“No.” She stopped and turned to face her. “I’ll do anything to get her back alive, money, a trade, anything.”

“Stop that.” Eve’s eyes were glittering with moisture. “Do you think Beth would tolerate that? Do you think I would?” She took Kendra in her arms and held her close. “No sacrificial lambs. We just have to find a way to get that son of a bitch.”

Kendra’s voice was muffled against her. “It’s my fault, Eve. I should never have let Beth get within a mile of me. I thought I could keep her safe.”

“Beth is smart, and I’m sure she knew the risks. She’s also stubborn as hell, and she does what she wants.” Her voice was uneven. “And why shouldn’t she? For years, she was a prisoner in that hellhole of a hospital. It’s only for the past months she’s been able to reach out and taste everything that life has to offer. Do you know how angry it makes me feel to know that Colby is trying to take that away from her?” She held Kendra at arm’s length and looked into her eyes. “It’s not your fault. The fault lies with that monster who took her. Now we’ve got to stop weeping and wailing and get her back.”

Kendra nodded. “Maybe a little weeping and wailing. But it won’t interfere. I promise.” She turned and headed for the door. “Come on and meet Lynch. He’s waiting in the car to drive us back to his house. He wouldn’t let me come to meet you by myself.”

“And I approve,” Eve said quietly. “Not only for your protection. You’re definitely not going to be a trade, but you’re the center, and everything is spinning around you.”

And that center was dark and frightening, like a whirlpool that was ready to pull Beth down into its depths.

And in spite of Eve’s words, Kendra knew that no matter what the circumstance she could never allow that to happen.

*   *   *

“I WANT TO SEE SAM,” EVE said as soon as she stepped into the foyer of Lynch’s house. “Where is he, Kendra?”

“Where he always is”—she nodded down the hall—“the office. It’s where he set up shop when I brought him here, and since I told him about Beth, he’s been working frantically. I haven’t been able to get him out of the room to even eat.” She smiled faintly. “That’s not new, but Beth usually managed to get something down him. Force, persuasion, and persistence, she used them all. She considered Sam her charge.” She bit down on her lower lip. “Past tense. I’m using past tense. I won’t do that, dammit. She does consider Sam her charge.”

“From what you told me, they’ve became very close.”

Kendra nodded. “In their very individual ways.” She turned and started toward the kitchen. “Go in and see him. I’ll go make coffee and sandwiches.”

Eve watched her disappear down the hall, then turned and moved toward the office. She knocked, and when she received no answer, she opened the door. “It’s Eve, Sam. May I come in?”

“Go away, Eve.” He didn’t look up from his computer. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“I’ll only be a minute.” She came forward. He looked just the same as the night she’d first met him at the mental hospital, when they’d asked him to help free Beth. No, not quite. No breeziness now. His eyes were red and his entire demeanor tense. “Any luck?”

“This isn’t about luck. It’s about tracing that bastard.” He stopped typing but stayed hunched over the computer. “And I can’t do it. Not in time. It’s not like tracing a phone call. There are thousands, maybe millions of computers out there that have been hijacked without the owners even knowing it. They’re called zombies. Hacking networks sell access to them to businesses to generate spam, or anybody who will pay them. Colby’s messages are going through lots of zombies, different ones each time. That means I have to hack dozens of systems in order to try to track him. It’s like trying to untie a big, gnarly, knotted piece of string. There’s no way that I can do that in time.”

Eve stopped before the desk. “Don’t tell me that. I remember what you did when Kendra asked you to do your magic and save Beth before, when she was at that mental hospital. We were in despair about how to do it. But you were so confident, so sure of yourself. You’re going to do the same thing now.”

“Am I?” He looked up at her. “It’s different now. It was easier. She was only a problem to me then. Now she’s … Beth.”

“And she’s my sister.” Eve leaned her hands on the desk. “So stop all this nonsense. We’re both going to do what has to be done.” She stared him in the eye, and said fiercely, “Because I’ve just found Beth. I never even knew I had a sister. I’m not going to lose her again. Do you understand?”

Sam’s eyes widened. “Yeah, I think I do.” He made a face. “I was just having a bad moment. I’m okay now.”

“Kendra said you’ve been working your ass off since you came here. I appreciate it. But I’m going to ask you to work even harder.” Her voice was firm. “And you’ll know I’ll work just as hard. I’ll match you all the way, Sam. You tell me what to do, and it will be done. I’m no novice. I don’t do magic on computers, but I know the Web sites and how to dig for information because of my work as a forensic sculptor. Some people say I have wonderful instincts. I’ll use them.”

“I don’t know what good—”

“Don’t analyze, accept,” she said. “Kendra’s going through the same hell we are. We’re all in this together. But I’m not sure how I can help Kendra. So I’m zeroing in on you.”

“I don’t need—” He stopped as he met her eyes. He smiled. “I can tell Beth is your sister.”

“We’re nothing alike. For instance, I’m not going to insist you eat. That’s up to you. I miss meals myself when it’s important to work.” She added, “And it’s very important to work. So do it, Sam.” She turned back toward the door. “I’m going to bring in that pot of coffee Kendra is making. We’re going to need it.”

*   *   *

BUZZZZ .

Buzzzz.

Beth tried to open her eyes, but she couldn’t summon the strength

Buzzzz.

A giant, buzzing bee was circling her head. At least that’s how it sounded.

Time to take a look. If only she could find the energy to open her damned eyes.

Buzzzz.

Through sheer force of will, she raised her eyelids. First the right, then the left. There was just white, blinding light. Nothing else but pain. Her head throbbed, and her mouth stung.

Buzzzz.

It wasn’t a bee, she realized. It was the light. Her eyes focused, and she saw there were two bare, fluorescent tubes glowing and buzzing on the ceiling above her.

Buzzzz.

She moved to bring her hands toward her head, but she realized she couldn’t. Her hands were pinned by her side, bound by heavy, nylon straps.

She tried to move her legs, but she realized that they, too, were tied.

Tied to what?

She looked down. She was fastened to a cream-colored embalming table. There was an elevated lip and rusty drain between her ankles.

She’d seen this table before, she realized in panic. This was where Detective Stokes had been stabbed over and over by that maniac.

And this was where he had died.

“Hello, Beth.” She knew that voice. That low, terrifying voice. “Welcome.”

The rest of the room finally slid into focus. What the hell kind of place was this? It was a windowless room, perhaps twelve feet by twelve feet. The walls and floor were covered by a thick, tarlike substance.

Colby stepped closer, smiling at her with those creepy, little, rodentlike teeth. “Your wooziness will pass. You’ll want to be awake for this.”

“I doubt that,” a voice said from behind her. “Full consciousness is rarely desirable when in your presence, Colby.” The other man stepped into view.

“Sims,” Beth whispered.

The man smiled.

Now she remembered. Sims was in her car looking through her files with her, when he’d suddenly jabbed her with the syringe. They’d been laughing together, then … darkness.