"You tried to get him drunk?"

"Just mellow. Charlie's being very cagey. Spiro has him on a short leash since he went over Spiro's head about the VICAP report."

"I don't want to get him in trouble. You should have tried the Phoenix PD first."

"I did, but I ran into a stone wall. The local police are royally pissed at Spiro for not giving them the name of the informant who supposedly told him where Debby Jordan was buried."

"What's that got to do with you?"

"They think I'm a little too friendly with Charlie and Spiro. So I'm out in the cold unless I can find out information from either one of them."

"And did you?"

"It took me a long time before I could persuade him to tell me what he'd found out from the Phoenix police about the murders."

"Candles?"

"There were wax traces that turned out to be candles, but that's not it. The bodies had been buried much longer than the ones at Talladega."

"How long?"

"Between twenty-five and thirty years."

"My God." The time span staggered her. How many deaths, how many graves, Dom? "And no one's ever caught him. It seems impossible."

"As Spiro said, he was probably lucky in the beginning and then got smart." He paused. "But we may have gotten lucky ourselves. These two killings may have been a couple of the first he committed."

"What difference does that make? There can't be any evidence left after all this time."

"The bodies have been identified."

"How? The teeth had been pulled."

"DNA. Remember, the bodies were found almost three months ago. The lab reports came back two weeks ago." He lifted his cup to take a sip. "The police went through old records and came up with four possible missing persons cases. They visited surviving relatives and finally narrowed it down to Jason and Eliza Harding. Age fifteen and sixteen, brother and sister. Disappeared on September 4, 1970. Nice kids. Maybe a little wild. Jason played the guitar and was always talking about going to San Francisco someday. When they disappeared, their father told the police to check in Haight-Ashbury or L.A. There had been a young kid hanging around with Jason and Eliza, a likable kid, but Mr. Harding had begun to think maybe he was a bad influence. He and his two brothers had drifted into town a few weeks before. His brothers were quiet, almost moody, but Kevin was chatty, a ball of fire. He went on and on about different singing groups and musicians who were making a fortune in the coffeehouses on the West Coast. A regular pied piper."

"Dom?"

"His name was Kevin Baldridge. He and his brothers disappeared at the same time as Jason and Eliza."

"Could they trace him?"

Joe shook his head. "But there may be a picture of him."

"Oh, my God."

"Don't get excited. Mrs. Harding offered it to the police, but it wasn't in the file." He smiled. "Charlie's located the Hardings in Azora, a small town north of here. I don't think it's a photo that a mother would throw out, do you?"

"No." Joe was right. She shouldn't get excited, but, dear heaven, what a break. "Do they know their children's bodies have been found?"

"Not yet. Charlie's just located them. He's going to visit them tomorrow."

"I want to go with him."

"I thought you would. Sorry. It's not a good idea for him to be seen with a kidnapper. But I got him to promise to let you look at the photo as soon as it's logged in as evidence."

"A photograph."

"It might not be Dom."

"And it might be."

Tomorrow she might be able to see his face.

Joe set his cup down on the table. "I'm going to take a shower and get a little sleep." He stood up. "And then I'm taking you out to lunch."

"What?"

"It's going to drive you crazy marking time with nothing to do until we hear more from Spiro or Charlie. Unless you have another body you want to dig up." He headed for the door. "Be ready at noon."

Bossy bastard. "Maybe I don't want to go out to lunch. And maybe you shouldn't be seen with a kidnapper either."

"Then stand me up. I'll take Monty. He'd probably appreciate me more anyway. Though Sarah won't be pleased with me for giving him spicy Mexican." He left the room.

It was the second time in twelve hours she'd come second to that dog, she thought in amusement. It was enough to give a woman a complex.

But, at least, Joe's attitude had been light. She didn't need to deal with weightier personal matters just then. Not that she'd have a choice if Joe decided to-- She wasn't going to worry about it. Joe was right. She'd go crazy if she didn't keep busy.

"Could I have some coffee?" Sarah stood in the doorway with Monty beside her. The woman looked as tired and shaky as the dog.

"Sure." Eve jumped to her feet. "Sit down. Would you like something to eat? You haven't had a bite since Monty found Debby Jordan."

"Is it her?" Sarah sat down at the table and Monty lay down at her feet. "Positive identification?"

Eve nodded.

"Thank God." She reached down and patted Monty on the head. "It's over, boy. No more."

"Eggs?"