Ed’s eyes widened. “The guy running for state Senate on a family values platform?”

“The very same,” Chase said grimly.

“Haynes wanted a blonde,” Luke said. “And a blonde helped bring him down. Ashley Csorka’s escape changed everything.”

“How is she?” Talia asked.

“Sitting up and talking to her dad,” Luke said with a smile. “Who sends his thanks, and his wish that the man who tried to buy his child gets the same treatment in prison.”

“We have a lot to be proud of this morning. Every one of you did well.” Chase went on, soberly. “Granville killed the five girls in the bunker, but Monica told us it was at Rocky’s-aka-Kate’s command, and that Kate said, ‘Bobby said so.’ When we find her, we will be charging Bobby Davis with those five counts of homicide, in addition to the ten who’ve died directly at her hand. Add to that the attempts on the lives of Ryan Beardsley and Monica Cassidy-”

“And the abduction of God only knows how many minors and interstate forced prostitution and child pornography in that catalog we found,” Luke inserted.

“And she’s looking at about a million years behind bars,” Chase finished.

Chloe frowned. “Wait. Ten? There’s Rocky/Kate and Jennifer Ohman, the nurse.”

“And the nurse’s sister,” Susannah said.

“Okay,” Chloe nodded, “that’s three. Helen Granville is four.”

“Chili Pepper and his girlfriend make six,” Nancy said.

“The boy at the rest area and Tanner, the man who was driving the trailer, are eight,” Luke said, then looked at Pete. “And Zach Granger is nine.”

“Oh, gosh, I’m sorry, Pete,” Chloe said to Pete, distressed that she’d forgotten.

“It’s okay,” Pete said, fiercely, “but we have to catch this bitch and make her pay.”

“Tenth is the guard Corchran found dead at the back of her house,” Luke finished.

“If we count Darcy, she’s just one shy of an even dozen,” Susannah said coldly.

“And we will count Darcy,” Chase said quietly. “I’m sorry, Susannah. And there are still four missing. Judge Borenson, Monica Cassidy’s father, and Bobby’s two sons.”

Everyone was silent, then Luke sighed. “I hoped Bobby wouldn’t harm her own children, but seeing what she did to that kid today… She’s capable of anything.”

“So what do we know about her?” Mary McCrady asked. “My psych profile is simply a ruthless, intelligent, soulless monster. I’d like to be able to help you more than that.”

“The man driving the pickup was Roger Tanner, sixty-eight,” Luke said. “He had four outstanding warrants from the eighties-assault, larceny, and two counts of murder.”

“How does he link to Barbara Jean Davis?” Mary asked.

“The two counts of murder were Bobby’s parents,” Susannah said, “the Reverend Styveson and his wife, Terri. They were bludgeoned to death in the parsonage of the small Arkansas church where Mr. Styveson was the preacher.”

“Tanner was the church handyman,” Luke said. They’d pieced much of this together on the drive back. He’d been too tense to rest, and ended up spending most of the drive on the phone with the Arkansas PD while Susannah searched the public records. “His fingerprints were found in the house, not unusual because he was the handyman. But that’s when they discovered his record.”

“Everybody assumed he’d done it,” Susannah said, “because there were no other suspects and no sign of forced entry-and he had a key to the parsonage. Bobby suffered no injuries, even though she told police he had overpowered her.”

Luke shrugged. “The local PD says her story just didn’t match up with the evidence, but there was no evidence to implicate her. Now, knowing she’s been in league with Tanner, it makes sense that they were in it together even then. After her parents’ funeral, Tanner escaped and was never seen again. Bobby was sent to South Carolina, to live with her mother’s sister.”

“How did they end up in Dutton?” Nancy asked.

“Who knows? Maybe Bobby knew who her real father was and forced the aunt to bring her back. Maybe the aunt blamed Susannah’s mother for having the Styvesons banished and brought the girl back as a taunt. We may never know.”

