But she couldn't leave her while the image of her was this tragic. Think of the little girl before this happened. Happy, loved by her parents, playing in her village. But even that scenario brought anger that a child's happiness could be destroyed by that son of a bitch.

Try again.

She drew the dress close to her chest and held it close. Oh, dear God. Don't throw up. Get through it. Help me, Adia.

6:30 A.M.

A CLIFF.

Straight and almost sheer plunging to the valley below. Yes.

Renata's hands clenched on the pink dress. After all these hours she'd managed to make the connection with Molino. Not only the connection, but she was also receiving a picture, a view. Renata's hand tightened on the dress as her foot hit the accelerator. Northwest.

More, she prayed. Give me more.

A house on a cliff. Two-story brown cedar with lots of glass. She could see Molino walking on a path by the edge of the incline, looking out over the valley several hundred feet below. Toward the back of the property a helicopter pad was occupied by a blue-and-white helicopter. A utility shed several yards from the pad. What was the registration number on the helicopter? Dammit, the image was too blurry. But in the distance Molino was able to see a glimmer of steel, a bridge over a wide expanse of water.

Then the vision was gone.

But the tether was still present. Follow it.

Northwest.

She put down Adia's dress to dial Grady. "Molino has a house on a cliff. It's somewhere in the northwest of the state."

"How certain are you? We don't have much time before Megan meets with Molino?"

"I'm sure. Molino can see a bridge from the path by the cliff."

"What bridge?"

"I don't know. It's all blurry. Steel. It's no Golden Gate but it's big enough to see from a distance."

"Anything else?"

"No, I lost the view. But the tether is still strong. I'm heading toward it now."

"Where are you?"

"The last town I passed was Bristol."

"I'm sending Harley in a helicopter to meet you."

"I don't need Harley."

"If you can narrow down the target area, maybe he can find that bridge from the air and spot the house."

"Maybe."

"At noon Megan is going to be in that damn field with Molino. I can't touch him as long as he's a threat to Phillip and Davy, but I have to know where Molino's taking her."

"I know all that. Harley may get in my way."

"I'll chance it. He'll call you from the helicopter."

Renata hung up. She didn't want Harley here. She didn't want anyone to see her this weak and trembling. She picked up the dress again and clutched it beneath her hand on the wheel where it had been for the past seven hours. Even after all this time, her hand was still shaking and her emotions were raw.

"We'll just have to put up with it, Adia," she whispered. "Maybe he will be able to help."

Then she blocked out all thought of anything but the tether leading her to Molino. Northwest.

"I'VE JUST HEARD FROM RENATA," Grady said as he came into the sitting room. "She thinks she has an idea where Molino's place is."

Megan straightened on the couch. "Thank God."

"And she's getting a general picture. It's northwest and near a bridge. I'm calling Harley."

"Good. I'll feel better with him there if she's really near Molino. She likes to do things a little too much on her own."

"She does them well."

"You're defending her." She managed to smile faintly. "That's a surprise."

"It shouldn't be. She's proved she's on your side. That's all the qualification I demand these days. If she was a witch incarnate, I'd help her gather eye of newt for her brews if I could be sure she'd be able to find Molino."

"Witch," she repeated. "I suppose in the past she might have been considered a witch. It's so unfair."

"Along with present company." He was dialing the phone. "But I have to get Harley going to help our witch."

She got to her feet and headed for the kitchen. "I'll make some coffee."

"Go to bed, Megan," Grady said quietly when she came back with two cups of coffee fifteen minutes later. "You've been sitting on that couch like a frozen statue since we came back from the cemetery. You won't sleep but you can at least stretch out."

She shook her head. "Scott is going to call me back after he talks to the police." She swallowed. "I asked him to have the police talk to Venable. I told him it wouldn't do any good to contact the police, that I'd get Davy back, but he wouldn't listen. I probably wouldn't listen either. He sounded as if he hated me."

"He's your friend. He'll get over it once we have the boy safe."

"Will he? What friend would put a little boy in danger? He doesn't care about anything but getting him back."

"Did you tell him about Molino?"

She shook her head. "Not about what a monster he is. I hope the police don't tell him. They don't need to know that. It would put them through even more hell than they're going through now. It's enough that I know. He's such a sweet little boy, Grady." She looked down at the photo she was still clutching. It was a shot of Davy on his new bicycle. Not the same one Scott had sent her. Davy's expression in this picture was intent, concentrating, and totally adorable. "They must have been watching him for a long time."

"Probably since you took him to the zoo. Darnell was watching you during that period. Since he was no relation, Molino wouldn't have regarded Davy of much importance. He only grabbed him when he wasn't positive Phillip would be enough of a draw."

"A double whammy," she said bitterly. "He found a way to—"

Her cell phone rang. Scott. She quickly punched the button. "Have you talked to the police?"

"The bastards are stalling," Scott said harshly. "After they talked to Venable they're not even trying to find him. They said it wouldn't be safe to muddy the waters. My God, Davy is alone with those sons of bitch and no one is doing anything."

"We're doing something. I won't let him be hurt, Scott."

"You'd better not. You're my friend but this happened because you're got yourself involved with scum. Now get my son back."

"I'm so sorry, Scott," she whispered.

"Sorry isn't good enough. Jana's hysterical and had to be sedated. I'm a basket case and my son could be dead tomorrow. Now fix it." He hung up.

She looked at Grady. "Venable called the police off the case. Scott doesn't understand." She put the phone down on the table. "Except that I'm to blame and he wants Davy back." She added unsteadily, "And he's right. Maybe we're all wrong about this Pandora business. Perhaps my 'talent' is that I let loose pain and disaster on everyone around me."

"Shut up," he said curtly. "This is Molino, not you. Now stop feeling sorry for yourself."

She lifted her head, startled. "I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I just—"

"Good. Because I can't take any more. Every word you say feels like it's stabbing me."

She smiled faintly. "Then maybe you should be the one to stop feeling sorry for yourself."

"I'll work on it. But it would make me feel better if you'd let me touch you." He pulled her down beside him on the couch. "Okay?"