Madison walked around to sit at her sister’s side, still staring. “Life just gets weirder and weirder,” she murmured.

“Hell, yes. You just married Kyle.”

Madison exhaled, shaking her head again. “You and Jimmy Gates!” She stared at Jassy. “And I don’t get it. Why aren’t you at work? Why’d you have me come here?”

“You don’t like the morgue.”

“Jassy, this may surprise you, but most people don’t like the morgue.”

“Harry Nore didn’t kill Holly Tyler.”

“That’s not a surprise to me. I never thought he did. I don’t think he killed my mother, either.”

“Well, he definitely didn’t kill Holly.”

“How do you know?”

“Holly Tyler had intercourse before she was killed. The DNA samples don’t match up.”

“So…they’ve got samples to match, if they can only find a few suspects.”

“Yes.”

“I still don’t get it. Why am I here?”

Jassy shrugged. “Because I think someone we’re related to or at least close to killed Lainie—and these women, who are all redheads who resemble her.”

“Oh, Jassy, I can’t believe that! I can’t. I won’t.”

“We need to start clearing people. Kyle needs to give us a sample.”

“Kyle!”

“He was there, Madison.”

“What about Jimmy-boy here, with his poster fetish?”

“Fine. I can see that Jimmy clears himself. Then we have to go to Dad—”

“To Dad?”

“And Roger Montgomery.”

“Jassy! Jassy, I’m not great at understanding the law, but I don’t think we can just walk up them and ask for sperm samples!”

“We’re not talking about the law, we’re talking about clearing people. Our family.”

“You can’t just ask—”

“Madison! People are dying here.”

Madison fell silent, looking around the room once again. She lifted her hands. “Jassy—this doesn’t bother you?”

Jassy shrugged. “Well, I’ve suggested he might want to put a few of the posters away, but…they are art, and they are collectible.”

Madison was silent.

“She was your mother, and I’m really sorry, Madison, but Jimmy and I have actually only been seeing one another for about a month now. Everything about it feels right, but I can’t dictate his life.”

“Oh! You don’t want to dictate his life, but I should ask Kyle for a sperm sample.”

Jassy shrugged. “There are other ways to get it. You two can just fool around, and then—”

“Jassy, please.”

“Well, if you don’t want to say anything to him, it’s one way to go.”

“Great. And what about Dad and Roger and Trent and Rafe? You can just fool around with Jimmy, I assume, so—”

“Madison, this is serious. You just don’t want to believe the truth.”

Madison felt a chill steal over her, and she wondered if her sister hadn’t hit the nail right on the head. She didn’t want to believe the truth. Had that blinded her? In her dreams?

“It can’t be Kyle. And I can’t believe my father would have done something like that to my mother.”

“Frankly, Lainie’s murder isn’t so hard to understand,” Jassy said.

“Jassy!”

“Well, it looked like a crime of passion, and Lainie certainly made people feel passionately. The connection between then and now is what I can’t quite understand, though the way Kyle explained it once, these serial killers need a fix. Killing Lainie might have been enough for a long time, and then the look of a certain redhead might have triggered the same emotions in the killer again.”

“Jassy…” Madison began, then glanced at her watch. “Jassy, damn it, you’re making me late. I have to get Carrie Anne.”

Jassy stood, gazing at her own watch. “Just call Kaila, and she can get Carrie Anne when she picks up Justin. They’re in the same school.”

“It’s too late. Kaila will have left already.”

“It’s not too late,” Jassy said, going to the phone on a side table next to the sofa. “You’re too much of a pessimist. Always saying ‘can’t’ when you haven’t even checked. See, Kaila answered. Kaila, it’s Jassy, and I’ve got Madison with me. Can you get Carrie Anne when you get Justin, and Madison will just come to your house? Yeah, good.” Jassy hung up, smiling complacently. “See, no problem.”

“But I want to get my daughter, Jassy. I have to tell her I’m married.”

“First you have to agree to help me.”

“Jassy…”

“There’s hypnotism, too.”

“What?”

“You were never hypnotized.”

“So?”

“You ‘saw’ Lainie’s murder, right? Except you couldn’t see a face. Maybe a hypnotist could lead you to see the face.”

“Jassy, I didn’t really see anything, except in my mind.”

“You knew, Madison. You knew. Maybe a hypnotist could help you see.”

“Jassy…”

“Why the hell not try before someone else is murdered?” Jassy demanded angrily.

Madison threw up her hands. “You want me to be hypnotized? Fine. Arrange it.”

Jassy jumped up. “I happen to know the right person,” she said, dialing the phone again. “I want you to talk to her for a few minutes, and if you like her, we’ll go in tomorrow, all right?”

Madison sighed and took the phone from her sister.

Bill Decker, the police artist, was a good man, a talented man. But Bitsy was driving him crazy.

Police artists were accustomed to changing what they had drawn. It was the name of the game. Change, until the face came up right.

Now Bill was working over his sketchpad, with Kyle, Jake Ramone and Bitsy looking over his shoulder. Bill had been at it a long time.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, the nose was straight? Or bent? We’ve done both a few times now,” the man said.

“I don’t know, I don’t know!” Bitsy cried. “It was there a minute ago….”

“Maybe I should just start over.”

“You know what?” Kyle said, smiling at Bitsy. “Maybe I should have a go at this one. My father’s an artist, and I picked up a little something from him. Okay, Bill?”

Bill lifted his hands gratefully.

“Hang around, give me a hand, huh?” Kyle suggested.

He started to draw, smiling at Bitsy. “From the beginning. The face shape, how am I doing? Oval here, broader forehead? And the mouth…?”

“Full, really sexy lips,” Bitsy said. “I remember thinking that he was such a good-looking guy to be trying to wear some kind of a stupid disguise…. Yeah, that’s it, the mouth is perfect! And the nose…it’s straight.”

Bitsy kept talking. Kyle kept drawing, shading, adjusting.

Somewhere in the process, he began to feel a sinking sensation. A heavy cold, like a glacier settled over him. The picture he was drawing was more than a face. It was an evolving personality. It made no sense.

“No,” he murmured. “God, no.”

“Yes, yes, you’ve got it right. Absolutely right.”

Kyle stared up at Jake Ramone. “Where the hell is Jimmy Gates? I need to see him right now. Never mind.” He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Madison’s house. Peggy answered.

“Peggy, let me have Madison.”

“She’s at her sister’s house, Mr. Montgomery.”

“Which sister’s house?”

“Oh, now, I’m sure as I don’t know. She just said she was going to her sister’s.”

“If she comes home, keep her there!”

He stood up, nearly knocking over the easel. “Jake, get on the phone and find Jimmy. I’m going to try to find my wife. You need to get an APB out now, this instant. I think he’s going to start fraying soon, go out of control. Jesus.”

“Who is?” Jake inquired, startled by Kyle’s vehemence.

Kyle hesitated just briefly, feeling as if knives were piercing his heart.

Then he gave Jake the name.

Kaila left the house with Anthony in her arms and Shelley scampering along at her side. She had just put the two little ones into their car seats in her minivan when a car pulled in behind her, blocking her in.

Her heart pounding slightly, she saw Darryl get out of his Lincoln and walk up to her. “Hey, Kaila, have you seen the newlyweds yet?”

Kaila shook her head awkwardly. “Madison is coming here in a while. I was just on my way to get Justin and Carrie Anne.”