“I never heard anything about Bobby’s parents being murdered or her being the daughter of the old pastor,” Susannah said. “That kind of thing gets around in a small town, but there was never a word. Even Angie Delacroix didn’t know Bobby was the Styvesons’ daughter. In school she was Barbara Jean Brown, so she took her aunt Ida Mae Brown’s last name. And Brown was the aunt’s married name, so nobody linked her with Styveson’s wife. For whatever reason, her aunt kept Bobby’s secrets well.”

“Her aunt moved away from Dutton shortly after Bobby married Garth Davis,” Pete said. “And that’s where the trail dries up. No job, no credit cards, no utilities.”

“Maybe Bobby killed her, too,” Talia said.

“But where are her two children?” Mary asked. “Who took care of her kids while she ran truck stop whorehouses and sold young girls to rich men?”

“The Davises have a nanny,” Pete said. “Immigrant lady, likely an illegal. Her English wasn’t too strong. I talked with her when I was trying to track the aunt. She worked nine to five, weekdays. She said Bobby would leave the house every day to work in her interior- decorating business. Sometimes she was asked to work nights if Bobby had a meeting and Garth wasn’t home. The nanny seemed to genuinely care for the Davis boys, and if she had any idea what Bobby was actually up to, she hid it well.”

“Her only other relatives are Garth’s uncle, Rob Davis, and his family,” Chase said.

“I asked Rob Davis if they’d seen her,” Pete said. “I never searched the house.”

“But would Rob hide Garth’s kids?” Chloe asked. “I thought they hated each other.”

“That’s what Kate told us when she came here Thursday afternoon.” A piece of the puzzle fell into place. Luke looked at Chase grimly. “Kate led us to Mack O’Brien.”

Chase rubbed his forehead. “We were played like a cheap harmonica.”

“Kate would have wanted the spotlight off of Garth and the rest of the club, because the closer Daniel got to exposing them, the closer we got to their bunker operation. Kate gave us Garth so that she and Bobby could keep their secrets. We were played.”

“Kate also told us that Garth’s wife had fled with the children after Rob Davis’s grandson was killed by Mack O’Brien,” Ed said. “Hell.”

“We took her at her word,” Luke finished.

“Why wouldn’t you?” Susannah asked reasonably. “You had no idea any of this was going on. So get a warrant for Rob Davis’s house and check for the boys.”

“Next. We got a tip an hour ago,” Chase said. “A call to my cell from Kira Laneer, Garth’s mistress, the one who works at the airport. She says she knows where Bobby is, that Garth knew all the places she might hide. She might just be angling for publicity, but I’ll assign someone to check it out, just the same. Nancy, you’re frowning. Why?”

“I’ve been thinking about Bobby. We’re saying she’s murdered ten people in the last two days. Logistically, she had to have had some help.”

“Tanner is a definite possibility for an accomplice,” Luke said. “Ashley Csorka said he ran Ridgefield House. She called him the creepy butler.”

“I don’t know,” Nancy said. “Unless the creepy butler has some major muscles, he didn’t slit the throat of Chili Pepper. Chili’s a big dude. Was a big dude.”

“Maybe she has other minions,” Pete said dourly.

“Others,” Susannah murmured. “You know, there’s another piece missing. I’m thinking about the thích. That conversation between Simon and Toby Granville happened when I was eleven years old. Bobby was twelve and still living in Arkansas.”

“And so was Tanner,” Luke said, “so it couldn’t have been him.”

“ ‘I was another’s,’ ” Susannah quoted softly. “There’s somebody else out there.”

“We sent the artist’s sketch based on your description up to Manhattan,” Chase said. “The ADA’s office is going to show it to Darcy’s killer. For now we focus on Bobby Davis and her two missing kids. Pete, go to Rob Davis’s and find those boys. Hank, you and Nancy search the Davis house again. Talia, find out anything you can about Bobby’s friends, now and in the past. Chloe, how much longer can we keep Garth?”