“I’ll walk you out. This way.” He pulled her into a dark little hallway, tipped up her chin, and searched her face. “You were crying earlier. Are you really okay?”

Alex’s cheeks heated and she had to fight the urge to tug away from his probing gaze. “I had a bad couple of moments when I was talking to the social worker. You know, when the adrenaline crashed and I wasn’t thinking clearly. But I’m okay. Really.”

He brushed his thumb over her lower lip. Then his mouth was covering hers. A natural calm settled over her, despite the sudden pounding of her heart.

He lifted his head just far enough to let her catch her breath. “Are we on a camera somewhere?” she asked and felt him smile against her mouth.

“Probably. So let’s give them something to talk about.” And she forgot about the camera and even about breathing when he kissed her harder and hotter than anyone had before. Abruptly he pulled back, swallowing hard. “You should probably go now.”

She nodded unsteadily. “I probably should. I’ll see you later.” She turned to leave and flinched. “Ouch.” She rubbed her scalp and glared at his sleeve. “That hurt.”

He pulled a few strands of her hair from his button and kissed the top of her head. “The woman nearly gets flattened by a car and she complains about a little pulled hair.”

She chuckled. “I’ll see you tonight. Call if you do get busy.”

Chase was still in his office when he got back. Daniel slumped in his chair, aware of Chase’s openly curious appraisal. “Go ahead and tell me,” he said.

“Go ahead and tell you what?” Chase’s tone held mild amusement.

“I’m in too deep, I’m too emotionally invested, I’m moving too fast… take your pick.”

“How fast you move in your personal life is your business, Daniel. But I’m told that when it hits you, there’s not a lot you can do about it. So are you in too deep?”

“I have no idea. Right now I just want to keep her alive.” Feeling lower than dirt, Daniel laid the hairs from Alex’s head next to the hair swatch. “Damn. They’re close.”

Chase sat in one of Daniel’s chairs. “What did you tell her?”

Daniel scowled at him. “I didn’t.”

Chase’s eyed widened. “You just yanked it?”

“Not exactly. I used a little more finesse than that.” And if she found out, she’d be more hurt than just a stinging scalp. But he’d cross that bridge when he got there.

Chase’s shrug was restless. “You’ll find a way to tell her the truth when you have to. For now, like you said, let’s focus on keeping her alive by finding the guy who’s killed two women and copied a thirteen-year-old crime scene. I want to know why he’s doing this now. Is it just the publicity Dutton’s gotten in the last week?”

I’ll see you in hell, Simon. Daniel bit his lower lip and knew he had to speak the truth. “It has something to do with Simon.”

Chase narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think I want to hear this, do I?”

“No. But it might make a difference.” He told Chase about the letters Bailey’s brother had written and the visit from the army chaplain. I’ll see you in hell, Simon.

Chase frowned. “How long have you known about this, Daniel?”

Ten years. No, not true. Those pictures might have nothing to do with any of the murders, thirteen years ago or this week. You’re lying to yourself. “Since last night,” he said. “How Simon and Wade connect to these two murders, I don’t know.”

Tell him. But as soon as he did, he’d be off the case. He didn’t want to take the risk, so he told the only truth he absolutely knew. “I do know that Simon did not kill Janet or Claudia. Nor did he abduct Bailey or try to kill Alex.”

Chase blew out a breath. “Hell. I’m gonna give you some rope. Don’t hang yourself.”

Relief was a palpable thing. “I’m going to the Barneses’ condo. Their parking attendant told Mr. Barnes he saw Claudia’s Mercedes leave the garage last night, but she never came back. Maybe he ambushed her in the parking garage.”

“What about Janet Bowie’s car?”

“No hits on the APB. Leigh checked Janet’s credit card and found the company that rented her the minivan she drove to Fun-N-Sun on Thursday. She never brought it back. She dropped the kids at the school at seven-fifteen and called her boyfriend at eight-oh-six.”

“So there’s only a fifty-minute window of opportunity for the killer to abduct her. Where was she when he abducted her?”

Daniel sifted through the faxes Leigh had left on his desk while they’d been at the press conference. “Here’s something from the cell phone company. I had them triangulate the call Janet made to Lamar. She called him from a parking lot about a mile from the rental car place, which is about a thirty-minute drive from the school.”

“That leaves twenty minutes for him to grab her. So where and how? And where is the minivan? Did he dump it? Hide it?”

“And where is Janet’s car?” Daniel mused. “Did she leave it at the rental place when she picked up the van? Was the van delivered somewhere else? I’ll call and find out.”

Chase stood up and stretched. “I need some coffee. You want some?”

“Yeah, thanks. I’m running on only about an hour’s sleep.” Daniel looked up the number for the rental place, talked to the manager, and was hanging up when Chase came back with coffee and bags of cookies from the vending machine.

“Oatmeal or chocolate chip?” he asked.

“Chocolate.” Daniel caught the bag and tore it open with a grimace. “I have Luke’s mama’s leftovers in my fridge but I keep forgetting to bring them in.”

“We could steal Luke’s lunch.”

“He already ate it. Okay. Janet left her Z- 4 in front of the rental place early Thursday and when they came in on Friday morning it was gone. They’ve got a security camera on the parking lot. I’ll stop by and get the tapes for Thursday night into Friday morning.”

“Check out the area the wireless company pinpointed, too. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find there was a security camera wherever he grabbed her.”

“I will.” He munched the cookie, thinking. “Janet calls her boyfriend, most likely under duress. Today Bailey calls to say she’s skipped town and abandoned her child.”

“Can Alex identify Bailey’s voice once we get that message from Social Services?”

“She hasn’t talked to Bailey in five years, so I doubt it. I’ll check with the salon where Bailey worked. They’re most familiar with her voice.”

“It’s not looking good for Bailey,” Chase said. “She’s been gone five days now.”

“I know. But she’s the connection. Hopefully Ed will find something at her house. I called the army chaplain who visited yesterday, but I haven’t heard back from him.”

“You’re not gonna get anything out of the chaplain and you know it. Focus on getting something out of the little girl. Get her in to see Mary McCrady. If this kid has seen something, the sooner we pry it out of her the better.”

Daniel winced. Mary was their department psychologist. “It’s not like the kid’s a splinter or something, Chase.”

Chase rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. Sensitize it up for Fallon, but I want the kid in Mary’s office tomorrow morning.” He went to the door, then turned, troubled. “When I heard what happened up in Philly, I thought whatever demons have been driving you ever since I’ve known you were finally dead. But they’re not, are they?”

Slowly Daniel shook his head. “No.”

“Have I given you enough rope to at least hog-tie ’em?”

Daniel chuckled in spite of himself. “Either that, or I’ll hang myself trying.”

Chase didn’t smile. “I won’t let you hang yourself. I don’t know what you think you have to prove, but you’re a good agent and I won’t let you sacrifice your career.” Then he was gone, leaving Daniel with a pile of paper and a few strands of Alex Fallon’s hair.

Get busy, Vartanian. The demons have a head start.