Evan clicked a key and on the screen was a picture of a white man with an overgrown beard and mustache. He had piercing green eyes and the kind of painfully thin face generally seen on heroin addicts.

‘This is a picture of John Smith taken from his Colorado license,’ Evan said. ‘Neighbors said the back bumper of Smith’s Porsche had been dented from a recent accident. They also filled us in on some other details. Smith went out a lot at night, was somewhat antisocial. Nobody knew what he did for a living, and nobody had been inside his house. Several neighbors recalled spotting the same crude tattoo on his forearm – a shamrock with the numbers six-six-six.’

‘The tattoos used by members of the Aryan Brotherhood,’ Darby said.

Evan nodded. ‘The ethnic backgrounds of the Denver women suggested a tie to the Aryan Brotherhood. Naturally, Brotherhood members claimed they didn’t know Mr Smith. The name isn’t listed on any of our computers. We don’t even know if John Smith is Traveler’s real name.’

‘The blood sample you found,’ Darby said. ‘Did you find a match in CODIS?’

‘We did. It belonged to one of the missing Denver women,’ Evan said. ‘After Denver, Smith set up shop in Las Vegas. This was toward the end of ninety-three. Here he changed his selection process. Over the next eight months, twelve women and three men vanished. The Vegas police didn’t pay much attention to the cases, since people disappear from Vegas all the time. People go there down on their luck to indulge whatever vices they have; everyone comes and goes.’

‘What were the ethnic backgrounds of the victims?’

‘The women were mostly white,’ Evan said. ‘The men were Jewish. One of the female victims, her car was left on the road. Someone messed with the ignition wires. Fortunately, a piece of evidence had been left behind – the Ryzer boot print.

‘By the time I got involved, Mr Smith had already moved on to Atlanta, his third stop. This was in ninety-four, and we had given his case a name: Traveler. The boot print was listed on VICAP and we were called in.’

Evan shifted in his chair, springs squeaking. ‘Carrie Weathers, Traveler’s fourth victim in Atlanta, was spotted getting inside a black Porsche Carrera. The witness said the car had a busted fender and Maryland license plates, but she didn’t get a good look at the numbers. It was the first real break we had, so we asked local gas stations and garages to be on the lookout for a black Porsche with a dented fender coming in for fill-ups, repairs, whatever.

‘We were in the process of running down registrations when a call came in at night from a gas station attendant working at a local Mobil station. A Porsche matching our description had just come in. A blond woman was in the passenger’s seat. She was sleeping. She had too much to drink, the driver had said. I asked the attendant to secure the pump. I went to the station along with someone from the lab.

‘The gas station attendant was very relaxed, very cooperative,’ Evan said. His voice sounded oddly detached, as though he were reading from a script. ‘He said he wrote the license plate down on his pad next to his phone. I followed him through the garage. When I entered his office, he was standing behind me. He hit me on the back of the head. That was the last thing I remembered.

‘When I woke up at the hospital, I was told he used the gas from the pumps to set the fire. At some point, I managed to crawl away, but I don’t remember it because of the concussion. They identified the lab tech and the real owner of the gas station through dental records. They had both been shot with a Colt Commander.’

‘The same weapon used to kill Carol Cranmore’s boyfriend,’ Darby said. She had the ballistics report in her folder. ‘You didn’t recognize the gas station attendant?’

‘This man was heavier, clean-cut with a shaved head,’ Evan said. ‘He looked nothing like John Smith. He was wearing a jacket, so I didn’t see any tattoos. And he didn’t fit the profile. He didn’t ask many questions about the investigation, which psychopaths generally do. Obviously, I was wrong.’

‘Had he attacked a police officer before?’ Darby asked.

‘Not to my knowledge. But if John Smith is a member of the Aryan Brotherhood or some other white supremacist group, killing a police officer or any member of law enforcement means you move up through the ranks. It’s a badge of honor.’

‘Still, it’s odd that he would target you – and set up a trap,’ Darby said.

‘It’s what psychopaths do when they’re cornered. Or maybe he was trying to send us a message – to let us know he was in control.’

Evan’s face took on a stillness that Darby found unsettling. ‘Traveler’s a very smart, highly organized psychopath,’ he said. ‘He abducts women from different states and mixes up the methods of abduction so he won’t attract any attention to himself. The victim selection is totally random so we can’t find a pattern. He can hide underground for several months, which shows a remarkable amount of restraint. And as I’ve learned, his plans are well thought out.

‘Everything Traveler does is about exerting control over his surroundings – that’s why he sent the package to Carol’s mother, why he placed the call to her. He wants us to know he has Carol and can kill her whenever he wants.’

‘Which is why we need to use the listening devices to bait him,’ Darby said.

‘With what?’

‘You,’ Darby said. ‘We use the Herald reporter, tell him you’re here because Rachel Swanson woke up and told us some key piece of evidence and you want to take a look at the house. That way we can guarantee Traveler will be listening.’

‘If he reads my name in the paper, he might panic and decide to kill Carol and the other women and move on. He’s done it before.’

‘Only this time he made a mistake at Carol’s house,’ Darby said. ‘He left his blood behind – and one of his victims. Rachel Swanson could be the key to finding Traveler. He’s going to want to stick around to see what we know about Rachel before he moves on.’

Banville checked his watch. ‘I’ve got fifteen minutes left to call the reporter,’ he said. ‘I’m open to suggestions.’

‘We could wait until the sepsis is under control,’ Evan said, ‘and then move Rachel Swanson to a controlled setting at a psychiatric facility, take off her restraints and have Darby talk to her again.’

‘She may not want to talk again,’ Darby said. ‘You listened to the tape. She stopped talking to me. Have you found listening devices at any of the other victims’ homes?’

‘No, this is a first.’

Darby looked at Banville. ‘I say we plant the story about the FBI wanting to go through the house to search for key evidence. Traveler will want to know what Agent Manning has found. If Traveler shows up, we’ll corner him. We’ll have all the streets blocked off so he can’t escape.’

‘And if he doesn’t show up?’ Evan asked.

‘He’ll kill Carol – he may have already killed her,’ Darby said. ‘We need to use the listening devices. They’re our best shot.’

Evan was now looking at Banville. ‘This is your investigation. It’s your call.’

Banville rubbed a finger across his mouth. ‘Two missing women and a missing teenage girl… I agree with Darby. I say we go for it.’

Chapter 37

All the florists in Beacon Hill were closed for the day. Darby was forced to pick through the anemic-looking flowers left inside the hospital gift shop. She took her time selecting the brightest colors she could find and made a nice arrangement.

ICU was quiet and calm now. Dr Hathcock was gone for the day. Darby checked in with a nurse. There was no change in Rachel Swanson’s condition.

It took some wrangling to convince the nurse to allow the flowers in the room. Darby placed the flowers on the sill underneath the TV. That way, when Rachel woke up, she would see the flowers. Maybe they would help convince her that she was no longer trapped in the dark room where Carol Cranmore now was.