She stiffened. “Where? When?”

“Two hours ago. On the rooftop of a sleazebag hotel on the south side of the city. A police helicopter spotted it. Colby probably deposited the body there while we were watching his horror show. Forensics is going over both the corpse and the area with a fine-tooth comb, but I want you there.”

“It may not do any good. Colby had plenty of time to clean up the scene.”

“But you still want to go.”

“Of course I do.” She grabbed her jacket and headed for the door. “You knew that you’d have me with that bait.”

“Yes.” He opened the door for her. “But you should still appreciate the heartfelt apology that went along with it. It was eloquent and even a bit sincere. I don’t hand those out every day…”

*   *   *

GRIFFIN AND KENDRA CLIMBED THE short flight of steps to the door to the rooftop of the depressing, eight-story hotel. On the few occasions that Kendra had even noticed it, she’d assumed that the establishment had been abandoned years before. Who would stay here?

“This place mostly caters to druggies and prostitutes,” Griffin said, as if reading her mind. “It was probably easy for Colby to move around in here without anyone’s noticing or caring. Still don’t know how he got a corpse on the roof.”

Kendra pointed to a laundry cart in the hallway beside the elevator. “I’d start there. See if there’s a loading dock behind the building. He could have parked there, put the corpse in the cart, and taken it up the elevator.”

Griffin glanced back at the cart. “You could be right.” He opened the roof-access door, and Kendra was immediately struck by the roar of helicopters overhead.

“News copters,” Griffin said. “Nothing like giving a guy his dignity.”

They stepped onto the black asphalt roof and walked past two large water tanks. There, on the roof’s far side, was Stokes’s body.

The forensic techs were still working, but it was clear they were almost finished with the initial examination. The area was filled with techs, agents, and detectives, all wearing aqua-colored evidence booties as they moved around the scene. Kendra slipped on her own booties and gloves as she moved forward. She forced herself to look at Stokes and flinched.

Torture, terror, and the final ravages of death had completely altered his appearance.

Detach.

Concentrate.

Was there anything about him that could tell her anything?

Only about the fragility of life.

I think you’re an honorable man.

Those were practically the last words she had said to him.

And that honorable man had suffered and given his life.

No, it had been taken from him. He hadn’t even believed that there was any reason for him to die.

“What are you doing here?”

She turned to see Detective Ketchum coming toward her from across the rooftop. The former belligerence was absent, but it had been replaced by bitterness.

“The same thing you are. Trying to find a way to catch Stokes’s killer.” She met his gaze. “I’m sorry for your loss, Ketchum. I know this must be rough on you.”

“Do you? I went through police academy with him. We came up through the ranks together. I was best man at his wedding. Yeah, you could say it’s rough.” His eyes were glittering with moisture. “And he’d still be alive if he hadn’t met you.”

“Knock it off, Ketchum.” Detective Starger was suddenly beside him. “You know it wasn’t her fault. At least you should if you were thinking straight. Colby is insane, and Stokes just got caught up in his craziness. She told us over and over that Colby was alive, and we should help her catch him.”

“Colby killed him as a gift to her. You heard him say it.”

“And you heard her try to talk him out of it. We all did.” His voice was suddenly hoarse with pain. “I’m hurting, too, buddy. But we’ve got to focus on the right target.”

“Thank you, Detective,” Kendra said. “And I’ll try to clarify that focus if I can. That’s why I’m here.”

He nodded jerkily. “I’m grateful for your help. Ketchum will be, too, once he gets a chance to think this through. Stokes always said how smart you were. He admired you, but he was kind of wary of that talent. Let’s see if you can make it work for all of us. If you need me, call.” He gave Ketchum a nudge away from Kendra. “Come on, we’ve got work to do.”

Ketchum gave her a last glance and let Starger lead him away.

“Not a comfortable encounter.” Griffin was behind her. “I thought Ketchum was going to get violent.”

“It was possible.” She was looking after the two detectives. “Who could really blame him? Colby set me up as a heavy in this kill. Ketchum loved his friend.”

“You’re being generous.”

“No, I’m just trying to understand. I understand Ketchum’s anger and hurt far better than your response to Stokes’s death.” She turned away from him. “Now let me look around and see if I can notice anything on the roof that would make it worth my while to be here.” She braced herself and moved across the roof. They hadn’t removed Stokes yet, and she wasn’t qualified to examine the wounds, but she had to look at his body. And she forced herself to look at that poor, bloody face.

I’m coming to you, Stokes.

With regret and respect and the hope of justice for you.

Bear with me and realize that I know you died an honorable man.

Kendra was standing next to him now.

And she froze. “He was posed.”

“I see that.”

She crouched beside Stokes for a better look. His bloody fingers were glued together, elbows bent and flat palms facing backward.

Griffin pulled out his phone. “I’ll look up the Army field-manual hand-signal guide.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Kendra said. She stood and turned to look down at the city. “I know this one. I expected it. It means ‘prepare for another strike.’”

CHAPTER 13

Lynch House

3:15 A . M .

DAMN, IT WAS GOOD TO be home.

Adam Lynch smiled as he turned onto Chester Court and headed toward the end of the street. The mere sight of his house eased a bit of the tension from his neck and back. It had been an intense week in Luxembourg, made all the more harrowing by the rapidly developing Eric Colby case back home. It drove him crazy that he was stuck almost six thousand miles away at the exact same time that Colby appeared to be making a grotesque comeback.

There had been some loose ends to tie up in Luxembourg, but with Colby’s reemergence, he’d tossed the responsibility to someone else and headed home. Kendra had been the one to bring the beast down originally, and it was anybody’s guess what shape his sick revenge would take now.

But at least Kendra was safe at this moment. She was in the house that he’d built to keep himself safe, and he knew that as long as she was there there, Colby couldn’t reach her. He was eager to see her. Only a few more minutes and he—

No, it was late and he wouldn’t wake her tonight but wait until they’d both had something resembling a good night’s sleep.

The tall gates opened, and he sped up the driveway to the garage. He parked and pressed his thumb against his phone’s fingerprint sensor to throw open the lock to his house. He stepped inside and dropped his bags inside the door.

Home. Maybe a few minutes of Sports Center, a quick shower, then …

He heard something.

A scraping sound from the kitchen.

Kendra?

Perhaps. But he couldn’t take the chance. It might not be Colby, but any number of old enemies might have their sights on him.

Lynch slowly, quietly turned back, unzipped his large, checked suitcase, and pulled out his Taurus .45 automatic. He checked the magazine. Fully loaded.

Another sound from the kitchen. Louder this time.