"Too bad. Logan's a great guy and my friend. You feel protective toward your friends." She deliberately met his gaze. "Don't you, Joe?"

He grimaced. "Okay, you got me." He changed the subject. "Want some dessert? We've got Rocky Road ice cream."

ANOTHER CALL CAME on Eve's digital phone at eight that evening.

Eve tensed. Her phone, not the cottage phone. It could be her mother. It could be Logan again. It didn't have to be that monster.

Joe picked up her phone, which she'd laid on the coffee table after she'd talked to Logan. "Do you want me to answer?"

She shook her head. "Give it to me." She punched the button. "Hello."

"Bonnie's waiting for you to come and get her."

Her hand tightened on the phone. "Bullshit."

"After all these years of searching for her, you've come so close. It's a pity you're going to fail now. Have you finished with the boy's skull yet?"

"How do you know I'm doing--"

"Oh, I'm keeping close watch over you. After all, I do have a vested interest. Haven't you sensed me standing behind you, looking over your shoulder as you work on the skull?"

"No."

"You should. You will. Which boy is it?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"It doesn't really matter. I only vaguely remember them. They were just two of those frightened little birds. Not like your Bonnie. She was never--"

"You bastard. You probably don't have the guts to kill anyone. You creep around, making anonymous phone calls, threatening and trying to--"

"Anonymous? Is that annoying you? You can call me Dom if you like. But what's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as--"

"The only thing that annoys me is that you think you can terrify me with these pitiful tricks."

"And now you're trying to annoy me." He laughed in delight. "And I believe you're succeeding. How refreshing. It only proves how right I was to choose you."

"Did you harass those other poor people at Talladega before you killed them?"

"No, that would have been reckless, and I wasn't at that point yet."

"But you are now?"

"I'm at the point where I'm willing to take a few chances to make life interesting. It was bound to happen sometime."

"Why me?"

"Because I need something to cleanse me. The moment I saw your photograph in the paper I knew you were the one. I looked at your face and I could see all the emotion and torment that's building inside you. It's only a question of making that emotion soar until it breaks through." He paused. "Can you imagine what an explosion that will be for both of us?"

"You're insane."

"Quite possibly. By your standards. Science has made such a study of the mind of the murderer. The causes, the early signs, the way we justify killing."

"How do you justify it?"

"I don't. Pleasure is justification enough. I recently heard that recreational homicide went up twenty-five percent in the last ten years. I started long before that. It seems that society is finally catching up to me, doesn't it? Maybe you're all going mad too, Eve."

"Bullshit."

"Then why let me go on killing? Have you ever considered that perhaps we've never really lost our cave instincts? The bloodlust, the search for power through that final act of violence. Perhaps in your heart of hearts you all wish you could be like me. Haven't you ever wanted to hunt, to prey?"

"No."

"You will. Ask Quinn how it feels. He's a hunter. He has the instinct. Ask him if his heart beats faster when he nears the kill."

"Joe's not like you. No one is like you."

"Thank you. I regard that as a compliment. I believe it's time to hang up now. I just wanted to touch base with you. It's important that we get to know each other. You're not one to fear the unknown."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"You will be. But it's clear I'll have to work at it a little harder. No problem. I wouldn't have it any other way." He paused. "Bonnie misses you. You should really be together." He hung up.

Pain tore through her. Damn him. He'd had to throw that last jab. She pressed the off button and looked at Joe. "He just wanted to touch base with me. The bastard wants me to be afraid of him."

"Then pretend to be afraid. Don't challenge him."

"Screw that."

Joe smiled faintly. "I thought I'd try. Did you find out anything we can use?"

"He said his name is Dom. He's been killing for more than ten years and does it purely for pleasure. He's analytical about himself and the world in general. He's as smart as we thought he was." She turned back to the pedestal. "Will you write all that down and call it in to Spiro? I have to get back to work."

"It wouldn't hurt for you to take a break."

"Yes, it would," she said fiercely. "I won't let that bastard disturb my concentration. He wants to control me, and I'll be damned if I let him. I won't give him anything he wants."

She stood before the skull. Her hands were shaking a little. Steady them. It was time for the final stage. Nothing must interfere with the sculpting. She had to be cool and detached.