"You'd better believe it. Where is she?"

"Let's just say that she's following Dom's lead."

"What lead?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Mark said silkily. "I don't like being threatened, Joe." He hung up.

Joe leaned back in his chair, chilled to the bone.

Christ.

Don't let fear get to you. Just find her. Keep at Mark until you've wrung every drop of information out of him.

He dialed Mark's number again.

Just find her.

MONTY WAS HOWLING.

Sarah sat upright in bed.

Monty almost never howled.

She turned on the bedside lamp and swung her feet to the floor.

He howled again and then broke off.

Oh, God.

She was through the front door in a heartbeat. "Monty?"

No answer.

She turned on the living-room light, then walked back outside, keeping the door open.

"Monty?"

No sound. Her hands clenched at her sides.

"Monty, where are--"

Something beside his water dish.

A large steak with bites taken out of it.

She never gave Monty red meat.

"No."

She ran out into the darkness. "Monty!"

She tripped over something furry. Something limp that--

Please. Please. No.

"Monty!"

SOMEONE WAS HONKING, lying on the horn until it ripped through the night.

What the hell?

Eve pushed away from the computer and stood up.

The phone on the desk rang.

"We have an intruder at the gates," Herb Booker said. "Please stay inside the house until we check it out."

"For God's sake, it has to be a drunk. I can't imagine anyone very menacing waking the entire neighborhood."

"Please stay inside."

"He'll wake Jane up, dammit." She headed for the front door.

The horn was still blaring as she walked down the driveway toward the gates. Juan Lopez was there before her.

Sarah Patrick's Jeep was stopped outside the gates. "Let me in, dammit."

"Open up," Eve told Lopez.

He pressed a remote and the gates swung open.

Sarah drove past Eve and up to the front door.

"It's okay," Eve told the security men.

Sarah was climbing out of the Jeep when Eve caught up with her. Eve took one look at her face and asked, "What's wrong?"

"What's not wrong?" Sarah said. "Son of a bitch. Dirty son of a bitch. I want to kill him."

"Dom?"

"Who else? No one else--"

Fear suddenly surged through Eve. "Sarah, where's Monty?"

"Dirty son of a bitch."

"Sarah."

"He tried to kill him." Tears were running down her face. "He tried to kill Monty."

"Tried?"

"He scared me to death. I thought he--"

"Sarah, what happened?"

"He threw a slab of beef next to Monty's water bowl. It was poisoned."

"You're sure?"

"A coyote got hold of it. He was dead when I found him."

"Thank God Monty didn't eat it."

"I didn't think he would. I've taught him not to eat anything I don't give him. But I didn't know--and then he wouldn't answer me." She wiped her damp cheeks with the backs of her hands. "Shit."

Eve nodded. "I know." She opened the door. "Come in."

"Just a minute. I've got to get Monty out of the back."

She couldn't see the dog. "Where is he?"

"On the floor."

"Why? Did he eat any poison at all?"

"No." She knelt beside the Jeep and her tone became soft and loving. "Come on, baby. Time to go."

Monty whined.

"I know. But we have to get out of the Jeep and go inside." She put the leash on him. "Come on, Monty."

He finally got to his feet and jumped down from the Jeep. His tail tucked between his legs, he moved slowly toward the front door.

"Are you sure he didn't get any poison?"

"I'm sure."

"Then what's wrong with him?"