Or at least breathing room.

As he’d said, it might not be the end of her problems with the San Diego PD, but maybe it was the start.

And the important thing was that he wasn’t going to get in the way of Griffin’s work on those trophies.

Providing that Griffin could silver-tongue him into believing that there was even the faintest chance that Colby was still alive. He’d been pretty adamant on the subject.

She reached for her phone to call Griffin and tell him about the challenge she’d set for him.

*   *   *

KENDRA PUNCHED IN THE PHONE number and was surprised when Sam picked up immediately.

“I’ve been wondering when I’d hear from you again,” he answered.

“I’ve been a little busy, Sam.”

“So I gathered. Taunting psychopathic killers is so exhausting…”

“What?”

“I just ran across your conversation with Colby in that Word file. You told me you’d had some back-and-forth with him, but you neglected to mention that you basically challenged him to come at you. Are you out of your mind?”

“Possibly.”

“You have more experience dealing with the sick-and-twisted population than I do, but that seems like some pretty risky behavior.”

“He feeds on fear. Strength is the only thing that has ever worked against him.”

“Still, it’s a little like someone with an allergy sticking their face into a beehive. I wish you wouldn’t do it.”

“What do you have for me, Sam?”

“Ah, and my concerns for you are summarily dismissed.”

“Not at all. Sometimes I need to be told these things.”

“But this isn’t one of those times?”

“No. I know how dangerous Colby is, believe me. I’ve seen firsthand what he’s capable of doing.”

“He’s a devious son of a bitch, and I’ve seen that firsthand.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been poring through the data on your hard drive. It’s exactly what I suspected. He was using your laptop’s microphone to listen to everything that was being said in the vicinity. Even when you thought your machine was off.”

“And my camera?”

“Yeah. Your laptop’s webcam, too. At least when the lid was open.”

Kendra felt that sickening chill again. The thought of Colby watching her, listening to her conversations … “How did he do it? Did he hack in from the Web?”

“No.”

“Then how in the hell?”

Sam was silent for a long moment. “That’s kind of the scary part, Kendra.”

She had an idea where this was going. “Oh, God.”

“Yeah. This stuff was loaded onto your computer locally. As in standing right over it. Maybe you left it in your car, or the office…”

“No. Whenever I take it out, it goes with me everywhere. The only way it could have happened…” Kendra could barely make herself say the words. “… was here, at home.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.”

Kendra felt sick as her glance moved around her condo. Her hairbrush, her computer … Her home. Eric Colby had invaded it.

“Kendra?”

“Yes. I’m here. I’m still trying to get my head around this.”

“I know.” He paused. “Any progress on figuring out who might have helped him?”

“Not yet. We’re still working on that.”

“And I haven’t had any luck in zeroing in on this guy’s location. The software he planted in your computer destroys IP-address data as soon as each session is complete. But I think I’m going to try something…”

“Try what?”

“I’ve put your computer back together, and I’m about to go back online with it. I think it will attempt to make contact with whatever computer he’s using. I’ll monitor the packets, and if a connection is made. I might be able to figure out where he is.”

“You really think you can do that?”

“It won’t be easy, but geniuses like me thrive on difficulties.”

“I’m tempted to knock you off that self-built pedestal, but I don’t want to discourage you. I need this, Sam.”

“I know you do.” His voice was grave. “I didn’t mean to scare you, but you had to know, Kendra. I’d have a security expert go over your place right away. It must not be that safe.”

“I thought it was very secure. I had problems before, and I thought I’d fixed all the possible danger points.”

“Evidently you missed a few. Or maybe even just one. That can do it.”

“Yes, that can do it.” She glanced around her living room again. Where had Colby been in the condo? Had he been sitting on this couch, looking down at her computer. The kitchen? Her bedroom?

Dear God, had she been in the condo at the time?

Had he had the nerve to break into her condo while she was still here? She wouldn’t put it past him. As she had told Stokes, he was an egomaniac who would take any chance to prove his superiority. He would have enjoyed the idea of being that close and having her both ignorant and vulnerable.

“You want me to come over and keep you company? I offer everything from sex to tutoring in the fine art of computer games,” Sam said. “No charge. Though my services are much in demand.”

“No, I want you to concentrate on that computer.” She said, “I’ll make sure that Colby can’t get to me.” She added grimly, “And if he does, that he’ll regret it. Call me as soon as you come up with anything, Sam.”

She hung up and drew a deep breath. It was all very well to claim that she’d keep herself safe, but she was feeling very vulnerable. Okay, call a locksmith and get all the locks changed. Check to see any windows or doors that were problem prone.

Make sure her gun was loaded and on her nightstand. Then go to the closet and get the box Olivia had given her containing all those nasty self-defense mechanisms. A few in her handbag and a few under pillow wouldn’t hurt at all.

*   *   *

SAM CUT THE CONNECTION AND pulled off his telephone headset. He was definitely uneasy, but he felt a little better that Kendra was going to take action to make her security arrangements safer. When he’d discovered that Colby had been that close to her computer, it had been a shock.

He should have known that Kendra wouldn’t be stupid about taking unnecessary risks. Yet there had been a chance that she would weigh risk against the objective and decide on risk. In many ways, Kendra was the same wild child she’d been in those years just after gaining her sight. She was fearless and big-hearted, with gutsiness to match her amazing mental gifts. If she was still a tad on the reckless side, she embraced life in a way like few others he knew. He’d forgotten how exhilarating it was to be pulled along in her wake.

He walked across the cluttered living room of his one-story Mill Valley home. The house had cost everything he’d made from a recent corporate cybersecurity contract, but it offered him that rare combination of solitude and easy access to the San Francisco nightlife. Redwoods surrounded it in every direction, giving him the feeling of living in a tree house. A nice counterbalance to the piles of circuit boards, hard drives, and other gear filling up every available inch of shelf space. Much of the house was bathed in a CRT glow from a dozen monitors, giving him the status of his various projects.

Sam glanced out at the darkness. He had hoped to meet friends at a bar in the Mission District, but they always understood when he got absorbed in a fascinating project. And Kendra Michaels had brought him a spellbinder.

He looked at her laptop on his dining-room table. It was reassembled and ready to go. So why didn’t he just turn it on?

He knew why. Because that thing had been the eyes and ears of a monster.

Stop it, Sam told himself. The monster was on his turf now. Sam checked his network-monitoring system to make sure it was awake and ready to zero in on whoever might reach out to Kendra’s laptop once it was back online.

All systems ready.

He placed his finger over the power button and let it hover while he ran through his mental checklist one last time.