And eerily similar to the psychological philosophy of every serial killer she’d ever heard about. “Jenny, is this little girl still alive?”

“Yes.”

“And what does Walsh intend to do to her.”

“What he always does,” she whispered. “It’s always bad things. He had it all planned before they found me. He was thinking that she might be the one, and he was excited that the hunt was almost over. He was in Carmel, then he had to drop everything and rush back to the forest to make sure that he was still safe. He was in a panic because no one should ever have been able to find me. It was important I never be found. He’d be in trouble if they knew about it. He was scared and angry.”

“So angry he abandoned a potential victim?”

“He didn’t totally abandon her. He couldn’t. He has to go back to Carmel because she’s on the list. He’s marked her.”

“Marked?”

“I don’t know what he meant. But she’s one of the reasons why I have to stop him. She may be the most important reason.”

“I don’t understand about this … hunt and why Walsh was disappointed.”

“Neither do I. All I can tell you is what he was feeling. That’s all I know about her, Eve.”

And Eve knew far more than she wanted to know.

Except that little girl’s name.

Except a way to save her.

“Do you know how many … little girls … there have been, Jenny?”

“I don’t know any numbers. Lots and lots. And not only children. He likes them best, but it’s the kill itself he likes. Do you have to know?”

“No, of course I don’t.”

“But one of them was me?” A pause. “Then why can’t I remember it? You’d think I’d remember.”

“Perhaps … mercy?”

“I guess so.” A silence. “There are so many things that I don’t know. I suppose you’re impatient with me, but things are becoming clearer. The longer I’m with Walsh, the more memories are coming back to me. I’m changing, Eve. I can feel it inside. It’s as if I was asleep, and now I’m beginning to wake. You woke me, Eve.”

“The reconstruction?”

“No. Oh, maybe, a little. But I felt as if I were meant…” She stopped. “There’s so much I have to learn. It’s all coming at me now like a giant wave. I’m getting stronger and stronger. That little girl … If she was the reason that I’ve been waiting. Maybe I was meant to help her, Eve?”

“I don’t know.” Yet Eve had said much the same thing to Joe about Jenny. “If that’s true, I do know it’s worth doing. But Walsh has to be caught first, or that can’t happen.” She added, “And I’m not forgetting you. We’ve got to bring you home to your parents. You’re important, too, Jenny.”

“Am I?” Her voice was fading away. “I told you, I don’t think so. Not yet…”

“Jenny, I’m losing you!”

“I can’t … help it. As I said, I’m in and out…”

She was gone.

Eve drew a shaky breath. Those moments had flown by, and yet she had to go back and try to remember every word that had been uttered. As Jenny had told her, she was learning, changing, moving back and forth from child to adult, from weakness to strength. And Jenny wasn’t the only one who was learning every minute.

And the primary thing Eve had learned from that conversation was a name.

Walsh.

*   *   *

“Walsh,” Joe repeated. “No first name. Initials?”

“Don’t be greedy,” Eve said. “We have a name. What are databases for?”

“Not generally to be used by ghosts searching for their murderers. You’re sure that your Jenny got it right?”

“I’m not sure about anything. But it’s our best bet.” She thought about it. “Yes, I’d trust her.”

“General location?”

“Unknown. But I’d think he was going back to California.”

“Because he was going to try to find the evidence he’d left at Jenny’s crime scene?”

“And because he had another victim in mind.” Her lips tightened. “He’d marked her. Whatever that means. He wouldn’t just have gone on to another kill.”

“Then I’d better get down to the precinct and start running this name through the databases with emphasis on California.” He got to his feet. “And the chances of Walsh being his real name are slim to none. But if it’s the one he’s been using most recently, we might get lucky. What are you going to do?” His brows lifted. “Try for a séance?”

“Very amusing. I’ve told Jenny what I need from her. I’ll just have to see if she can do what I asked.” She took out her phone. “And I have a few calls to make myself.”

“Nalchek?”

“That’s one of them.” She started to dial. “And the other is to a friend who came through for me a few months ago. I’ve just got to hope she’s still in California…”

*   *   *

“I’m not sure where you can find Margaret Douglas,” Kendra Michaels said. “I think she’s still in California, but you never know with Margaret. She’s something of a gypsy.”

“I thought she went to California because you were there,” Eve said. “But she’s not answering her phone. I was hoping that you might still be in touch.”

“I tried, but Margaret marches to her own drummer.”

“Like several other people in our circle,” Eve said dryly. Including Kendra Michaels, who was sometimes a music therapist and sometimes worked with the police and FBI. She was truly an original since she had been blind until her twenties and had learned to use all her senses with incredible accuracy. “No idea where Margaret could be?”

“She worked as a volunteer at the San Diego Zoo,” Kendra said. “But it wasn’t challenging enough, so she moved on. Maybe she went back to Summer Island to work with those dogs in that experimental program.”

“I’ll check with them and see if they’ve heard from her. But it would be difficult for Margaret to go back there when she has no papers.”

“That’s never stopped her before. Margaret is an expert at jumping over obstacles like a lack of ID.”

So Eve had been told. But she had never questioned Margaret about it, and neither had Joe. They had been too grateful for Margaret’s help in finding Eve when she had been kidnapped months ago. Jane, who had brought Margaret into their lives when she had taken her dog, Toby, to Summer Island to be treated for ingesting a rare poison, had told them that Margaret was incredibly gifted with animals. It hadn’t mattered to Jane that Margaret apparently skipped around the world under the radar and no one knew anything about her. All she cared about was that Margaret had saved her dog because she had the ability to bond with animals.

And Margaret might have saved Eve’s life because of that same gift.

“Am I allowed to ask why you want to get in touch with Margaret?” Kendra asked. “And why I can’t help instead?”

She had known this was coming. “You have many talents but not the one I might need. Margaret lived for years in the woods near her home as a child after she ran away from her father. That makes her uniquely qualified since I need someone who is woods savvy.”

“That’s not me. But I’m told I make it up in other ways that are—”

“No,” she said firmly. “This is my problem. I’m grateful, and if I need you, I might call on you. But not unless I run into a blank wall.”

“You just did,” Kendra said.

“Not yet.”

Kendra was silent. “I’ll make a few calls. Margaret made a lot of friends while she was here. She might have mentioned something to someone. How much time do I have?”

“We need her as soon as possible. Joe and I will be arriving in Sonderville tonight.”

“Sonderville. That’s wine country.”

“It’s the woods north of town, not the vineyards that I’m concerned about.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you, Kendra.”

“Don’t thank me until I find her. Why do you have to have someone who is woods savvy?”

“I need to find something that was lost or hidden in the woods eight years ago.”

“Eight years.” Kendra gave a low whistle. “Definitely not my area of expertise. I don’t even know if it’s Margaret’s.”