“Don’t—do—that.”

“Why, that was almost begging. Or was it an order? It’s difficult to tell when you’re panting like that.”

“Bastard.”

“Ah, it was an order. You don’t want Kendra to know how I made you suffer. But that’s part of the package, Beth.” He laughed, and she could hear him moving away. “A package that is very close to being opened and revealed…”

*   *   *

KENDRA’S PHONE RANG.

Sam.

Thank God. They had been waiting for hours for word from him, and she was a nervous wreck.

She punched the access as she showed the ID to Griffin and Lynch. “It’s Sam.” She spoke into the phone. “Sam, I just put you on speaker. I hope you’re telling me you have something.”

“City Heights, off the I-15 freeway at either University Avenue or El Cajon Boulevard. That’s Exit 5A or 5B in City Heights.”

Griffin stepped closer to the phone. “What are you basing that on?”

“It’s a set of DEA license-plate readers on the Escondido Freeway. If you can get the DEA to give you access, you can see for yourself. Every time that van’s license plate has appeared on any of the local ALPR databases, it entered and left the I-15 freeway at either University Avenue or El Cajon Boulevard. That’s Exit 5A or 5B in City Heights.”

Griffin turned to Agent Metcalf. “Find us a city plan for that neighborhood. I want architectural details for as many houses and buildings there as you can dig up.”

“Including those with basements and cellars,” Kendra added.

“Exactly. There aren’t many of those around here. But we’ll need to go visual with our boots on the ground. House to house, building to building.”

“Without alerting Colby,” Kendra said.

“That goes without saying. We’re not amateurs, Kendra.”

“All it takes is one mistake, and Beth is dead.”

Lynch stared at a large map of the city that dominated the wall at the end of Griffin’s office. “City Heights. It’s a large area.”

That’s what Kendra was thinking.

A very large area.

And Beth only had a little over one hour left on the clock.

Griffin was already on his office phone, ordering the massive increase in manpower needed.

Kendra joined Lynch at the map, her gaze scanning the City Heights area, trying to see something, anything, that would make the search go faster, easier.

She could see nothing.

And she couldn’t stay here, helplessly waiting for other people to save Beth. Boots on the ground. She whirled and headed for the door. “Let’s get over there.”

*   *   *

“ARE YOU READY?” COLBY ASKED.

The words he’d used during all those hours of torture.

“Where’s your pillow, you son of a bitch?”

“Not necessary.” He smiled down at her. “You’ve graduated, Beth. I just came to say good-bye.”

She went still. “Then do it, damn you.”

“Oh, I will.” He turned away and went toward the stairs. “Right now.”

She stared at him in confusion.

He looked back at her and smiled. “You believe all your training may have been for nothing? No such thing. I’m just adjusting it for another form. Remember the lack of breath. Your lungs struggling. Your heart pounding. The helplessness of not being able to fight what’s being done to you.”

“I could hardly forget.”

“Exactly.” He opened a utility box on the wall and then turned a nozzle. “It’s time for anticipation to become reality. Sorry I won’t be able to see it. But I’ll be able to imagine …

“I’ll be back in a moment. I have a few things to do before I leave you.” He turned, opened the door, and was gone.

Gone? What the hell was he doing? It was a complete shock that he—

And then she heard it.

First a trickle, and then a gushing.

Water.

*   *   *

KENDRA’S PHONE RANG WHEN SHE and Lynch had just left the FBI office for City Heights.

Let it be Sam telling her that he’d narrowed down the area where they could find Beth.

“Time’s up, Kendra,” Colby said.

She stiffened with panic. “No, it’s not. You can’t do that. I have another forty-five minutes.”

“He who holds the power makes the rules, or breaks them. According to what he decides is most amusing.” He chuckled. “But, as it happens, I still may slide under the time limit I gave you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean, I started your Beth’s death gasp, but it won’t take effect for a bit. I wanted it to be very slow. Anticipation, you know.”

“I don’t want to know. What did you do to her?”

“Why, I spent the past twenty-four hours preparing her, and now she’s waiting for it to happen.” He paused. “But probably not patiently. She fought me to the very end. She didn’t want me to tell you how hard she had to struggle.”

“Did you hurt her?”

“Yes, not in the way I hurt Stokes, but the mental torment was considerably worse.”

“You son of a bitch.”

“You mustn’t speak to me like that. I’m complimenting your Beth. I actually grew to admire her.”

“Then let her go.”

“Oh, no, you’ll have to go and get her. But we both realize there’s a time restraint, and I’ve put a small obstacle in your path.”

“Tell me where she is.”

“Suppose I show you. I’ve grown so fond of all these computer bells and whistles that Northrup installed for me. A picture tells more than a thousand words. Do you have your computer?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you would. Turn it on.”

She switched on the computer. “You’re wasting time. Stop stalling and—”

The picture came in clear and bright.

“Dear God, what are you doing?”

Water. Water gushing. Flooding the floor, lapping against the walls and the shelves and the first rungs of the metal embalming table where Beth lay bound.

“You can see what I’m doing. I made sure of that. I kept Beth in the dark so that she would be disoriented but I wanted you to know instantly what was going on.”

“You’re going to drown her.”

“Yes, some people say that drowning is an easy death. I don’t agree. Particularly when you’re expecting the suffocation and lung failure. I made certain that Beth would know what to expect.”

She closed her eyes as the horror hit home. Then she forced herself to open them and look back at the video. “How long does she have?”

“Perhaps the forty-five minutes I gave you.”

“How do I know she’s not already dead, like Stokes was?”

“I never promised that the Detective Stokes show was a live broadcast. Trust me, I want you to see your friend die as it happens.”

She believed him. Colby was just that sick.

“But give me a number, and I’ll have our Beth hold up the same number of fingers so you can have your proof of life.”

“Four,” Kendra said.

After a few seconds, Beth flashed two peace signs from her restrained hands.

“There you are,” Colby said. “But I guarantee you, as clever as your Sam Zackoff may be, I’ve made sure he won’t have time to trace this webcast. Good-bye for now, Kendra. This is the last time we will speak for a while.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re wasting time. Good-bye.”

He cut the connection.

On her laptop, Kendra watched as Colby waded through the shin-deep water toward Beth. He leaned over her and said something inaudible.

“What in the hell is he doing?” Kendra said.

Colby pinned what appeared to be a rolled-up freezer bag to Beth’s sweater. Then he stepped out of the frame.

Kendra’s cell phone rang again. She answered it on speaker, this time it really was Sam.

“He called you, didn’t he?” Sam asked.

“How did you know?”

“I’m watching it here. I cloned your computer, remember? I’m forwarding it through my server to the FBI and the police. They’re in the City Heights area, so now they’ll have a description of the clothing he’s wearing.”

“Providing he doesn’t change clothes. Colby thinks of those details.”

“But they’re also looking for his van. Put them both together and—”