"Why are you calling?"

"I like to hear your voice. Do you realize how full of tension and emotion you are? I can hear every nuance of it. It's very exciting."

"I'm hanging up."

"Then I guess I'd better get down to the business of guiding you in the direction I want you to go. It's too dangerous for either of us to remain in Atlanta. They could arrest you for kidnapping, and that would spoil everything. You wouldn't be able to bond with Jane and I'd have to slit her throat. I'm sure you'd surround her with protection, so it would be a very difficult kill."

Her hand tightened on the phone. "If I were arrested, you would have no reason to kill Jane. Your little scenario would be spoiled."

"But I gave my word," he said gently. "I always keep my word. So you have to be careful not to get caught, don't you? That's why I want you to leave Atlanta."

"Are you afraid I might find you if I stayed?"

"On the contrary, I like raising your hopes. The idea of you searching for me is wonderfully stimulating. It's been a long time since I've felt this much excitement. I was always so concerned about making the kill perfect and undetectable, I never realized I needed a certain amount of interaction."

"You won't get it if I'm hiding away somewhere."

"I don't want you to hide away. I just want you out of Atlanta. I think it's time for you to take a trip to Phoenix."

"What?"

"I've always liked Phoenix."

"I know. You've killed there."

"You know that?"

"The FBI already has a fix on two murders you committed there years ago. So you're not as clever as you thought. We'll get you, Dom."

"Not from those kills. You won't find any evidence. I was very careful, and time will have erased what I didn't. It's only lately that I may have been bored enough to make a mistake. You have a small chance of catching me if you find a fresh kill."

"What are you talking about?"

"I think it fitting that you find the woman who brought us together. She wasn't very interesting, but that kill made me finally realize that there was something very wrong and eventually led me to you. She showed me the light, and then I showed her the light."

"In Phoenix?"

"Ah, you're beginning to sound eager."

"What was her name?"

"I don't remember. It didn't matter."

"When?"

"Five or six months perhaps. I can't remember. There was an earlier kill who gave me a hint of my problem, but she was the one who lit the way. It's important that the way be lighted for us, isn't it? Find her, Eve, and you may find me."

"Tell me where she is."

"You know better than that. You have to work for it." He paused. "She had a lovely voice, I understand. A soprano."

"She was a singer?"

"Go to Phoenix. Take Jane with you. Cling to her, nurture her . . . mother her. Did you find the bone?"

"Damn you."

He laughed. "You may have the complete set soon, and I'll have to start again. Doesn't Jane have an interesting bone structure?"

Don't lose your temper. He wanted to flay her with words so he would get a response. "Scatter all the bones you please. They're not Bonnie's."

"You did that very well. I could almost believe you meant it. Go to Phoenix, Eve."

"You bastard, why should I do anything you want me to do?"

"Phoenix. That's my last word on the subject." He hung up.

The last word. How many last words had the son of a bitch heard over the years? How many screams, how many pleas?

Had the woman in Phoenix pleaded with him before he killed her?

"It was him, wasn't it?" Jane asked out of the darkness.

Oh, shit.

"The man who killed Fay? Why did he call you?"

"It's a long story, Jane."

"I heard you say he wanted to kill me. Why? I didn't do anything to him. Neither did Fay."

"I told you he wasn't sane."

"But why does he want to kill me?" Jane's tone was fierce. "You tell me, Eve."

Eve hesitated. How much could she explain without terrifying the poor kid?

"Tell me."

Forget trying to be kind and soothing. Jane needed to know the threat and where it was coming from. If she'd made Bonnie more knowledgeable about the beasts out there, maybe she'd still be alive.

"Okay." She turned on the light. "I'll tell you, Jane."

"HE DIDN' T WRITE with his finger," Spiro told Joe, who waited by his car in the entrance to the alley. "That would have been too lucky. We found a stick with blood on one end behind the box. We'll probably find wood particles in the blood on the box. We'll examine the stick for fiber, since he probably wore gloves. What the hell was he doing here anyway?"

"I've no idea." Joe's gaze remained fastened on the four agents who were still swarming about the cardboard box. "Eve didn't confide in me. She just told me about the box and the bone."

"She must have been pretty shook up."