Touching Evil

"You think he might have sent that note?"

"No, figuring out and executing a plan of any kind would take Joey longer than a few hours. Give him a few weeks, and he might come up with something, but not a few hours. I think he might know who did come up with the kidnapping idea, though. If anybody would know, it would be Joey."

"And do you know where we can find him?"

"Give me ten minutes," Quentin said.

It turned out to be an optimistic estimate, but knowing her partner, Kendra was ready for that. In a distinctly seedy neighborhood, she waited patiently at the end of a long alley Quentin had disappeared into, keeping one eye on their car while standing ready to back him up if need be. For the half hour or so he was gone, she politely refused three invitations for a "date" and not so politely warned off an interested pimp.

When Quentin reappeared abruptly, she said, "You picked this corner deliberately, didn't you?"

He gri

"Bastard," she said without heat.

"Well, I knew you could take care of yourself. Think of it as a compliment."

"Yeah, right." She eyed him and waited.

"Okay, I've got to know," he said. "What was the top offer?"

"You seriously expect me to tell you what several lonely men offered for my body?"

"Several?"

"Don't push it, Quentin."

He gri

"Go to hell," she said politely. "Did you or did you not find out where Joey is?"

"I did."

"Then let's go."

Five minutes later, sitting beside him in their car, Kendra said, "Five hundred."

Astonished, Quentin said, "As much as that? Jeez, either the streets around here have changed since my day, or inflation must be a real factor."

"Bastard!" she said, this time with considerable heat.

John closed the folder containing the forensics report on the Mitchell house as well as case notes and a photograph of the missing woman, lifted a questioning brow at Maggie, and when she shook her head pushed the file back across the table to Andy. "Thanks for letting me take a look," he said. "Not that I see anything helpful."

"That's the way it always is with the disappearances. Not a damned thing to go on. And not much more when the women are found."

She knew it wasn't a pointed reference, but Maggie nevertheless said, "I wish I could give you a sketch of this animal, Andy. But he's been so careful, none of the victims have been able to remember any helpful details."

"I know that, Maggie."

"I should try talking to Ellen Randall again. I wanted to give her a few days to calm down after-"

"After I intruded and messed things up," John finished. "I really am sorry about that."

Maggie nodded. "I know. She probably wasn't ready to talk to me then anyway. And I doubt she'll be able to give me anything useful. But I have to try. I'll call her this afternoon, find out if she'll meet with me, maybe tomorrow."

"Here?" Andy asked.

"I think I'll leave it up to her. She might be far more comfortable at home."

"Well, let me know if you'll need an interview room."

"Okay."

Andy tapped the Mitchell file with one finger. "So that's where we stand," he said. "On the Mitchell investigation, at any rate. I've got people out trying to find out what they can about this damned note, and I've got people looking for Samantha Mitchell-dead or alive. Since there's not much more we can do in either case, at least for the time being, there's something else we wanted to discuss with you two."

John glanced at the two younger detectives, then looked steadily at Andy. "I had a feeling there was."

"I wasn't keeping anything back because of orders but because this is… pretty far-fetched, John."

"In what way?"

Andy leaned back and gestured slightly toward the other cops, clearly inviting them to explain.

Je

"I wouldn't call that far-fetched," John commented. "In fact, it sounds pretty reasonable."

"It is reasonable-except for what we found when we started digging through files."

"Which was?" Maggie asked.

John glanced at her quickly, suddenly aware of another of those odd little certainties; this was something else she knew.

"Which was a little creepy," Je

"So he is copying earlier crimes," John said.

"Here's the creepy part." Je

"You'll notice," Je

Maggie said, "He's picking look-alikes."

Andy said, "I doubt it's coincidence that these women just happened to be attacked in much the same way as their virtual doubles were almost seventy years ago."

John said, "So he has access to police files?"

"Maybe. But there've been books written about unsolved crimes here in the city, so we can't be sure he would have had to use police files."

Je

"But," Andy said, "we have to assume the 1894 date could be important, at least until we prove otherwise. Problem is, we've had no luck ru

Maggie said, "Maybe it's… some other place. Some other city."

"Maybe," Andy said. "But if it is, I don't see how we have a hope in hell of figuring out where."

Kendra hadn't really pictured Joey in her mind, but she was definitely surprised when they ran him to ground in a crowded backstreet poolroom. It was a disreputable place by and large, where the other patrons scrupulously minded their own business when Quentin strolled up behind a hulking redhead who was pocketing his wi

"Hey, Joey."

Joey swung around, his fierce expression a neon warning to any sane person.

Quentin, of course, didn't so much as step back. He just smiled that curiously sweet and wholly deceptive smile of his and added, "How've you been?"

Kendra didn't draw her gun, but she kept a hand near it; she had a lot of faith in her partner's abilities, but despite Quentin's height and undoubted strength, Joey was taller and looked as though he could have lifted an all-pro tackle over his head and heaved him across the room.