“Were later murdered in the course of a home invasion,” Judson concluded.

“You’re thinking Louise’s baby was the future Zander Taylor, aren’t you?” Nick asked.

“It explains a lot. Wouldn’t be surprised if he was the one who murdered his adoptive parents.”

“Yeah, struck me as a possibility, too,” Nick said. “At the time, young Zander was in therapy. Actually, he had been for years because he was exhibiting the usual warning signs—torturing small animals and setting fires—at an early age. He was thirteen when the so-called home invasion took place. He told police he came home from school and found the bodies. Afterward he went into foster care for a couple of years, bounced around in the system creating havoc wherever he landed and, eventually, to everyone’s great relief, disappeared.”

“What about Louise?”

“The cult eventually broke up,” Nick said. “The leader vanished. Louise moved to Wilby and started making her wind chimes for fun and profit.”

“Looks like Taylor tracked her down at some point. By then he had a handle on his own talent. By all accounts, he was an expert when it came to charming people. Louise would have been an especially easy target because she was psychologically fragile.”

Gwen spoke up from the other seat. “And because she was his mother, for heaven’s sake. Part of her would have wanted to be reunited with her only child.”

“You’re usually right when it comes to that kind of stuff, Gwen,” Nick said.

“I’m guessing that Louise gave the crystal that powered the camera to her son,” Gwen continued. “She was always worried about demons. Maybe she gave him the crystal as a sort of personal protection device.”

“Taylor came back to Wilby periodically to get his weapon refocused,” Judson said. “Louise probably never knew what he was doing with it.”

“The problem with that theory is that no one there in Wilby had even met Taylor until he showed up to take part in Evelyn’s study,” Gwen said. “If he was visiting Louise occasionally to get the camera crystal tuned, why didn’t someone notice?”

“Louise lived in the middle of the woods, a few miles outside of town,” Judson reminded her. “It would have been easy for Taylor to visit her without being seen by any of the locals. It wasn’t like he would have had to see her very often to get the camera retuned. His kills were probably months apart.”

“And the camera might have been good for two or three kills before it needed tuning,” Gwen said quietly.

“If that’s true, Taylor wouldn’t have had to visit good old Mom more than two or three times a year, at most,” Nick said. “So maybe he could keep his visits to her secret. But if you’re right, it means that she kept those visits secret, too. Why? What would be the point?”

“I don’t have all the answers yet,” Judson said.

“No kidding?” Nick snorted. “Sounds to me like you’ve got most of ’em. Why call me?”

“I had to get as much of the backstory as possible because someone else with Taylor’s talent is using his camera to murder people for profit. Whoever he is, he was using Louise to retune the camera. But Zander Taylor didn’t kill for the money. He did it for kicks.”

“Psychos like that don’t usually change their M.O., so we can forget the theory that Taylor is still alive,” Nick said.

“Yes,” Judson said. “We’re dealing with a different killer who happens to have the same kind of talent. And if you believe in genetics—”

Gwen went very still. “Family.”

“What did she say?” Nick asked.

“She’s thinking what I’m thinking,” Judson said. The deep thrill of intuition heated his blood. “Based on what little we know of psychic genetics, there is at least a possibility that the killer we’re hunting is related to Zander Taylor.”

“Louise Fuller might have given up more than one baby,” Gwen suggested.

“Ah, yes, the ever-popular twins, separated-at-birth scenario,” Nick intoned. He voice lightened. “Afraid that won’t fly in this case. According to the file, Louise had no other children. Her son was delivered by cesarean section. She had her tubes tied at that time. She told the caseworker that she couldn’t risk giving birth to another baby.”

Gwen leaned forward. “Did she tell the caseworker why she didn’t want another child?”

“According to the notes, Fuller explained that her baby was the offspring of a demon,” Nick said. “She didn’t want to take the chance of repeating that mistake.”

“Damn,” Judson felt his intuition crystallizing into certainty. “We need to find him.”

“Who?” Nick asked.

“The demon father,” Judson said. “He’s the key to this whole thing.”

“Not a chance in hell I could track down one of what was evidently a very large number of customers that Fuller slept with thirty-four years ago,” Nick said. “I’m good, but not that good. That kind of street prostitution is a cash business. There is no money trail. And after all this time, there won’t be anyone left who will remember names and faces. It’s a dead end.”

Gwen leaned forward to speak into the phone. “The demon wasn’t one of the customers,” she said. “The demon is the bastard who pimped her out. That’s why she feared him. He controlled her, body and soul.”

“We’re looking for the cult leader,” Judson said. “He made a career change at some time in the past. He became a freelance contract killer. Go back to your computer, Sawyer. Find Sundew.”

Gwen waited impatiently until Judson ended the call. Energy, excitement and anticipation were sleeting through her.

“I know why Louise gave her son the crystal camera,” she said.

“Yeah?” Judson clipped his phone to his belt. “I’m assuming you don’t think it was because she planned to set him up in the serial killer business.”

“No, she gave it to him so that he could use it to protect himself from his father, the demon.”

“Huh.” Judson considered that with a coolly thoughtful air. “You know, that works in a twisted kind of way.”

“Maybe she even dared to hope that Zander would do what she could not do herself—destroy the man who had abused her for so long.”

“She wanted her son to be her avenger. Yes, that works, too. You know, talking to you is useful. It helps me clarify things. You’re good at this profiling stuff.”

She was surprised by how much his praise warmed her. “Thanks. Side effect of my talent, I guess. You can get into the heads of the bad guys. Me, I sort of get into the heads of the victims.”

“The talking-to-ghosts thing.”

“Right. That’s what it’s really all about, I think. I’m profiling the victims when I do that.”

“Yes,” Judson said. He looked intrigued by that notion. “You do seem to have a talent for that.”

“We make a good team.”

“Looks like it.”

“Well, whoever the demon is, the bastard has a lot to answer for.”

“He does,” Judson agreed. “One thing is certain, everything points to the demon being a resident of Wilby. He’s right here in town. He’s been here all along. But Louise would have known that he was here. If she was terrified of him, why did she move here in the first place?”

“She was a psychologically and psychically damaged woman,” Gwen said. “Any bastard who could run a cult would have found it a snap to control her. He would have wanted her here, not only because it was convenient but also so that he could keep an eye on her to make sure she didn’t get any ideas about going to the cops.”

“And if we’re right, this particular demon bastard has some serious talent,” Judson said. “That would make it even easier to manipulate a fragile woman like Fuller.”

“Poor Louise. No wonder she was such a basket case. The next question is, did father and son know each other?”

Judson tapped one finger on the steering wheel. “Maybe not back at the beginning when Taylor first tracked down his mother here in Wilby. But at some point along the way, yes, they discovered each other. Maybe Louise told Taylor about his father, or maybe the demon discovered there had been a mother-and-son reunion and introduced himself. The father now has the camera or at least he’s got the crystal inside it. He’s been using it for the past year and a half.”