bronco was stolen. They didn’t have a matching record of an Eric Grady as a passenger arriving on a flight for the day the car was first rented, and assumed another identity had been used for purchasing the airline ticket.

As for the prints, they hadn’t found a match in New Mexico’s Automated Fingerprint Identification System-AFIS-files, but were sending copies of the prints on to the LASD. There was a computer compatibility issue. One of the frustrations Alex and everyone else in law enforcement faced was that AFIS and other computer technologies varied from state to state, and the systems were often incompatible.

The better news was that the man posing as Grady had left opened water bottles, half-eaten sandwiches, and-strangely-wads of several varieties of chewing gum. “We’ll have lots of DNA samples, and dental impressions, too,” the detective said. “We’ll send most of them to you, but the FBI has asked for some, too.”

Alex thanked him and called Hamilton.

“Great, isn’t it?” the FBI agent said. “I just got word from our field office there. I’m going to ask our guys to rush the DNA work and to run it through CODIS.”

“Sure, why not?” Alex said. If the gum chewer in New Mexico had ever been convicted of rape, assault, homicide, or certain other felonies, his DNA might be in the FBI’s CODIS-Combined DNA Index System-database.

“You don’t sound enthusiastic. Do you have a problem with using CODIS?”

“Not at all-I hope we get a hit. But I suspect this guy has managed to stay below the radar, that’s all.”

“Committing crimes of this nature without ever having any prior trouble with law enforcement?” Hamilton asked skeptically.

“Trouble, maybe-but caught for violent crimes? I don’t know. You have profilers working on these cases?”

“They’re just getting started.”

“Like I say, I hope I’m wrong. If these cases are starting to go better than they have been, there won’t be any complaint from me.”

Hamilton laughed. “No kidding. See you tomorrow.”

“One other thing,” he said. “We may have some DNA from the scene at the cliff this evening.”

After what seemed like a long silence, Hamilton said, “Oh? I don’t remember hearing that mentioned.”

“That was my call. Things are touchy right now. Especially where lab work is involved.”

There was another long pause, then the agent said, “Sure, I understand. Thanks for letting me know now.”

Alex hung up, feeling dissatisfied. He had probably managed to piss off both the FBI and his own department. But if there was DNA in New Mexico that might compare with what was found on the rope, he wasn’t going to be the one who stood in the way of making the comparison, even if the FBI claimed these as federal cases because of it.

The flickering blue-gray light beyond the blinds told him that John was probably still awake and watching television. Maybe Chase would be, too. He hadn’t meant to keep the kid waiting this long.

He walked into the house and saw that John was talking on a cell phone. Chase stood next to him, looking anxious. The television set was muted. Alex clicked it off.

“That’s not true,” John said to the caller, seeming exasperated. He saw Alex, rolled his eyes, and said again into the phone, “That’s not true.”

Alex said quietly to Chase, “Who is it?”

But before Chase could answer, John said, “I’ll tell you what, Miles. You want to start insisting on setting down conditions for Chase to visit me, then let me give you a few about leaving a minor…What? Yes, he just walked in, but this is between you and me, boy.”

Alex saw John’s face turn red. Alex was surprised-John wasn’t a man who angered easily. In the next moment, he thrust the phone toward Alex.

Alex smiled, took it, and said, “Miles?”

“Alex? I don’t know what you’re up to, but-”

“Miles? Miles? Hello?”

“Hello, Alex?”

“Must have hung up,” he said to Chase and John, who could hear Miles shouting even as Alex pushed the disconnect button.

John started laughing. “Why didn’t I think of that?”