„Then why did you wait until now to tell me? Twelve hours later?“

Kristen frowned. „I did try to call you. I left three voice mails telling you it was urgent.“

He turned from the window with a frown of his own. „Three voice mails? I didn’t get any of them.“ He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and punched buttons. „I’ll have Lois call the wireless company. This is unacceptable service.“ His frown smoothed from angry to worried. „You’re all right?“

Kristen shrugged. „I kind of hope somebody else in the office gets a special surprise – then it won’t be just me he’s chosen.“ She vividly remembered every creak her house made during the night, wondering if he was out there, watching her. Relieved that Reagan had checked every closet and under every bed, then pushing Reagan and his intriguing eyes right out of her head. „I don’t necessarily feel like I’m in danger, but it’s unsettling all the same.“

John buzzed Lois on his intercom. „Lois, please set up an emergency department meeting this afternoon. One o’clock. Mandatory. Those in court need to see me before they leave tonight.“ He looked at Kristen. „If he tries this with one of the rest of us, we’ll be ready.“

Thursday, February 19,

12:00 p.m.

„Thanks for squeezing us in, Miles,“ Mia said, leading the way into the office of Dr. Miles Westphalen, their staff psychologist. „We’ve got a unique situation.“

„What’s happened?“ Westphalen’s eyes focused on Mia as she filled him in. „Let me see the letters,“ he said and Mia handed him copies of all three. He read them twice before looking up and removing his glasses. „Interesting.“

„I thought you’d think so,“ Mia said. „Well?“

„He’s sincere,“ Westphalen said. „And smart. He either has an academic background in literature or he’s an avid reader. There’s a… poetic cadence to his writing. Refinement and… culture. He writes like a cultured grandfather passing wisdom to his grandchildren. He’s religious,, even though he never mentions God or any specific organized religion.“

Abe’s mouth tightened. „He’s a hypocrite, claiming to avenge victims yet preying on ASA Mayhew.“

One gray brow lifted and Westphalen turned to Mia. „What do you think, Mia?“

Mia pushed out a breath. „He has a special hatred for sex offenders. We found five bodies today. The rapist and pedophile both had their pelvis blown away while the murderers just had the head shot. And the last guy, King?“

„The pedophile,“ Westphalen supplied.

Mia grimaced. „Yeah. Anyway, either he walked into one hell of a wall or our humble servant beat him to a bloody pulp. His own mother wouldn’t have recognized him.“

„Kristen did,“ Abe commented.

Mia frowned, swinging around to look at him. „What’s that supposed to mean?“

Abe shrugged uneasily. „Just a comment. She has a good eye.“

Mia’s eyes narrowed. „You’re still pissed with her.“

Abe shook his head. „No, I’m not. I was, but I’m not now.“ Westphalen was waiting and damned if Abe didn’t feel compelled to explain himself. „She made a list of everyone connected with the original crimes and added the cops. I was just… surprised.“

Pivoting in her chair, Mia faced Westphalen. „He knows details that he shouldn’t.“

„Details? Such as?“

„Ramey had evidence of strangulation with a chain,“ Mia said. „That was his M.O. It also wasn’t public knowledge.“

Westphalen leaned back in his chair and looked at Abe. „And this troubles you.“

Abe’s brows bunched. „Of course it does. It’s a security breach.“

„Or he could be one of us.“ Mia used the same words she’d used this morning standing over Ramey’s makeshift grave. One of us. It irritated Abe now as much as it had then. The thought that a cop could take the law into his own hands, could stalk a woman in her own home. It was repugnant. What was more unsettling, though, was that he wasn’t sure which crime bothered him more, stalking Kristen or the murder of five people.

„Why did he give us their clothing?“ Abe asked, changing the subject.

Westphalen steepled his fingertips. „What else should he have done with it?“

„Thrown it away,“ Mia said. „Why didn’t he destroy it?“

Abe paced. „If he’d thrown it away, somebody might have seen it. A dog might have pulled it from the trash. If he burned it, we might look for ashes if we ever caught up to him.“ He looked at Mia with a wry smile. „Where safer to leave it than with the cops?“

Mia returned the smile, grimly. „He is smart. Why the grave marker?“

„Now that I consider truly fascinating,“ Westphalen commented. „Such symbolism, and he went to so much trouble. He used real marble?“

Abe stopped pacing and took the chair next to Mia’s. „The lab will know for sure. We made some calls, looking for anybody that makes headstones. There weren’t that many.“

„We’re trying to find someone to see if they recognize the work,“ Mia explained. „So what about the symbolism?“

„The day of their assault is the second date,“ Westphalen said, „as if it’s the day they died. To him, the lives of the victims ended the day they were raped, even though they lived. He says he’s watched the guilty go free for too long. He could mean from afar, like on television, or he might even live where people die every day.“ His shrugged. „Or he could mean from up close, like a cop. Regardless, he’s had a trauma of his own, and recently. This is all so very personal. I’d look for someone who’s recently suffered a terrible loss.“

„A recent victim,“ Mia mused.

„Maybe, maybe not“ Westphalen frowned. „The passion is sporadic, like beating King’s face and blasting the pelvis of the two sex offenders. It’s almost like he gets them in his grasp and just can’t help it. But hunting them and disposing of them after they’re dead and the letters… very calculated. I doubt you’ll find anything of use at the crime scene. Not at first anyway. Maybe later, after he’s gotten careless, but that could take a long time.“

„Wonderful,“ Abe muttered.

„Sorry, Detective. I save my ESP for the track. No, I think that even though the loss or trauma that triggered this killing spree is recent, I don’t think the crime he’s suffered is recent at all. It takes a long time to build up such anger.“

„Any guess on our guy’s age?“ Mia asked and Westphalen shrugged.

„Don’t know. He writes like an aged scholar, but he had to have physical strength to move the bodies. I’d have to say he’s younger versus older.“

„Why did he target Kristen?“ Mia asked and Westphalen’s face became grim.

„I don’t know that either. It could be no more than the fact she’s a pretty face that the reporters like to put on television. But this man is obsessive. Does Kristen have protection?“

Mia slid Abe a slow look. „Do you think she needs it?“ she asked.

„Perhaps. If the other state’s attorneys start getting little gifts, I’d say no.“

„But you don’t think that’s going to happen,“ Abe said.

Westphalen’s expression of disturbance expanded to worry. „No, I don’t“

„Wonderful,“ Abe muttered.