Fatalis

The photographer stood there. "You want my film and my cell phone. Anything else?"

"Yes, I want your fucking cooperation! I'm not ru

The Wall hesitated, then handed him the phone. "I'll need Ha

The sheriff slid the cell phone into the back pocket of his pants.

"You know, Ha

"Save it-"

"And she's got guts," the photographer added. "It wouldn't hurt you to cooperate a little."

"Cooperation is trust and trust is earned," Gearhart said. "Now please get yourself back down the mountain."

The helicopter had resumed hovering over the campsite. The north side of the peak was once again spotlit and the Wall walked toward it. He climbed the boulders and started down the mountainside.

As soon as the Wall was gone, Gearhart turned and ran the powerful flashlight over the flat field and the woods beyond. He had told Chief Deputy Valentine to organize the deputies and volunteers into teams of three and four, all of them armed. It was clear now that the killers were moving southeast through the mountain caves. Whether they were people or animals or some twisted combination of both, they had to sleep sometime and emerge somewhere else in the range. The plan was for Dr. Thorpe to define an outside perimeter with the beach and this sinkhole as southern and eastern boundaries. Once the map was drawn his teams would take up positions at the base of the foothills and close in. If the squads found cave openings, they would make their way inside. With helicopters spotting from above, there was no way the killers could get away.

Again.

The sheriff walked toward the foggy woods. He was impatient for the operation to begin. If he didn't hear from Ha

Chief Deputy Valentine called to say that Dr. Thorpe had arrived and the second chopper was ferrying her up. She was accompanied by Shooter and Deputy Skitch Kline of Search-and-Rescue, Mountain Tracking Division. Gearhart turned toward the ocean. He could see the Bell's bright flying light from where he stood. Valentine said that the rest of the teams, over fifty men in all, had arrived and would await Gearhart's instructions before heading into the mountain range.

Gearhart thanked him and signed off.

As he did, the cell phone in his back pocket beeped.

Chapter Forty-Six

Grand and Ha

This was bad news, Ha

Two years before, the municipal water districts of Santa Barbara, Ventura, and other counties down to Los Angeles had pooled their resources to create more efficient, interco

"Are we going in?" she asked.

"We have to," Grand said as he hurried down the steep, stony wall of the larger gully. "There are dozens of openings like this. If the cats leave we probably won't find them until they kill again." The gully was only four feet deep and Grand quickly crawled up the other side.

Ha

"Hello," said the voice on the other end-Ha

"No. It's Gearhart."

Ha

"He's gone. Where are you?"

"I'm not sure," Ha

"You're sure they're prehistoric cats?"

"We're as sure as we can be without getting up close and personal," Ha

"Are you looking at the pipeline?" Gearhart asked.

"Yes."

"What's the gauge of the pipe?"

"I don't know, exactly," Ha

"That's one of the new pipes. They're using them in the Gibraltar Dam system expansion," Gearhart said. "Both of you stay where you are. We'll triangulate the call and pick you up."

Ha

"Sorry, Sheriff, but we won't be here," she said.

"Listen to me," Gearhart said. "My SWAT teams are moving into that area. You pop out somewhere and they may not be able to distinguish between you and their prey."

"We're the ones on two legs," Ha

"You may not get to follow anything," Gearhart yelled. "Those pipes have been flushing regularly since the rains started-"

"We'll be okay," Ha

The young woman set the phone on a flat rock beside the drain and climbed into the opening. She wondered if Gearhart had been concerned about their well-being or about the possibility that they might interfere with a kill shot.

The pipe was large enough for Ha

"What is it?" she asked.

"More claw marks," he said.

"Two sets?"

Grand nodded. "Both cats came in here, though there aren't any marks on the lip."

"Which means?"

"The cats didn't climb into the pipe. They jumped from somewhere outside and landed a yard inside." Grand stood, though he had to bow his head slightly. "The leap was precise and powerful."

"Just like when they disappeared into the sinkhole."

"Exactly." Grand sloshed ahead.

Ha

There had been awe in Grand's voice but it was tempered by concern. Ha

Somehow, just thinking that made Ha