He ruffled his hair and smeared a streak of dirt on his cheek.

The gray-haired old man was sitting staring into the fire. His wife came out of their tent, and she laughed and said something to him. There was an air of intimacy and affection between them that Fiske found vaguely annoying. But then, he found every-thing about this kill annoying. He didnt like being forced into practicing his skills in the middle of the wilds, and he would make sure the old man and woman realized it.

He paused, drew a deep breath, then burst into the clearing. Thank God. Can you help me? My wife is hurt. We were setting up camp down the road and she fell and broke

I know where theyre camped, Gil said. Im on my way. But Im two hours behind. The ranger said there was another inquiry earlier this evening.

Logans hand tightened on the receiver. Be careful.

Am I stupid? Of course Ill be careful. Particu-larly if its Fiske.

Fiske?

I called my contact in the Treasury Department and the word is that Timwicks been known to use Al-bert Fiske on occasion. Fiske was a hit man for the CIA and a damn good one. He always wanted the toughest jobs, the most prestigious hits. He takes in-ordinate pride in his efficiency and ability to do jobs no one else can do. In the last five years hes severed his ties with the Company and struck out on his own, and hes done very well. He moves fast, knows the system well enough to make it work for him. He paused. And he likes it, Logan. He really likes it.

Shit.

Ill call you back when I find them.

Logan slowly replaced the receiver.

He moves fast.

How fast?

And in what direction?

The house phone on the desk buzzed.

Ms. Duncan left the house three minutes ago, Mark said.

Is she heading for the front gate?

No, shes going up the hill.

Ill be right there.

Logan came into the carriage house a few min-utes later.

Shes at the graveyard, Mark said.

Logan walked over to the bank of monitors. Whats she doing?

Its dark and shes in the shadow of that tree. Shes not doing anything as far as I can tell. Just standing there.

Standing just outside a graveyard in the middle of the night.

Zero in closer.

Mark made an adjustment on the control board and Eves face was suddenly on the screen before him.

It told him nothing. She was looking at the flower-covered graves, her face totally without ex-pression. What had he expected? Strain? Torment?

Pretty weird, huh? Mark asked. What a nutcase.

Damn you, shes not a nut He broke off, as surprised as Mark at the sudden burst of fury. Sorry, but shes not crazy. Shes just carrying around a lot of baggage.

Okay, okay, Mark said. I just thought it was all kind of weird. I wouldnt be trekking up to a grave-yard at night. I guess she He suddenly started to laugh. Shit. Youre right, shes normal as hell.

Eve was looking up into the trees, and the middle finger of her right hand was lifted in an obscene gesture.

Shes giving us the bird. Mark was still chuck-ling. I think I like her, John.

Logan found himself smiling. He liked her too, dammit. He liked her strength and intelligence and resilience. Even her stubbornness and unpre-dictability intrigued him. In other circumstances he would have liked having her for a friendhellip; or even a lover.

Lover. He hadnt realized he was regarding her in a sexual light until that moment. She was attractive, but hed been more aware of her mind and person-ality than her tall, graceful body.

Yeah, sure. Who was he kidding? Hell, sex was al-ways important and, if he was honest with himself, Eves very breakability aroused him.

Which made him pretty much of a scumbag.

So forget it. Concentrate on what was important, the reason hed brought her there.

And why the hell she was still in that damn graveyard.

The warm wind stirred the carnations on the graves and carried the faintest scent to where Eve was standing outside the fence.

She had told Margaret she wasnt a ghoul who hung around graveyards, so why was she there? Why hadnt she gone to bed as shed intended instead of obeying the crazy impulse that had brought her there?

And it was impulse.

To believe something had called her there was insane, and she was not insane. She had fought that fight after Fraser had been executed and she had to be very careful not to let herself go down the path toward madness. It would be so easy. Dreaming of Bonnie at night was permissible, but she mustnt imagine Bonnie was there when she was wide awake.

Besides, Bonnie couldnt be here. She had never been in this place.

Logan had talked of death and graves and her mind had done the rest. No one had called her.

It was only an impulse.

She wasnt surprised to see Logan waiting for her when she entered the house an hour later.

Im tired. I dont want to talk, Logan. She walked past him and started up the stairs.

He smiled. I gathered that from your extremely rude gesture.

You shouldnt have been watching me. I dont like being spied on.

A graveyard isnt the most pleasant place for a stroll. Why there?

What does it matter?

Im curious.

Her hand tightened on the banister. Stop trying to read some significance into everything I say or do. I went there because it was night and I knew the way. I didnt want to get lost.

Thats all?

What did you expect? I was up there having a seance?

Dont bite my head off. I was just curious. I was actually hoping the walk had cleared your head and youd come to a decision about the

It didnt. She started up the stairs again. Ill talk to you in the morning.

Ill be working most of the night, if you come to any

Back off, Logan.

Whatever you say. He added, Since you obvi-ously know Im keeping an eye on you, I thought it only fair to keep you informed about my own whereabouts.

Sure you did. She slammed her bedroom door behind her and headed for the bathroom. A hot shower would get rid of this tension. Then maybe shed go back down to the lab and work on Mandy. She knew she wasnt going to sleep well tonight, and she might as well be productive.

It wasnt as if she were afraid of going to sleep and dreaming of Bonnie. Bonnie was never a threat. How could a loving dream be a danger?

And it had been pure impulse, not Bonnie calling her, that had led her to the graveyard that night.

The two bodies were lying in one sleeping bag, their arms draped around each other in a final embrace. They were naked and their eyes were wide open, staring into each others face with terror.

A long tent stake was driven through both their bodies.

Son of a bitch. Killing them was bad enough, but Gil felt there was something obscene about the way the old couple had been posed. It robbed their death of all dignity.

He looked around the campsite. No footprints. No visible evidence. Fiske had taken time to clean up.

Gil flipped open his phone and called Logan. Too late.

Both of them?

Yeah, nasty. More than nasty. Twisted. What do you want me to do?

Come back. I havent been able to contact Maren. Hes in the desert somewhere. But that may be good. If we cant reach him, I doubt Fiske will be able to. We may have a reprieve.

Dont count on it. He glanced at the two bodies. Fiske isnt going to be twiddling his thumbs.

Im not counting on anything, but theres no way I want you heading for Jordan. I may need you.

Gil went still. The skull?

I cant wait any longer. Everythings moving too fast. Come back.

Im on my way.

Very satisfactory.

Everything neat and hed even been able to add a little whimsy.

Fiske was humming softly to himself as he un-locked his car and got in. He quickly dialed Timwick. Cadros done. Im heading for Jordan on the next plane. Anything else?