Cat & Mouse

“Don’t let me interrupt progress,” she said. “I’m just here for a little refresher course. B is for Beautiful Begi

The class laughed, and she felt co

Then, out of nowhere, an image flashed from the terrible scene a few days earlier. Alex being moved from his house on Fifth Street to one of the ambulances! She had been called to the scene by neighbors, friends of hers. Alex was conscious. He said, “Christine, you look so beautiful. Always.” And then they took him away from her.

The image from that morning and his final words made her shiver to remember. The Chinese had a saying that had been in her mind for a while, troubling her: Society prepares the crime; the criminal only commits it.

“Are you all right?” Laura Dixon was at her side, had seen Christine falter at the door.

“Excuse us, ladies and gentlemen,” she said to her class. “Ms. Johnson and I have to chat for a minute right outside the door. You may chat as well. Quietly. Like the ladies and gentlemen that you are, I trust.”

Then Laura took Christine’s arm and walked her out into the deserted hallway.

“Do I look that bad?” Christine asked. “Does it show all over my face, Laura?”

Laura hugged her tightly and the heat from her friend’s ample body felt good. Laura was good.

“Don’t you try to be so goddamn strong, don’t try to be so brave,” Laura said. “Have you heard anything more, sweetheart? Tell Laura. Talk to me.”

Christine mumbled into Laura’s hair. It felt so good to hold her, to hold on to someone. “Still listed as critical. Still no visitors. Unless you happen to be high up in the Metro police or the FBI.”

“Christine, Christine,” Laura whispered softly. “What am I going to do with you?”

“What, Laura? I’m okay now. I really am.”

“You are so strong, girl. You are about the best person I have ever met. I love you dearly. That’s all I’ll say for right now.”

“That’s enough. Thank you,” Christine said. She felt a little better, not quite so hollowed out and empty, but the feeling didn’t last very long.

She started to walk back to her office.

As she turned down the east corridor, she spotted the FBI’s Kyle Craig waiting for her near her office. She hurried down the hallway toward him. This is not good, she told herself. Oh dear God, no. Why is Kyle here? What does he have to tell me?

“Kyle, what is it?” Her voice trembled and nearly went out of control.

“I have to talk to you,” he said, taking her hand. “Please, just listen. Come inside your office, Christine.”

Chapter 89

THAT NIGHT, back in my room at the Marriott in Princeton, I couldn’t sleep again. It was two cases, both ru

I was starting to familiarize myself with the vocabulary of trains: vestibules, step boxes, roomettes, a

What part had Gary Soneji played in the attack at Alex Cross’s house?

Who was his partner?

I went to work at my PowerBook, which I’d had set up on the hotel room desk. As I would later relate to Kyle Craig, I no sooner sat down than the specially designed alarm in the computer started to beep. A fax was waiting for me.

I knew instantly what it was-Smith was calling. He had been contacting me for over a year, on a regular basis. Who was tracking whom? I sometimes asked myself.

The fax message was classic Smith. I read it line by line.

Paris -Wednesday.

In Foucault’s Discipline & Punish, the philosopher suggests that in the modern age we are moving from individual punishment to a paradigm of generalized punishment. I, for one, believe that is an unfortunate happenstance. Do you see where I might be going with this line of thinking, and what my ultimate mission might be?

I’m missing you over here on the Continent, missing you terribly. Alex Cross isn’t worth your valuable time and energy.

I’ve taken one here in Paris in your honor-a doctor! A doctor, a surgeon, just like you wanted to be once upon a time.

Always,

Mr. Smith

Chapter 90

THIS WAS THE WAY the killer communicated with me for more than a year. E-mail messages arrived on the PowerBook at any time of day or night. I would then transmit them to the FBI. Mr. Smith was so contemporary, a creature of the nineties.

I relayed the message to the Behavioral Science Unit at Quantico. Several of the profilers were still working. I could visualize the scene of consternation and frustration. My trip to France was approved.

Kyle Craig telephoned my room at the Marriott a few minutes after the message had been relayed to Quantico. Mr. Smith was giving me another window of opportunity to catch him, usually only a day or so, but sometimes only hours. Smith was challenging me to save the kidnapped doctor in Paris.

And yes, I did believe Mr. Smith was far superior to Gary Soneji. Both his mind and his methodology outstripped Soneji’s more primitive approach.

I was carrying my travel bag and computer when I saw John Sampson. He was outside in the parking lot of the hotel. It was a little past midnight. I wondered what he’d been up to in Princeton that night.

“What the hell is this, Pierce? Where do you think you’re going?” he said in a loud, angry voice. He towered over me in the parking lot. His shadow stretched out thirty or forty feet from the lights of the building.

“Smith contacted me about thirty minutes ago. He does this just before he makes a kill. He gives me a location and challenges me to stop the murder.”

Sampson’s nostrils flared. He was shaking his head from side to side. There was only one case in his mind.

“So you’re just dropping what we’re working on here? You weren’t even going to tell me, were you? Just leave Princeton in the dead of night.” His eyes were cold and unfriendly. I had lost his trust.

“John, I left a message explaining everything to you. It’s at the front desk. I already spoke to Kyle. I’ll surely be back in a few days. Smith never takes long. He knows it’s too dangerous. I need time to think about this case anyway.”

Sampson frowned and he continued to shake his head. “You said it was important to visit Lorton Prison. You said Lorton is the one place where Soneji could have gotten somebody to do his dirty work. His partner probably came from Lorton.”

“I still plan to visit Lorton Prison. Right now, I have to try and prevent a murder. Smith abducted a doctor in Paris. He’s dedicating the kill to me.”

John Sampson wasn’t impressed with anything I’d said.

I didn’t get a chance to tell him the other thing, the part that bothered me the most. I hadn’t told Kyle Craig either.

Isabella had come from Paris. Paris was her home. I hadn’t been there since her murder.

Mr. Smith knew that.